I actually kind of was drawn to the mountain the closer I got to it, I have to admit that, i do understand people who actually do this, either for passion or for work. I think in some ways you get the most real version of yourself, you can get to the core of who you are and there is something existential...to figure out who you are in nature and how you function in nature.

Baltasar Kormakur

Categorized in : Entertainment

I went there and actually listened to the tapes from the real events of the movie -- when it was happening, the phone call between the two of them, with the wife, who hadn't listened to it for 18 years, very, very intense moment. It was great.

Baltasar Kormakur

entertainment

You know, it's a big cast on a big mountain. But, in the end, they were all ready for what was in store for them.

Baltasar Kormakur

entertainment

There were endless moments of peril or dangerous moments but we didn't put anyone foolishly into danger.

Baltasar Kormakur

entertainment

In Iceland, the weather is the biggest character you deal with every day. There's nothing more relevant in your life than what kind of weather it is.

Baltasar Kormakur

day you character life

I don't see Hollywood as the big enemy, because this is where the money is, and not all of the companies are doing studio movies. I'm not tempted to sell out. If I'm going to become well known, I want it to be for something I'm proud of.

Baltasar Kormakur

movies proud money enemy

The winters are too long, and there's only one airline, so it's difficult to escape when you feel frustrated or claustrophobic. The audience for our films isn't very large, so it's difficult to support an industry. But, Iceland is beautiful. Sometimes it's hard to imagine living anywhere else.

Baltasar Kormakur

you support beautiful long

With a huge storm, you need a lot of volume, but it can't become one loud noise. Dolby Atmos helped a lot because it gave us the separation of those elements.

Baltasar Kormakur

need you storm noise

It's important for cinema to keep on evolving: for people, and not only teenagers, to be able to go to a movie that has huge epic scope but has an intellectual and real story to tell.

Baltasar Kormakur

story cinema important people

I really wanted to make 'Everest' visceral, real. One thing that amazed me when I was scouting in base camp is the volume of Everest: It's humbling. I wanted to find a way to bring that to the screen. One way was 3D.

Baltasar Kormakur

find me real way

'The Oath' seems like the perfect project for me, coming off the back of a big-scale adventure film like 'Everest.' I want to delve into an intimate, dark and psychological world where the characters are claustrophobic.

Baltasar Kormakur

me dark adventure world

I want to work with directors who can tell intimate stories in a way that feels universal and with a big enough scope and depth to travel outside of Iceland.

Baltasar Kormakur

enough work way travel

I developed 'Trapped' because I was fascinated with the idea of a terrible crime in a small town cut off from the rest of the world.

Baltasar Kormakur

rest small crime world

Vikings were pretty brutal, but also very educated people. They were salesmen, businessmen who started raiding when business wasn't good. That's why they had such great boats.

Baltasar Kormakur

great good business people

I started as an actor, then became a theater director. I loved acting but didn't feel as confident as I needed to be, so I started directing theater; then I played in some movies, and then I felt the need to do my own stuff.

Baltasar Kormakur

loved movies feel my-own

I've always looked at filmmaking as a lifestyle. There is no decision of when you go to work. It's a way of life: you're thinking about scripts; you see things and think, 'That could be interesting'... I don't think about my work as, 'Today I'll work on this, this and that.' It just comes to me.

Baltasar Kormakur

me work today life

People talk about Hollywood as a myth, but in reality, when you make Icelandic movies and you want to get them distributed in the U.S., you're not really working with Hollywood. The movies I've been making, the first one I made, I made it with Working Title, but it was financed through Universal, so it became a Hollywood production.

Baltasar Kormakur

movies you reality people

I'm the first Icelandic director who started working on U.S. movies. There are others behind me now, but it's like when Bjork opened the door for Icelandic musicians to work abroad. We're such a closed-off country, but Bjork broke the spell. And I'm glad it was a woman who did it. She showed us we could break this barrier.

Baltasar Kormakur

door woman me work

When I made '101 Reykjavik,' people talked about 'Almodovar on ice.' When I made 'The Sea,' people referenced Bergman.

Baltasar Kormakur

about ice sea people

We will work on ways to digitally enhance Everest, matching it with Dolomites and Everest, but I'll do everything physically first. If there's no other way, then I'll go to CGI.

Baltasar Kormakur

will go work way

I think my sweet spot is to make personal films on not-too-big budgets and also make other people's films, bringing productions to Iceland, upping the business here.

Baltasar Kormakur

think business sweet people