Viggo Mortensen Wants to Return for The Hobbit

Viggo Mortensen

by  Jami Philbrick – MovieWeb.com

It was recently announced that filmmaker Peter Jackson would be returning to middle-earth by producing The Hobbit based on the J. R. R. Tolkien book of the same name. This time around he will be producing only and is giving up his director’s chair to Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro. He is however staying on as a writer as Jackson plans to co-write the film with del Toro and the first trilogy’s writers, his wife Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

The novel takes place sixty-years before events depicted in the first film and tells the story of how Bilbo Baggins became in possession of the ring from the creature Gollum. It was originally announced that the filmmakers intended to make two films, the first being an adaptation of the novel and the second a film that would bridge the gap between the previous movie and the trilogy. However del Toro himself later posted on a Lord of the Rings fan-site that while he still intends to make two films they will instead have only one narrative, based on the book, that will stretch over the two movies. But the director gave a conflicting statement when he was later quoted saying that he felt the second film would need to end by leading directly into The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.

Regardless, it’s still fun for fans to speculate on which characters from the first three films could possibly end up in the sequels somehow. Originally when the filmmakers were discussing a “bridge” film Jackson stated that one of the things he would like to include was seeing the moment where Aragorn/Strider begins setting a watch on the Shire. We had the opportunity to speak with Viggo Mortensen, the actor who portrayed Aragorn/Strider in the film, this weekend while he was promoting his new movie The Road.

We asked Mortensen if he would be interested in returning to his role in The Hobbit, if the filmmakers were able to find away to include his character. The actor stated that he had a lot of fun making the first three films and would love to return for more. He went on to say that his understanding was that the filmmakers are trying to find a way to incorporate many of the actors from the first trilogy, even some who’s characters do not appear in the actual novel, into the new films. He also stated how much he loved working with the original cast and crew, how much he loved shooting in New Zealand and how much he would really enjoy returning one more time.

Whether Mortensen ends up in the film or not, there is no doubt that fans are dying to see these films come to the big screen. The Hobbit is due for release in December of 2011 with the conclusion The Hobbit Sequel hitting theaters a year later in December of 2012. Look for our exclusive interview with Viggo Mortensen about his film The Road coming soon.

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Christopher Lee: Horror films today are ‘obscene’

Christopher Lee

By Grace Wong for CNN

London, England (CNN) — Although his name is synonymous with horror, Christopher Lee says he doesn’t have much desire to see pictures that fall under that genre these days.

The 87-year-old, who helped Britain’s legendary Hammer studios breathe new life into the horror genre in the 1950s, says he rarely watches horror films.

“I find it quite nauseating what they do,” Lee told CNN. “The blood is all over the screen like an avalanche — the mutilation — dreadful things, and I just don’t enjoy that.”

The veteran actor, who played Count Dracula and Frankenstein in a series of Hammer movies from the 1950s until the 1970s, says it’s “obscene” how much is displayed in horror films today.

“What you don’t see is far more frightening than what you do see,” said Lee, who considers Roman Polanski’s 1968 supernatural thriller “Rosemary’s Baby” the scariest film he’s ever seen.

That may explain his attraction to upcoming psychological chiller “The Resident,” his first Hammer film in more than 30 years.

Starring Hilary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the movie is about a young doctor whose landlord develops a creepy obsession with her.

Lee was a perfect fit for the film, which takes on a nightmarish quality in a nod to the noir style of Alfred Hitchcock, director Antti Jokinen says.

“He has that presence that a movie like this needs because a single look can be the scary atmosphere that you need,” Jokinen told CNN.

“The Resident,” due out in the spring, is the first theatrical feature under the banner of the re-launched Hammer Films. It is being revived by new investors who bought the company two years ago.

Lee says his reunion with Hammer is ironic in a way. He didn’t leave the studio on the best of terms — “I’m not going to go into it, but take it from me, they ruined it,” he says of his last Hammer film, bizarre 1976 cult classic “To the Devil a Daughter.”

Some remarkable films did come out of that era: He describes black-and-white “Scream of Fear” (1961) as “brilliant,” and fondly recalls working with the close-knit Hammer team, which was like a family.

“Occasionally they’d change the cameraman or something but otherwise the whole crew was the same all the time, and I knew all of them extremely well,” he said.

But the white-haired actor doesn’t wax nostalgic. “Not every Hammer film was perfect,” he said.

In 1966′s “Prince of Darkness,” he ended up playing the character of Dracula silent because the lines “were not good and I couldn’t do anything with them.”

Lee played a central role in the rise of Hammer, starring in 1958′s “Dracula,” which helped both him and the studio gain international recognition.

The film was instrumental in launching a golden era for the production house, whose films, with their gothic qualities and use of vibrant colors, helped reinvigorate the horror genre.

But the movies began to seem outdated as movies like “The Exorcist” and “The Omen” came on the scene, and Hammer produced its last film in 1976.

Lee — or to be precise, Sir Christopher Lee, after Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in June — has come a long way since his first Dracula film, a six-week job that he says paid £750.

Although he’s often associated with Hammer films, Lee is quick to point out that he hasn’t really taken many horror roles.

Aside from the Dracula movies, “The Curse of Frankenstein” (1957) and “The Mummy” (1959), “I haven’t done lots of horror,” the prolific actor told CNN.

Of course, that hasn’t kept him from achieving cult status among horror fans.

Included in his legion of fans is “The Resident” co-star Morgan, who says he “hit the ceiling with excitement” when he found out Lee was joining the cast.

Morgan told CNN: “He’s got this kind of dignity to him that’s just great.

“I work with so many actors that don’t have respect for what we do, or respect for the history of what we do and not only does he respect it, but he is a part of the history of this craft.”

Over the decades Lee has starred in hundreds of movies. He has a predilection for playing baddies, including Bond villain Scaramanga in “The Man with the Golden Gun” (1974).

“I haven’t spent my entire career playing the guy in the bad hat, although I have to say that the bad guy is frequently much more interesting than the good guy,” Lee said.

His more recent film credits include the menacing Saruman in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and fallen Jedi knight Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels.

But he considers 1973′s “The Wicker Man” “the best picture I’ve ever done.” The role was written for him and remains his favorite.

“They didn’t have to look for me to play the part; they wrote the part for me,” which doesn’t happen very often, he said.

Lee has kept a busy work schedule. In addition to “The Resident,” he stars alongside Colin Farrell in the soon-to-be-released “Triage,” is involved in a film from the director of “The Wicker Man” and lends his voice to animated film “Monstermania!”

Lee, who doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, despite approaching the age of 90, is pragmatic about his extraordinary career.

“Well,” he said. “What else would I do?”

Read MORE about Christopher Lee HERE