While on the set of "Hidalgo" in Montana, a reporter from Entertainment Weekly witnessed firsthand his character and humility when his wallet went missing. Mortensen lost his passport, credit cards, and some cash. He turned his trailer upside-down thrice looking for his belongings, then the reporter simply suggested that it might have been stolen. All Viggo said was he doesn't want to put it that way... somebody must have mistaken it for trash and took it out in the garbage.There are very few people nowadays who still has faith in humanity.I know I don't. Not all of the time that is. So, problematic as he was because he needs to go back to LA the that day, one of the production crew quietly approached him and gave him some gas money so he can just drive using one of the trucks to LA with his son. A common celebrity would have thrown a huge fit and threaten everyone that heads would roll if the culprit isn't caught. They would've made a big deal out of it, so would the press. But since Mortensen is good friends with almost everyone in production, they're not afraid to offer him their help because they know that he will never take offense. As a Lord of the Rings fan, I've heard so many stories about Viggo Mortensen... that lengths he would go to get into character: he struts about Wellington in New Zealandeven entering restaurants with his sword still on his side. His tooth was knocked-off while filming a sword-fighting scene and asked Peter Jackson if they can just super-glue itso they can still continue filming. What dedication! His generosity to his fellow actors and the staff, and how pleasant it is to work with him, and so much more. Sometimes it makes me wonder how can there be so much positive light in just one person? I want to be like that, but I honestly don't know how.
I''ll support Viggo Mortensen every way I can. He may never read my blogs but one or two people might and hopefully I could stir some curiosity in them that would make them want to watch at least one of his movies, and make them say... that other than his many talents, Mortensen is greatly known for his kindness and generosity. I leave you you now with a clip from the extended version of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, in the books it is called the "Houses of Healing" which happens to be my favorite chapter from the book. Though Aragorn has yet to claim his thrown as the King of Gondor, this chapter shows that there is no contest to his claim. As the old lady Ioreth mentioned, "The hands of the king are the hands of a healer." As for myself, I my heart rejoices for Eowyn the White Lady of Rohan. Her overcoming despair and finding her one true love. By the way, that's Liv Tyler singing in the background.
Go here to see the list of nominations for the Golden Globe Awards 2012. Enjoy and see you at the movies!
The holiday season is over and most of us are still experiencing post holiday hang-overs. Heck, a lot of us hasn't put down our Christmas decorations yet, as usual waiting for Valentines Day or the Chinese New Year, which ever comes first.
But there's another season that I'm always looking forward to every year. It makes me so excited and hyped-up that I get so obsessed about it sometimes. Ladies and gentlemen, that would be the Hollywood Awards Season. The Golden Globe Awards officially kicks-off the series of Awards shows this year on January 15, 2012. I was lucky enough to catch the live broadcast of the nominations on Talk TV Channel 21 (clearly we do not have Cable TV just yet and I'm really hoping that we could get one just in time for The Oscars). Gerald Butler was there with Woody Harrelson and the uber sexy Sofia Vergara. The Press got a kick-out of it with Vargara mispronouncing some of the nominees' names. She said "Martin Scor-says" instead of "Martin Scorsay-see". Martin Scorsese was nominated for Best Director - Motion Picture for the movie "Hugo". But everybody just kinda let it go coz Sofia's so funny not to mention hot.
When I heard Viggo Mortensen's name announced for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Drama, I found myself shouting "YES!" and doing fist-pumps (not to mention a bit of jumping around the living room) as if it was my name being announced. I was equally ecstatic when I heard Michael Fassbender's name mentioned. Fassbender is nominated for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama for his portrayal of a mourning sex addict in "Shame" It's either that or for his other film, also with Mortensen, "A Dangerous Method". But I guess "Shame" has more serious theme and the topic is still considered a taboo. even the Director and Fassbender admitted that they had difficulty obtaining materials to to work on for this film as nobody would speak to them until they decided to ask for professional assistance from Doctors, Psychologist and to some patients who are actually going through this kind of devastating addiction. When I first saw Michael Fassbender as Stelios in the movie "300" (of course I didn't knew then that he was also in Band of Brothers), I had a gut feeling that we would be seeing more of him because he has displayed impressive acting for a small character in a Fantasy/Action movie. As Brad Pitt said in their round-about interview with Director Quentin Tarantino which can be seen in the Inglorious Basterds DVD, "Michael Fassbender is a find. He will do really good." Now there's so much to tell about Fassbender and his film "Shame" but until I have seen it for myself I would have to make some time to create a separate post dedicated solely to this movie. Must do my research first. For the meantime, here are some posters from the "A Dangerous Method" and "Shame". Also a clip of Michael Fassbender's interview with GQ Men of the Year Issue:
Going back to the Awards Season, there are three major award giving bodies in Hollywood, at least the ones that most of us are aware of. First would be the Golden Globe Awards where majority of the voters consists of local and international members of the Press. What makes the Golden Globes different from the rest is they give out awards for Best Actor/Actress in a Movie - Comedy or Musical. Now the SAG or the Screen Actors Guild Awards only members of the American Labor Union are allowed to vote. Fellow actors , writers, directors, ect. will be the ones critiquing their colleagues' performance. Please correct me if I'm wrong , but even our very own Iza Calzado was able to obtain an SAG membership because she has a part in the U.S. version of "Sigaw"(The Echoe). Not sure if has continued to be a member though.
And of course, who doesn't know the Academy of Motion Picture Arts ands Sciences or simply known as The Oscars. This is the mother of all award giving organizations, and therefore the grandest and most prestigious around the world. Members of the Academy get to vote here, not just Directors or actors but writers and members of the Academe as well. What most of us do not know, winning an award does not solely rely on ones performance. This includes a serious and aggressive marketing strategies and campaigns. Not to mention spending hundreds of thousands in money.
How do you know that a celebrity is campaigning for their selves? Their always on the Red Carpet, all smiles for the Paparazzi's, wearing fabulous and overly expensive designer gowns. Any event that they can gate-crash, big or small, they'll be there. TV appearances, radio interviews, it's just endless. Sounds like something that something that they always do right? But it's crunch time for everyone during the awards season, there will always be on overkill of movie posters, flyers, and whatchamacallit. The visibility will catch the the publics curiosity and would lure them into the cinemas, all by word of mouth. When Sandra Bullock won Best Actress for her role in "The Blind Side", she also attended the Razzies Awards (they give out awards for worst picture, actor & actress for the year) to pick up her trophy for Worst Actress in a Movie for the film "All About Steve". Some see this as last minute attempt to get the Academy voters' attention, though of course the were already tallied at that time. I'm not saying that Bullock did not deserve to win the Oscars because I believe that she truly deserves the recognition and in fact Sandra Bullock is one of the few Hollywood actresses that I like. what I'm saying is that she played by Hollywood's rules and did it well.
On the other hand, the ones who truly deserve the recognition are the ones who refuses to be contaminated by this kind of politics in the entertainment industry. Take Viggo Mortensen for Instance, though his odds are very good but when pitted against power house names such as George Clooney and Brad Pitt or even Hollywoods current poster boy Ryan Gosseling, Mortensen wouldn't stand a chance because he does not have a powerful machinery to back him up compared to Clooney. hell, George Clooney even has the entire United Nations to support him because of his numerous international charity works. Of course the UN does not spend money on him but they can help increase his popularity by simply word of mouth. While the ones voting for Viggo are the ones who do all the hard work but but never gets credit for it... The PA's, the camera men and production crew. In the Set of "The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy , they nicknamed Mortinsen as "No ego-Viggo". He's known for treating everyone fairly and has never acted as Diva or a Divo on set.
