Yellow Bird and Friland plot new crime (film) together
by Annika Pham
Two of Scandinavia’s leading production companies – Sweden’s Yellow Bird (Millennium films) and Norway’s Friland Film (Upperdog [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) – are preparing the film adaptation of Headhunters, based on the eponymous novel by one of Norway’s top contemporary crime novelists, Jo Nesbø.
The novel has been sold to ten countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands. In the thriller, the unscrupulous Roger Brown, Norway´s most successful headhunter, leads a life of excess and finances his extravagance by way of dangerous art thefts. When he meets the Dutchman Clas Greve he sees the chance to become financially independent and starts planning his biggest hit ever. But he soon runs into trouble.
The €3.2m project adapted for the screen by Ulf Ryberg and Lars Gudmestad will be directed by Morten Tyldum, who had his breakthrough in 2003 with Buddy and went on to make Fallen Angels [+see also:
trailer
film profile], one of the Varg Veum film series about the private eye from Bergen.
Friland’s Asle Vatn is producing in co-production with Yellow Bird’s Marianne Gray. “Morten has a strong feel for the story and its characters. His visions for Headhunters are such that we have very high expectations for the film,” said Gray.
The project was recently awarded NOK10.5m (around €1.2m) in production support from the Norwegian Film Institute. Filming is scheduled to start in August and Nordisk Film will handle the domestic release on August 26, 2011.
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