Он надеялся, что она передумает. Не решится его убить. :-)))

Я хочу у всех спросить: а почему вам так не нравится мысль, что Батлер сыграл в Ларке плохиша? Он же сам от этого нисколько хуже не становится, наоборот, такая интересная для любого актера роль, харАктерная. :-)))

More Butler
 

Нора, раз уж Вы у всех спросили... Лично мне глаз не режет, что Джерри сыграл отрицательного персонажа, я к этому спокойно отношусь, главное ведь как сыграл, не так ли? А сыграл он так, что многие зрители симпатизируют ему, хоть и подлому, а такому... человечному что ли (по сравнению с Ларой). Хоть там и нечего было играть, а он сыграл. Молодец м-р Батлер :-)))
А может быть такое, что он не считает себя писаным красавцем? Вот в одном интервью он сказал, что ничуть не секси...
Vita, спасибо за великолепные фото. Но почему бы не продолжить их постить? ;-)
Чтоб не скучно было - ещё Джерри! Уже не совсем интервью, но тоже интересно. Это опять же с сайта gb.net.
PART ONE - GERRY ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS
In this part of our interview with Gerard, we asked questions we received from fans over the past year. The answers have been condensed for an easier Q&A read, but we will include even more from the interview in Part Two, which will be in the more traditional article style.
QUESTION: After having watched "The Jury" for the umpteenth time this past weekend, I would love to know if that one line he has in the jury room "oh, I'm so glad that Attila the fucking Hun could make it" was scripted or did he ad-lib that?
ANSWER: “I don't think I would have been brave enough to adlib that. I was in the company of some great actors who knew of my recent success so I think if I was to start quoting the characters that I played they would have maybe taken some breaks. No, it was in the script. I found it hilarious that I had to say that. ‘I'm so glad that Attila the fucking Hun is here.' I thought, ‘Here I am, here I am I did take it!'”
“I never asked Pete Morgan who wrote [The Jury script] if he put that in because he knew I played that character and thought it was suitable or if it was already in there. I can't remember if it was in the initial draft cause you know scripts are always rewritten.”
QUESTION: Which one of your projects is your favorite so far and why?
ANSWER: After much contemplation he replies, “I think if I was to take all the work I've ever done, the next two movies to come out are possibly my favorites.”
“My favorite is Dear Frankie cause it's just such a wonderfully beautiful well-crafted little movie and it just gave me the most special experience in Cannes where it went down. “
“But the other one would have to be the Phantom of the Opera.”
“Because I had so much emotional connection with that character and just because of the skill and beauty of the movie and how much I gave it in every way in all the singing training and the movement training and then my heart and soul.“
“But of the movies that have come out, it would be Attila the Hun. That was my big break and I so loved my director Dick Lowry. And filming in Lithuania , I loved the Lithuanian people and the countryside and the vibe that was in that country and I love their spirit and how hard they work for it. That movie was special. And it did very well and scored really highly and I loved my look in that as well,” he says with a bit of a laugh as he remembers “the hair”.
QUESTION: What do you do in your spare time?
ANSWER: “I just sit down and breathe.”
“…I took time off this year you know to go traveling and see some of the world and you know even then I probably over did it. I can barely sit still in a place without saying ‘enough of Buenos Aires let's head down to Patagonia . Enough of Calafate, let's now head over to Mt. Fitz Roy and then enough of this let's go out to the jungle. Ok we'll go to Iguazu Falls .' By the time I came back from that trip I was so fucking tired. I never actually properly took some time off.”
“When we were filming Tomb Raider, Angelina [Jolie] gave me her flying wings from her first flying lesson because she knew I wanted to fly. I was reading a book on it at the time. I'm desperate to take a month off and go to like a flying school in Texas . And learn how to fly. I have all these big plans and never have any time and that's a problem.”
“I would love to learn to play the piano. I'd love to sit down and study a language, but I can barely keep up with my own simple acting career. That's one of the genuine downsides of my success is you don't have a huge amount of spare time and your not often in the same place a lot of time.”
QUESTION: How much do your fans mean to you?
ANSWER: “Well I can't say anything else, but my fans obviously mean a huge amount to me. You know if I said anything else I would not have any more fans,” he says with a laugh.
“But in saying that, my fans mean an awful lot to me and … when I was first told that there was a website in my name I thought it was a joke. I truly did. I thought it was a joke and I didn't know how to use a computer so I ended up in an internet caf?…asking the guy there to help me find my website.”
“And suddenly I saw all these comments about me and it was both a very weird experience and at the same time really beautiful to think that there were people there who were actually getting what I was doing and liked me.”
“It was lovely, because I think deep down I have a good soul so I really connect with positive energy and I get so much positive energy and love from those sites. I mean just reading and flicking through these questions [for this interview], there were a couple of messages in there and…I have cried reading mail or reading my message boards. It's like they know me.”
“When people ask me to stop smoking ‘You gotta stop smoking' or ‘When are going to settle down?' and I'm like if they knew the struggles I have in my head. I want a wife and I want to quit smoking but I can't do either and I find it amazing [that fans care so much].”
“The unfortunate side effect of film is that you never really get an immediate reaction to what you do you know not like in the theatre so you do something and then you let it go. Then you think there are people watching this…in Peru or in Afghanistan . You don't know who's seeing it so suddenly when you get fan mail from Korea or Hungary then you think ‘Oh my God' and you have messages on your website then you think ‘Oh my God these people really get what I'm doing.' “
“It's a bit of an ego boost as well. That's what it all comes down to. You want to feel loved don't you and having this website and these questions and the support really makes you feel loved and I hope people know that. I hope people know that I do read the messages.”
“I remember the first time I ever went on [a message board], I think it was that first experience [in the internet caf?], there was like 15, maybe even more than 15 e-mails, or entries, whatever you call them, all arguing about the color of my eyes. Then somebody compared them to Caribbean green seas or something like that and I said, ‘This is getting ridiculous. Is this a joke?”
“So it's been an experience. As you know even my mum was telling me what was going on in the message boards,” he laughs.
“It's lovely and I also love the fact that somebody has said, ‘I hope you know that you have affected our life and a lot of us have become friends through you.' I think that's fantastic that people have started up friendships. I feel strange saying it, it makes me feel very big headed, but I love the message that a lot of people have become friends and I think that's lovely and I feel very happy.”
In finishing the question, “I got a beautiful lamp…,I'm looking at it right now, in fact I'm touching it, from a girl in Korea who sent a few presents, saying, ‘remember your fans in Korea .' It's gorgeous and when it arrived it was broken so I had Tonya [his assistant] fix it. Now it helps to illuminate my living room and it's gorgeous. One fan sent an original volume of Burns poems. I was so touched by that. I have a lot of amazing presents.”
QUESTION: What was the craziest thing a fan of all the ones out there has done just to see, talk or touch you?
ANSWER: “I have a strange story of what a fan did once to try and get a piece of me but she might be tapping into the boards so I don't really want to offend anybody but they [some fans] do do some pretty strange things.”
“I won't answer that one only out of respect. I don't want anybody reading this thinking, ‘Oh that was me.' “
QUESTION: What actors do you admire?
ANSWER: “I hate that question,” he says as he searches his mind for an answer. “I could watch like John Hurt or a Richard Harris or an Ian McKellan or an Ian Holmes till the cows come home, but I also love the modern style of actors like your Pacino and your DiNiro's or Billy Crudrup, who is a contemporary of mine. I think of my contemporaries, my favorite is Sam Rockwell. He's just a genius and I love, love to watch his work. But then again I would say the best actor around today is Gary Oldman. He's one of those [who transforms himself for each role]. And I love that.”
QUESTION: What roles have you auditioned for that you didn't get?
ANSWER: “I've never auditioned for a role that I didn't get,” he jokes with a hearty laugh.
“I don't know. As an actor you meet for so many roles. I've been exceptionally lucky a lot of the big ones that I went up for I got. Attila, Tomb Raider, Timeline. I went for a couple of roles that I didn't get, but that I actually didn't want.”
“You know over the course of the years there have been a couple of films, let me think, I remember my first ever audition for a movie was for “As Good As It Gets” and I literally walked into the room and the casting director says ‘Whoa I'll tell you right now you're not right for this role you're too young,' but I was like ‘it's nice to meet you anyway' because I had literally just signed with my first agent in London, ICM.”
“I do recall actually reading for Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, but that was five years ago and it was before I feel I made my break and before I did the American thing and it was before I had any confidence as an actor.”
“That's the point. When there were all these other actors around me doing very well and I was just starting out, I remember being put on video tape [for Lord of the Rings], which happens when they do the rounds with everybody, and very often they are not even watched because they already know who they want. It'll happen where I will get an offer for something and then I find out they are putting an actor on tape in Toronto or somewhere and I think, and I know I am going to take the part, that I know it's been offered and I think, ‘Why are they doing that?', it's kind of unfair to get people excited. I guess they're just covering their own asses.”
“And I have to say I love [Viggo Mortensen] as [Aragorn]. I thought he was so amazing in that movie.”
QUESTION: As Johnnie Donne, you told Rose that you can learn a little something about a person by what you find in their grocery bag...Gerard, what would you be carrying' in your grocery bag?
ANSWER: “Right now I'd be carrying probably a whole bunch of protein powders, loads of chicken breasts and steaks, and vegetables, because I'm really trying to watch what I'm eating right now because I've got to get into training for my next role, Beowulf and I have to start getting big because I got so skinny and fat. My muscles are all gone and I have a belly. It's time to get back into shape.”
QUESTION: Do you think Andre Marek could kick Terry Sheridan's ass in a fight? Why or why not?
ANSWER: “No. I think Terry Sheridan would rip Andre Marek apart. I felt much tougher as Terry Sheridan than I did as Andre Marek. I felt…as a character [he] had such power and control, which allowed him to do very little because everything was always possible with him and anytime something was going to happen with him, it was going to happen in two seconds and I don't think Andre Marek was like that.”
“I also think that by the time the movie came out, we played Andre Marek differently than he was in the book. He wasn't quite the superhero that the book made him out to be. Not that the book necessarily made him out to be a superhero but definitely a more powerful formidable figure. Once this guy, who was kind of made out like the Rocky scenario, was really up against the odds, including his skill as a warrior, it was like he was kind of kidding himself. There's a big difference between messing around with a sword at present day on your own at five o'clock in the morning and fighting with a sword every day and training with a sword every day when it's your survival at stake back in the medieval period. I think compared to Terry Sheridan, Andre Marek was a pissy.”
“I loved what Terry Sheridan could do and actually he did more during the filming. You just don't see a lot of it. You know there's some great action stuff there that I didn't particularly agree with how they cut the film.”
QUESTION: What is the significance of the ring you where on your right hand? You seem to be wearing it all the time.
ANSWER: “You know, funnily enough, …the reason I met Tonya [his assistant] was though an ex-girlfriend of mine…who I went out with for a couple of years and she got me [the ring] after two weeks of going out, it freaked me out because it's inscripted ‘Dedicated to the one I love.' We were only seeing each other for two weeks and I was like ‘wait a minute, wait a minute, are you saying you love me?' She had one from a previous boyfriend. So it was kind of strange that she had one from a previous boyfriend.”
“I just love the ring. I don't really have any rings so I've always worn it. And actually, funny you should [mention it] because I thought I had lost it for over a year. I thought I had lost it in America and I came home from traveling and Tonya was here saying ‘I found your ring.' I don't know where the hell she found it. It was stuck in some wallet I don't use anymore. I lose shit all over the world. I've lost the best necklaces, the best chains but funnily enough it's the only ring I've ever really worn so I was really upset when I lost it. This is just a few months ago that it turned up again.”
QUESTION: If I were to spend a whole day with you, what would a nice day w/you involve?
ANSWER: “I would love to do Venice in the night. I've only ever been there during the day. But I think it would be incredibly romantic at night. Maybe go for a trip in the gondola.”
“During the day, to go for a walk in some of the beautiful parts of Scotland, where it's shady, where rivers run under the trees, which I just did and I saw the most unbelievably romantic spot and I thought, ‘I could live here.' “
“I went on a date not long ago and I said, ‘Let's not go anywhere, let's just walk.' The thing about London is that there are so many great places to walk. And we had the best time just walking around and talking and laughing and being crazy.”
“I think so often you say let's go to a fucking restaurant and then let's go and have a drink and see a movie. I would much rather do something that was a bit more off beat.”
“Nobody's going to want to go on a date with me after this. Who's going to walk?”
QUESTION: Would you do a film with Peter Jackson?
ANSWER: “I would love to do a film with Peter Jackson, but it would also depend on the script. I wouldn't do a movie with even Martin Scorcese if I don't like the script. “
“I would love to work with Peter Jackson because you know what he's a great crack as well. He just seems like a laugh.”
QUESTION: Can you play any musical instruments?
ANSWER: “I saw that question and I was going to say I was very good with my fiddle, but no, just my voice. That's my instrument.”
QUESTION: In the special features credits of "Timeline," he is listed as being part of the camera team. Was this just for laughs, or was he part of the film crew, and if he was on the crew, would he like to do filming again...or possibly direct down the road?
ANSWER: “Being part of the camera team? I've never….oh, hold on, maybe that happened because we were all given cameras because Dick [Donner} wanted us to do our own behind-the-scenes filming and I got really carried away with it and started like scripts and stories and comedic moments.”
“Like I wanted to do an interview with our production designer as to how he made the castle and I wanted him to have a big blob of plaster and have him stick it with his thumbs as he described the detail on how he designed the castle, but to finish with a blob still and the camera points down to the blob, and then looks up to the castle, which was amazing.”
“I had all these funny interviews and a lot of them didn't come off but I did a lot of filming and I think some it might have been in the special features. So maybe that's it. I forgot about that.”
QUESTION: What is the color of your eyes?
ANSWER: “That's a good question. It's funny I can't remember the color of them when I was younger, but then in my youth/teens people would say they were blue and then people would say they were green and then honestly it seemed that every season they would either be green…and then blue. And now I just don't fucking know.”
“I thought up until about three months ago that they were kind of blue with no green in them whatsoever, but recently I kept thinking they were green so I'm confused about the color of my eyes.”
“The time I like the most is when they are green. When I wear green they seem more so. And green is my favorite color as well. “
QUESTION: Do you have any superstitions?
ANSWER: “I hate splitting the pole when I'm walking with somebody, unless I don't like them.”
“To be honest my life used to be full of superstitions and it used to drive me insane. Like I couldn't walk down a street and I'd pass a store and I would think if you don't go back and check that store then this will happen or you'll die young, or your whole family would be burned alive. You know crazy shit. You would often find me in a street walking and then taking ten steps back and picking something up. So now I try not to abide by any of them.”
“Another one was when I was playing sports I always had to say a prayer and then take a piss and wash my hands. I never won anything if I didn't wash my hands after taking a piss. And I always had to take a piss even if I didn't need one.”
“I've managed to banish most of them from my life and now my general superstition is if you are a wanker on set you will pay for it somewhere down the line.”
QUESTION: Was that your own singing voice in "The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rockstar?
ANSWER: “No. In fact I spent about, oh my God, three weeks listening to that guy singing to try and get it perfect with my lip synching. The whole joke was that Marti Pellow, who sang with Wet, Wet, Wet and was also engaged to my cousin for about 10 years, is known for making the most of every note that's available and loving the sound of his own voice and it's a valid thing because actually he has a fantastic voice and he's also a great guy. But that's been a standing joke, especially among Scottish because Scottish people always love to give their own a hard time just because you are successful than people would like laugh at you.”
“So they got this guy, who just hammed up every note, every syllable, and I had to try and listen to all this. I loved doing that and loved filming that scene."
“In Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married, when I had to sing that Roberta Flack song, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face , I had to sing in that, that was me. And it is me singing in the Phantom, I promise you.”
QUESTION: What cologne do you wear?
ANSWER: “Funny you should say that. I was at a party and I was given this Burberry cologne, at least I thought it was cologne and somebody pointed out that it was a perfume. So that's how good I am with cologne, but even after figuring out it was a perfume, I still wear it, and everyone is always commenting on how good it smells and then all the guys try to kiss me.”
“I use that and Jo Malone, which is probably my all time favorite. It's something and ginger. Wait a minute, I am going to the bathroom right now where I have bottles and bottles of it and I'll tell you.”
“Nutmeg and Ginger. That's it! And I have a little bottle of Abercrombie and Fitch, which is also fantastic. My favorite without a doubt is Jo Malone.”
QUESTION: What type of books do you like to read?
ANSWER: “Oh God. Let me just answer with the last book I read. I'm reading a book on speed reading right now because I'm such a slow reader and I really have to get better because every time I get a script it takes me a long time to read.”
“The last book I read was For Whom The Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway. To be honest, I have so many scripts, that I end up reading a lot for work that I don't get to do it for enjoyment and I'm always amazed at other actors who say they just read this book and I'm like ‘What? Don't you fucking work?”
QUESTION: Most exciting place you've ever visited?
ANSWER: “Most exciting place I've ever visited. Where have I been? I think Rome. Going into Rome I've never been so excited to arrive into a place and I was surprised at that because it takes a lot to get me really excited and I remembered those feelings that you have when you're a kid, that pure innocent excitement.”
“When I went into Rome I was so excited knowing that I was entering this city, this one city, that effected our planet so much, and civilization so much and also having played Attila and having studied it so much at school and suddenly I was driving there and fantasizing about two, three thousand years ago, or two thousand years ago about those times. I think I really am Andre Marek,” he says with a hearty laugh.

:love Мои комментарии, если позволите.
Джерри в роли Арагорна... Я бы на это посмотрела 8-)))
У Джерри спросили, кто бы победил - Андре Марек или Терри Шеридан. Он ответил, что Терри. А ВЫ как думаете? А если вспомнить всех персонажей, им сыгранных? Наверное, Беовульф бы их обоих... одной левой :-) Хотя я его не видела, но судя по фото, силён чертяка. Спокойной ночи!

ну, на мой взгляд, Терри в Ларке настолько же "плохиш", насколько таковым можно назвать Призрака в одноименном фильме...
Мы можем считать Призрака отрицательным персонажем?

так ведь ни о "белости", ни о "пушистости" не говорим...

...эх... *вздыхая*

Уважаемый воробышек, а можно я тебя не буду благодарить за "заброшенные" сюда "большие тексты"... :-)

Vita - замечательные фото!

Dobie, привет!

Re: More Butler
 

И я того же мнения. :-)))
:flowers:

Re: More Butler
 

Наверное, не считает. Хотя мог бы и возгордиться. ;-) На его месте многие начинали эээ неадекватно себя вести. :-)))
А он не возгордился. :-)))))))))

Это ведь замечательно.

По-моему, это все-таки очень разные герои. И Призрак гораздо более сложный прежде всего человек :-))). Ну а потом у Призрака много смягчающих обстоятельств. :-)))))

Я хочу сказать огромное спасибо всем людям, которые постят здесь различную замечательную информацию о мистере Батлере - его умные и забавные интервью, его чудесные фотографии. Спасибо вам огромное! :flowers: :flowers: :flowers:

Для начала несколько снимков.

Из "ДФ". Одна из самых милых сцен, когда Лиззи, Фрэнки и Незнакомец изображают дружную семью на отдыхе. :love ;)

Договор.
"У Фрэнки есть фотографии его отца?"

В зоомагазине. А глаза у Незнакомца почему-то оказались точь-в-точь как морская вода.

Лиззи и Незнакомец.
Здесь уже все понятно без слов.

Если верить датам, то снимок сделан позавчера.
Очередная вечеринка в Калифорнии.

Там же.

;)

"А вот это я люблю!" (с) :D

Терри косолапит... :D
И вот такая пигалица ухайдокала такого верзилу. :( Буквально ни за что.

Напоследок.
Другой ракурс и сразу другое настроение.

Нет там никаких намеков. Терри (по замыслу создателей - истинный негодяй) работал только сам на себя. У него были контакты с этой странной мафиозной китайской группировкой ("Чинь ло", кажется). В последний раз он "нагрел" главного мафиози, прихватив с собой повозку со старинными и жутко дорогими вазами. :) После этого нехорошего поступка китайцы настоятельно попросили Терри больше в Поднебесную не возвращаться.

Что касается самого главного злодея, то Шеридан знал о нем и о его несметных деньгах. Не исключено, что в один из моментов (когда не стал стрелять) он рассматривал его как потенциального покупателя ларца. Но потом передумал. :)

Что касается того, почему Терри не успокоили пять миллионов фунтов стерлингов и квартира в Цюрихе... Мне показалось, что он просто не захотел быть обязанным Ларке, которая организовала ему это вознаграждение за успешно проведенную операцию. А вот сама Ларка была для него главным призом. Думаю, он не променял бы ее и на ларец, намекни она ему о том, что останется с ним. :) Лично бы утопил ящичек в кислоте. ИМХО.

А вообще Батлер был естественен даже в роли негодяя. Это, наверное, его природное обаяние свою роль сыграло (и, разумеется, наличие актерского дарования). Джоли, усердно изображавшая из себя женщину со стальным бюстом, как была силиконово-целлулоидной, так ею и осталась. Никаких живых эмоций. Как робот. В "Александре", кстати, у нее была та же проблема. Мама Македонского почему-то подозрительно походила на Лару Крофт.

TinySparrow, спасибо за очередную порцию интервью. :D Еще, пожалуйста!

Батлер – молодчина! Редко когда увидишь человека, который так адекватно оценивал бы себя. Похоже, "звездная" болезнь ему не грозит в принципе. Даже если последующие роли принесут ему статус мегазвезды Голливуда и соответствующие гонорары с семью нулями. Батлер - светлый, прямо таки солнечный человек. Это большая редкость.

В интервью он стал меньше дурачиться. Но ведь и вопросы ему стали задавать куда серьезнее. Потому как Батлер всем доказал, что не ошибся с профессией. Что многое умеет, а его актерский потенциал далеко не исчерпан. Он приобрел некий статус. С ним стали считаться. Это заметно. И сейчас вменяемому (и, замечу, профессиональному!) журналисту скорее захочется провести интересную беседу с умным человеком, чем выставить своего визави (да и себя заодно) полным придурком.

Хотелось добавить по поводу Ларки Крофт. Мне кажется, что по сравнению с ней и табуретка душевнее. Уж извините...:)

TinySparrow, я тоже это интервью читала и мне идея с Арагорном не показалась такой уж бредовой. При всём моём уважении к Мортенсену, но было бы бы любопытственно. А может и нет. Может, это я так сейчас говорю потому, что Мортенсен уже известен в этой роли, а Джерри - это что-то таинственное, что ли. Мне ещё в этом интервью понравился вопрос про владение каким-либо инструментом: я бы не прочь была увидеть выражение лица м-ра Батлера, когда он на него отвечал :D

И фото. Кажется, здесь этого ещё не было. Ну нравится она мне:love

Little Viper, это ты мощно пошутила :-) Будем надеяться, здесь нет скрытых поклонников таланта г-жи Джоли, которые тебя захотят запанджабить 8-/
Journalist, thank you VERY much за фотографии, они сделали это солнечное утро ещё более солнечным! :ale:
*TinySparrow* открывает свой волшебный чемоданчик и озадаченно смотрит на остатки большого, казалось бы, запаса интервью и статей о Джерри* Упс... скоро придётся туго... но пока - вот вам про Беовульфа!

Beowulf Cuts Loose
Visitors to Sk?gar have up until now usually come in small groups and go there for the stunning Sk?garfoss waterfall or visiting the Sk?gar Folk Museum. These days, however, hovering around the waterfall you will find hundreds of people dressed in full Viking regalia. They are not, as you might at first think, employees of the tourist board there to attract visitors. They are, in fact, extras for Beowulf and Grendel, the most expensive film shot exclusively in Iceland. The Icelandic producers Anna Mar?a Karlsd?ttir and Fri?rik ??r Fri?riksson have managed to secure funding to the tune of 900 million kr?nur, which equals roughly the advertising revenue for the government radio and TV stations for a whole year. A lot is at stake, but the producers are confident that the investment will pay off. The ace up their sleeve is the star potential of Gerard Butler. "Who's he?" you may well ask, but by Christmas, when his starring turn in Phantom of the Opera hits theatres, his name should be on everyone?s lips. If he is, it?ll be a major boost for Beowulf. If not, it will face a more uncertain future. But who is this man on whom everything depends? ...
Gerard Butler: From Attila the Hun to Angelina Jolie's love interest to acting in Iceland
"One of the best things about acting is that women help to undress you," says Gerard Butler, often mentioned as one of the most beautiful people in the world. And who are we to argue? He is, however, not referring to his evergrowing legions of female fans but to his costume and make up people. It just so happens that a woman is currently taking his belt off, on which hangs a rather massive sword.
"I?ve always thought that in those days they must have had help to get their clothes off. It?s hardly a job for one man." This is true, certainly for Iceland. A part of a woman's duties here was taking a man's boots off when he came home from fishing. But his reference to "those days" takes us further back, to times before the settlement of Iceland. The original poem probably dates from the 7th century and was first written down in what is now England, although the story itself takes place in Denmark. The Beowulf website claims it is being filmed in places untouched since the times of old Beowulf himself. I don?t know what the roughly 600 inhabitants of neighbouring V?k ? M?rdal, where most of the cast and crew are staying, would say to that, but the surroundings certainly are befitting of a fairytale.
Would you slap this man?
In the background looms the 62 meter Sk?garfoss waterfall, in front of which actor ?lafur Darri is dragged into the river for his baptism. Outside of shot, a large truck serves as a bridge over the river, driving cast and crew back and forth. Stellan Skarsgaard, formerly the mathematics professor in Good Will Hunting, most recently the badass Saxon chief in King Arthur, seems to be back in mean mode. "Slap me or be done," he says to no one in particular. Unsurprisingly, no one takes him up on this. He is a big man with a big sword, and it?s easy to forget that he?s just rehearsing his lines.
Other cast members include Sarah Polley, who survived longer than most in the excellent Dawn of the Dead remake and was last seen in Iceland filming Hal Hartley?s No Such Thing, and Ingvar Sigur?sson, who plays the other titular role as Beowulf?s nemesis, Grendel. Ingvar may be best known to foreign audiences as the guy who died from radiation saving Harrison Ford?s submarine in K-19: Widowmaker, but here he is one of the country?s best known actors of stage and screen. But where have you seen Gerard Butler before? Applying the Haukur M?r test, his name gives us 209.000 responses on Google, whereas Beowulf gives us 756.000. He is thus roughly a quarter as well known as the legend itself. This is, of course, assuming the search engine didn?t return any other people named either Gerard or Butler.
Where the women drink as much as the men...
"Icelandic women are friendly," he says. "They don?t use their beauty as a weapon. There is a grace and purity about them. I?ve been reading Nj?ls? Saga and it seems women have always played strong roles here."
It is not surprising that he finds Icelandic women friendly, for here is the man who played Angelina Jolie?s love interest in Tomb Raider 2, out-hunked super hunks Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey in Reign of Fire and plays an archeology professor prone to taking his shirt off before debating with collegues in Timeline.
The women of Iceland, however, have not had much opportunity to enjoy the pleasure of his company, for he has spent most of his time here on set.
"I?ve only been out once. I don?t drink anymore. I used to get terrible hangovers. There?s no time for those anymore. But I like having people around me enjoying themselves for me. People here love to drink and celebrate. There?s something Celtic about them. And it?s fun here seeing the women drinking as much as the men. They can do whatever they want here. It reminds me of Scotland." Gerard was born in Glasgow, Scotland and grew up there, in neighbouring Paisley and in Canada. He is the youngest of three and was raised by his mother, only being reunited with his father at age 16, after which he developed a close relationship with him.
Lawyer, vampire, hun.
It is almost a contractual obligation to state that the riduculously beautiful are more than just that, but let us examine the evidence. His most lauded role so far is probably that in Dear Frankie, about a mother running away with her son from an abusive husband. The mother, instead of telling her boy the truth, writes him letters made out to be from the father. When the two are finally set to meet, she gets our man Gerard to pose as the old man. He made his acting debut in Shakespeare's Coriolanus, having been discovered by veteran actor and playwright Steven Berkoff. But before this, he almost became a lawyer. One can only wonder whether this was good preparation for his roles as Attila the Hun and Dracula.
"I had been studying as a lawyer for five years and training for an additional two. I was dux and president of the school law society. But I became disillusioned with law, there was also a lot of partying going on and I dropped out just two weeks before I was set to graduate."
So, leaving the bench, you decided to become an actor?
"The very next day. I had always wanted to study drama, but at the time there was nothing going on in Scottish acting. The only time you?d see a Scotsman in a film was as the town drunk. That day in August 1995 when I dropped out was one of the worst days in my life. I?ve usually found that a crisis will lead you on to something better. I remember hearing once that you can?t have any regrets until you die, then it all falls into place. So a year later to the day, I was on the stage in Edinburgh playing Renton in Trainspotting, which became the hit of the festival."
Did Trainspotting influence Scottish actors a lot?
"It was gobsmacking. That movie?s a masterpiece. It brought to light a whole new culture that hadn?t been seen before. And Ewan MacGregor is an amazing actor."
MacGregor is one of the people most talked about as taking over from Pierce Brosnan as the new James Bond. Gerard Butler is another.
So far, the role has been filled by a Scotsman, an Australian, an Englishman, a Welshman and the current Bond is Irish. Is it time for a Scottish Bond again?
"Well, its time for a new Bond. And the best Bond was Scottish. The Scots have a darker quality to them, something more animalistic."
Viking or Celt?
Butler sees a lot of the Celtic mentality in Iceland. Does that make me dark and animalistic too, I wonder?
"There?s a bond that develops on the set between the Celts and the Icelanders. They have the same sense of humour. I don?t know if it?s got to do with the weather. I think it may be genetic."
According to the latest research, about 50% of the women settlers of Iceland were Celts.
"50 percent?," says Gerard. "They must have taken all the best ones then. In Glasgow you see an astonishing woman every now and then but here, one walks past you every five minutes. But it's not just Celtic influences here; there are a lot of Nordic influences in Scotland. In the highlands there are a lot of clan names that are always assumed to be Celtic but are actually originally Nordic. There was a lot of swapping. Which is perhaps why I was right for the part of Beowulf."
But is Stellan Skarsgaard more obviously Swedish, then?
"Stellan is very un-Swedish; he?s slightly insane in the best possible way. He loves a drink and a smoke. I have a very strong bond with him in the film, as well as offscreen. He was the person I wanted for the part of Hrothgar and I?m very glad we got him. When I?m acting with him, he brings up my game, too."
The weather may or may not be a reason for Icelanders and Celts bonding, but it certainly has influenced the film.
"I?ve never seen locations like this. You have to deal with the extremes of weather. We?ve spent whole days in the rain. I was stressed out at first but I?ve been brightening up lately."
So, perhaps, has the weather.
Trolls, Loch Ness monsters and Grendels
There are no digital effects in the film. Everything is done the old fashioned way, up to the Viking ship ?slendingur being moved from its home in Keflav?k to a lake inland. In fact, one of the advantages of the old Viking longships is that they could be moved across dry land between rivers, giving them more manouverability for raiding and trading.
"You can?t beat conventional special effects. We?re always trying to find out what it would have felt like. The story is based on real events, when man had a closer relationship with nature. This is not a Lord of the Rings type fantasy world. It?s the least familiar script I?ve seen in a long time and people are brave to do it."
Gerard will be going on a two month whirlwind tour around the world to promote Phantom of the Opera, the film of the musical that?s now been showing for 18 consecutive years in London?s West End, the UK?s second longest running musical. Gerard plays the titular role. His next film is Burns, where he will star as Scotland?s national poet along with fellow Scotsman Brian Cox. So what?s this Beowulf fellow like?
"Beowulf is a reluctant hero who sees another side of Grendel, whom everyone else sees as an evil force. At the end of the film you feel a sadness that man has destroyed something. It?s as with every other life form he?s encountered. Our writer Andrew Rai Berzins has done a lot of research on links between Yeti?s, Sasquatches and the like. In Scandinavia there were certain areas people would not go because they were designated troll country. What would we do if we would ever find one? We?d probably pull it out of its environment and poke it with something rather than just leave it be."
But the Loch Ness monster, apparently, does not exist.
"Ah, you never know," says the Scotsman.
Will the 900 million kr?nur investment pay off? You never know. It just might. :love

Ну и вот ещё.

А как вам такие обойки для рабочего стола?;)

Вита, обои отличные! Следующий мой шаг - "сделать фоновым рисунком рабочего стола". :) Спасибо!

Journalist, одна моя знакомая уже пробовала (оставить Батлера на рабочем столе) - так она работать не смогла :-) ....
...пришлось убрать... :-)

Не... Мне "переедание" не грозит. На рабочем столе и раньше Батлер красовался. :) Бывало, пишешь-пишешь очередной текст про каких-нибудь придурковатых чиновников или о замерзающих населенных пунктах, а потом глянешь на Джерри, так и на душе становится светлее. :D И работа спорится. К присутствию актера на компе даже мой супруг привык. Понимает, что у каждого из нас свои тараканы в голове.

Привет всем! Давно я не выходила сюда.
Журналист, спасибо за фото.
Вита, обои супер. Жаль поставить не могу: папа убьет.
Я бы Батлера в экранизации "Генерала Его Величенства" по Дюморье увидеть хотела.

Ясная, если мне не изменяет память, то главный герой этого романа был огненно-рыжий. Прямо таки пламенеющий. Нет, рыжий Батлер - это не для слабонервных. :)

Vita, обоина очень весенняя и приятная, спасибо!
Ясная, может быть, Вам стОит попробовать показать папе "Дорогого Фрэнки"? Прецеденты были ;-)) Возможно, папа проникнется уважением к Джерри и не будет против его присутствия на рабочем столе...
А вот у меня на рабочем столе сейчас...

Спасибище! :ale:

Ну когда чемоданчик опустеет, мы же можем их долго и со вкусом обсуждать. :-))) А он тем временем новых надает. :-)))

Вот на форуме Экслера прозвучала свежая мысль. Джерри, значит, упражнялся в пении арий Призрака всю "Лару Крофт". Ага, теперь мы знаем, ЗА ЧТО убили Терри. ;-)))

А у меня от его фоток настроение поднимается. ;-)))

Потому что у него потрясающе положительная энергетика. :-)))

Эээ, я просто не знаю, как сказать по-русски, что он сделал со своими костюмами и при чем тут вообще были шорты. Так что я не буду. :-))) Во избежание.

Очень образно сказано. :-))) И точно!

Ох, придется пересматривать. Откуда-то же я это взяла. (разводит руками) :-)

Гм, а может быть Ларкины помощники перемудрили с машиной времени? ;-)

Эту идею стоит предложить криэйторам игры. :-))))))))

Нора, это Вы о чём? Где тут про шорты? Похоже, я как обычно что-то пропустила...
А я "Александра" даже не смотрела - мне папа (ох, у нас тут Папин День, похоже :-)) сказал, что скучное кино, он еле до конца досмотрел - он, поклонник "Трои" и "Артура"! Вот я и не рискнула. Джоли, опять же... Когда я вижу, как она собирается кого-нибудь поцеловать, я ужасно переживаю за этого человека. Хотя им (тем, кого целуют), скорее всего, нравится :D

New Stuff From The Trunk
 

Кажется, этого ещё не было... Сообщите, если было, я его удалю :)
Я пополнила свой чемоданище, старые интервью не брала, так что... приготовьтесь к чтению! ;-)))

Gerard Butler Interview
Interviewed by Stella Papamichael
After treading the boards in countless plays, Gerard Butler took roles in dubious movies like Reign Of Fire, Lara Croft: The Cradle Of Life and Richard Donner's Timeline. Recently though, he scored a critical hit with upcoming Scottish drama Dear Frankie although box office success still eludes him. This time he tries something completely different, playing a masked madman in Joel Schumacher's adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical The Phantom Of The Opera.

You haven't had much experience in musicals so it seems strange that you should be cast in this...

When Joel [Schumacher] called my agent and asked if I could sing, even he wasn't sure about it. He knew that I could sing but not if I could handle something like this. I was dubious myself as to why they were considering me for The Phantom until I read the script and then I could completely understand why he came to me and why I would want to play it. I read it as I was listening to the music and to me it was a major experience because I felt I had to tell this guy's story. Without sounding pretentious, I felt his soul - all his passion and his hopes and frustrations and, in the end, his tragedy. It was like it was happening to me and I judge whether or not to do a part based on how easily I slip into it while reading the script.

With your lack of singing experience, did you have some trepidation about taking this on?

Yes and no. I have a level of fear going into every project and that's what keeps me going. If I'm being honest it was a much higher level of fear with this than most other things because it was a musical. But I've done a whole bunch of movies where I've come in as the underdog but I have the tools and experience to deal with. Basically you've juts got to use the pressure to make yourself work harder.

Did you have to do a lot of vocal training to prepare?

Yeah, I started singing for The Phantom in January and we started filming in October and I sang all the way through to the next June. In fact I was singing for about two months before I even knew I had the role because they pretty much said: "This role's yours but we just can't say it yet but you've got to train as if it's yours." That's a weird position to be in because I didn't know if they were then going to turn around and say that somebody else had the role but still I sang every day with my own musical teacher. When I went to Scotland to do another movie I would sing with a coach up there and then when I went to New York I sang with a coach over there - I mean I've now sung with coaches in LA, New York, London, Glasgow, St Louis and Rio de Janeiro! I felt like retiring after The Phantom.

Did acting behind a mask also present a challenge for you?

Yeah, but it's something you get used to. Again you use it like a tool to help you become the character. There's a reason he has the mask and you make his reason your reason. Also you have to understand the advantages of that mask insomuch as it's something to hide behind and it's also a very powerful thing to behold. He understands that because he wants to present the most intimidating and sexy exterior he can. At first it was a bit strange and daunting to have to wear a mask but afterwards I came to enjoy it. In warm conditions though it started to slip off my face. Other times they used this double-sided sticky tape and I literally couldn't get it off my face. I would feel like I was ripping my face off and I had a lot of cuts and bruises because of it - huge red marks. People might think it was method acting.

Did you find singing the dialogue rather unnatural?

This movie was such a steep learning curve for me because I had never done that before - singing while trying to give a cinematic performance. The temptation is to open your mouth and belt it out and do something theatrical which would just be ghastly because every time you open your mouth it's 30ft wide on a big screen. Therefore I had to learn devices and ways of keeping it subtle and truthful. Sometimes that would mean that I would barely be singing or I would be much more concentrated on the feeling of what he was going through. I was always focused on that actually because that is the power of cinema - the eyes of The Phantom could say so much more.

You're now gearing up to play the poet Robert Burns in a biopic. Is that another daunting prospect for you?

In a way but I feel so lucky to have that opportunity because it's such a great story and we have the best script by Alan Sharp, who wrote Rob Roy. I cajoled Julia Stiles into doing it but she told me it was the best script she'd read in years so she's on board and we also have Brian Cox. We cover Burns' life from the ploughman days to the Edinburgh society days and his take-off as a poet. It's beautiful, it's passionate, it's sexy, it's hilarious and it's really quite sad as well.

And you've got The Game Of Their Lives coming up where you play a member of the American 'soccer' team who beat the English football team. Being Scottish you must relish the chance to beat the English at football!

What do you think? Actually I just find that very funny. The Scots will do anything to beat the English or just to see them lose, but I've never bought into that really. I was supporting England in the World Cup, so for me it was very funny to pretend to be an Italian-American but still stuff the English 1-0. It was amazing. We went down to Rio de Janeiro in a soccer stadium there with thousands of extras and played this game against the English - who were, funnily enough, mostly Brazilians - but it's great. I saw a cut about nine months ago that I wasn't very impressed with but I saw it again a couple of days ago and it's been tightened up and a few things added. I think we have a movie on our hands now. :love

А, так я и думала, что шорты тут совершенно ни при чем. :-))) Это я про начало интервью с Мортимер.
Не, не буду я переводить.