News

Getty Christopher Hampton, right, with his “A Dangerous Method” star Keira Knightley

In “A Dangerous Method,” Keira Knightley stars as Sabine Spielrein, a Russian-Jewish patient of psychoanalyst Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) who treated her at a mental hospital near Zurich in 1904. Though she later became a child-psychology pioneer and inspiration for Mr. Jung and his mentor Sigmund Freud in her own right, Ms. Speilrein never got any credit for her contributions, says “Dangerous Method” screenwriter Christopher Hampton. “Because she was so young,...

Film Clip: ‘A Dangerous Method’

Everett Collection Viggo Mortensen arriving for the premiere of “A Dangerous Method” at the Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto, Canada, September 10, 2011.

With his chiseled good looks and clear blue eyes, actor Viggo Mortensen may be the last person a casting director would think of for the role of Sigmund Freud, the Jewish-born father of modern psychoanalysis. Mortensen, 53, was skeptical of the idea when his friend and longtime collaborator, director David Cronenberg, sought him out for...

So last night we got what seems to be the first really reliable word on the casting of Universal's Snow White and the Huntsman: Viggo Mortensen is in talks to play the Huntsman [1]. With Charlize Theron also in talks (to play the wicked queen) that leaves a couple major roles wide open. The pivotal one, obviously, is Snow White. The latest actresses mentioned in conjunction with the role are Kristen Stewart and Emily Browning (Sucker Punch, A Series of Unfortunate Events). Deadline [2] notes that the studio has been testing actresses and that a choice hasn't yet been made, but says there "are persistent rumors that Stewart looms large as a potential lead." That would be at odds with the previous report that Universal wants a Hailee Steinfeld type, i.e. a young, talented and relatively unknown actress. And THR [3] notes that Emily Browning is among those who have tested. Simply...

Well, there you go. We were just talking about Viggo Mortensen with respect to The Dark Tower. He and Javier Bardem have been rumored as the top choices for the lead role in that massive project, and the offer just went out to Mr. Bardem to star. But Mr. Mortensen isn't going home empty handed, as he's in talks for one of the two title roles in Universal's Snow White and the Huntsman. (Hint: he wouldn't be Snow White.) A couple actors have been linked to this role, notably Tom Hardy [1] and Johnny Depp [2]. Charlize Theron has been attached to the role of the wicked queen who is stepmother and would-be executor by proxy of Snow White. She turned down [3] Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar in part because of this role (Naomi Watts took her spot [4] in that movie) and so she's now in talks, too. (Aside: how can Charlize Theron...

Short Version: The Road taps the power, beauty and horror of Cormac McCarthy’s novel and gives us a movie that is both gorgeous and gut-wrenching.

Screen Rant Reviews The Road

For those biting their nails in anticipation (I know you’re out there), I’ll skip the usual opening fanfare and get right to it: In my opinion, director John Hillcoat has successfully taken the power, beauty and horror of Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Road and translated it, intact, to the big screen. I think that those moviegoers who don’t already read McCarthy now have another good example of why they should (The Coen Brothers’ No Country For Old Men being the other); I think that those who Do read McCarthy will at least be happy that the movie version “didn’t screw it up,” and at most will truly appreciate the movie based on its own merits.

Eastern Promises opened in the summer of 2007 and it easily became one of my favorite movies of the year, and one of my favorite Viggo Mortensen movies ever. The movie didn’t get as big of a release as it deserved but it received great critical praise (88% on Rotten Tomatoes) and an Oscar nod for its leading man.

If you liked the first movie as much as I did, I have some good news for you! In an exclusive interview with MTV, the director of Eastern Promises, David Cronenberg, revealed that he and the folks behind the first movie are interested in doing a sequel and are already starting to plan it out.

“We are moving forward with it… We all are excited about the idea of doing a sequel.”

When he says “we” he’s referring to himself, Viggo, Steven Knight, Paul Webster and Focus Features (the studio behind...