Jazz

Viggo is doing alot of campaigning for the democrats. Thought we could follow along in this thread.

Viggo Mortensen Helps Out N.Y. Democrat

Friday, September 8, 2006

(09-08 - 08:19 PDT Plattsburgh, N.Y. (AP) --

Actor Viggo Mortensen is on a three-day fundraising tour for Robert Johnson, the Democrat challenging U.S. Rep. John McHugh for the 23rd Congressional District seat.

"I'm pretty skeptical of all politicians, and I think it's only in the movies that you find no-strings-attached, sincere people," Mortensen said Thursday at a $75 buffet dinner that drew 140 people.

"Dr. Bob is that rare thing: He's a man that's not bought and paid for. I wish there were candidates like him all over the country," he said.

Mortensen, who starred in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and 2005's "A History of Violence," is a graduate of Watertown High School and St. Lawrence University in Canton.

Mortensen said he has contributed $2,100 to Johnson's campaign, the maximum limit for an individual under federal election laws. He said he also planned campaign appearances for Johnson in Oswego on Friday and Watertown on Saturday.

This is what he was doing before he came to the TIFF for Alatriste!

HappySquared

I wish he's the one running for office.

Great thread, Jazz. We need one for it.

Jazz

Seriously, wouldn't it be awesome if he ran? I think he would be a great politician and he's so outspoken about what he believes in. Probably one of the only times I've ever seen him outspoken about anything!

Jazz

Viggo's speech:

Transcript of 9 Sept. speech in Watertown, New York at fundraiser for Dr. Bob Johnson, Democratic party candidate for congress:

"Thank you for coming here this evening to support Dr. Bob Johnson's campaign, or at least to give him a fair hearing. It is an honour to be back in Watertown to lend a hand with his positive and forward-looking run for congress in the 23rd District. I know that I am in the right place for the right reason tonight. I recognize some familiar faces from from the schools I attended in the North Country, Watertown High School and St. Lawrence University. I also am aware of the fact that a few brave Yankee fans and Republicans have come out to see what the fuss over Bob Johnson is about. We Mets fans bid you a sincere welcome.

A couple of days ago, a man wrote a letter to the Watertown Daily Times saying, in effect, that he would not vote for Bob Johnson just because Viggo Mortensen thought he ought to. He was absolutely right. I hope he and everyone else, including all of you in this room, will educate yourselves about the issues and make up your own minds as to how you wish to vote in November. In his letter, the gentleman also used a Robert Heinlein quote to imply that my field of knowledge, owing to my profession, was relatively narrow. I am an actor, in case you did not know. I did not say: "I am just an actor". I said: "I am an actor." I do not need to apologise for my line of work, which in fact involves regular efforts to try and see the world we live in from points-of-view different than my own. Neither do I need to apologise for volunteering to help Bob Johnson receive the necessary media exposure to have his views heard more widely in this congressional district. I do not live in a Beverly Hills mansion. I do my own laundry, my own dishes, and take out the trash. I clean my house as often as seems necessary -- not that I am overly meticulous about it, as friends and family can attest to. I am an active and engaged parent, and do my best as a citizen to stay informed about current events. It does not matter if I am an actor, a plumber, a teacher, or anything else. It does not matter if I am employed and relatively well-off, or under-employed and economically disadvantaged as so many people in this part of the country are. I am a citizen of the United States of America, whose government is meant to be "of the people, by the people, and for the people". I vote, and I pay close attention to what politicians say and even closer attention to what they do. I try to keep in mind the admonition of the great teacher Plato: "One of the penalties of refusing to be involved in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." We have certainly seen the proof of that statement in this country over the last five years or so.

It has been encouraging to see the positive reception that Bob Johnson has had over the last two days in the eastern and western ends of the district during our stops in the Plattsburgh and Oswego areas. I am only too aware of the fact that the people of Watertown and of Jefferson County share a serious problem with people of all the other counties in the 23rd District: you desperately need a new congressman. You deserve a representative who is truly in touch with your needs and concerns. A leader, like Dr. Johnson, who will not only listen to your suggestions and seriously consider the problems you face, but who will also address them constructively in Washington, D.C.

On some level it was flattering to learn of Republican candidate John McHugh's recent attacks on Bob Johnson for gaining my support. In a rather desperate effort to to mislead voters, McHugh accused Bob Johnson of having to go to Hollywood for help because of a supposed lack of locally-connected support for his campaign. As a most people in this area know, I, like Mr. McHugh, am a product of Watertown , N.Y. and its public school system. Also reasonably well-known is the fact that I attended St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., and that I have family in the area that I regularly visit. Either John McHugh was out of touch with what people in his own district are well-aware of, or he was deliberately misleading voters. Neither possibility speaks well for him as a candidate that might seek to claim a measure of integrity and local relevance.

Obviously, in spite of McHugh's overwhelming advantage in terms of funding and, consequently, media access in this race, he and his handlers are apparently worried that I or anyone else might help bring Dr. Johnson's common-sense, persuasive views to the voting public. They no doubt understand that, were funds and media access equal for both candidates, the lack of substance and regional relevance of Mr. McHugh's positions on most all significant issues would likely pale in comparison to the well-reasoned and sensible positions put forward by Dr. Johnson. At least one debate, if not two or three, between the two candidates would be of great service to voters. Perhaps it is not too late to arrange this.

While we are on the subject of being responsive to the people in the 23rd Congressional District, I would hasten to point out that approximately 95% of John McHugh's campaign funds come not only from outside of this district, but outside of New York State altogether. Significantly, these funds come from defense contractors and large pharmaceutical companies -- powerful interest groups that have little if any concern for the real issues facing voters in this district. On the other hand, 95% of Bob Johnson's campaign funds come from within this district, and always from individual contributors. He will not accept financial contributions from political action committees or corporations of any kind. The resulting disparity of a nearly 10 to 1 ratio in favour of Mr. McHugh has, however, been slightly reduced in recent weeks thanks to the generosity of individual supporters like those present here this evening.

There is a kind of "Catch-22" situation that arises in our country's system of campaign financing: with a certain, considerable amount of money a candidate can buy television and radio access in order to advertise themselves and their positions. This media exposure tends, if the candidate can look and sound reasonably intelligent and pleasant, to attract more financial contributions, which buy more media access, which attracts more contributions, and so on. Without that certain, considerable amount of money in the first place, a congressional candidate is largely out of luck as far as reaching the greater voting public in his or her district goes. Although Bob Johnson has probably worked twice as hard as his opponent to repeatedly cris-cross this district in order to directly reach as many voters as possible, it will be very difficult for him to compete effectively with John McHugh if he does not gain regular access to television and radio advertising. We are here this evening in an effort to get Bob Johnson a little closer to being able to fund a significant media campaign.

Being beholden to out-of-state corporate pharmaceutical and defense industry interests, as Mr. McHugh's voting record has clearly shown him to be, does not motivate him to take a real and consistent interest in the concerns that people in the 23rd Congressional district have over the serious deficiencies of our health care system, or in the concerns of the average man or woman serving in the military. It is not enough to pose for photos at a hospital or at Fort Drum. Speaking of fort Drum: Mr. McHugh has more than once taken credit for its continued existence, and the resulting economic benefits to the district. For the sake of accuracy, it must be pointed out that Fort Drum continues to exist, and the 10th Mountain Division continues to make its home there because the military authorities in our country think it a good idea -- not because of anything Mr. McHugh might do or say, and not because of anything that Bob Johnson might do or say either. The difference between the two candidates is that Dr. Johnson would never stoop so low as to take such credit.

It is, in fact, tiresome to see Mr. McHugh continually wrap himself in the flag and use military personnel as backdrops for his photo opportunities, as so many George Bush Republicans across the country have a habit of doing. Dr. Johnson, who actually volunteered and served in the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant Colonel at the time of the first Gulf War, has a practical understanding of the needs of U.S. servicemen and -women. He has also had the courage to support our troops by demanding, as other brave individuals like former Marine John Murtaugh of Pennsylvania has, that they be used wisely and properly equipped for combat. Bob Johnson has been clear about backing a real and consistent pursuit of those responsible for the attacks on the United States on the 11th of September, 2001, fully supporting the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and his cohorts in Afghanistan and elsewhere. He has also, unlike George Bush's yes-men, which unfortunately include John McHugh, had the courage to speak out strongly against the tragically misguided invasion of Iraq and the totally unnecessary, wasteful ongoing occupation of that country. Like any sensible candidate, or any responsible American citizen, Bob Johnson believes we should never carelessly spend the people's money or the people's blood.

Bob Johnson would never attempt, as Mr. Bush and Mr. McHugh have in the lead-up to recent elections, to effectively stake a claim to "9/11" by using the tragedies visited on our country on that day five years ago as a test of absolute, unswerving allegiance to their narrow, partisan political agendas. Neither George Bush nor anyone else in the Republican party or any other party owns those tragic events or their symbols. It is in the poorest taste for Bush Republicans to have repeatedly attempted to do this. It is a grave insult to the memories of those who perished as a result of the terrorist attacks on that day, as well as being an ongoing affront to the friends and families that survive them. This effrontery alone ought to disqualify those culpable of using "9/11" as an all-purpose campaign slogan and moral battering ram from holding any office.

It is interesting to note that Mr. McHugh has of late attempted, like so many other Bush Republicans across the country, to gently distance himself from Mr. Bush and his administration's failing records in foreign policy matters, management of the economy, the environment, and most any significant national or regional issue. He has attempted to do this by calling himself a "moderate", which he most certainly is not, and by making much of his relatively minor differences of opinion with Mr. Bush on a couple of non-pivotal matters. Voters, however, are no longer buying Mr. McHugh's tired, nationally interchangeable and locally meaningless soundbites that can be heard from all Bush loyalists across the country. Please do not think that I have a personal dislike for John McHugh. I do not really know him, but I certainly have a soft spot for him since we both can call Watertown "home". I've heard that he is a nice man, who speaks nicely and is apparently unfailingly polite. "Nice", however, does not suffice. Although, contrary to received wisdom, "nice" guys like John McHugh have in fact often finished first in recent elections, this has meant that the people have finished last.

I know that Dr. Johnson will speak more specifically and eloquently to the important issues of the campaign than I have. Before presenting him, I would leave you with this: A good, responsible candidate must represent the people, and be answerable to them for guidance and support - not beholden to large out-of-state corporate interests as John McHugh is. We are very fortunate to have Bob Johnson running in this district. He is not a professional, well-subsidized, career politician. He is a full-time doctor and an army veteran who cares, a concerned citizen who is offering his time and passion to you, not to Big Business. He deserves and will continue to earn your support, as he has mine. Please join me in welcoming the next congressman from New York's 23rd District -- Dr. Bob Johnson. "



To find out ways to support Dr. Bob Johnson's campaign, visit Bob Johnson for Congress.

HappySquared

If I were a resident of NY 23rd district, after reading that speech. Bob Johnson had my vote.

I love the part where he mentioned that "I am an actor." He has this way of explaining things that only him can explain. I admire how he include that negative insight to the campaign. He's such an intelligent man.

I agree, Viggo is an actor, but passing through that title... the man is something more! And I love him for that.

Jazz

These views are Viggo's only, so hopefully no one will take offense.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

SEAN KIRST
POST-STANDARD COLUMNIST

The cell phone rang at 11 p.m. a week or so ago. It was Viggo Mortensen, the actor made famous by the role of Aragorn, one of the heroes in "The Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy. He had traveled to northern New York to campaign for Dr. Bob Johnson, a Democrat who is a heavy underdog against Republican incumbent John McHugh in the race for New York's 23rd Congressional District seat.

Mortensen said he had "time to talk" as he drove toward the Watertown area to spend the night at his mom's. I figured that meant five minutes. Instead, he pulled his car to the side of the road and talked past midnight about why he admires and supports Johnson.

Then he called back twice to make some final points.

In short, Mortensen can't stand the Bush administration. He said the bloodshed from the war in Iraq is a result of the deception of the American people, and that Bush and his top advisers "should all be in jail, as far as I'm concerned."

And he said the most onerous tactic of the White House is contending that anyone, liberal or conservative, who disagrees with its policies fails to remember what happened on Sept. 11, 2001.

"To imply that if you have any criticism of the way this country is being governed or the way it is being represented overseas, (to imply that) if you do anything except for saying, 'Yes, sir, I want some more,' that you are being disloyal . . . that is insulting to the memory of 9/11 and those who died on that day," Mortensen said.

Johnson, a surgeon from Sackets Harbor who served as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Medical Corps, does not join in the call for impeaching Bush. But he remains opposed to the war in Iraq, calling "for an orderly withdrawal . . . in the near future."

On the war, Johnson is equally impatient with his own party. He said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a potential Democratic presidential candidate, reminds him of Hubert Humphrey in 1968 - when Humphrey's political tightrope walk on Vietnam hurt him in the presidential race against Richard Nixon.

McHugh, who has visited Iraq six times, recently told The Post-Standard the U.S. "is still making progress" in that nation. "We can't come home and hide under the bed," he said.

As for Mortensen and his support for Johnson, McHugh spokesman Christopher Mathey responded with this statement: "For the past 22 years in elective office, Congressman McHugh has worked hard to earn the faith, trust and support of the hard-working men and women who call New York's 23rd District home," Mathey said.

Mathey mentioned McHugh's many local endorsements, before concluding: "At the end of the day, the voters of this region will decide whose opinion matters: Those who live and work here in Upstate New York, or those who don't."

Mortensen rejected the notion that he has no business in this race. He went to high school and college in the North Country, he said, and he often returns to see his family. "It's not only a beautiful part of the world, but I spent a significant number of years here and I like the environment and the seasons and the landscape, and I also like the people," Mortensen said. "I think I'll always come back here."

He met Johnson after Mortensen delivered a commencement address in May at St. Lawrence University, his alma mater, in which he questioned why millions of Americans struggle to afford a health care plan. Johnson was intrigued because he said similar questions are what first compelled him to run for Congress.

The two men sat down and found they agreed on many things, including a shared belief that the American focus after Sept. 11 should have been on tracking down Osama bin Laden, not invading Iraq. Mortensen promised to do what he could to help, even though he knew the uphill nature of the race.

As of last week, Johnson - with no traditional political background except for running and losing two years ago against McHugh - had raised about one-fortieth of the hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign fundraising done by his opponent. If McHugh can receive big donations "from wealthy interest groups," Mortensen asked, why is it improper for one artist to say his piece?

And say his piece he did. Mortensen's final phone call dealt with why he first went public with his politics. He had grown weary, he said, of media commentators who made forced comparisons between U.S. policy in the Middle East and the "free peoples" of Middle Earth created by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Mortensen has read collections of Tolkien's letters. He knows the author was uneasy about the tactics that led to Allied victory in World War II, especially the use of atomic weapons. To emphasize that point, Mortensen underlined this passage from a letter Tolkien sent during World War II to his son Christopher, one of the rare times that Tolkien equated the real world to the heroes and villains of Middle Earth:

"For we are attempting to conquer Sauron with the ring. And we shall it (seems) succeed. But the penalty is, as you will know, to breed new Saurons, and to slowly turn Men and Elves into Orcs."

In these harsh times, Mortensen sees his country in that quote.

Jazz

If I lived in the US I would be a Democrat. Here, in Canada, I am a Liberal (which is a Canadian version of the Democrat). So I would have most likely voted for Johnson.

I love the entire speech to be honest, it was very intellectual and insightful. I love how passionate he is about things and he is willing to fight for it. I also love the "I am an actor" instead of "I am JUST an actor" and that "I make no excuses for my profession". It's true, he shouldn't have to!

HappySquared

Exactly, Jazz. Good looks aside, who wouldn't love an intelligent man? And personally everytime I read something that he had written or spoken, I feel my muse coming back giving me my own insights on life, things and the world. That guy has been my inspiration and he continues to awe me with his words.

Jazz

Gay, you took the words right out of my mouth. I love how he fights for freedom. I mean, he's not a politician by any means but he knows what he wants and he knows how to speak intelligentally about it!

Here is another example of his fight for freedom!

Viggo Mortensen: “Governments ought to leave art in peace”. The actor presents in Torrevieja a book about Cuban art published by his publishing house.

Sergio Illescas, Alicante

Just like the character that he gave life to in The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn, the actor Viggo Mortensen has kept for the Spanish public some mysteries regarding his life. Because, as well as being an actor, he exploits his artistic aptitudes with his painting, photography, jazz and poetry… Yesterday, in Torrevieja, he presented an anthology of critical texts on new Cuban art that his publishing house Perceval Press published together with the Municipal Institute of Culture of the town in the province of Alicante. Few of us in this country knew of his multiple artistic facets beyond those carried out for the film industry, and even less so that of publisher.

“Well, in this book, which is called The new Cuban art: anthology of critical texts, we have collected, as the name indicates, various texts by Cuban writers and artists, as well as various photographs of the island that various authors have contributed.”

In a regime like the Cuban one it can not be easy for a North American team to develop something like this. “Yes, in fact many of these texts have only been published once or they have been censured for years because they went against the Castro regime. Governments ought to leave in peace these areas in order for there to be freedom to exchange ideas between countries. I know that my country, USA has, in the last 50 years, set out to provoke the Cuban regime quite enough. However, you must also take into consideration the censure and control tactics to which the Cuban citizens are subject.”

Surely it has been worth it. Undoubtedly. “We have centred on the Cuban art of the years between 1980 and 2000 and, no doubt, is the best that has been written just lately about art in South America. It has all been thanks to Kevin Power and Magaly Espinosa, two fairly important experts on Cuba, who have taken care of making the selection.

It is sad that all this does not easily reach the USA. “Maybe it is easier in Spain to get to know Cuban art. There are exhibition constantly. Cuban art reaches my country but not so much. With Perceval Press, my publishing house, we are preparing a publication dedicated to Henry Eric, a very talented Cuban artist. We want to do it in a bilingual edition, so that it also reaches the USA. With the one we have presented we want to do the same thing, but we will have to wait a year because it is longer and the work will be more costly”.

There must also be some of your work to be published by the publishing house. “Yes. I’m preparing a new book with photos of mine and some texts in English and Spanish. We are also going to try to launch some Cuban and New Zealand artists. From Perceval Press we like to promote emerging talents. Finding them and helping them is something that is always worthwhile”.

On Friday you received the gold badges of the Town and Province of León after playing the role of “Alatriste”, the Agust�*n D�*az Llanes (sic) film. Having heard all kinds of opinions on the film, you seem satisfied with the result. “The film has worked well at the Spanish box office. Obviously your work is not always going to be to everyone’s taste. I think it is a film that is very important for Spanish cinema and a great representative outside Spain. Tomorrow – today for the reader – I’m going with the team to present it at the Rome Festival, where I hope it will have a good reception”.

The problem is that it is out of the run for the Oscars. “I wish it could have taken part. But if that’s not possible, it’s not important. Above all it is a film that I’m sure that people will continue to watch as time goes by. I think it is one of those films that make film history in a country”.

HappySquared

Ah, I can't read it now, I have to go home in a bit.

But yes, Jazz. I love how he fights for whatever he believes in.

Jazz

Interesting article!

Viggo Mortensen’s Unusual Role: Indie Publishing Mogul


By JANET MASLIN
Published: November 1, 2006
Pity Viggo Mortensen, the director of the Center for Multireligious Studies at Aarhus University in Denmark. He edited an anthology called “Theology and the Religions: A Dialogue,” and all it does is make people angry. They order this $35 paperback by mistake. Then they grouse about it online, because they thought it had something to do with the “Lord of the Rings” guy.

It’s easier to mix up these two than it might seem. The Viggo Mortensen who acts also has his literary side. He is the author of art books that combine painting, photography, poetry, journal entries and whatever else he cares to include, with interests that also extend to fervently antiwar politics and music.

If his books and CDs seem remarkably free of constraints, that’s because they are. The dreamboat actor runs a fine little publishing house, too.

Indirectly, Mr. Mortensen’s Perceval Press is a “Lord of the Rings” offshoot. It began operations in 2002, soon after Mr. Mortensen had finished playing the warrior-king Aragorn in the movie trilogy. His first book, the poetry collection “Ten Last Night,” had been published nine years earlier. And by 2002, his art gallery exhibitions and books were arriving on a regular basis. Thanks to “the movie, you know, notoriety,” as Mr. Mortensen mumblingly describes his career trajectory, they were selling nicely too.

He noticed. So he asked a question of Smart Art Press, the publisher of most of his work: Could he reprint? “I’ll do the work of making sure they look right,” he remembers saying. “We’ll split the cost of reprinting each new batch. I’ll give you half the books, and you can do whatever you want with them.” And Perceval Press, which takes its name from a part of the Holy Grail myth that particularly appeals to Mr. Mortensen’s sense of independence, was born.

In 2003 Perceval’s roster included three books of Mr. Mortensen’s: “Miyelo,” “45301” and “For Wellington.” Their combined effect was to put the business in the black. When his own output is smaller, however, profits are low or nonexistent. Perceval’s print runs are small, Mr. Mortensen said, there is no real advertising, and its books are available primarily online from percevalpress.com. The point of the enterprise is to cast light on work that might not otherwise be published, and to present artists’ work as it was intended to be seen.

Recently, en route to a film festival with “Alatriste,” a swashbuckling Spanish-language film based on the popular novels of Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Mr. Mortensen stopped in New York. He had preliminary versions of Perceval’s four forthcoming books in tow. Perceval now puts out about eight books a year, all shepherded by Mr. Mortensen in his typically hands-on, “nitpicky” fashion.

“I go over all the books with a fine-tooth comb before they go out,” he said. That includes accompanying the page proofs to Jomagar, the Spanish press outside Madrid that actually produces them.

On this particular day, Mr. Mortensen was ensconced at the Algonquin Hotel, where the main floor recalls the Round Table, and the upstairs wallpaper pattern is fashioned out of New Yorker cartoons. His own literary tastes are not so gilt-edged or mainstream. One of the fall titles, which are expected to be ready at the end of November, is a Spanish-language critical anthology devoted to new Cuban art, intended primarily as a university-level textbook. Henry Eric Hernández’s book “La Revancha/Revenge” is a bilingual alternative to official accounts of the Cuban revolution. A third new book, “Magical Meteorite Songwriting Device,” reprints a set of vibrant collages made by the singer Exene Cervenka of the Original Sinners — formerly with X, and formerly Mr. Mortensen’s wife.

Ms. Cervenka’s book demonstrates what Perceval does best: choose offbeat material and produce it with close attention to the little details. “I say the same thing to everyone: We will make a really beautiful book,” Mr. Mortensen said. “It’ll look the way you want it to look, and you’ll be consulted all the way.”

Not surprisingly, this attitude is attractive to the would-be Perceval author, but Mr. Mortensen is tougher than his soft-spoken manner suggests. “I don’t have trouble saying no,” he said.

Perceval’s specialty items — science adventures (“Land of the Lost Mammoths” by Mike Davis); portrait collections (“On the Way Home,” Anne Fishbein’s photographs from Yaroslavl, a port city northeast of Moscow); odd juxtapositions (“Supernatural,” fusing doll photographs by Lindsay Brice with a Flannery O’Connor short story) — arise out of quirky, unpredictable circumstances.

None are more serendipitous than the ones that yield Mr. Mortensen’s own books, which are often prompted by the globe-trotting that goes with his film career. His latest, “I Forget You for Ever,” is also due in November. It takes its strange title from a phrase written on the side of a bus in Iran.

Perceval will print 2,000 copies of “I Forget You for Ever” and sell them at $38 each. That print run is twice what other Perceval books are usually given, but for good reason: Mr. Mortensen’s books sell out. They also go into multiple editions: one book, “SignLanguage,” has had eight printings, while “Recent Forgeries” and “Coincidence of Memory” have each had seven. And as to the question of whether Mr. Mortensen’s own books bring in revenue, the manuscript for “Ten Last Night” (which was published by Illuminati) has found its way to the used-book site Alibris. Price: $16,499.95.

Perceval has a tiny staff in Santa Monica, Calif., that includes the youngest of three Mortensen brothers, Walter Mortensen. It also includes Sandra Fu, Pilar Perez and Michelle Perez, who is credited with many of Perceval’s sleek, imaginative designs. Asked who in this group has the head for business, Viggo Mortensen answered, “Probably no one.”

Mr. Mortensen, 48, says he learned about publishing from practical experience. He has seen what happens when small presses are bought by bigger publishers and then lose control of the decision-making process. He has also experimented with using a distributor for Perceval’s products, which include CDs and T-shirts as well as books.

“We had a distributor,” he said. “And it’s kind of become like the movies, where they’ll say, O.K., Barnes & Noble will take X amount. They put the books out, and then they get sent to the back of the store if they don’t sell. If it doesn’t do very well, boom, then you’re out. Plus you’re paying a lot just to get them in the store.” Perceval is now back to distributing its own books.

“I Forget You for Ever” is another of Mr. Mortensen’s eerily abstract photo essays, with haunting images that are titled in cryptic, oblique fashion. One street scene, “Arieto,” is named for the barely visible label glimpsed on a broken record. Less subtly named are pictures of foreign cities entitled “Bomb This,” intended as a form of deterrent.

“I do hear people saying I should keep my mouth shut and not say what I think about politics,” said Mr. Mortensen, who clearly has no intention to do so. One of his avowed aims is to find the humanity in faraway places, as he did on the trip to Iran that yielded some of the pictures here.

He went there to visit Sara Solati, a young Iranian author, actress and filmmaker who had woven him into her fiction. (Such is the nature of Viggomania.) Through a bizarre series of events, she had been stalked by an actor and wound up with head trauma. She had been in a coma for months. But when Mr. Mortensen showed up in Tehran to visit her, Ms. Solati had the good sense to open her eyes.

Next time Mr. Mortensen does a book, it’s likely to feature glimpses of Russia and London, locations for the not-yet-titled film he is currently making for David Cronenberg (who directed him in the 2005 film “A History of Violence”). After that, he has three more films planned.

And where does Perceval fit into this tight schedule? “I need to sleep more than I used to,” he said. “I’ve got to do less. There may come a time when it feels like too much, so next year we may not do as many books.

“Of course,” he added, “I said that about this year.”

Click for actual articles, with links and pictures: Viggo Mortensen - Books - Report - New York Times

ryllsome

if i'am american and Viggo will run for presidency. he already have my vote.

Jazz

Viggo for President!!!! Wouldn't that be great???

Jazz

Was posted on Perceval Press:

It is true that George W. Bush and his cronies are not going to pay much attention, if any, to marches demonstrating popular opposition to the ongoing occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other place our so-called leaders have designs on. It is true that those of us who have been out in the streets of the United States on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq this past 17th of March, or on previous occasions leading up to and following the March, 2003 invasion, are not going to suddenly command the full and unbiased attention of the mainstream media in this country. It is true that at times, especially in the less well-attended marches, one can sometimes feel like one is singing and shouting into an oblivious wind of disinterest. It is true that last saturday's marches will not get the troops home by noon tomorrow.

It is also true that history is full of examples of popular movements that gradually, by dint of their persistence, have worn their way into the mundane consciousness of the people. It is also true that these popular movements, becoming increasingly noticed and discussed in the population at large, have eventually so plagued the efforts by the ruling elite to conduct their heedless business-as-usual, that those who govern have been forced to make concessions or be voted out of office. Witness the civil rights movement's accomplishments, and the fruits of the Pro-Peace Movement that finally forced the U.S. government to withdraw from their unwarranted and tragically misguided occupation of Vietnam. It is also true that the eyes of the world are on us, and that some of the world's media have been known to relay our words and actions when our own journalists did not or would not do so.

Like a child speaking truly and purely to adults, we can and should continue to inform ourselves to the best of our abilities and remain a thorn in the conscience of the nation. We owe it to our fellow citizens in this country and around the world to persist in speaking truth to lies, demonstrating power of educated conviction to willful abuse of trust, strive to lead by honourable example in the face of the destructive lack of decency and common sense shown by our government. Take heart, take your rightful place, continue to take the lead in returning a measure of democracy and grace to our government and our society. Thank you for trying. See you tomorrow.

Viggo Mortensen

Nad

I just got around to read all the articles, can't help but applaud Viggo for standing up for beliefs He may not be a politician but as the well known actor he is he can certainly make people think about what is going on in the world