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Why Viggo Mortensen Recycled ‘Lord of the Rings: Return of the King’ Premiere Shirt for ‘Thirteen Lives’ Screening: “It Was Absolutely Intentional”
31 July 2022 10:25:20Source: Hollywood Reporter.
Found By: Chrissie
Thanks to Chrissie for the find in the Hollywood Reporter.
Custom made to match a United Nations flag, Mortensen pulled the sky blue silk shirt out of his closet to promote the power of unity and collective efforts for the "common good."
by Chris Gardner
Viggo Mortensen turned up to Thursday night’s Thirteen Lives premiere in Westwood wearing the same shirt he donned for the London premiere of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King on Dec. 11, 2003. Make no mistake — the red carpet déjà vu moment was “absolutely intentional.”
Under a midnight blue suit, Mortensen wore a sky blue silk shirt modelled after a United Nations flag that he had custom-made nearly two decades ago.
“[Thirteen Lives] is a story about a selfless, international collective effort to save ordinary people —12 kids and a coach. The world came together and did something like that, not for political gain, not for money, but because it’s the right thing to do,” the actor told The Hollywood Reporter of the Ron Howard-directed film, a narrative recreation of the 2018 dramatic rescue in a Thailand cave. “Those things seem to be much more popular than collective efforts for the common good so I thought, well, I’m going to wear this shirt.”
When he put it on for Peter Jackson’s Return of the King U.K. debut, he was sending a sartorial message then, too. “Because that is a story about people from different cultures coming together for the common good,” he said of the third instalment of Jackson’s blockbuster franchise about the battle between good and evil for the fate of Middle Earth. “So, I thought I would bring it out of the closet to wear it again.”
The common good kept rolling off his tongue so it seemed an obvious question to ask Mortensen how he navigates the increasingly fractured state of affairs in the world. While he admits it’s challenging, stories like Thirteen Lives and its happy ending remind him of the power in unity. Playing real life rescue diver Rick Stanton, he stars opposite Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton and Tom Bateman in the MGM/UA/Bron/Prime Video film, now in theaters.
“I lose my temper all the time and try not to give up on the idea that human beings are not inherently evil because sometimes it feels that way,” he explains. “I’m hopeful. Stories like [Thirteen Lives] remind me of that because it’s a real thing, and it happened just a few years ago.”
“People can do the right thing,” he continues. “People can be compassionate and look past culture, language, race, socioeconomic status and say, ‘No. This is the right thing. Let’s all pull together and do this. Nobody will make any money and we may die trying but it’s the right thing to do.’ I wish there was a lot more of that happening in the world.”
© Hollywood Reporter.
More Images from Last Night in LA!
29 July 2022 15:29:26There are a bazillion more images from last night in LA. Here are some of the best.
© Getty.
'Thirteen Lives' Premiere, Los Angeles
29 July 2022 08:57:39 Found By: Chrissie
Again, thanks to Chrissie for bringing us some photos from last night's premiere at the Westwood Village Theater in Los Angeles.
© Getty.
Viggo Interview from the Red Carpet
29 July 2022 08:53:10 Found By: Chrissie
Thanks to Chrisie we have a videoclip from Cinemabang at last night's red carpet.
© MGM.
Viggo Mortensen: “Thirteen Lives reflects a very selfless act of humanity”
27 July 2022 06:58:06Source: Metro Philadelphia.
Found By: Chrissie
Thanks to Chrissie for the find.
"by María Estévez
‘Thirteen Lives’ chronicles the events of the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue that made global headlines for several months. It narrates about three cave divers who have to make impossible decisions and face life and death bets as they work to save the trapped junior football team and their coach.
Viggo Mortensen stars as diver Rick Stanton, while the real Stanton was involved in the production as an on-set technical adviser. The American actor, poet, painter, musician and filmmaker talked with Metro about the new movie.
What impacted you during the shooting of ‘Thirteen Lives’?
I mean, especially what we had to do underwater. Rick Stanton was there during rehearsals with all the actors; Jason Mallison also came, he was one of the real-life rescuers. They helped us to not only swim like them and move like them but to be safe. And the way we worked as a team reflected what the rescue entailed. We really worked together above water as much as underwater. And underwater, I would say it was maybe even more important because even though you’re shooting a movie, and it’s somewhat a controlled situation, whenever you’re underwater and you’re in caves, it’s dangerous. And so all the actors listened very carefully to what they were showing us, telling us, and watched what they did very carefully. Everybody worked hard. Everybody pulled together.
Did you follow the story while it happened?
As the rest of the world, of course. It reflected the real rescue in that it was a very selfless, team-oriented effort. That was my motivation for making this movie. It felt, at times, very real. Sometimes too real. There were some very tight spots underwater.
Is it true that you led the group of actors to Ron Howard and asked for the real divers to double you?
Yes, I requested that. We didn’t want anybody else to double us. We are learning this and we’ll do it. Whatever it takes.
You have time to write poems, paint, take photos…
My life is crazy, but I like to have control over that craziness. Even as a child I was always very active, exploring here and there. Now I want to stop, rest, get closer to my personal circle and establish what my next step in life is going to be. As actors, we spend our time planning. I want to dedicate myself to not talking about myself, I want to listen to others.
Do you have many “ifs” in your career?
I try not to guess too much. We (actors) tend to do it all the time. “I should have done that scene like that, or how did I come up with that.” I’m good because, although I question myself, I don’t torture myself. Nor do I live in denial of the evidence."
‘Thirteen Lives’ chronicles the events of the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue that made global headlines for several months. It narrates about three cave divers who have to make impossible decisions and face life and death bets as they work to save the trapped junior football team and their coach.
Viggo Mortensen stars as diver Rick Stanton, while the real Stanton was involved in the production as an on-set technical adviser. The American actor, poet, painter, musician and filmmaker talked with Metro about the new movie.
What impacted you during the shooting of ‘Thirteen Lives’?
I mean, especially what we had to do underwater. Rick Stanton was there during rehearsals with all the actors; Jason Mallison also came, he was one of the real-life rescuers. They helped us to not only swim like them and move like them but to be safe. And the way we worked as a team reflected what the rescue entailed. We really worked together above water as much as underwater. And underwater, I would say it was maybe even more important because even though you’re shooting a movie, and it’s somewhat a controlled situation, whenever you’re underwater and you’re in caves, it’s dangerous. And so all the actors listened very carefully to what they were showing us, telling us, and watched what they did very carefully. Everybody worked hard. Everybody pulled together.
Did you follow the story while it happened?
As the rest of the world, of course. It reflected the real rescue in that it was a very selfless, team-oriented effort. That was my motivation for making this movie. It felt, at times, very real. Sometimes too real. There were some very tight spots underwater.
Is it true that you led the group of actors to Ron Howard and asked for the real divers to double you?
Yes, I requested that. We didn’t want anybody else to double us. We are learning this and we’ll do it. Whatever it takes.
You have time to write poems, paint, take photos…
My life is crazy, but I like to have control over that craziness. Even as a child I was always very active, exploring here and there. Now I want to stop, rest, get closer to my personal circle and establish what my next step in life is going to be. As actors, we spend our time planning. I want to dedicate myself to not talking about myself, I want to listen to others.
Do you have many “ifs” in your career?
I try not to guess too much. We (actors) tend to do it all the time. “I should have done that scene like that, or how did I come up with that.” I’m good because, although I question myself, I don’t torture myself. Nor do I live in denial of the evidence."
© Metro World News. Images © MGM Pictures.
Last edited: 18 March 2023 05:00:24