Jazz

I know. He and Henry are best friends, not alot of father/son relationships like that at all.

Oh yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing Eastern Promises. I hope it's done soon!

ryllsome

let us know Jazz i hopr i can watch it too.

Jazz

There is a small mention of Eastern Promises in this:

Podeswa's Pieces to open TIFF
by: Etan Vlessing
May 9, 2007

Jeremy Podeswa's Fugitive Pieces will open the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 6, having come through a strong field of Canadian contenders to grab the prestigious date.

The Roy Thomson Hall screening will be the world premiere of the page-to-screen adaptation of the Anne Michaels novel, about a seven-year-old boy who moves from escaping the Nazis in World War Two Poland to adulthood in Greece and Canada. Stephen Dillane (The Hours), Rosamund Pike (Pride & Prejudice) and Rade Serbedzija (Batman Begins) lead the cast. TIFF organizers announced the decision on Thursday.

The selection marks the tenth time that a movie produced by Robert Lantos, first with Alliance Communications and now with Serendipity Point Films, has kicked off the festival.

"Having Fugitive Pieces selected for the opening night of the Toronto Film Festival is an incredible honor," said Podeswa, in a statement. His two previous feature films, Eclipse and The Five Senses, also unspooled in Toronto.

"I am so grateful to the festival and its programmers and organizers who have supported my work from the very start."

Lantos, Sandra Cunningham, Julia Rosenberg, Takis Veremis and Dionyssis Samiotis share producer credits on the $9.5-million Canada/Greece coproduction.

Fugitive Pieces beat out a stellar list of available Canadian films to open Toronto, led by Deny Arcand's L'Âge des ténèbres, which is closing Cannes' official program, David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises, starring Naomi Watts and Viggo Mortensen, and François Girard's period drama Silk, starring Keira Knightley.

Other top-drawer Canadian films now eyeing Toronto berths include Paolo Barzman's Emotional Arithmetic, Roger Spottiswoode's Rwanda drama Shake Hands with the Devil and Kari Skogland's Margaret Laurence adap The Stone Angel, starring Ellen Burstyn.

Toronto has blown hot and cold with its opening-night selections in recent years. Deepa Mehta's launching the festival in 2005 with Water was judged a critical coup, while last year's opener, The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, directed by Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn, flopped with the first-night audience.

teena1013

thanks for the news, jazz.

Jazz

Poor thing!

Surgery saves Viggo's Rings horse
AP | Friday, 25 May 2007

Lord of the Rings actor Viggo Mortensen has a veterinarian's bill after emergency surgery saved Brego, his mount in the film trilogy.


A small bowel tear almost did what the films' villains, Saruman, Sauron and the black riders, could not – kill the trusty steed of Mortensen's heroic character, Aragorn.

The actor bought the Dutch stallion after filming and it lives in semi-retirement on the North Island property of the horse's minder, Ray Lenaghan.

Lenaghan, a veterinarian, said Brego would have suffered a "pretty nasty death" without surgery, but had come through well.

teena1013

awww. sorry to hear about brego having surgery. but i'm happy it was succesful.

Jazz

So am I! Viggo loves his horses!!!!

That stallion has a good life, in semi-retirement? Probably getting alot of loving from the mares.

teena1013

that's true. that horse gets lots of loving and a lot of food from his handler/trainer.

Jazz

I wonder if there are little Bregos running around?

teena1013

hopefully, there are cos it would be a shame that he doesn't have any little ones to leave his legacy to.

Jazz

I didn't realize the stallion was 22 years old! Wow! I thought he was still young. In any case, they are still writing about his surgery everywhere.

Movie star in medical emergency
24/05/2007 5:20:02


A Lord of the Rings star has undergone life-saving surgery.


Brego, who played Aragorn's trusty stead, came down with extremely bad case of colic.


Actor Viggo Mortensen bought the 22-year-old Dutch warmblood stallion after forming a strong bond with him during filming. The animal is currently being looked after by vet Ray Lenaghan and is wife on the Kapiti Coast.


Brego was rushed to Massey University where equine surgeon Frederik Pauwels found part of his bowel stuck in his gut. Almost two metres of the small intestine was removed and Brego is now good as new.

There is another article and you can see a picture of him in this one:

Massey News Article - Lord of the Rings star saved by surgery

Lord of the Rings star saved by surgery
Watch the 3 NEWS item.

Emergency surgery has saved Brego, who played Aragorn’s steed in three Lord of the Rings movies.

The 22-year-old Dutch warmblood stallion formed such a bond with Viggo Mortensen who played Aragorn, that Mr Mortensen purchased him after filming ended. He is cared for by vet Ray Lenaghan and his wife Jane at their property on the Kapiti Coast.

Mr Lenaghan says that Brego had been unwell for only a few hours but after an examination he knew he was in trouble with very bad colic. The decision was quickly to bring him to the University’s Equine Clinic and Hospital.

“I told Jane when I examined him that we would have to either take him to Massey or dig a hole… Jane drove him up and I followed in case anything happened en route.”

Brego was handed over to the care of senior lecturer in equine surgery Frederik Pauwels, who had him in surgery within 40 minutes

“It was very clear from the moment he arrived he was in a critical state,” Mr Pauwels said. “We anaesthetised him, made a mid-line incision into his belly and explored. We found a large amount of small intestine stuck in a tear in his gut – part of his bowel was stuck.”

Treatment included removing almost two metres of small intestine and then joining the ends back together. “Because of the severity of the case we expected there to be problems with him afterwards, but he did really great.”

If the surgery hadn’t taken place, Brego would certainly have suffered a “pretty nasty death”, Mr Pauwels says. Signs of colic include stomach pain, with some horses suffering intensely. Most colic is caused by physical derangement, including a bowel becoming twisted or stuck.

Brego stayed at the vet hospital for about a week before being released last Friday (18 May). Mr Lenaghan says he’s now “brilliant”.

“He is in his box, eating and drinking and hasn’t put a foot wrong.“

Mr Lenaghan was allowed to observe the surgery due to his veterinary training – he practices as an equine vet. “I was thinking during the op this is taking a long time,” he says. “Frederik and the staff did an amazing job.”

Brego will be kept stabled for about another month, Mr Lenaghan says, to allow the wound to heal. Then he will join other Lord of the Rings cast members colleagues on the Lenaghan’s property. After working as a stunt-riding double on the Peter Jackson directed trilogy, including playing Elfen Princess Arwen, Mrs Lenaghan was delighted to end up owning her primary mount, Florian, Arwen’s silver stallion. The couple also cares for Gandalf’s cart pony Clydee, and several black rider horses.

Brego was known as Uraeus, a former top-level dressage horse and sire of successful sporting horses. His talent was spotted while he was in semi-retirement, and then owner and trainer the late Lockie Richards agreed to lease him to the Lord of the Rings production.

The Lenaghans had received an email from Viggo Mortensen, who said he is very grateful everyone acted so quickly to help save the horse. Mr Mortensen said he was looking forward to seeing Brego again later this year, after he completed a project in Hungary.

'Lord of the Rings' hero's steed saved by emergency surgery - International Herald Tribune

'Lord of the Rings' hero's steed saved by emergency surgery
The Associated PressPublished: May 23, 2007


WELLINGTON, New Zealand: "Lord of the Rings" actor Viggo Mortensen has a veterinarian's bill after an emergency surgery saved Brego, his mount in the film trilogy, the horse's minder said Wednesday.

A small bowel tear almost did what the films' villains Saruman, Sauron and the black riders could not — kill the trusty steed of Mortensen's heroic character, Aragorn.

The actor had bought the Dutch stallion Brego after filming, and lives in semiretirement in New Zealand on the North Island property of Ray Lenaghan, the horse's minder.

Lenaghan, himself a veterinarian, noticed Brego was in trouble two weeks ago. The horse was rushed to Massey University's equine hospital.

"It was very clear from the moment he arrived he was in a critical state," said equine surgery expert Frederik Pauwels.

"We anesthetized him, made a mid-line incision into his belly," and found that "part of his bowel was stuck," Pauwels said.

He said Brego would have suffered a "pretty nasty death" without surgery, but has come through well.

Loyalty spurs Viggo
May 24, 2007 12:35pm
Article from: AAPFont size: + -
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WHEN you've carried a rider through orc attacks and other deadly attacks, you're due a little consideration.

And Lord of the Rings actor Viggo Mortensen, aka Aragorn, isn't one to let a debt like that go unpaid - or a veterinarian's bill, for that matter.

Mortensen has paid for life-saving emergency surgery to rescue Brego, his mount in the film trilogy.

A small bowel tear almost did what the films' villains Saruman, Sauron and the black riders could not – kill the Aragorn's trusty steed.

The actor bought the Dutch stallion after filming. Bregonow lives in semi-retirement in New Zealand on the North Island property of his minder Ray Lenaghan.

Lenaghan, himself a veterinarian, said Brego would have suffered a "pretty nasty death" without surgery, but has come through well.

Another article here too:

Lord of the Rings hero's horse saved

S.A.S.H.A.

Poor horse.

Sasha

teena1013

thanks for the articles, jazz. brego's 22 years old already! it's great that viggo will be going to see him soon.

Jazz

I know!!! 22 years! How old was he when he did LOTR? I never think of stallions as being old you know, even though I know they can be.

Jazz

I think this article is touching.

A Trip With Viggo Mortensen Through The Heart Of The Province


By Robustiano Pinedo - translated by Graciela

14 May 2007

He came to work on a cultural and integration project with the native communities of Tartagal.

It’s almost three o’ clock in the morning. He is sitting next to the fire on a wood and leather chair. The “asado” (barbecue) is over. The people he was preparing mate for, two at the same time, have said goodbye. He is wearing a gray San Lorenzo goalkeeper’s soccer shirt, and he throws a cigarette butt into the embers. Viggo Mortensen, 49, now has a needle in his hand and he starts sewing his red and blue flag, which suffered a passionate tear in the victory against Lanus: “I like to sew it myself.”

He was in Buenos Aires for the opening of Alatriste, and on April 2nd he came to our province for three days to start a cultural project together with the native communities of Tartagal. Through his publishing house, Perceval Press, the Lord Of The Rings actor supports undertakings related to photography and popular artistic expression. “The idea is to help promote and preserve the traditions and the language of some communities,” he explained.

He lived in Argentina between the ages of 2 and 11. Since then, he remains an absolutely passionate San Lorenzo fan. Before going into acting, he studied Politics and Spanish Literature.

The welcoming evening was long. It ended at the crack of dawn. Viggo made his bed and after breakfast he headed north in a convoy with three anthropologists, along Route 34.

In a gas station, he bought chocolates and candies to give out in the community, and four CDs to listen to on the road. “I have to catch up,” he says about a small collection of National Rock from which he only knew some. “It has some by Charlie Garcia (an Argentine musician)”.

Viggo Mortensen is a simple person. All his belongings fit in a white plastic bag: three San Lorenzo shirts, a black one, an extra/spare pair of pants, and a toothbrush. In the back pocket of his worn out jeans he carries a “bombilla”. “You have to be prepared,” he said. He sat in the back seat and prepared mate from his own thermos. “I can easily get yerba (green leaves used for mate) where I live.”

A road block near Finca de Chalican delayed their arrival for some hours. Behind the tractor wheel that lay in the middle of the road, you could see the leader of the picketers. He was wearing a black slanted beret, decorated with a red star. He had a beard of a few weeks, a military vest and a stick in his hand, which gave Hector Santa Cruz, the maximum authority in the road block, a “Che Guevara” look. “It may take about an hour,”, he solemnly declared, while he repositioned the coca leaves in his mouth. “The problem is that the school is coming to pieces here,” he explained. No way. The scientists’ attempts to explain that their time was precious were always met by: “No one can go through.”

A few blocks away is School 39, Pablo Soria. Ricardo Caseres, the principal, did not know about the road block, and complained to Santa Cruz, who acted as a school guide, that he had not consulted with him or with the parent committee: “We have to work together,” he complained. In the meantime, the actor was asking questions to the teachers and listening attentively. “The classrooms get flooded every time it rains,” explained kindergarten teacher Angelica Barro.

Back on the road, someone recognized Viggo. He signed autographs and gave out San Lorenzo pennants to the families of the picketers. “I’m sure nobody was a San Lorenzo fan, but maybe some changed their mind,” the protagonist of A History of Violence said hopefully before continuing on his way to Tartagal.

“But what is he doing in Tartagal?” Susana, a neighbor that had rushed to the park as soon as she heard the news, asked in amazement. She was holding her daughter in one hand and a camera in the other. She was waiting to see if she could get the actor’s attention for a couple of seconds, but by now, he was lost in the crowd that surrounded him.

Five minutes before, he had accepted an invitation from Elda Juarez Eslada, a teacher, to visit the tent in which they were holding a protest. “I don’t like to give an opinion about something that I don’t know, but I can listen,” he said and he rushed to finish the coffee he was having in the hotel in front of the park. In no time, he had run out of San Lorenzo pennants – he had 30 -, and there were two local TV cameras. Rescued by the anthropologists, and without having rested, the convoy arrived at the community at night, just as the first stars were beginning to shine. Back in Tartagal, at around two o’clock in the morning, after the first contact with the people involved in the project, Viggo met with a group of fans that were waiting for him to sign copies of The Lord of the Rings.

Patiently, he interrupted his dinner and kindly accepted all the requests.

The following day started very early. Sporting a different type of San Lorenzo shirt, the actor rushed out and jumped on the already moving car, eluding a swarm of female fans. “I’m sorry, Viggo, but we don’t have time,” one of the anthropologists apologized. “I understand,” he said, flying the San Lorenzo flag through the car window, and tearing the stitches he had previously added.

After a long day in the company of the members of the community, it was time to return to Salta. Viggo drove the entire 400 km (about 250 miles) that separate Tartagal from the province capital. The trip was quiet, with plenty of mate and talking. “It is hard for me to be in a relationship with this profession,” he says while he exhales the cigarette smoke, which flies out of the window. “It is difficult for me to get to know someone thoroughly."

More than 300 million people around the world have seen his movies. His career has brought him into contact with very important people in show business and in politics. “I’m not interested in that at all,” he states. “Fame has its price, but I don’t pay attention to it,” he says while he assures that his car is the same truck he’s had since 1982.

The following morning he flew towards Buenos Aires. At night, he left for the USA; he had to start working on the character of his next movie. “I’ll come back,” he said before taking the airport escalator. I began to lose sight of him. He had a bombilla in his back pocket, a white plastic bag, and a San Lorenzo flag wrapped around his shoulders