I think we all need at least one
really nice positive thing about the entertainment business every single
day of the year, including weekends. Sometimes it may be something
simple, like a video that showcases something fun and sometimes it may
be a movie poster that embraces the aesthetic we all want Hollywood to
aspire to. Sometimes it may be a long-winded diatribe. Sometimes it’ll
be from the staff and extended family of CHUD.com. Maybe even you
readers can get in on it. So, take this to the bank. Every day, you will
get a little bit of positivity from one column a day here. Take it with
you. Maybe it’ll help you through a bad day or give folks some fun
things to hunt down in their busy celluloid digesting day.

08.5.10
By Elisabeth Rappe  Author Page, Twitter Page, Facebook Page

What I’m Thankful For

Viggo Mortensen.

Ignore the fact that his chiseled jaw and sad eyes make feminine hearts flutter for a moment.  Did you hear he’s going to be in On the Road?  Remember how people were sad that David Cronenberg and Christoph Waltz had parted ways, and then Mortensen quietly stepped into  A Dangerous Method, and all was right with the world? “Oh. It’s Mortensen and Cronenberg again. That works. Hell, that will be awesome.”  With his obsessive and meticulous research, he’s never going to sleepwalk through a role. He’s never a step down on the casting ladder.

Mortensen is that improbable thing — a 52 year old movie idol. No, he’s not A-List and he lacks one of those catchy fannish nicknames (I haven’t heard of a fan site calling him V-Mortz), but he’s well known enough that even ordinary people perk up at the sound of his name.  “Oh? Aragorn? Hey, I like him. Did you see that Western he did? That was pretty good.”  In a world where casting decisions are made for tweens, and 30 is considered elderly, you have to be grateful that Hollywood still looks to him.  And he gets the good scripts. He isn’t slumming it in action sequels or Hidalgo 2: The Galloping.  

There’s also the simple fact that he’s a man — not one of those pretty and manicured boys trotted out in disposable romantic comedies and “action” flicks.  Perhaps not a beefy man’s man Expendables type, but he can fight naked in a bathhouse or jump a diner counter, and no one says “I don’t know, I just don’t buy Mortensen in those parts.”  And he has enough of a soul that he can turn those steely eyes into pure sensitivity, and seduce a costar (and an audience) should the script demand it.

Mortensen holds back the tide against the Robert Pattinsons and Taylor Lautners of the world. Be thankful for him. Ride out with him. Buy Alatriste off Ebay, because it’s pretty wonderful, and you’ll thank me for the recommendation.

And yes … he is quite dreamy, isn’t he?