NEW - the book cover has been revealed of ‘The Northman: A Call to the Gods’ featuring a

NEW - the book cover has been revealed of ‘The Northman: A Call to the Gods’ featuring an image of Alexander Skarsgård as Amlethby Simon Abrams (Author), Robert Eggers (Author), Ethan Hawke (Preface), Robert Eggers (Introduction), Sjón (Introduction), & Alexander Skarsgård (Foreword)Pre-order the hardcover book (releasing on September 6, 2022)Here is an excerpt of Page 69:ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD (AMLETH)Deciding first on a Viking story was a major hurdle for actor and producer Alexander Skarsgård, although he knew that he wanted to do something with the Norse sagas. But The Northman wasn’t just any passion project for Skarsgård, who describes the Vikings as an “integral part of life in Scandinavia.” So much so that as a child, he suggested to his parents to name his younger brothers with Norse names when they were born, both of which stuck (if only as middle names). For his brother Gustaf, Alexander suggested orm, or “snake,” and for his other brother Sam, the Norse ice giant Ymer felt appropriate. Although there were moments that both physically and mentally required every last bit of self-perseverance, the hope of achieving anything close to Eggers and Jarin’s storyboard was just the motivation he needed to keep going and to create a“really beautiful scene.”Were there any qualities of the Vikings or their behavior that you immediately knew you wanted to either avoid or play up?I knew that I wanted to avoid clichés about the heroic Vikings, which would not have made for an interesting character to me—not as an actor or from my personal point of view. And we all wanted to make these characters seem complex. There are a few moments in the movie where you’re not sure who you’re rooting for anymore, because the antagonist either has qualities or does things that you might sympathize with, or the protagonist does stuff that you find horrific and appalling. Vikings weren’t that heroic in real life; there was actually a lot of infighting among them. But they’ve still been appropriated in such a way that everybody now imagines the Vikings were out to conquer and expand Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. ‘That sort of national pride didn’t exist at the time: You could be loyal to your chieftain, or you could have stabbed him in the back. The Vikings were opportunists, and settling in Iceland gave them a great opportunity to enrich themselves, their families, and their loved ones. But they had no sense of national pride, so that motivation is not in our movie. The Vikings were all about family, not about country.How would you say that your understanding of Amleth and his story changed as you acted over the course of filming?We shot a lot of smaller scenes during the first week or two of the shoot with a lot of mundane scenes on Fjölnir’s farm that ultimately lead into the movie’s bigger set pieces. It gave me a good opportunity to get to know Rob and Jarin and to better understand how they work. By the time we shot the movie, we’d already been developing The Northman with Rob for aboutfour or five years. But still, those first few days were the first time that we were together on a movie set, and I saw how Rob and Jarin shot every scene with one camera. Every scene is like a dance between the actors and the camera. I’m not used to that. On most movies, you have a couple of cameras, or at least a couple of different shots per scene, so you have greater flexibility later on [to use the best shots). Rob and Jarin’s approach is incredibly technical and precise. For The Northman, they had a storyboard for each scene six months before we shot it, so it’d be completely lit and set up by the time we’d go to a location. There was no room to improvise; you kind of had to make it work, That can be intimidating, but on day one you have to choose to dive in and be excited about that way of working and to try to bring some life to these extremely specific conditions, even if it is more challenging. The first few weeks of the shoot were great, though, because we got to know each other better and learned how to dance with each other, We then shot the Berserker dance during the shoot’s third week; that’s the scene where the Berserkers transform into their spirit animals. Shooting the scene was cathartic and a nice jumping-off point after two weeks of shooting quiet, mundane scenes on the farm. I’m glad that we only shot that scene after we’d gotten to know each other and how to work better together.—-The Northman: A Call to the Gods is the official look at how this epic Viking revenge thriller was conceived, written, cast, and produced by acclaimed director Robert Eggers.Set against the ruthless backdrop of tenth-century Norse territory, The Northman is the a new epic Viking revenge thriller by acclaimed director Robert Eggers (The Witch [2015] and The Lighthouse [2019]), featuring an all-star cast including Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Willem Dafoe, and Björk.Compiled from fascinating interviews with the cast and crew, inspiring storyboards, exclusive behind-the-scenes photographs—including the director’s own firsthand account of his creative processes in writing and directing—The Northman: A Call to the Gods explores the cold and forbidding world of the Vikings, their customs, traditions, and relentless thirst for battle and vengeance that inspired Eggers to write this compelling Norse saga.Learn how the wardrobe department recreated the intricate chain mail armor and costumes of Viking berserkers and warriors; delve into the research behind the art department’s visual inspiration for replicating the villages of Hrafnsey and Freysdalur; and get the inside scoop on the challenges the cast encountered when creating the iconic characters of Amleth, Olga, Queen Gurdrún, and the Seeress. The Northman: A Call to the Gods is the perfect companion for both film fans and anyone interested in Viking history and legends.PROFILE OF AN AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR: Using acclaimed director Robert Eggers’ own firsthand account, The Northman: A Call to the Gods delivers a revealing profile of his inspirations, and his creative process.EXCLUSIVE PHOTOGRAPHS: Explore dozens of photographs of the set, crew, director Robert Eggers, and the award-winning cast, including Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Willem Dafoe, and Björk.GO BEHIND THE SCENES: Delve into never-before-seen storyboards and set designs that give a glimpse into the fascinating art and craft of filmmaking.PERFECT FOR FILM ENTHUSIASTS:  The Northman: A Call to the Gods is the perfect gift for movie fans and anyone interested in Viking legend and lore.  Thanks to Sjón for tagging me in his post on Instagram! My transcription of this page. Photos by Aidan Monaghan / Focus Features. All photos via the pre-order page on Amazon.com. -- source link

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