Hoffman & Mortensen are shipwrecked in VANIKORO

By Matt Holmes / June 25, 2011

Xavier Gens, the French director whose first Hollywood movie HITMAN was rechopped and taken out of his hands for a soft theatrical release has landed two big names for this next project. Viggo Mortensen and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, two guys who put in my favourite performances of 2007 (EASTERN PROMISES and BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOUR'E DEAD respectively) are in talks for VANIKORO.

The movie which was also written by Gens, sounds kinda like CASTAWAY or Lost as a buddy survival movie. Two ships crash on the deserted island of Vanikoro in the late 18th century but whilst most survivors have salvaged enough material to build a small ship to escape, for whatever reason Hoffman and Mortensen are left behind for years. I love the idea. One of my favourite movies of the year, which just missed out on my top ten was RESCUE DAWN which featured Christian Bale and Steve Zahn in a similar kind of plot, where they are stuck behind enemy lines in a prison camp... but their strong chemistry in a desperate situation truly made for a great movie. Awesome casting if it pays off, Gens has done a remarkable job getting these two big names interested after the trouble he had with HITMAN. Hoffman and Mortensen? What a duo! First exciting movie news of the year. source - bloody disgusting