CS: Now looking at what's going on with upcoming projects. What's the status on the Viking movie, which is still called "Berserker" I presume?
Gibson: It's still called "Berserker" and I believe it's going forward. I've talked to actors and stuff, and there are some good names attached who want to do it.
CS: But not DiCaprio?
Gibson: He's pretty busy, so no.
CS: Is it still a violent Viking movie in the original language?
Gibson: Not the original language. I'd thought about that at one time but then when you consider that English comes from the middle English language, it's not a big jump. I'll do something that's understandable for a modern audience. But it won't be the English THEY'RE used to.
CS: You've got a script?
Gibson: I've got a great script. And the idea's been batting around my head for years. And I couldn't find a way to make it work, because if you look at what Vikings did, they're pretty unsympathetic. And there's no point in doing Viking light. So I had to find a way to find devices and ways to make that work dramatically, intelligently and make it seem realistic so it's about real conflict in a real era in the 9th century, so that you actually see behavior and a new mode of thought seeping in. By the 11th century there weren't any of these guys left anymore.
CS: Will this be expensive?
Gibson: Everything's expensive. It's like ridiculous. But I can't talk budget.
CS: Are you having discussions with investors or studios?
Gibson: Both and there's some interest and they dig it, but it isn't the entire vision. You can't write the vision down. You can only have a blueprint and then go from a jumping off spot. But it was by accident that I bumped into Randall Wallace and we're collaborating on the script. We've got a fourth draft and it's great. All we've got to do is do it now.
