Mortensen on a kudos roll – Williams makes his mark with ‘Hidden Figures’

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LOS ANGELES, Jan 4, (RTRS): The versatile Viggo Mortensen has played a Ranger of the North, an undercover agent in the Russian mafia, and a small-town father with a secret past in the Irish mob. But it’s his role in “Captain Fantastic” that is earning him some of the best reviews of his career, along with Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for his performance. And now the actor is being honored with the Variety Creative Impact in Acting Award at the Palm Springs Intl. Film Festival.

In the film, Mortensen plays Ben Cash, a father of six who chooses to live off the grid in the wilderness of Washington, learning survival skills and studying philosophy. When his wife passes away, he embarks with his offbeat family on a road trip in the family bus to her funeral.

Written and directed by Matt Ross, the film is a seamless blend of humor and drama, heartfelt and intelligent without ever feeling esoteric. It’s a part that seems tailormade for the actor, who is also a poet and musician. In fact, when Ross first sent his star books to prepare for the role, he learned that Mortensen already owned most of them. The actor even journeyed to the set weeks in advance to live on the land and plant the garden seen in the movie.

Mortensen admits he admired the script and character a great deal. “I always look at the story first, and it was a great blueprint. Along with that, it was a character I liked,” he says. “I also have to ask myself if I’m honestly the best actor for it. There have been cases where I didn’t think I was the best choice, and I’ve said so.”

Which is not to say he is always on the same page as the character. “There are aspects of Ben I don’t’ see eye to eye with. But I like looking at the world through his point of view.” But he adds that part of the appeal of the script was the questions is raises and how “it doesn’t look for an easy way out.”

Though the indie film was made on a small budget, the response from audiences and word-of-mouth have been strong.

Seeing the word “producer” attached to Pharrell Williams’ name is nothing new. As half of the Neptunes and later as a solo artist, the Virginian has put his stamp on more hit songs than almost anyone this millennium. But with the 2016 release of “Hidden Figures,” Variety’s Creative Impact in Producing honoree became one of a different type.

Though he’d been credited as an executive producer on 2015’s Sundance hit, “Dope,” “Hidden Figures” marks Williams’ first venture as a proper film producer. He came onboard the project, which stars Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae and Taraji P. Henson as the real-life African-American women who played key roles at NASA in the run-up to John Glenn’s famous 1962 voyage, back in April with his producing partner Mimi Valdes. At the time, he noted that the Theodore Melfi-directed film was “an extraordinary story about black women with genius mathematical minds who contributed to American history. It takes place in Virginia, my home state, and at NASA, a place I’ve been obsessed with since childhood.”

At November’s Variety Inclusion Summit, Williams noted that: “The female contribution to society was not acknowledged like it should be. Women’s contributions were often dismissed, discounted. The idea that we get a chance to actually go back and shine a light on the amazing accomplishments of these women — and African-American women, you know. It’s one thing to be a woman in the 1960s. It’s another thing to be an African-American woman in the 1960s.”

After playing a mentor to Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games” franchise, Woody Harrelson might help guide another iconic character’s journey.

Sources tell Variety that, while talks are still in the early stages, Harrelson is the top choice to play Han Solo’s mentor in the upcoming “Star Wars” spinoff starring Alden Ehrenreich.

Donald Glover and Emilia Clarke also star, with Phil Lord and Chris Miller directing. Disney had no comment.

The movie will be set prior to “Star Wars: A New Hope,” like the other “Star Wars” standalone project, “Rogue One,” which hit theaters on Dec 16.

Kathleen Kennedy and Allison Shearmur are producing the spinoff film, which is expected to begin production in January. The movie is slated to hit theaters on May 25, 2018. Harrelson and Shearmur have close ties from their work on “The Hunger Games,” when Shearmur was overseeing the project for Lionsgate.

The ensemble has already begun filling with rising stars, but executives wanted this role to go to an actor with considerable clout, and started meeting with actors over the past several weeks.

After the Oscars snubbed “The Dark Knight” in 2009, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expanded the best picture race to a possible 10 slots, in the hopes of including more commercial titles. But so far, not a single live-action comic book movie has ever been nominated for the top prize.

In this week’s Variety cover story, “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds predicts that could soon change after the release of “Logan,” the much-anticipated final Wolverine pic, out this spring. Directed by James Mangold (“Walk the Line”), the R-rated drama is said to be more of a character study — if that’s possible for the genre — as opposed to a straight-up action movie.

“’Logan’ looks like a movie that might break that glass ceiling,” Reynolds tells Variety. “I know first-hand that it’s amazing. I’ve seen some of it. It’s mind-blowing. It relies a lot on character.”

Of course, there’s also the small chance that the Academy makes history this month, by giving “Deadpool” a surprise best picture nomination. Before you scoff, keep in mind that it’s not the most competitive year, and the spring release has earned $783 million worldwide. If there’s one thing Hollywood loves, it’s an underdog story, which might explain why 20th Century Fox has been running an unexpected Oscar campaign for the red spandex-wearing anti-hero.

Hugh Jackman, who worked with Reynolds in 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” is among those backing “Deadpool” for awards consideration. “When I hosted the Oscars, ‘Batman’ didn’t get nominated, and everyone was talking about it,” Jackman tells Variety. “It’s a stretch to say these are injustices in life — we are happy and making movies. But I love it when someone like Ryan gets recognized.” He adds, “These big-budget or comic book movies are not easy to pull off.”

To read more about how Reynolds walked in Deadpool’s shoes and how he’d like to reunite onscreen with Wolverine, read this week’s cover story here.

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