Actor Viggo Mortensen recently expressed his disappointment with Amazon’s decision to release his film, Thirteen Lives, straight to streaming. The actor called the decision “shameful,” stating that the film had received positive test screenings, and the studio MGM had intended to release it in many, many theatres. Despite having a cast that included Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton and generally positive reviews, Amazon decided to fast-track the movie to Amazon Prime Video.
Thirteen Lives is a 2022 film that tells the story of the heroic rescue of 12 members of a Thai youth football team and their coach from an underground cave system. Mortensen played Richard Stanton, one of the cavers who played a vital role in saving the boys. The film received a limited theatrical release before being streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
According to Mortensen, Amazon bought MGM, initially promising to respect the deal made with director Ron Howard, before going back on their word. Mortensen noted that “basically you saw that movie for a week in Chicago, New York and LA, London, and that was that.” He believed that Amazon decided to stream the movie because they thought it would be more cost-effective. “That’s what it comes down to. To me, it’s greed,” opined Mortensen.
Mortensen also criticised major movie franchises in an earlier interview, describing them as “predictable” and “not usually well-written.” He noted that he looked for interesting stories and was not against franchises, adding that if someone came to him with “great character” and he felt he had something to contribute, he would do it. However, he believed that the issue with franchises was that “they’re not usually that good,” and often had predictable writing.
Thirteen Lives received a three-star rating from NME. The publication called it a well-made film but noted that it did not justify its nearly two and a half hour runtime fully. However, the movie paid tribute to everyone involved, including the two Thai drivers who died during the mission
Read the full article on NME here: Read More