OCTOBER 2004 NEWS

10.29.04:

Yes, I'm following this movie around the world! This weekend it will open in Norway, Finland and Denmark but won't reach Sweden until next Friday. This photo, which I've never seen before, is from today's copy of Norway's Aftenposten. As of 10/27, EXORCIST has grossed almost $46 million worldwide. Reviews from other countries haven't been any better, but do continue to have the usual good words about Stellan's performance. From the Sydney Morning Herald - "With Skarsgård's brooding presence and Storaro's manipulations of light and shadow, you could almost be kidded into the illusion that you're being treated a film with some pretensions to be taken seriously." From the Scotsman: "The young Merrin is now played by the excellent Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård who gives the movie an air of gravitas it frankly doesn’t really merit." From the FFWD Weekly in Calgary - "Skarsgård, one of the best film actors of our time, manages to invest his cliché role - as a priest who has lost his faith - with as much dignity as possible."

Here are some new photos -

Harlin's final cut above and Schrader's version below

You might like to check out a two-minute interview with Stellan on the set of EXORCIST, actually the first video interview I've found so far. You can view it via Media Player or Real Player at the Brazilian cinema site - Terra.com. Stellan discusses the storyline and then finishes with "Izabella Scorupco is a Swedish actress and it's very nice because we have two Swedish actors and a Finnish director... a very Scandinavian production in that sense. One thing is that there's no hierarchy, no divas... A very equalitarian Swedish society... a Scandinavian society is brought into this production that makes it very relaxed. Izabella Scorupco is a lovely actress, really beautiful, and also very talented. It's a pleasure to work with her."

If you're interested, there are five film clips available through yahoo. Click on the scene links below:

Stellan quote on nudity:
"Being naked is no problem. I was born that way."

10.27.04:

Filming for DOWNLOADING NANCY had originally been slated to begin next month in Germany. However, co-star Holly Hunter is reincarnating her Hester Swane role in By the Bog of Cats previously performed in 2001 at the San Jose Repertory Theatre. She will make her West End debut in London on November 19th. Filming has therefore been postponed until April 2005. Commercial and music helmer Johan Renck is making his feature film directorial debut and hopefully the original cast will be available six months from now. Holly plays the central character Nancy, who is in an unhappy marriage with Louis, played by William Hurt. She cannot bring herself to commit suicide, so she gets creative and goes on the Internet where she meets a man named Albert, played by Stellan. She hires him to kill her, but their relationship begins to become complicated by their attraction to one another. Sounds very intriguing...

Jon Gustafsson, webmaster at the Beowulf and Grendel official site, emailed me this evening reporting that Stellan has now completed his part in the production. Jon went on to say that Stellan "was fantastic to work with and fantastic to get to know and chat with. We are all very impressed with him." Stellan is indeed back home in Sweden and very happy to be eating his own food again. (Remember he likes to cook) He admits that the menu could sometimes be a challenge on the Iceland shoot. It included smoked puffin, raw whale, rotten shark and pickled sheep testicles! Director Sturla Gunnarsson previously reported that they had wanted to film in July and August, but when scheduling was pushed to September, they weren't expecting such harsh conditions. Stellan confirms this with "Weather was tough. We had a couple of hurricanes when we couldn’t shoot, too many rocks and debris flying around smashing up cars and blowing away sets, but we still worked in rain, winds around 100km, and I once saw Eddie Marsan being picked up from his mark by the wind and blown straight at me." All in all, though, Stellan says he "had a lot of fun playing Hrothgar, such a large character... Decided early on that Overacting wasn't possible." (I just saw Eddie Marsan in 21 Grams last night - great film!)

10.19.04:

 Actor Eddie Marsan, in the role of Brendan in BEOWULF AND GRENDEL, gave an interview at the official web site offering some ennobling remarks about Stellan. "He was one of the reasons I wanted to do the film because he was playing the king and I knew I'd be working with him. He led by example in the movie by the way he embraced everything. You could come here having never been to Iceland before and just complain about how difficult it is to make a movie because it's so cold and we're playing Vikings and medieval people. Stellan was the complete opposite. He said, 'Whatever is there, you've got to go with it.' He is a very, very open and brave actor. I was a bit starstruck..." It is rumored that Sturla would like to have the film ready by May to present it at the Cannes Film Festival. Five of Stellan's films have been shown at Cannes - The Serpent's Way, The Women on the Roof, Oxen, Breaking the Waves and Dogville. Here are a couple pics I just found that were taken at Cannes last year. I believe the man with Stellan is Sam Klebanov, who operates Russian label Films Without Frontiers.

The latest interview published October 8th was conducted via telephone between Iceland and Singapore. While making his next film, Stellan still took a moment to publicize EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING. After discovering there would be re-shoots in Schrader's original version, Stellan admitted, "I hate re-shoots. It's like having sex with a corpse." When further questioned about his two oldest sons entering the film business, he said, "I never interfere in their career choices. By the age of 16, your children should be able to take care of themselves and make their own decisions. They also know the business. Fortunately, they're very talented." I've just posted some comments from Gustaf about becoming an actor, as well as a new page in the "Images" section called "Skarsgård Children".

This site was launched on June 13, 2004 with TWO pages. As of today, there are 75 pages, and many more to go!

10.18.04:

Good news for fans in the US and Canada! The DVD of KING ARTHUR will be released on December 21, 2004 (You can pre-order now at Amazon.com). It is the director's cut - unrated and extended version. The DVD will include a commentary by director Antoine Fuqua, an alternate ending, deleted scenes, Making of the Epic, Round Table Video Commentary with cast and filmmakers, photo gallery, and 15 minutes of added footage, which includes more intense battle sequences and the scenes "Rain and Snow" and "Saxons Surrounded."

10.15.04:

Here's another new photo from EXORCIST that just cropped up on one of the cinema web sites in Japan, where it will be opening tomorrow. Worldwide gross as of 10/13 was 44.3 million. [Rumor has it that Warner Home Video will release the DVD on January 4th] It actually opens in Iceland today, but don't expect Stellan to be at the cinema. According to the latest video interview, BEOWULF director Sturla Gunnarsson feels that not all actors would be willing to commit to this sort of film working in such an isolated environment and sometimes under harsh conditions, but that's the kind of cast he has. The director himself finds this adventure challenging and the elements most inspiring. In the video interview that Sturla gives, he relates an amusing story of how Stellan the King came onto the set  ready to start shooting his scene despite the gale winds and the desire of the filmmakers to shut down production that day.

Stellanonline.com continues to amass more information and yes, photos. There is now an image page for the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, as well as one for the 2002 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and the European Film Awards. It was in 1998 that Stellan received recognition for his performance in both Amistad and Good Will Hunting by receiving an award for European Achievement in World Cinema, beating out Antonio Banderas, Pierce Brosnan, Gerard Depardieu, Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. But ironically when he was nominated by the European Film Academy two years later for Aberdeen, he lost! Such a powerful performance, one of his best. There's also a new film page for GLASBLÅSARNS BARN (The Glassblower's Children), a charming fairy tale based on Maria Gripe's book. It was received favorably at several film festivals from 1998 to 2000  for its "magical realism". And the last addition is a new page for the beautiful and touching Lars von Trier film, BREAKING THE WAVES (1996), in which Stellan was first widely introduced to American audiences, and the rest is history...

Stellan quote on his looks:
"It takes a long time to make me beautiful, but it goes fast to make me ugly."

10.12.04:  Beowulf & Grendel Update from the Director -

Finally we get a close-up of Stellan outfitted in a couple of his costumes for his role of Hrothgar. That chain mail armor doesn't look very comfortable, probably heavy, but bound to keep another warrior's sword at bay! With his stature and height, he carries himself well as a chieftain warrior, as we witnessed in King Arthur. He can be very menacing with or without his leather trappings.

10.09.04:

Hope you've had the time to view the beautiful costumes at the B&G official web site. Everything looks gorgeous from their helmets and fur capes to their embroidered robes. This is a costume designer's dream to create this film's wardrobe! Director Sturla Gunnarsson took a moment today to post this message - "The shoot is crazy-tough. 160K winds, horizontal rain, our base camps blown halfway across the country. But beautiful dailies, great performances from Gerrie, Stellan, Sarah, Ingvar and the whole incredible cast, plus the unscripted and overwhelming character in every scene - the elements." In an interview co-star Sarah Polley said, “I find that the environment on the set is collectively probably the hardest that I've ever seen people have to work in ." I'm sure Stellan is enduring as usual.

There seems to be no end to the publicity of EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING as it journeys worldwide. In the past week the film has generated another million overseas. It's playing in Singapore with similar reviews. The Straits Times reports that "Skarsgård is reliably watchable, which only reinforces the regret over what might have been had this actor been handed a script worthy of his talents." Amen to that. And Singapore's Electric New Paper states that "the always terrific Skarsgård is the only cast member who brings dignity and conviction to the film, effortlessly capturing the torment of his personal demons and crisis of faith... Also stunningly shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro." On Thursday it opened in Argentina with a new poster. Critic Hugo Zapata of Cines Argentinos says that "the choice of Sweden's Stellan Skarsgård as Merrin is perfect because beyond being a great actor, he looks enough like Max Von Sydow, and his work is really good."

10.04.04:

Here's the first image of Stellan from BEOWULF and GRENDEL! At the official web site, you can view the video clip showing the scene where King Hrothgar and his warriors chase Grendel's father. I came across an article from Canada.com that had some interesting comments regarding the film - "Iceland remains an undiscovered, untapped and unspoiled gem. And the perfect backdrop for an Icelandic-Canadian film director shooting an epic film about an epic tale. Director Sturla Gunnarsson says, 'We really have three different kinds of film-making cultures between Iceland, the UK and Canada, but it's working. I think that this will be the first film made entirely in Iceland to reach a mass market. And I think that will have a huge impact on Iceland when the people see these phenomenal landscapes, and the kind of spiritual energy that you feel here.'" What's interesting to me is that the article then discusses Baltazar Kormákur's first English language film, A Trip to Heaven, which he is now being shot in Iceland and, coincidentally, stars actor Peter Coyote (whose official web site I also created). On a personal note, I highly recommend the following Icelandic films - Kormákur's The Sea (2002), a tragicomic family saga, and then a strange but beautiful film called Cold Fever (1995).

More additions to this site. Judith Pfaff of Germany kindly translated another Swedish interview, which took place back in 1999 when Deep Blue Sea was released. Though Stellan claims to be lazy by nature, he certainly worked hard doing four films in a little over a year! Besides Deep Blue Sea, he also starred in the enigmatic Signs and Wonders, the dreamy Passion of Mind, and the powerful road movie, Aberdeen. And what a performance. It's not surprising that he was looking forward to having some time off.

EXORCIST has reached a worldwide gross of $42.5 million, about half of their $80-90 million production budget. Its major European release will come at the end of this month, and that'll be interesting to monitor. I'm sure the upcoming reviews will continue to include the highest regard for Stellan's performance. Click on the film poster and you'll see that it's actually the original one designed for Paul Schrader's version. Frankly, I prefer this poster to the dull gray one. I hope when they release the DVD, the producers remember how Stellan dignified this film, ultimately putting him on the front cover!