Epic Ventures: Viggo’s Cinematic Battle
Epic Ventures: Viggo’s Cinematic Battle – After 20 years, Viggo Mortensen doesn’t care that many still call him Aragorn, the human leader of the struggle for Middle-earth, from the “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy.
The reason, he says, is that immediately after completing the said work, he embarked on other projects such as “Ocean of Fire”, alongside Omar Sharif, figure of Lawrence of Arabia, and the drama “A Violent History”, under the direction of David Cronenberg, director of “The Fly”.
He chose not to follow the path of his colleagues, with classic characters, who accept invitations to comics conventions or give conferences on the subject, and live thanks to what they are paid.
“I made them escape from the paper. Of course there’s a lot left from this trilogy that I don’t mind and you can dictate how you feel, not what others say you are. I have always felt free, I always invent stories that interest me.
“Occasionally, financial constraints necessitate seeking employment with the optimistic anticipation of a favorable outcome. I choose stories that will teach me something and that will challenge me,” he told EL UNIVERSAL.
“The Lord of the Rings”, which is released today in cinemas at Cinépolis, was for Viggo a place where during a year and a half of filming in New Zealand, he learned several things.
It was a time, he remembers, when technology was entering cinema in force and no one knew exactly what it was.
For the production, there were not only traditional models and special effects, but a number of digital models such as hundreds of orcs and ghost soldiers, as well as non-existent locations created expressly for the story of JRRTolkie n.
“It led a big change in the world of movies in a situation where nothing like it had happened before, and it was quite different from the usual funny stuff. He saw Peter Jackson (the director) say “this is impossible, it’s raining, what do we do?” And it was seeing the way to solve things, with a mentality and it was fascinating to learn. It was about photographing yourself in one way and then another,” he remembers.
The “Lord of the Rings” trilogy began with its first installment, “The Fellowship of the Ring,” in 2001, and ended with “The Return of the King” in 2003. Overall, the saga made to its producers $10 for each investment in their filming; It catapulted Elijah Wood (Frodo) and Orlando Bloom (Legolas) to international stardom, it showcased the quality of the experienced Ian McKellen (Gandalf) and Cristopher Lee (Saruman) and in cases like Mortensen’s, it was a springboard to continue in the industry. .
“Before being an actor, I was a photographer, I entered cinema out of curiosity. He saw it and said: what I see affects me, it moves me; Then the lights came on in the room and I was surprised that I wasn’t in Russia or somewhere else and hadn’t been threatened by someone (like in the movies). And my curiosity was aroused as to how they did this.
Now, like the rest of his colleagues in the American union, the use of Artificial Intelligence poses a problem. This is one of the reasons for the strike that he has just ended, but he put the studios under control for more than three months.
Mortensen, a New Yorker by birth, but passionate about Argentinian football, at 65, has a clear idea: “AI is advancing by leaps and bounds and we cannot imagine what will happen in an hour. But there are fundamental, fundamental things in the creative work of the writer, the actor, the musician, the makeup artist, everyone, which is respect.
“If I want to do a scene where someone falls out of a helicopter and somehow survives and I want to see their face as they fall, that can be used. Meanwhile, I have the opportunity to collaborate with another artist on a distinct scene, which is highly advantageous. But everything has to be done with the approval of the actor or actress,” she says.
