At today’s press conference for his new film Edge of Darkness, Mel Gibson let slip some info that isn’t that much of a surprise but interesting nonetheless:

The Leonardo DiCaprio Viking movie he’s directing will be in Old Norse. Yup, Mel hasn’t met a dead language he hasn’t tried to get on film.

It’s important to Mel that the film be legit. ‘I want a Viking to scare you,’ he said gleefully. ‘I don’t want a Viking to say, [Tony Curtis style] “I’m going to die with a sword in my hand.”  I don’t want to hear that.  It pulls the rug out from under you.  I want to see somebody who I have never seen before speaking low guttural German who scares the living shit out of me coming up to my house.  What is that like?  What would that have been like?’

Of course the movie won’t be just in Old Norse. Said Mel: I think it’s going to be English – the English that would have been spoken back then – and Old Norse.  Whatever the 9th century had to offer.  I’m going to give you real.’

It’s important to note that what the 9th century had to offer was Old English, ie the language in which Beofwulf was written, so expect subtitles for even that segment of the movie.

What’s interesting is that Leonardo DiCaprio is cast in this film. Will Leo be willing to learn Old English or Old Norse in order to make the movie? You have to assume that this conversation has already happened, and that he’s prepared for it… right?

As for the picture: Google Techno Viking. Thank me later.