Nilan25 Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Mortensen delves into America's cowboy mentality Co-star of Appaloosa sees classic archetype disappearing amidst shift in politics, values Katherine Monk, Canwest News Service Published: Sunday, September 07, 2008 TORONTO - Just how fearless is Viggo Mortensen? Forget his naked fight scene in the movie Eastern Promises. The man is wearing a Habs T-shirt in the middle of Leaf Nation. "Yeah. I've been booed on the street," says the man with the now-famous chiseled face as he speaks, barefooted, from a plush stage in Toronto's Royal York hotel. "The press has been on me ... but I don't care. I love the team as a team -- not for any single player." Email to a friend Printer friendly Font:****Mortensen says the concept of teamwork is important in any effort involving more than one person, which is why he sees professional sport and acting endeavours in the same light. It's also why he wanted to work on Appaloosa, Ed Harris's revisionist western based on Robert B. Parker's novel about two gunslingers who clean up a frontier town riddled with bad guys and bullet holes. "There isn't much difference between sport and drama -- except in sport, you don't know what's going to happen. But otherwise, it's about conflict and rising to the challenge before you. Both have props. Both have a stage, whether it's ice or a field. In a lot of ways, they're the same." Right now, however, Mortensen is a little more articulate than your average jock in front of a microphone as he talks about his time with Harris on the Santa Fe set of Appaloosa, as well as the most recent turns in American politics. In the film, Harris and Mortensen play Marshall and loyal sidekick, respectively. Both men carry guns, squint into the open plain and communicate with long, almost loving silences. They're the archetypal cowboys and the base layer of the American psyche that believes in riding into the sunset and heroic endings. Mortensen says he loves the cowboy ideal as well as the cowboy esthetic, but the classic old codes are fast becoming obsolete as the western world faces a looming geopolitical shift as well as a climate crisis. "We're going to hell in a handbasket. And just watching the recent (political) conventions, I'm amazed at how the very lack of discussion about certain issues is actually defining each candidate," he says, tucking his bare feet under one of the sofa cushions and nibbling on a chocolate bar. "I made a disparaging remark recently about Sarah Palin -- and I won't repeat it -- but the thing that really bothered me about watching the Republicans was how they're trying to sell this idea of country first. It's the same thing Bush did. F--- the rest of the world, and I find that so weak. There's no real policy. They're philosophically bankrupt." Mortensen acknowledges that most people don't like hearing bad news about the future, or the idea that change often demands personal sacrifice. He also acknowledges an affinity for dreaming big, and emphasizing the idea of possibility instead of pragmatics are particularly American obsessions -- beliefs forged in the red-hot crucible of the formula western. Appaloosa revises that western code by offering up a few simple, but important, changes such as a complex female character played by Renee Zellweger, as well as a somewhat warped notion of justice that allows the lawmen to overlook certain parts of the law when it gets inconvenient. 1 2 next page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoZed Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Funny, I'd have though Viggo was a Rangers fan! (wow, what a dorky joke...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAK Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 it's not the 1st time he's done that :clap: I think you can count will ferrell as a habs fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonus Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 the viggo thing seems to get posted hear about once a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortHanded Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 I really admire this guy from a political perspective, and it's totally awesome that he's a Habs fan too of course... KoZed, as for your joke, soooooooooooooooooo corny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 the viggo thing seems to get posted hear about once a year. Really? This is the first time I hear about this! NIce to hear that Viggo is a Habs Fan!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAKS-AVENUE Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Really? This is the first time I hear about this! NIce to hear that Viggo is a Habs Fan!! Yup, once a year along with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Alssya Milano, Me, etc........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonus Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Yup, once a year along with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Alssya Milano, Me, etc........ now, see, I didn't know about Gilmour. That's cool. Alyssa Milano?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafikz Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Take that Leafs fans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Funny, I'd have though Viggo was a Rangers fan! (wow, what a dorky joke...) I'm re-reading the series, I finished The Hobbit and now I'm at Khazad-dûm. Sam and Tom Bombadil are my favourites but I also love Gandalf, Aragorn/Strider (the name seems to suit him better), Boromir and Bilbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mont Royale Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 now, see, I didn't know about Gilmour. That's cool. There's a photograph from the '70s of him performing in a Habs jersey. I think it was a sop to the punters (as a Brit might say), as he is more of a soccer fan (Arsenal, specifically) than anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habitforming Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Don't forget about "Her" either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Don't forget about "Her" either In all fairness, during that tour she wore clothes from the team of whatever city she was in. The first time I came across those pics, they were together with a bunch from when she was wearing other teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Shania is an applause hoar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quebecois Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 In all fairness, during that tour she wore clothes from the team of whatever city she was in. The first time I came across those pics, they were together with a bunch from when she was wearing other teams. she is a fan though, SI had an interview with her a few years ago when they asked her if she was a Leafs fan growing up in Ontario, but she set em straight. Is Gilmour actually a fan or are we just saying that because he wore a jersey once at a concert? Would be pretty cool since Gilmour is, in my opinion, the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habitforming Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 I did some searching.... Add these to the list Colin Farrell Ethan Hawke John Travolta George Stromboulopoulos Georges St. Pierre (UFC God !!) Norm Mcdonald There were others but not confirmed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonus Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 I did some searching.... Add these to the list Colin Farrell Ethan Hawke John Travolta George Stromboulopoulos Georges St. Pierre (UFC God !!) Norm Mcdonald There were others but not confirmed that is just an awful list. Outside of St. Pierre and Stomboulopoulos, this is frankly embarrassing. It is quite funny that Hawke counts himself a fan... I remember the other thing he liked in Montreal Norm MacDonald is somewhat weird in that he would have grown up in Quebec City while the Nordique were there, but I guess as a pissy English kid it makes sense that he would go with the Tricolore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 It is quite funny that Hawke counts himself a fan... I remember the other thing he liked in Montreal What was that? that is just an awful list. Outside of St. Pierre and Stomboulopoulos, this is frankly embarrassing. Hey! What's wrong with John Travolta? He was amazing in Pulp Fiction! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonus Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 What was that? The girl with whom he had the affair that wrecked his marriage. Hey! What's wrong with John Travolta? He was amazing in Pulp Fiction! go watch Battlefield Earth, Phenomenon and Look Who's Talking Too and come back to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habitforming Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 The girl with whom he had the affair that wrecked his marriage. go watch Battlefield Earth, Phenomenon and Look Who's Talking Too and come back to me. That's it blow up a career for taking huge paying JOBS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Those Shania pics are when she hosted the Junos (not a tour), and that night she switched outifts to represent every Canadian team. She got booed by the Ottawa crowd when she wore the Leafs outfit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonus Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 That's it blow up a career for taking huge paying JOBS I'd generally agree with you, though in the case of Battlefield Earth, Travolta forwent money in order to make his magnum opus. That was the film in which he has the biggest stake and the most control. As to Phenomenon and the Look Who's Talking movies, I would argue that Travolta was cast to type - and what a type! He has been the weak link in so many of his movies - even his better films, like Get Shorty. Bottom line, I think he is a mediocre actor and, by all appearances, a nutjob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 I'd generally agree with you, though in the case of Battlefield Earth, Travolta forwent money in order to make his magnum opus. That was the film in which he has the biggest stake and the most control. As to Phenomenon and the Look Who's Talking movies, I would argue that Travolta was cast to type - and what a type! He has been the weak link in so many of his movies - even his better films, like Get Shorty. Bottom line, I think he is a mediocre actor and, by all appearances, a nutjob. Seriously, i thought he is VERY good in Face/Off, Basic, Pulp Fiction and Swordfish. He pulled some great performances along with a few flops. Everybody has his. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 (edited) The girl with whom he had the affair that wrecked his marriage. I didn't know that! Now I know...and knowing is half the Battle! G.I JOE!!!! go watch Battlefield Earth, Phenomenon and Look Who's Talking Too and come back to me. I haven't seen Battlefield Earth as well as Phenomenon. So i can't really comment on them. AS far as Look who's talking is concerned, can we really blame him? It was the 80's...when everything sucked! Edited September 10, 2008 by Habsfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortHanded Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Faceoff is a FANTASTIC movie... the others: I haven't seen them... Have you all seen Stromboloupoulous's interview with Koivu from a couple of years back? Pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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