Viaplay shut its direct-to-consumer service in February, but the Scandi streamer is still active in the U.S.
The platform has struck a deal to launch a subscription channel on Prime Video Channels, offering originals such as Börje – The Journey of a Legend, Furia and Gold Run.
The channel launches on Prime Video Channels today, offering access to Viaplay for $5.99 a month, with a free seven-day trial.
The development comes after Viaplay closed its subscription streaming app in North America after a turbulent 2023 in which the Sweden-based company made 25% of its staff redundant and restructured around a package of sports rights and unscripted content. Expensive scripted shows were axed and sold, and the streamer has since pulled out of North America and the UK.
Exits from the Baltics and Poland are also coming, with Group President and CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann telling shareholders the company “will be different” in its annual report last month.
The platform has struck a deal to launch a subscription channel on Prime Video Channels, offering originals such as Börje – The Journey of a Legend, Furia and Gold Run.
The channel launches on Prime Video Channels today, offering access to Viaplay for $5.99 a month, with a free seven-day trial.
The development comes after Viaplay closed its subscription streaming app in North America after a turbulent 2023 in which the Sweden-based company made 25% of its staff redundant and restructured around a package of sports rights and unscripted content. Expensive scripted shows were axed and sold, and the streamer has since pulled out of North America and the UK.
Exits from the Baltics and Poland are also coming, with Group President and CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann telling shareholders the company “will be different” in its annual report last month.
- 4/17/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Tran Anh Hung’s simmering gastro-romance is the latest dish in a cinematic feast ranging from The Godfather to The Lunchbox
The term “gastroporn” got thrown around a lot when The Taste of Things was in cinemas recently, but I’m not sure it’s quite right for Tran Anh Hung’s sumptuous culinary romance, seductive as all the cookery on display is. Though it has many a languid, exquisitely lit pan over the finished dishes created by Benoît Magimel’s 19th-century gourmet – including a giant, glistening vol-au-vent that I’ve been thinking about for months – it’s less about money shots than it is about foodie foreplay. The film’s greatest pleasures are in its extended sequences of preparation and process; the silently, adoringly intuitive collaboration between Magimel and Juliette Binoche’s fellow cook; the thrill of watching experts at work. Ok, and there’s a near-seamless match-cut from...
The term “gastroporn” got thrown around a lot when The Taste of Things was in cinemas recently, but I’m not sure it’s quite right for Tran Anh Hung’s sumptuous culinary romance, seductive as all the cookery on display is. Though it has many a languid, exquisitely lit pan over the finished dishes created by Benoît Magimel’s 19th-century gourmet – including a giant, glistening vol-au-vent that I’ve been thinking about for months – it’s less about money shots than it is about foodie foreplay. The film’s greatest pleasures are in its extended sequences of preparation and process; the silently, adoringly intuitive collaboration between Magimel and Juliette Binoche’s fellow cook; the thrill of watching experts at work. Ok, and there’s a near-seamless match-cut from...
- 4/13/2024
- by Guy Lodge
- The Guardian - Film News
It’s a rare type of cinephile who wasn’t introduced to the idea of film as more than just idle entertainment by the ritual of the Academy Awards. And it’s an even rarer type of cinephile who didn’t soon thereafter vehemently reject the Oscar as the ultimate barometer of a film’s artistic worth. Those of us who started off with The Godfather, Schindler’s List, All About Eve, or Casablanca all eventually got around to Out of Africa, Around the World in 80 Days, The Greatest Show on Earth, Cimarron, and Cavalcade. First loves being first loves, we still find ourselves regressing if for only one night a year, succumbing to the allure of instant canonization even as it comes in the form of repeated slap-in-the-face reminders of Oscar’s bracing wrongness: Gladiator, Braveheart, Chicago, Crash. In that sense, consider this project part cathartic exorcism and part...
- 3/17/2024
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
Best known for portraying antiheroic father figures, Pedro Pascal is currently making headlines for his casting in the upcoming Marvel Studios film, Fantastic Four.
There’s this internet fascination with the 48-year-old star, especially after his standout performance in HBO’s The Last of Us and some of his funny viral clips. Many admire him for his sense of humor.
Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller in The Last of Us
Recently, his sense of humor shone in an interview where he stated having a lookalike in Hollywood that fans could never imagine who.
Suggested“He really is Reed Richards”: Pedro Pascal’s Freakishly Genius Way of Learning Lines Justifies His Smartest Man in the MCU Title
Pedro Pascal Teases Fans with Mystery Doppelgänger in Hollywood
There is no doubt that Pedro Pascal and Indian actor Jimmy Sheirgill look alike. But the Hollywood star himself revealed his opinion about who...
There’s this internet fascination with the 48-year-old star, especially after his standout performance in HBO’s The Last of Us and some of his funny viral clips. Many admire him for his sense of humor.
Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller in The Last of Us
Recently, his sense of humor shone in an interview where he stated having a lookalike in Hollywood that fans could never imagine who.
Suggested“He really is Reed Richards”: Pedro Pascal’s Freakishly Genius Way of Learning Lines Justifies His Smartest Man in the MCU Title
Pedro Pascal Teases Fans with Mystery Doppelgänger in Hollywood
There is no doubt that Pedro Pascal and Indian actor Jimmy Sheirgill look alike. But the Hollywood star himself revealed his opinion about who...
- 2/21/2024
- by Shreya Jha
- FandomWire
Bille August, the two-time Palme d’Or-winning director, found his creative match with the former Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, who reinvented herself as a detail-oriented costume designer on his hit Netflix film “Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction.”
The film, which took a decade to bring to life, is nominated for three Robert Awards, the Danish equivalent to the Oscars. A playful royal scandal set in the early 19th century, “Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction” was penned by Anders August and based on a 1963 novella by Karen Blixen, the Danish baroness who was played by Meryl Streep in “Out of Africa.” The film revolves around Cazotte, a young portrait painter who considers himself an expert on love matters and is challenged by the Grand Duchess to seduce a young woman, as well as help her secure an heir.
Margrethe II, who just stepped down from her throne citing health reasons,...
The film, which took a decade to bring to life, is nominated for three Robert Awards, the Danish equivalent to the Oscars. A playful royal scandal set in the early 19th century, “Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction” was penned by Anders August and based on a 1963 novella by Karen Blixen, the Danish baroness who was played by Meryl Streep in “Out of Africa.” The film revolves around Cazotte, a young portrait painter who considers himself an expert on love matters and is challenged by the Grand Duchess to seduce a young woman, as well as help her secure an heir.
Margrethe II, who just stepped down from her throne citing health reasons,...
- 1/15/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is adding another title to her royal resume: costume designer.
The royal, who celebrated 50 years on the throne in 2022, served as the costume and production designer for Netflix film “Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction.” The feature was released in September 2023; Queen Margrethe II was not paid by the production companies for her work on the film.
“Ehrengard” is an adaptation of Karen Blixen’s fairytale about a lady-in-waiting who dodges a royal court painter’s advances. Blixen was a Danish baroness who published under pseudonym Isak Dinesen.
“It was great fun,” Queen Margrethe II told The New York Times of working on the movie adaptation. “I hope that Blixenites will accept the way we’ve done it.”
Queen Margrethe II designed 51 costumes and made 81 decoupages, or collages, for the film. The sets were based on her drawings and other artwork.
“I’ve been interested in...
The royal, who celebrated 50 years on the throne in 2022, served as the costume and production designer for Netflix film “Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction.” The feature was released in September 2023; Queen Margrethe II was not paid by the production companies for her work on the film.
“Ehrengard” is an adaptation of Karen Blixen’s fairytale about a lady-in-waiting who dodges a royal court painter’s advances. Blixen was a Danish baroness who published under pseudonym Isak Dinesen.
“It was great fun,” Queen Margrethe II told The New York Times of working on the movie adaptation. “I hope that Blixenites will accept the way we’ve done it.”
Queen Margrethe II designed 51 costumes and made 81 decoupages, or collages, for the film. The sets were based on her drawings and other artwork.
“I’ve been interested in...
- 11/3/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
A genius South Korean lawyer with very poor social skills, Wonder Woman star Connie Nielsen as Danish writer Karen Blixen, Martin Freeman as a cop on the edge, and those foul-mouthed Derry Girls are among the nominees for this year’s International Emmy awards, which were announced today by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The 56 nominees span 20 countries and six continents.
Best drama contenders include South Korea’s Extraordinary Attorney Woo, featuring Park Eun-bin as an autistic rookie female lawyer with a genius Iq; the German period drama The Empress, British thriller The Devil’s Hour starring Peter Capaldi; and Yosi, the Regretful Spy, a historic thriller from Argentina, another Amazon production. On the comedy side, Netflix’s Northern Irish hit Derry Girls is up against Argentine series The Boss from Star+, season 2 of the French reality show send-up Le Flambeau, and Vir Das: Landing, a Netflix stand-up special from the Indian comedy star.
Best drama contenders include South Korea’s Extraordinary Attorney Woo, featuring Park Eun-bin as an autistic rookie female lawyer with a genius Iq; the German period drama The Empress, British thriller The Devil’s Hour starring Peter Capaldi; and Yosi, the Regretful Spy, a historic thriller from Argentina, another Amazon production. On the comedy side, Netflix’s Northern Irish hit Derry Girls is up against Argentine series The Boss from Star+, season 2 of the French reality show send-up Le Flambeau, and Vir Das: Landing, a Netflix stand-up special from the Indian comedy star.
- 9/26/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Warner Bros. Discovery is projecting huge losses from the impact of writer and actor strikes, but “Barbie” is still around to help them pay bills. It’s hardly news that as Greta Gerwig’s smash hit starts its initial post-theater platform release, it’s #1 on PVOD charts. The real story: that it’s doing so with a hefty premium price.
Gerwig’s #1 theatrical hit worldwide for 2023 (which will end up with around $1.5 billion in theatrical returns) is now renting on PVOD for $24.99, with the option to add it to your digital library permanently for $29.99. Studios recover 80 percent from revenues returned for these transactions, less a small slice for the carrier. That means Warner Bros. Discovery will recoup around $20 for each “Barbie” rental, $25 for each download. It’s a bonanza.
As always, how much actual money is involved with these transactions is not known, but if five million domestic homes rent the film,...
Gerwig’s #1 theatrical hit worldwide for 2023 (which will end up with around $1.5 billion in theatrical returns) is now renting on PVOD for $24.99, with the option to add it to your digital library permanently for $29.99. Studios recover 80 percent from revenues returned for these transactions, less a small slice for the carrier. That means Warner Bros. Discovery will recoup around $20 for each “Barbie” rental, $25 for each download. It’s a bonanza.
As always, how much actual money is involved with these transactions is not known, but if five million domestic homes rent the film,...
- 9/19/2023
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Based on the Danish novel Ehrengard, written by Karen Blixen, Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction, a Netflix original film brings to screen a sweet and serene period drama that is indeed going make your heart swoon with love. The narrative follows an exuberant royal painter named Wolfgang Cazotte, who is attracted to a military man’s daughter, Ehrengard. He is determined to seduce Ehrengard through his cunning tactics, but in his journey to win her over, he has to take part in a compromise with the Grand Duchess of Babenhausen. Let’s explore the character arc of Cazotte to know if he manages to achieve his desired goal.
Spoiler Alert
Who was Cazotte?
Cazotte had a unique vision and an intriguing taste in art. Like most of the artists, nature was his muse, but he found women’s bodies to be his only fascination and inspiration to make art. His...
Spoiler Alert
Who was Cazotte?
Cazotte had a unique vision and an intriguing taste in art. Like most of the artists, nature was his muse, but he found women’s bodies to be his only fascination and inspiration to make art. His...
- 9/19/2023
- by Poulami Nanda
- Film Fugitives
This Danish period film is not as tantalizing as one would imagine but rather a tale as old as time. You can’t really call Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction a rom-com because, other than the romantic setting, there isn’t really any romance in this film. Additionally, the comedy falls flat and doesn’t pack a punch like it’s expected to. The film follows a not-so-young artist named Cazotte. On one of his portrait assignments, the Duchess of Babenhausen requests that he teach her young son the art of seduction because there’s a crisis and he must be married off immediately (tell us something new). For his services, the self-attested love doctor wants, in return, a connection with a beautiful woman named Ehrengard. This is when things start to get messy, and the result is a tale of mishaps and scandal.
For the most part, Ehrengard is extremely uncomfortable to watch,...
For the most part, Ehrengard is extremely uncomfortable to watch,...
- 9/14/2023
- by Ruchika Bhat
- Film Fugitives
In “Only Murders in the Building” Season 3, Meryl Streep plays Loretta Durkin, a struggling actress who is cast in Oliver Putnam’s (Martin Short) new musical “Death Rattle Dazzle.”
And while the season has been slowly pulling back the layers of Loretta, production designer Patrick Howe and showrunner John Hoffman revealed to TheWrap that there was more information about her character that was ultimately left on the cutting room floor.
“My original information that I had to go on for designing a small modest studio apartment is that she lived there for 40 years, she was a gift wrapper at Macy’s, very modest means, always trying to get acting jobs and never landing anything more than a small, off, off, off Broadway part,” Howe told TheWrap. “And so we filmed all this footage of her wrapping gifts and at the Macy’s gift wrap department but then decided to just...
And while the season has been slowly pulling back the layers of Loretta, production designer Patrick Howe and showrunner John Hoffman revealed to TheWrap that there was more information about her character that was ultimately left on the cutting room floor.
“My original information that I had to go on for designing a small modest studio apartment is that she lived there for 40 years, she was a gift wrapper at Macy’s, very modest means, always trying to get acting jobs and never landing anything more than a small, off, off, off Broadway part,” Howe told TheWrap. “And so we filmed all this footage of her wrapping gifts and at the Macy’s gift wrap department but then decided to just...
- 9/5/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
In Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” Season 3’s newest star Meryl Streep plays Loretta Durkin, a scatter-brained and quirky struggling actor. When set decorator Rich Murray got the creative brief, he was told, “She’s charming and warm and has lived in the same studio apartment for the past 35 to 40 years.” With that, Murray peppered in Easter eggs galore as an homage to Streep’s illustrious career.
Murray first had to come up with a concept for the space, and found inspiration from the 1951 film “An American in Paris.” Jerry Mulligan’s (Gene Kelly) apartment was ideal. “It has a lot of built-in quirkiness with drop-down, pull-down things,” says Murray. “Everyone has everything so neatly finessed, tucked in and tightened cornered, and so we sort of pull from that.”
Aside from showrunner John Hoffman’s initial brief, Murray got no other notes on design requirements, so he “decided...
Murray first had to come up with a concept for the space, and found inspiration from the 1951 film “An American in Paris.” Jerry Mulligan’s (Gene Kelly) apartment was ideal. “It has a lot of built-in quirkiness with drop-down, pull-down things,” says Murray. “Everyone has everything so neatly finessed, tucked in and tightened cornered, and so we sort of pull from that.”
Aside from showrunner John Hoffman’s initial brief, Murray got no other notes on design requirements, so he “decided...
- 8/29/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
The film will be available on Netflix beginning September 1st. The trailer for the upcoming movie “Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction” was released by Netflix on Thursday.
The planned movie, directed by Academy Award winner Bille August, adapts Karen Blixen’s novel Ehrengard.
Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction Official Trailer
In Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction, set in the fairy tale realm of Babenhausen, the plotting Grand Duchess (Sidse Barbett Knudsen) hires Mr. Cazotte (Mikkel Boe Flsgaard), a young, self-appointed specialist on love, to assist her in securing an heir.
Mr. Cazotte trains the shy and introverted Crown Prince Lothar (Emil Aron Dorph) in seduction and lovemaking while looking for a suitable future Princess.
But their scheme backfires when an heir is born out of wedlock, forcing the royal family to seek refuge in Rosenbad Castle.
As opponents within the royal family close in on their plan, Cazotte falls in...
The planned movie, directed by Academy Award winner Bille August, adapts Karen Blixen’s novel Ehrengard.
Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction Official Trailer
In Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction, set in the fairy tale realm of Babenhausen, the plotting Grand Duchess (Sidse Barbett Knudsen) hires Mr. Cazotte (Mikkel Boe Flsgaard), a young, self-appointed specialist on love, to assist her in securing an heir.
Mr. Cazotte trains the shy and introverted Crown Prince Lothar (Emil Aron Dorph) in seduction and lovemaking while looking for a suitable future Princess.
But their scheme backfires when an heir is born out of wedlock, forcing the royal family to seek refuge in Rosenbad Castle.
As opponents within the royal family close in on their plan, Cazotte falls in...
- 8/18/2023
- by Mantisha
- https://dailyresearchplot.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/new-sam
In the era of streaming consolidation, as media companies from Warner Bros. Discovery to Paramount Global to Disney are all finding new ways to house their content in one centralized service, it can be a fraught exercise to launch a new subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, especially one that is aiming to appeal to a very narrow audience. However, after becoming a major player in the European streaming market, Viaplay launched in the United States in late February, looking to carve out a unique niche in an under-served corner of the streaming space.
7-Day Free Trial $5.99 / month viaplay.com
The Swedish-owned streamer has built its brand on delivering a very special and specific brand of content native to that part of the world. While many people describe Viaplay’s type of programming as “Nordic Noir” for its dark — literally and figuratively — crime stories, the company’s chief commercial officer for North...
7-Day Free Trial $5.99 / month viaplay.com
The Swedish-owned streamer has built its brand on delivering a very special and specific brand of content native to that part of the world. While many people describe Viaplay’s type of programming as “Nordic Noir” for its dark — literally and figuratively — crime stories, the company’s chief commercial officer for North...
- 6/15/2023
- by Matt Tamanini
- The Streamable
[Warning: The following contains Major spoilers for The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen series premiere.] Connie Nielsen takes on a dream role in The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen. The Danish series premieres Thursday, March 30 on Nordic streamer Viaplay. In it, Nielsen is a far cry from the physical prowess of Wonder Woman‘s Queen Hippolyta, but the Danish actor displays an emotional strength as Denmark’s most famous modern writer who penned Seven Gothic Tales, Out of Africa, Babette’s Feast, and more (often under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen). The Dreamer “tells the story of one woman’s struggle to find her place in life while freeing herself from the expectations of family and society,” the logline describes. Set in the 1930s, the series begins with the end of the author’s time in East Africa. It was far from a happy ending. Divorced from her husband, her lover dead, and her Kenyan farm gone under, the penniless Blixen must return ...
- 3/30/2023
- TV Insider
How far would you travel across the face of the Earth to find yourself? That’s the question Karen Blixen must answer in “The Dreamer- Becoming Karen Blixen,” the new series coming to Viaplay on Thursday, March 30. The story follows Blixen as she travels thousands of miles, only to find that the real journey lies deep within herself. You can watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of Viaplay.
How to Watch 'The Dreamer - Becoming Karen Blixen' Premiere When: Thursday, March 30, 2023 Where: Viaplay Stream: Watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of Viaplay. 7-Day Free Trial$5.99 / month viaplay.com About 'The Dreamer - Becoming Karen Blixen' Premiere
“The Dreamer- Becoming Karen Blixen” tells the story of one woman’s struggle to find her place in life while freeing herself from the expectations of family and society. The series takes place in the 1930s and follows Karen Blixen...
How to Watch 'The Dreamer - Becoming Karen Blixen' Premiere When: Thursday, March 30, 2023 Where: Viaplay Stream: Watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of Viaplay. 7-Day Free Trial$5.99 / month viaplay.com About 'The Dreamer - Becoming Karen Blixen' Premiere
“The Dreamer- Becoming Karen Blixen” tells the story of one woman’s struggle to find her place in life while freeing herself from the expectations of family and society. The series takes place in the 1930s and follows Karen Blixen...
- 3/30/2023
- by David Satin
- The Streamable
To win a Best Picture Oscar, a film has to have something about it.
Only 94 films in history have been given this award. They’re not voted on by the eccentric members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who pick the Golden Globes, or by specialist groups of critics, but by the roughly 10,000 members of the Academy. That is to say, the choice is made by distinguished figures from within the industry.
Sometimes, though, they do still make some baffling choices.
By the time the Oscars roll around at the end of the awards process, a herd mentality tends to have set in.
When everybody has already voted at all the other awards shows for, say, The King’s Speech or The Shape of Water, the Academy members follow suit. It’s rare for a Best Picture winner ever to be a complete surprise.
Nonetheless, a few questionable films have stolen glory that rightfully belonged elsewhere.
Only 94 films in history have been given this award. They’re not voted on by the eccentric members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who pick the Golden Globes, or by specialist groups of critics, but by the roughly 10,000 members of the Academy. That is to say, the choice is made by distinguished figures from within the industry.
Sometimes, though, they do still make some baffling choices.
By the time the Oscars roll around at the end of the awards process, a herd mentality tends to have set in.
When everybody has already voted at all the other awards shows for, say, The King’s Speech or The Shape of Water, the Academy members follow suit. It’s rare for a Best Picture winner ever to be a complete surprise.
Nonetheless, a few questionable films have stolen glory that rightfully belonged elsewhere.
- 3/8/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- The Independent - Film
To win a Best Picture Oscar, a film has to have something about it.
Only 94 films in history have been given this award. They’re not voted on by the eccentric members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who pick the Golden Globes, or by specialist groups of critics, but by the roughly 10,000 members of the Academy. That is to say, the choice is made by distinguished figures from within the industry.
Sometimes, though, they do still make some baffling choices.
By the time the Oscars roll around at the end of the awards process, a herd mentality tends to have set in.
When everybody has already voted at all the other awards shows for, say, The King’s Speech or The Shape of Water, the Academy members follow suit. It’s rare for a Best Picture winner ever to be a complete surprise.
Nonetheless, a few questionable films have stolen glory that rightfully belonged elsewhere.
Only 94 films in history have been given this award. They’re not voted on by the eccentric members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who pick the Golden Globes, or by specialist groups of critics, but by the roughly 10,000 members of the Academy. That is to say, the choice is made by distinguished figures from within the industry.
Sometimes, though, they do still make some baffling choices.
By the time the Oscars roll around at the end of the awards process, a herd mentality tends to have set in.
When everybody has already voted at all the other awards shows for, say, The King’s Speech or The Shape of Water, the Academy members follow suit. It’s rare for a Best Picture winner ever to be a complete surprise.
Nonetheless, a few questionable films have stolen glory that rightfully belonged elsewhere.
- 3/8/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- The Independent - Film
To win a Best Picture Oscar, a film has to have something about it.
Only 90 films in history have been given this award. They’re not voted on by the eccentric members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who pick the Golden Globes, or by specialist groups of critics, but by the 6,000 members of the Academy. That is to say, the choice is made by distinguished figures from within the industry.
Sometimes, though, they do still make some baffling choices.
By the time the Oscars roll around at the end of the awards process, a herd mentality tends to have set in.
When everybody has already voted at all the other awards shows for, say, The King’s Speech or The Shape of Water, the Academy members follow suit. It’s rare for a Best Picture winner ever to be a complete surprise.
Nonetheless, a few questionable films have stolen glory that rightfully belonged elsewhere.
Only 90 films in history have been given this award. They’re not voted on by the eccentric members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who pick the Golden Globes, or by specialist groups of critics, but by the 6,000 members of the Academy. That is to say, the choice is made by distinguished figures from within the industry.
Sometimes, though, they do still make some baffling choices.
By the time the Oscars roll around at the end of the awards process, a herd mentality tends to have set in.
When everybody has already voted at all the other awards shows for, say, The King’s Speech or The Shape of Water, the Academy members follow suit. It’s rare for a Best Picture winner ever to be a complete surprise.
Nonetheless, a few questionable films have stolen glory that rightfully belonged elsewhere.
- 1/24/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- The Independent - Film
To win a Best Picture Oscar, a film has to have something about it.
Only 90 films in history have been given this award. They’re not voted on by the eccentric members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who pick the Golden Globes, or by specialist groups of critics, but by the 6,000 members of the Academy. That is to say, the choice is made by distinguished figures from within the industry.
Sometimes, though, they do still make some baffling choices.
By the time the Oscars roll around at the end of the awards process, a herd mentality tends to have set in.
When everybody has already voted at all the other awards shows for, say, The King’s Speech or The Shape of Water, the Academy members follow suit. It’s rare for a Best Picture winner ever to be a complete surprise.
Nonetheless, a few questionable films have stolen glory that rightfully belonged elsewhere.
Only 90 films in history have been given this award. They’re not voted on by the eccentric members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who pick the Golden Globes, or by specialist groups of critics, but by the 6,000 members of the Academy. That is to say, the choice is made by distinguished figures from within the industry.
Sometimes, though, they do still make some baffling choices.
By the time the Oscars roll around at the end of the awards process, a herd mentality tends to have set in.
When everybody has already voted at all the other awards shows for, say, The King’s Speech or The Shape of Water, the Academy members follow suit. It’s rare for a Best Picture winner ever to be a complete surprise.
Nonetheless, a few questionable films have stolen glory that rightfully belonged elsewhere.
- 1/24/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- The Independent - Film
Si Litvinoff, the visionary producer behind Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and the Nicolas Roeg-directed films The Man Who Fell to Earth and the Australian New Wave classic Walkabout, has died. He was 93.
Litvinoff died peacefully Dec. 26 in Los Angeles, his friend Shade Rupe announced. Rupe interviewed him for the Blu-ray release of Litvinoff’s groundbreaking 1968 film The Queen, which revolves around a national drag queen contest.
Litvinoff also produced the London-set All the Right Noises (1970), starring Olivia Hussey, Tom Bell and Judy Carne, and executive produced a Roeg-directed documentary about the 1972 Glastonbury Fayre music festival that featured performances by Traffic, Fairport Convention, Melanie and Arthur Brown.
In 1965, Litvinoff optioned Anthony Burgess’ 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange for a reported 500 and sent the book to Kubrick. While paying for screenplays by Burgess, Terry Southern and Michael Cooper, the producer sought Mick Jagger to star in it, all while Kubrick...
Litvinoff died peacefully Dec. 26 in Los Angeles, his friend Shade Rupe announced. Rupe interviewed him for the Blu-ray release of Litvinoff’s groundbreaking 1968 film The Queen, which revolves around a national drag queen contest.
Litvinoff also produced the London-set All the Right Noises (1970), starring Olivia Hussey, Tom Bell and Judy Carne, and executive produced a Roeg-directed documentary about the 1972 Glastonbury Fayre music festival that featured performances by Traffic, Fairport Convention, Melanie and Arthur Brown.
In 1965, Litvinoff optioned Anthony Burgess’ 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange for a reported 500 and sent the book to Kubrick. While paying for screenplays by Burgess, Terry Southern and Michael Cooper, the producer sought Mick Jagger to star in it, all while Kubrick...
- 1/6/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Meryl Streep was at the peak of the first phase of her career in 1985. She was a mere eight years removed from her big-screen debut in Fred Zinnemann's "Julia," yet she had already racked up five Academy Award nominations and two wins (Best Supporting Actress for "The Deer Hunter" and Best Actress for "Sophie's Choice"). It seemed like her range as a performer was limitless -- ergo, she was going to be highly in demand for years to come.
This is every actor's dream, but it grows complicated as you grow older and start a family. Making a movie is a demanding task that often requires people to spend months on a far-flung location away from their families. For the 36-year-old Streep, who had two young children by this point (and two more on the way over the next decade) as she prepared to shoot "Out of Africa," this was very much a concern.
This is every actor's dream, but it grows complicated as you grow older and start a family. Making a movie is a demanding task that often requires people to spend months on a far-flung location away from their families. For the 36-year-old Streep, who had two young children by this point (and two more on the way over the next decade) as she prepared to shoot "Out of Africa," this was very much a concern.
- 8/22/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Israeli drama The Lesson has won two prizes in this year’s prestigious Canneseries Longform Competition.
Kan 11’s six-parter featuring Fauda’s Doron Ben-David about Amir, a 43-year-old teacher, and Lian, a 17-year-old student, who engage in an emotional conflict, won Best Series and Best Performance for co-lead Maya Landsman. Federation Entertainment boarded the drama several days ago.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Audrey Est Revenue won the Dior Grand Award, Best Music was awarded to Sky Deutschland’s Souls and Belgium’s Hacked took first prize in Short Form Series.
The prestigious prizes were awarded at a swanky event in Cannes tonight, which sees out the Canneseries drama forum and Mip TV.
Call My Agent! creator Fanny Herrero was President of the Jury which consisted of actors Denis O’Hare, Anne Marivin, Sami Outalbali, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson and Composer Daniel Pemberton. Writer Anthony Horowitz sat on the Short Form Jury.
The...
Kan 11’s six-parter featuring Fauda’s Doron Ben-David about Amir, a 43-year-old teacher, and Lian, a 17-year-old student, who engage in an emotional conflict, won Best Series and Best Performance for co-lead Maya Landsman. Federation Entertainment boarded the drama several days ago.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Audrey Est Revenue won the Dior Grand Award, Best Music was awarded to Sky Deutschland’s Souls and Belgium’s Hacked took first prize in Short Form Series.
The prestigious prizes were awarded at a swanky event in Cannes tonight, which sees out the Canneseries drama forum and Mip TV.
Call My Agent! creator Fanny Herrero was President of the Jury which consisted of actors Denis O’Hare, Anne Marivin, Sami Outalbali, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson and Composer Daniel Pemberton. Writer Anthony Horowitz sat on the Short Form Jury.
The...
- 4/6/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
A Canneseries main competition contender, “The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen” begins with a voiceover from Connie Nielsen reading, in beautifully cadenced Danish, a letter ‘Out of Africa’ author Karen Blixen writes to her mother in 1931.
In it, she expresses the joy Africa has given her, that the family farm she ran has gone bankrupt, and she will soon take her life.
Exquisite shots of Africa play out, meanwhile, on the screen.
It this mix of lush period detail and big production value and a harder economic edge and sustained portrait of a woman’s sentiments and soul – through read letters, dialog confession and Nielsen’s central commanding central performance – that sets “The Dreamer” apart.
Developed from a concept by Nielsen, “The Dreamer” begins when Blixen near ends, economically and emotionally bankrupt after her farm fails and her soulmate, as she calls English aristocrat Denys Finch Hatton, dies in an air...
In it, she expresses the joy Africa has given her, that the family farm she ran has gone bankrupt, and she will soon take her life.
Exquisite shots of Africa play out, meanwhile, on the screen.
It this mix of lush period detail and big production value and a harder economic edge and sustained portrait of a woman’s sentiments and soul – through read letters, dialog confession and Nielsen’s central commanding central performance – that sets “The Dreamer” apart.
Developed from a concept by Nielsen, “The Dreamer” begins when Blixen near ends, economically and emotionally bankrupt after her farm fails and her soulmate, as she calls English aristocrat Denys Finch Hatton, dies in an air...
- 4/5/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
TrustNordisk, which is at the Canneseries Festival (Apr. 1-6) with “The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen,” has scored a raft of deals on Christian Tafdrup’s psychological horror film “Speak No Evil.”
The Sundance film follows a Danish family who befriends a Dutch family while vacationing in Tuscany. Months later, the Danish couple receive an unexpected invitation to visit the Dutch in their wooden house and decide to go for the weekend. Things gradually get out of hand, and the Danish family find themselves trapped.
TrustNordisk sold “Speak No Evil” to South Korea (Sidus Fnh Corporation), Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand (Cm Holdings), Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy (Koch Films) and Israel (Lev Cinemas).
“Speak No Evil,” which was recently released in Danish cinemas, was produced by Profile Pictures’ producer Jacob Jarek. Oak Motion Pictures in the Netherlands co-produced the movie with support from The Danish Film Institute, FilmFyn, The Netherlands Film Production Incentive,...
The Sundance film follows a Danish family who befriends a Dutch family while vacationing in Tuscany. Months later, the Danish couple receive an unexpected invitation to visit the Dutch in their wooden house and decide to go for the weekend. Things gradually get out of hand, and the Danish family find themselves trapped.
TrustNordisk sold “Speak No Evil” to South Korea (Sidus Fnh Corporation), Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand (Cm Holdings), Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy (Koch Films) and Israel (Lev Cinemas).
“Speak No Evil,” which was recently released in Danish cinemas, was produced by Profile Pictures’ producer Jacob Jarek. Oak Motion Pictures in the Netherlands co-produced the movie with support from The Danish Film Institute, FilmFyn, The Netherlands Film Production Incentive,...
- 4/1/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Call My Agent! creator Fanny Herrero has been unveiled as President of this year’s Canneseries Jury.
Herrero will be joined by Anne Marivin – star of the French Netflix sensation – on the six-person Jury, alongside Dallas Buyers Club’s Denis O’Hare, Sex Education’s Sami Outalbali, True Detective’s Ólafur Darri Ólafsson and composer Daniel Pemberton.
The six will judge a prestigious list of Long Form Competition finalists including shows from Academy Award-winners Oliver Hirschbiegel and Jean-Xavier De Lestrade and The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen, along with dramas from Israel, Canada, Spain and Belgium.
The Short Form Competition is being overseen by acclaimed author-screenwriter Anthony Horowitz, French actor-director Marc Ruchmann and Chinenye Ezeudu, another Sex Education star.
Herrero is the creator of Call My Agent!, the critically acclaimed Netflix show that has revolutionized non-English-language progaming on the platform. She spoke at last week’s Series Mania of the show’s success,...
Herrero will be joined by Anne Marivin – star of the French Netflix sensation – on the six-person Jury, alongside Dallas Buyers Club’s Denis O’Hare, Sex Education’s Sami Outalbali, True Detective’s Ólafur Darri Ólafsson and composer Daniel Pemberton.
The six will judge a prestigious list of Long Form Competition finalists including shows from Academy Award-winners Oliver Hirschbiegel and Jean-Xavier De Lestrade and The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen, along with dramas from Israel, Canada, Spain and Belgium.
The Short Form Competition is being overseen by acclaimed author-screenwriter Anthony Horowitz, French actor-director Marc Ruchmann and Chinenye Ezeudu, another Sex Education star.
Herrero is the creator of Call My Agent!, the critically acclaimed Netflix show that has revolutionized non-English-language progaming on the platform. She spoke at last week’s Series Mania of the show’s success,...
- 3/28/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Happy Friday International Insiders, Tom Grater here with your weekly round-up of our top international headlines.
Ukraine Crisis Intensifies
Covering conflict: It has been another week of tough news from the embattled nation of Ukraine, with Russia’s military assault on the country intensifying and no sign of a peace accord being reached. Here’s a rundown of our coverage of the conflict over the past five days:
Foreign Affairs Correspondent Hollie McKay was back with another special report for Deadline from on-the-ground. Her interviews with people sheltering from the war in Kyiv, including Ukrainian actor-musician Roman Matsyuta, are powerful.
Bekmambetov speaks: It has been difficult for Russians to speak out against the invasion, particularly since a new censorship law was passed, but some have been able to lodge protests. Russian-Kazakh director Timur Bekmambetov spoke to Deadline from Israel this week, condemning the “tragedy” in Ukraine and announcing he is...
Ukraine Crisis Intensifies
Covering conflict: It has been another week of tough news from the embattled nation of Ukraine, with Russia’s military assault on the country intensifying and no sign of a peace accord being reached. Here’s a rundown of our coverage of the conflict over the past five days:
Foreign Affairs Correspondent Hollie McKay was back with another special report for Deadline from on-the-ground. Her interviews with people sheltering from the war in Kyiv, including Ukrainian actor-musician Roman Matsyuta, are powerful.
Bekmambetov speaks: It has been difficult for Russians to speak out against the invasion, particularly since a new censorship law was passed, but some have been able to lodge protests. Russian-Kazakh director Timur Bekmambetov spoke to Deadline from Israel this week, condemning the “tragedy” in Ukraine and announcing he is...
- 3/11/2022
- by Tom Grater and Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
The fifth edition will see the TV festival return to its original springtime slot to run alongside MipTV.
French Oscar-winning director Xavier De Lestrade’s investigative thriller The Inside Game, Seeds Of Wrath and Danish bio-series The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen are among the 10 new series selected for competition in the upcoming edition of French TV festival Canneseries (April 1-6).
The fifth edition sees the event return its traditional springtime slot coinciding with the MipTV content market (April 4-6), after the festival moved to September in 2021 due to the Covid-pandemic.
Political thriller The Inside Game, Seeds Of Wrath stars Alix Poisson...
French Oscar-winning director Xavier De Lestrade’s investigative thriller The Inside Game, Seeds Of Wrath and Danish bio-series The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen are among the 10 new series selected for competition in the upcoming edition of French TV festival Canneseries (April 1-6).
The fifth edition sees the event return its traditional springtime slot coinciding with the MipTV content market (April 4-6), after the festival moved to September in 2021 due to the Covid-pandemic.
Political thriller The Inside Game, Seeds Of Wrath stars Alix Poisson...
- 3/8/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Birthe Neumann as Karen Blixen with Thorkild Bjørnvig (Simon Bennebjerg) in The Pact, Bille August’s elegant take on creation and destruction.
Karen Blixen herself, if you take her word for it, had made a deal with the devil in exchange for the power to tell tales. In Bille August’s The Pact (Pagten), co-written with Christian Torpe and based on the memoir by Thorkild Bjørnvig, starring Birthe Neumann as Blixen, opposite Simon Bennebjerg as Bjørnvig, she tests her own devilishness, and yet remains always very human. Blixen’s Seven Gothic Tales and Out Of Africa, plus Sydney Pollack’s film version of the latter with Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, and Klaus Maria Brandauer may float in and out of our memory while watching the machinations of mutual manipulation unfold.
Bille August with Anne-Katrin Titze on Karen Blixen: “Doing this film I was trying to understand how she worked as a storyteller,...
Karen Blixen herself, if you take her word for it, had made a deal with the devil in exchange for the power to tell tales. In Bille August’s The Pact (Pagten), co-written with Christian Torpe and based on the memoir by Thorkild Bjørnvig, starring Birthe Neumann as Blixen, opposite Simon Bennebjerg as Bjørnvig, she tests her own devilishness, and yet remains always very human. Blixen’s Seven Gothic Tales and Out Of Africa, plus Sydney Pollack’s film version of the latter with Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, and Klaus Maria Brandauer may float in and out of our memory while watching the machinations of mutual manipulation unfold.
Bille August with Anne-Katrin Titze on Karen Blixen: “Doing this film I was trying to understand how she worked as a storyteller,...
- 2/11/2022
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
For many of us, the first mental image prompted by the name Karen Blixen is of a radiant Meryl Streep, resplendent in oatmeal linen and undulating safari hat, romantically lit in the tawny Kenyan dusk. If you wish that to remain the case, best to steer clear of “The Pact” — not that Bille August’s flat, unflattering portrait of the older Blixen should be appointment viewing for anyone. Drawn from Danish poet Thorkild Bjørnvig’s memoir of his thorny friendship with, and tutelage under, the older literary icon, this well-dressed midcentury period piece keeps teasing a darker, more perverse take on a familiar story of cross-generational creative mentorship. Yet despite a performance of unnerving severity by Birthe Neumann as the rancorous Blixen, the film remains too polite and light on incident to deliver on that promise.
Written by Danish TV heavyweight Christian Torpe (“Rita”), the screenplay of “The Pact” bristles with quiet but disquieting tensions,...
Written by Danish TV heavyweight Christian Torpe (“Rita”), the screenplay of “The Pact” bristles with quiet but disquieting tensions,...
- 2/11/2022
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
"This could change everything. I can write without feeling guilty." Juno Films has released the official US trailer for an acclaimed Danish biopic titled The Pact, which originally opened in theaters in Denmark last year. The film examines the intense friendship between Karen Blixen, the Danish author best known for her autobiographical novel "Out of Africa" (written under the pen name "Isak Dinesen") and Thorkild Bjørnvig, a young and promising poet. She offers him a Faustian bargain and promises him stardom if he will obey her unconditionally. What a strange relationship. From director Bille August comes this sterling adaptation of Bjørnvig's bestselling memoir. Birthe Neumann stars as Karen Blixen, joined by Simon Bennebjerg, Nanna Skaarup Voss, Asta Kamma August, Anders Heinrichsen, and Marie Mondrup. This looks like a smart character study of an arrogant woman going mad at the end of her life. Perhaps worth a watch. Here's the official...
- 1/21/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
TrustNordisk will handle international sales on the project.
Danish actress Connie Nielsen is playing the lead role in The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen, a new series about one of the country’s most celebrated authors.
The six-part series was filmed in Denmark and internationally, and is currently in post-production, with delivery scheduled for 2022.
Danish sales agency TrustNordisk has acquired international rights to the series, which is produced by Zentropa and Nordic Entertainment Group for Nordic streaming platform Viaplay, as a Viaplay Original title.
The series is created by Dunja Gry Jensen, who previously created Sf Studios’ crime series Norskov; and...
Danish actress Connie Nielsen is playing the lead role in The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen, a new series about one of the country’s most celebrated authors.
The six-part series was filmed in Denmark and internationally, and is currently in post-production, with delivery scheduled for 2022.
Danish sales agency TrustNordisk has acquired international rights to the series, which is produced by Zentropa and Nordic Entertainment Group for Nordic streaming platform Viaplay, as a Viaplay Original title.
The series is created by Dunja Gry Jensen, who previously created Sf Studios’ crime series Norskov; and...
- 11/30/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Connie Nielsen will star as Out of Africa writer Karen Blixen in The Dreamer — Becoming Karen Blixen, a new television series about the making of the famed Danish writer.
The Gladiator and Wonder Woman actress will Blixen in the six-part limited series from Scandinavian streamer Viaplay. Produced by Viaplay parent Nordic Entertainment Group and Lars von Trier’s production company Zentropa, The Dreamer is currently in post-production. TrustNordisk has picked up international sales for the series.
Meryl Streep played Blixen in the 1984 Oscar-winning epic Out of Africa, based on Blixen’s autobiographical writings about her time in East Africa. The Dreamer is set in the 1930s, after ...
The Gladiator and Wonder Woman actress will Blixen in the six-part limited series from Scandinavian streamer Viaplay. Produced by Viaplay parent Nordic Entertainment Group and Lars von Trier’s production company Zentropa, The Dreamer is currently in post-production. TrustNordisk has picked up international sales for the series.
Meryl Streep played Blixen in the 1984 Oscar-winning epic Out of Africa, based on Blixen’s autobiographical writings about her time in East Africa. The Dreamer is set in the 1930s, after ...
- 11/30/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Connie Nielsen will star as Out of Africa writer Karen Blixen in The Dreamer — Becoming Karen Blixen, a new television series about the making of the famed Danish writer.
The Gladiator and Wonder Woman actress will Blixen in the six-part limited series from Scandinavian streamer Viaplay. Produced by Viaplay parent Nordic Entertainment Group and Lars von Trier’s production company Zentropa, The Dreamer is currently in post-production. TrustNordisk has picked up international sales for the series.
Meryl Streep played Blixen in the 1984 Oscar-winning epic Out of Africa, based on Blixen’s autobiographical writings about her time in East Africa. The Dreamer is set in the 1930s, after ...
The Gladiator and Wonder Woman actress will Blixen in the six-part limited series from Scandinavian streamer Viaplay. Produced by Viaplay parent Nordic Entertainment Group and Lars von Trier’s production company Zentropa, The Dreamer is currently in post-production. TrustNordisk has picked up international sales for the series.
Meryl Streep played Blixen in the 1984 Oscar-winning epic Out of Africa, based on Blixen’s autobiographical writings about her time in East Africa. The Dreamer is set in the 1930s, after ...
- 11/30/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Juno Films has claimed North America rights to The Pact, a film from Oscar and Palme d’Or-winning director Bille August, which is based on the true story of Out of Africa author Karen Blixen, planning to release it in U.S. and Canadian theaters in early 2022, followed by a digital release later in the year.
The Pact catches up with Blixen (Birthe Neumann) at age 63, finding her at the pinnacle of her fame and next in line to win the Nobel Prize for literature. It has been 17 years since she gave up her famous farm in Africa, only to return to Denmark with her life in ruins. Devastated by syphilis and having lost the love of her life, she has reinvented herself as a literary sensation. She is an isolated genius, however, until the day she meets talented 30-year-old poet Thorkild Bjørnvig...
The Pact catches up with Blixen (Birthe Neumann) at age 63, finding her at the pinnacle of her fame and next in line to win the Nobel Prize for literature. It has been 17 years since she gave up her famous farm in Africa, only to return to Denmark with her life in ruins. Devastated by syphilis and having lost the love of her life, she has reinvented herself as a literary sensation. She is an isolated genius, however, until the day she meets talented 30-year-old poet Thorkild Bjørnvig...
- 10/27/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Queen Margrethe II, the reigning Danish monarch, will add an adaptation of Karen Blixen’s fantasy novel Ehrengard to her two previous screen credits
Queen Margrethe II, reigning monarch of Denmark, is to design the sets for a forthcoming Netflix film adapted from a novel by Karen Blixen, it has been announced.
A romantic fantasy set in the fairytale kingdom of Babenhausen, Ehrengard will be directed by Bille August, the veteran Danish director of Pelle the Conqueror (which won both the Palme d’Or and Oscar for best foreign language film in 1988) and The Best Intentions (which won August a second Palme d’Or).
Queen Margrethe II, reigning monarch of Denmark, is to design the sets for a forthcoming Netflix film adapted from a novel by Karen Blixen, it has been announced.
A romantic fantasy set in the fairytale kingdom of Babenhausen, Ehrengard will be directed by Bille August, the veteran Danish director of Pelle the Conqueror (which won both the Palme d’Or and Oscar for best foreign language film in 1988) and The Best Intentions (which won August a second Palme d’Or).
- 8/31/2021
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Erlingsdóttir previously oversaw legal and business affairs for the London-based sales, production and finance company Rocket Science.
Icelandic production company Zik Zak Filmworks has appointed Ragnheidur Erlingsdóttir as its new CEO.
Zik Zak’s former CEO Skúli Malmquist is now managing director of the Iceland Dance Company.
Erlingsdóttir previously oversaw legal and business affairs for the London-based sales, production and finance company Rocket Science. She is an Iceland native who worked as a producer there (on films including Xl and Rainbow Party) before moving to the UK for four years.
Zik Zak’s current slate – also overseen by producer Arnar...
Icelandic production company Zik Zak Filmworks has appointed Ragnheidur Erlingsdóttir as its new CEO.
Zik Zak’s former CEO Skúli Malmquist is now managing director of the Iceland Dance Company.
Erlingsdóttir previously oversaw legal and business affairs for the London-based sales, production and finance company Rocket Science. She is an Iceland native who worked as a producer there (on films including Xl and Rainbow Party) before moving to the UK for four years.
Zik Zak’s current slate – also overseen by producer Arnar...
- 8/31/2021
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
The set designer will be Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II.
Danish director Bille August is to direct an adaptation of Karen Blixen’s last work ‘Ehrengard’ for Sf Studios and Netflix.
Blixen is the Danish writer whose autobiographical memoir inspired the 1985 film Out Of Africa. She completed Ehrengard just before her death in 1962.
The set designer is Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, renowned for her bold and colourful personal style.
Ehrengard is set in the fairy tale kingdom of Babenhausen, where the monarch’s search for an heir leads to a scandal and major schisms within the royal family.
Anders...
Danish director Bille August is to direct an adaptation of Karen Blixen’s last work ‘Ehrengard’ for Sf Studios and Netflix.
Blixen is the Danish writer whose autobiographical memoir inspired the 1985 film Out Of Africa. She completed Ehrengard just before her death in 1962.
The set designer is Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, renowned for her bold and colourful personal style.
Ehrengard is set in the fairy tale kingdom of Babenhausen, where the monarch’s search for an heir leads to a scandal and major schisms within the royal family.
Anders...
- 8/31/2021
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Danish Oscar winner Bille August has been set to helm Ehrengard, the adaptation of Karen Blixen’s novel, which is being produced by Sf Studios for Netflix.
The project has been developed over the last decade by Jacob Jørgensen and JJ Film, Anders August is the scriptwriter, with Sf’s Marcella Dichmann producing. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is designing the sets.
The novel is set in the fairytale kingdom of Babenhausen, where a young, self-appointed expert on love, Cazotte, is hired by the scheming Grand Duchess to help her secure an heir. While searching for a suitable future Princess, Cazotte teaches the timid and introverted Crown Prince the art of seduction and lovemaking. But their plan soon backfires, when an heir is conceived out of wedlock and the royal family has to seek refuge in the castle of Rosenbad. Here, as rivals within the royal family close in on their scheme,...
The project has been developed over the last decade by Jacob Jørgensen and JJ Film, Anders August is the scriptwriter, with Sf’s Marcella Dichmann producing. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is designing the sets.
The novel is set in the fairytale kingdom of Babenhausen, where a young, self-appointed expert on love, Cazotte, is hired by the scheming Grand Duchess to help her secure an heir. While searching for a suitable future Princess, Cazotte teaches the timid and introverted Crown Prince the art of seduction and lovemaking. But their plan soon backfires, when an heir is conceived out of wedlock and the royal family has to seek refuge in the castle of Rosenbad. Here, as rivals within the royal family close in on their scheme,...
- 8/31/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
A tribute to the Nordic film industry’s resilience, four Nordic titles have made it through to Cannes’ Official Selection. And unlike previous years, when Denmark or Sweden (Rüben Östlund) drew most of the worldwide attention, audiences should watch out for new and established voices from Norway, Finland and Iceland.
“Compartment No. 6”
Juho Kuosmanen’s sophomore feature marks Finland’s return to competition after a decade away (the previous Finnish film in competition was Aki Kaurismäki’s “Le Havre”). The Finnish director won Un Certain Regard back in 2016 with his black-and- white debut, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki.” The story of a young Finnish student and a misanthropic Russian miner who share a journey along the Soviet Union’s trans-Siberian railway in the late 1980s, “Compartment No. 6” stars Seidi Haarla, one of the Berlinale’s 10 Shooting Stars.
“The Gravedigger’s Wife”
Finland makes history this year...
“Compartment No. 6”
Juho Kuosmanen’s sophomore feature marks Finland’s return to competition after a decade away (the previous Finnish film in competition was Aki Kaurismäki’s “Le Havre”). The Finnish director won Un Certain Regard back in 2016 with his black-and- white debut, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki.” The story of a young Finnish student and a misanthropic Russian miner who share a journey along the Soviet Union’s trans-Siberian railway in the late 1980s, “Compartment No. 6” stars Seidi Haarla, one of the Berlinale’s 10 Shooting Stars.
“The Gravedigger’s Wife”
Finland makes history this year...
- 7/9/2021
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
Filming is underway on Aki Louhimies Finnish action thriller.
Danish sales firm REinvent has secured further EFM deals, including on Aki Louhimies’ Finnish action thriller Omerta 6/12 following promo reel screenings at the EFM this week. The project is now in production.
Splendid film has picked up rights for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland. It sold to Spain earlier this week.
Omerta 6/12 is based on Ilkka Remes’ best-selling novel 6/12, about a hostage crisis that occurs on Finland’s Independence Day. The cast includes Jasper Pääkkönen, Nanna Blondell and Sverrir Gudnason.
The film is now shooting in Finland with...
Danish sales firm REinvent has secured further EFM deals, including on Aki Louhimies’ Finnish action thriller Omerta 6/12 following promo reel screenings at the EFM this week. The project is now in production.
Splendid film has picked up rights for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland. It sold to Spain earlier this week.
Omerta 6/12 is based on Ilkka Remes’ best-selling novel 6/12, about a hostage crisis that occurs on Finland’s Independence Day. The cast includes Jasper Pääkkönen, Nanna Blondell and Sverrir Gudnason.
The film is now shooting in Finland with...
- 3/5/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Filming is underway on Aki Louhimies Finnish action thriller.
Danish sales firm REinvent has secured further EFM deals, including on Aki Louhimies’ Finnish action thriller Omerta 6/12 following promo reel screenings at the EFM this week. The project is now in production.
Splendid film has picked up rights for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland. It sold to Spain earlier this week.
Omerta 6/12 is based on Ilkka Remes’ best-selling novel 6/12, about a hostage crisis that occurs on Finland’s Independence Day. The cast includes Jasper Pääkkönen, Nanna Blondell and Sverrir Gudnason.
The film is now shooting in Finland with...
Danish sales firm REinvent has secured further EFM deals, including on Aki Louhimies’ Finnish action thriller Omerta 6/12 following promo reel screenings at the EFM this week. The project is now in production.
Splendid film has picked up rights for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland. It sold to Spain earlier this week.
Omerta 6/12 is based on Ilkka Remes’ best-selling novel 6/12, about a hostage crisis that occurs on Finland’s Independence Day. The cast includes Jasper Pääkkönen, Nanna Blondell and Sverrir Gudnason.
The film is now shooting in Finland with...
- 3/5/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Other deals include for Erik Poppe’s The Emigrants and Bille August’s The Pact.
Rikke Ennis’ Danish outfit REinvent has closed a string of deals on its slate of upcoming films at the EFM.
They include Aku Louhimies’ Finnish action thriller Omerta 6/12, which has sold to Spain (A Contracorriente). Filming is underway on the feature, which will be delivered by the end of the year, while a four-part series version of the project is also being readied for mid-2022.
The story is based on Ilkka Remes’ best-selling novel 6/12, about a hostage crisis that occurs on Finland’s Independence Day.
Rikke Ennis’ Danish outfit REinvent has closed a string of deals on its slate of upcoming films at the EFM.
They include Aku Louhimies’ Finnish action thriller Omerta 6/12, which has sold to Spain (A Contracorriente). Filming is underway on the feature, which will be delivered by the end of the year, while a four-part series version of the project is also being readied for mid-2022.
The story is based on Ilkka Remes’ best-selling novel 6/12, about a hostage crisis that occurs on Finland’s Independence Day.
- 3/3/2021
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Sf Studios and sales banner REinvent have unveiled the trailer for “The Pact,” Bille August’s psychological drama based on real events in the life of Karen Blixen, the Danish author best known for her autobiographical novel “Out of Africa.”
The film depicts Blixen’s tumultuous relationship with Thorkild Bjørnvig, a promising young poet, after she returned from Africa. Birthe Neumann headlines the film as Blixen in her first major dramatic film role since “The Celebration.”
“The Pact” is produced by Sf Studios and Motor with producers Jesper Morthorst and Karin Trolle. Nordic distribution is handled by Sf Studios while REinvent International Sales is selling worldwide rights. The film will be released in cinemas in Denmark on April 15.
Along with “Margrete-Queen of the North” and “The Emigrants,” “The Pact” is one of the thee projects from Sf Studios which will be presented in the Works in Progress section at this...
The film depicts Blixen’s tumultuous relationship with Thorkild Bjørnvig, a promising young poet, after she returned from Africa. Birthe Neumann headlines the film as Blixen in her first major dramatic film role since “The Celebration.”
“The Pact” is produced by Sf Studios and Motor with producers Jesper Morthorst and Karin Trolle. Nordic distribution is handled by Sf Studios while REinvent International Sales is selling worldwide rights. The film will be released in cinemas in Denmark on April 15.
Along with “Margrete-Queen of the North” and “The Emigrants,” “The Pact” is one of the thee projects from Sf Studios which will be presented in the Works in Progress section at this...
- 2/4/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Poland’s Opus Film and Scandinavian distributor Scanbox are teaming with fast-rising Danish production house Motor on Mads Hedegaard’s directorial debut “Stranger,” co-penned with Jesper Fink. Tagged by Motor as “‘Apocalypto’ meets ‘The Revenant,’” “Stranger” will be pitched virtually on Feb. 5 by Hedegaard and producer Andreas Hjortdal, at the Discovery section of the Göteborg Film Festival’s Nordic Film Market industry showcase.
The film goes back to pre-historic times, 6,000 years ago, when migrant farmers virtually replaced the hunter-gatherer populations of northern Europe. When 16-year old Aathi and her family -the first farmers ever – arrive from the south in the country now known as Denmark, all except Aathi and her younger brother are killed by local hunters. To survive, the two youngsters are forced to live with the hunters’ tribe in the eerie forest and integrate. But when Aathi becomes pregnant and the child is forcefully adopted by the tribe,...
The film goes back to pre-historic times, 6,000 years ago, when migrant farmers virtually replaced the hunter-gatherer populations of northern Europe. When 16-year old Aathi and her family -the first farmers ever – arrive from the south in the country now known as Denmark, all except Aathi and her younger brother are killed by local hunters. To survive, the two youngsters are forced to live with the hunters’ tribe in the eerie forest and integrate. But when Aathi becomes pregnant and the child is forcefully adopted by the tribe,...
- 2/3/2021
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
While longer Best Actress-nominated performances are rarer than ones contending for Best Actor, there has been a significant amount of them over 92 years. Indeed, 44 have surpassed 90 minutes of screen time, and the overall longest nominated performance of all time comes from this category. Here is a look at the 10 longest ever nominated for the award:
10. Rosalind Russell (“Auntie Mame”)
1 hour, 48 minutes, 23 seconds (75.59% of the film)
Over the course of 16 years, Russell competed for the Best Actress Oscar four times, and her final bid was for playing an eccentric socialite who is tasked with raising her nephew. All four of her nominations were for relatively long performances, averaging one hour, 30 minutes, and 42 seconds and over 71%. She never won, and lost in 1959 to Susan Hayward, who was on her fifth and final nomination for her one-hour, 15-minute, and 26-second performance in “I Want to Live!”.
9. Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”)
1 hour, 49 minutes, 55 seconds (83.87% of...
10. Rosalind Russell (“Auntie Mame”)
1 hour, 48 minutes, 23 seconds (75.59% of the film)
Over the course of 16 years, Russell competed for the Best Actress Oscar four times, and her final bid was for playing an eccentric socialite who is tasked with raising her nephew. All four of her nominations were for relatively long performances, averaging one hour, 30 minutes, and 42 seconds and over 71%. She never won, and lost in 1959 to Susan Hayward, who was on her fifth and final nomination for her one-hour, 15-minute, and 26-second performance in “I Want to Live!”.
9. Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”)
1 hour, 49 minutes, 55 seconds (83.87% of...
- 1/31/2021
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Projects include period drama ‘The Emigrants’ and ‘Margrete – Queen Of The North’, starring Trine Dyrholm.
Goteborg’s Nordic Film Market has revealed the 13 Nordic films that will be presented as works in progress at its online market.
They include two big-budget historical epics, Charlotte Sieling’s Margrete – Queen Of The North, starring Trine Dyrholm as a powerful ruler in the early 15th century; and Erik Poppe’s The Emigrants, about Swedes moving to America in the 19th century.
Scroll down for full list
Further features set to be previewed include Bille August’s drama The Pact, about Karen Blixen’s...
Goteborg’s Nordic Film Market has revealed the 13 Nordic films that will be presented as works in progress at its online market.
They include two big-budget historical epics, Charlotte Sieling’s Margrete – Queen Of The North, starring Trine Dyrholm as a powerful ruler in the early 15th century; and Erik Poppe’s The Emigrants, about Swedes moving to America in the 19th century.
Scroll down for full list
Further features set to be previewed include Bille August’s drama The Pact, about Karen Blixen’s...
- 1/19/2021
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
“Cop Secret,” “Margrete – Queen of the North” and “The Emigrants” are among 12 wide-ranging projects set to be presented at a virtual Nordic Film Market, Scandinavia’s biggest industry showcase which runs alongside the Goteborg Film Festival.
“Cop Secret,” directed by Icelandic gaolkeeper turned filmmaker Hannes Þór Halldórsson, is an action comedy following a tough cop who in denial about his sexuality and falls in love with his new partner while investigating a litany of bank robberies. The movie is being produced by Lilja Ósk Snorradóttir at Icelandic banner Pegasus and started shooting in September.
Both “Margrete – Queen of the North” and “The Emigrants” are highly anticipated historical dramas produced by Sf Studios and represented in international markets by REinvent.
“Margrete – Queen of the North” is directed by Charlotte Sieling, the acclaimed Danish director of “The Killing” and “The Bridge,” among others. The movie is set in 1402 and stars Trine Dyrholm...
“Cop Secret,” directed by Icelandic gaolkeeper turned filmmaker Hannes Þór Halldórsson, is an action comedy following a tough cop who in denial about his sexuality and falls in love with his new partner while investigating a litany of bank robberies. The movie is being produced by Lilja Ósk Snorradóttir at Icelandic banner Pegasus and started shooting in September.
Both “Margrete – Queen of the North” and “The Emigrants” are highly anticipated historical dramas produced by Sf Studios and represented in international markets by REinvent.
“Margrete – Queen of the North” is directed by Charlotte Sieling, the acclaimed Danish director of “The Killing” and “The Bridge,” among others. The movie is set in 1402 and stars Trine Dyrholm...
- 1/19/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
To mark the release of Out of Africa, Monty python and Uncle Buck on 28th September, we’ve been given 2 Blu-ray bundles of the movies to give away.
Out of Africa
The true life story of Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep), an amazingly strong willed woman who moves from Denmark to run a coffee plantation with her philandering husband (Klaus Maria Brandauer) in Kenya around 1914. To her astonishment she soon discovers herself falling in love with the land, its people and a mysterious adventurer and idealist (Robert Redford).
Monty Python
Those six pandemonium-mad Pythons are back with their craziest adventure ever! John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin have returned to explain The Meaning of Life. These naughty Pythons offer the usual tasteful sketches involving favourite bodily parts and functions, the wonders of war, the miracle of birth and a special preview of what’s waiting for us in Heaven.
Out of Africa
The true life story of Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep), an amazingly strong willed woman who moves from Denmark to run a coffee plantation with her philandering husband (Klaus Maria Brandauer) in Kenya around 1914. To her astonishment she soon discovers herself falling in love with the land, its people and a mysterious adventurer and idealist (Robert Redford).
Monty Python
Those six pandemonium-mad Pythons are back with their craziest adventure ever! John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin have returned to explain The Meaning of Life. These naughty Pythons offer the usual tasteful sketches involving favourite bodily parts and functions, the wonders of war, the miracle of birth and a special preview of what’s waiting for us in Heaven.
- 9/21/2020
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Kurt Luedtke, who left journalism for Hollywood and won an Academy Award for his “Out of Africa” screenplay, died Sunday in Michigan after a long illness. He was 80.
The Michigan native died at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, the Detroit Free Press reported. He had worked at the newspaper starting in 1965 and was part of the paper’s Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the deadly 1967 riots in that city. He became its executive editor before departing at the age of 33 to pursue a career as a screenwriter.
Luedtke was able to sell Orion Picture his idea about a liquor warehouse owner whose life is almost destroyed by a reporter relying on an anonymous source. The film became Sydney Pollack’s “Absence of Malice,” starring Paul Newman, Sally Field, Melinda Dillon and Wilford Brimley, leading to Academy Award nominations to Newman for actor, Dillon for supporting actress and Leudtke for original screenplay.
The Michigan native died at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, the Detroit Free Press reported. He had worked at the newspaper starting in 1965 and was part of the paper’s Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the deadly 1967 riots in that city. He became its executive editor before departing at the age of 33 to pursue a career as a screenwriter.
Luedtke was able to sell Orion Picture his idea about a liquor warehouse owner whose life is almost destroyed by a reporter relying on an anonymous source. The film became Sydney Pollack’s “Absence of Malice,” starring Paul Newman, Sally Field, Melinda Dillon and Wilford Brimley, leading to Academy Award nominations to Newman for actor, Dillon for supporting actress and Leudtke for original screenplay.
- 8/10/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
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