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Saturday
06Dec2008

Viggo Mortensen "Disappointed" in 'Road' Delay

There is a great, incredibly long interview with Viggo Mortensen over at Ain't It Cool News. Among the many topics discussed are Viggo's latest release, Good, which will come out in limited release at the end of the month, plus Appaloosa, all things Hobbit, and the mysterious vanishing of The Road.

If you're talking about external things, like box office potential and shiny awards, I'm not convinced the message in The Road works year-round, and I'm also not convinced a movie with such a bleak foundation can win or contend for Best Picture any year it wants to. Who knows what will jump up in 2009. But in 2008, Best Picture is wide open, with only a few films distinguishing themselves as possibilities, and given the economic climate, the environmental climate, and the cinematic climate, fall 2008 may have been the best shot for this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel.

But Mortensen can't really answer why the film was put on the shelf:

"My understanding is that [The Weinstein Company knows] that they’ve got a story that a lot of people want to see, because of the book. And, the people that read the book, which are many, were very moved by it and by this relationship between this boy and this man, in particular, in that setting.

"And, I think that they are really aware of the fact that they’ve got one chance to do it, and if there’s any little things that they still want to work on a little more, to get it just right, whether it’s the music--I don’t know what it is--a variety of things, they want to do it right. And, if you rush it out before you feel in good conscience it’s there…So, I am disappointed. I wanted to see it. I want to see how it is."

Viggo seems to be at peace with it, though, even saying it could be the right decision for the film itself in the long run:

"(I)f they think they need a little more time, then I’d rather they took it than didn’t. There’s the thought, ‘Well, maybe, we can sneak in and get an award, nomination or something, or make some money right now’. And, then, you think about it later and go, ‘Well, if we only had done this and that, we really would have finished it, and then they really would have liked it’ or something. It doesn’t bother me that much."

We'll see what they can do with it, and the real question now is do you hold off for a year and stick The Road with the end-of-the-year awards run, do you get a jump on summer and be the one or two great movies that comes along in the early part of the year, or do you try your luck as a completely different choice against the blockbusters in the middle of the year?

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