JUNE 2004 NEWS

6.29.04:

Celebrities began arriving at New York's Ziegfield Theatre at 6:30 for the premiere screening of KING ARTHUR. Fox News reported that Disney put on the dog last night, bussing the Ziegfeld audience uptown to the glorious Cathedral of St. John the Divine for an after-party. The hushed chapel looked like it could have been a cathedral from the movie's time period. Actors from 'Medieval Times' jousted and played the lute and entertained the party with jugglers, falconers and swordfights. The cast and friends dined on more modern and tasty fare. Bruckheimer and Disney execs, agents and managers were all there. The church was also outfitted with the actual roundtable and chairs from the film - quite elaborate and beautiful. Click here to view all the premiere photos.

6.23.04:

I just downloaded some awesome photos from KING ARTHUR found on a Swiss cinema site. Here's a sampling below. To view all of them, visit the SS Online movie page.

In light of the debut of Exorcist: The Beginning, the question arises - Has Stellan and Max Von Sydow ever worked together? The answer is a resounding yes! One of the first film pages I've completed for this web site is Sven Nykvist's acclaimed 1992 OXEN (aka The Ox) starring Stellan, Ewa Froling, Max Von Sydow and Liv Ullmann. It is a sterling gem that I discovered years ago when scouring the foreign films section of my local video store. It was a 1991 Oscar nominee for best foreign-language film and was also presented at Cannes that year in the "Un Certain Regard" category. Check out the OXEN film page and then go rent it!

6.20.04: 

To celebrate the release of KING ARTHUR, its premiere will be held on Monday, June 28th at the Ziegfield Theatre in NYC. Stellan is expected to attend, so check back here for photos the next day. For all kinds of multimedia and a wealth of information on this medieval epic, be sure to visit the film's official web site.

6.13.04:

Today is Stellan's 53rd birthday, and an appropriate date to launch Stellan Skarsgård Online. However, as far as timing goes, the air is filled with exciting happenings and I'm trying to play catch-up here with all that needs to be posted. Yes, it's a great summer for Stellan with TWO blockbusters about to hit theatres! KING ARTHUR will premiere on July 7th. Produced by Touchstone Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, it stars Clive Owen (The Bourne Identity) as Arthur, Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean) as Guinevere, Ioan Gruffudd (Hornblower) as Lancelot, Stephen Dillane (The Hours) as Merlin, and Stellan as Cerdic, leader of the Saxons. [Stellan actually has third billing]

The thought of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table conjures up such interesting imagery and grandeur of these gallant warriors. The tales surrounding Arthur, Lancelot, Merlin, and the rest of the characters have been told and retold over the years, and even adapted for the screen many times. Now Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and Writer David Franzoni (Gladiator) take on the legends, trying to put a more “historically correct” spin on the story. Will they succeed? An early review points out that the "feel" of the film is perfect, as it pulls the rug out from under the romanticism-laced Guinevere and Arthur love story and portrays a dirty, gloomy, and damp Britain. Even producer Jerry Bruckheimer says, "This isn't Camelot!" No bright costumes or colors, and no over-the-top spectacles of glory. No real love story at all. Instead, there are down-and-dirty battle scenes that deliver nice action and substance.

Here are some screen captures from the trailer:

AND on August 20th look for EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING, the prequel to the original 1973 Oscar-nominated film. It traces Father Lankester Merrin (Skarsgård) back to his first encounter with the Devil in post-WW II Africa. Also starring is British actor James D'Arcy (Master and Commander) and Polish actress Izabella Scorupco (GoldenEye). Read the history of this film's production - I warn you it's a painful journey. Here's a blurb on what to expect from the storyline:

In the aftermath of World War II, Lankester Merrin finds himself in the remote Turkana region of Kenya. Haunted by memories of the war, he has taken sabbatical from the priesthood and journeyed far from his native Holland. He has come to lead the archeological excavation of a mysterious, Byzantine church, buried in pristine condition as if on the day it was completed. Directly underneath the church, Merrin discovers a much more ancient crypt- and finds himself face-to-face with unspeakable Evil. Madness descends on the local villagers and the contingent of British soldiers sent to guard the excavation. Merrin watches helplessly as the atrocities of war are repeated against another innocent village-atrocities he’d hoped to never see again. The blood of innocents flows freely on the East African plain, but the horror has only just begun…

You might be interested in a couple interviews with Stellan regarding his following in Max Von Sydow's  footsteps. The first is from Countingdown. Stellan responds to his role as Father Merrin - "I'm putting my own spin on the character. I can't do what Max can do, I can only do it my way. It's also not necessary. His character was at the end of his life, an old man, and what he was like when he was younger, you can't tell. So, I have freedom to create the character in my own way." The second one is from Dark Horizons, and both interviews took place while Paul Schrader was still the film's director. When asked if he did any research for his role, he said, "I met a priest to learn how to handle the crucifix and the crosses and all thegadgets they have, but that's about it. It's inventing a human being and he can be a baker or he could be a priest - I'm interested in what we have in common as human beings." Here's a photo of 'Father' Stellan on the set dressed in his cassock. He's a stunning man in whatever he wears. Or doesn't wear... You can check out the film's official web site for further info and multimedia.