Denmark’s Clown is up for McBride and Hangover treatment in Hollywood

by Jorn Rossing Jensen

17/04/2012 - Danish comedians Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam’s Clown: The Movie [trailer] film and television series will return in a Hollywood version from Warner Bros, which has signed US actor-director-writer Danny McBride to write and star in the feature, Clown, produced by Todd Phillips and his Great Hat Films, of The Hangover Part 1-2-and soon-3 fame.

Directed by Mikkel Nørgaard, the original version of Clown: The Movie last year added 373,000 admissions to its 2010s result of 482,000, to become the best-grossing Danish film on home turf in 20 years. Louise Vesth produced the comedy for Zentropa Entertainments.

A spin-off from their TV series scripted by Christensen and Hvam, who also play the leads, the film is the story of Casper, an incurable womaniser, who has planned a Tour de Pussy of hard party and sex with his friend Frank, disguised as a canoe ride. Meanwhile, Frank has found out his girlfriend is pregnant, but she doubts his potential as a father. To prove her wrong, he insists on bringing his 13-year-old nephew with him on the trip.

McBride made his name from his role as a former professional baseball pitcher turned substitute physical education teacher in Eastbound & Down, an HBO series which concluded its third and last season. Most recently in Ruben Fleischer’s 30 Minutes or Less, he will also co-produce Clown through his Rough House banner.

Christensen confirmed the agreement to Danish press, adding that it was still uncertain how he and Hvam would be involved in the production. In Denmark, he runs his own production company, Douglas Entertainment, which supplies the popular comedy series, Live from Bremen. Denmark’s TrustNordisk licensed the Danish original to the US and Australia, and for pay-TV in Spain and Iceland, where it was extremely successfull, according to CEO Rikke Ennis.