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a14 people & arts
Thursday 21 april 2022
A Viking epic to conquer them all in 'The Northman'

By LINDSEY BAHR like. Even the rivets were
AP Film Writer historically accurate.
Alexander Skarsgård has Before "The Northman," Eg-
been dreaming about Vi- gers' biggest budget was
kings for as long as he can "The Lighthouse's" $11 mil-
remember. lion. This time, he had some
Some of his earliest mem- $70 million to work with.
ories are from Oland, a A bigger budget meant
Swedish island on the Bal- more resources but also
tic Sea, where his great- more pressure and having
grandfather built a home to forfeit final cut, although
many years ago. His grand- he is quick to say that the
father would regale him film being released is his di-
with tales of Viking history rector's cut.
while walking among the The shoot itself was a gruel-
massive runestones. ing, muddy, seven-month
Skarsgård isn't entirely sure endeavor during the sec-
that his grandfather's story ond half of 2020, before
about a Viking ancestor COVID-19 vaccines were
named Skar who had a readily available.
farm on the island a thou- "We really swung for the
sand years ago is com- fences on this one," said
pletely true. But it was the Taylor-Joy, who recalled
kind of thing that was very being barefoot in the mud
exciting to him as a young while gale force winds
boy. And it was where the threatened to sweep them
seeds were planted for his off the mountaintop. "While
latest film, "The Northman," This image released by Focus Features shows Alexander Skarsgård in a scene from "The North- almost everyone was very
about a self-exiled prince man." miserable, I was on cloud
at the dawn of the 10th Associated Press nine. I was just having the
century. It opens in theaters time of my life. I really enjoy
nationwide Friday. "A Viking would definitely stuff to the brim with his- strong tie to a faith. being physically pushed."
The Viking dream laid say it was fated," Skarsgård torical details of rituals and "You are looking out of your Eggers prefers to shoot
dormant for some time, said with a smile. weapons and mythology. own eyes at whatever situ- long takes with only one
though. Then around 2017, It would send them on their With Skarsgård playing ation it is that you're look- camera, from seemingly
Skarsgård found himself at own ambitious quest to the grown Amleth, they ing at, but you also have straightforward dialogue
a lunch meeting with Rob- create the most historically rounded out the cast with an eye above you that's scenes to action-heavy set-
ert Eggers, a promising film- accurate depiction of Vi- Nicole Kidman as his moth- overlooking everything like pieces like a brutal berserk-
maker who had just burst kings ever. er, Queen Gudrún; Ethan a bird," she said. "When I er raid. It was enormously
onto the scene with "The "In the history of cinema, Hawke as his father, King think of Vikings, I didn't nec- taxing on everyone, but
Witch," an eerily realistic aside from one tiny Icelan- Aurvandil; Claes Bang as essarily think of the poetry they had a shared sense of
depiction of 17th century dic movie in the late '70s, his murderous uncle, Fjöl- of fate and living your life in purpose too.
New England that helped no one's ever tried to make nir; and Björk as a seeress. this spiritual way. It actually "We worked on the cho-
introduce the world to an authentic Viking movie Working with Icelandic gave me a lot of peace... reography of it for months
Anya Taylor-Joy. It was one before," Eggers said. "I had poet Sjón to write the script, Not everyone starts laugh- before shooting the scene
of those "general meetings" an opening." they wrote one part, Olga ing when someone is about so that we would have
that Eggers dreads. The story of "The North- — an enslaved Slav who to slit their throat." the right flow between the
"You usually just sit down man" is a familiar one. In becomes a close confident She wasn't the only Egg- camera and the charac-
with people and talk about his research, Eggers stum- of Amleth — with Taylor-Joy ers alum in the bunch. The ters moving through the
nothing and it's usually very bled upon the fact that in mind. cast included Willem Da- shot," Skarsgård said. "It was
awkward," Eggers said. Shakespeare based "Ham- "We both know that if we foe, Kate Dickie and Ralph challenging but it was also
But it turns out they did let" on an ancient Nordic get stuck in a room with Ineson, and the crew was exciting."
have something to talk folktale about a prince a camera, we're going to largely populated by peo- What drove him to keep
about. Eggers had recently named Amleth, who sees end up pushing each other ple from both "The Witch" going, he said, was the
returned from a trip to Ice- his father murdered by his into some weird situations, and "The Lighthouse" in- hope they were making
land inspired by the gran- uncle, flees and returns as which is really fun," Taylor- cluding cinematographer something unique and that
deur and brutality of the an adult to save his mother Joy said. Jarin Blaschke, production audiences would feel im-
landscapes and armed and avenge his father. It In addition to getting to designer Craig Lathrop and mersed in the action in a
with classic sagas. By the was the perfect jumping go to Northern Ireland and costume designer Linda way that they never would
time they got the check, off point to have this simple Iceland for the shoot, Olga Muir. with hundreds of cuts and
they'd agreed to make a revenge tale that everyone presented a new opportu- Eggers also recruited a post-production fixes.
Viking movie. knows that he could then nity to play someone with a team of Viking historians For him, at least, the re-
and archaeologists to help sult was worth the exhaus-
LIKE US ON make sure he was doing tion and soreness and all

things right, and, for the first the years he spent talking
time, he had the funds to about a film that would
do it. They borrowed ships take Norse mythology se-
from museums, built some riously. "It's beyond my
of their own, made weap- imagination, beyond my
ons by hand and did their dreams," Skarsgård said.
Facebook.com/arubatoday/ best to imagine what the "I'm incredibly grateful and
homes would have looked immensely proud."q