27/07/2011

Norwegian director Morten Tyldum’s Headhunters [+see also:
trailer
film profile], from Jo Nesbø’s best-selling crime novel, is courting international succcess well before its domestic launch (on 26 August) by Nordisk Film Distribusjon AS.

The Aksel Hennie-starrer will have its world premiere with an 8,000-strong audience on the Piazza Grande at the Locarno International Film Festival (August 3-13). It will unspool at the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund (August 17-26) before a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival (September 8-18).

A four-minute promo reel at the European Film Market in Berlin sparked off a string of international sales for Denmark’s TrustNordisk, which has signed more than 30 contracts for the Friland-Yellow Bird Production-Nordisk Film Production AB production, including with Magnolia Pictures (USA), Momentum Pictures (UK, Canada), Rialto Distribution (Australia), Lumière (Benelux).

Alta Films (Spain), Big Movie (Russia), Aero Films (Czech Republic), Insomnia (former Yugoslavia), Estin Film (Estonia), Independenta Film (Romania) and Mares Filmes (Brazil) have also signed for the film.

Reuniting Tyldum with Hennie, who was also in his 2003 feature debut, Buddy, the €2.1 million thriller scripted by Ulf Ryberg and Lars Gudmestad is the first screen adaptation for Nesbø, whose books have sold more than 8.5 million copies worldwide. It was produced by Asle Vatn (Friland Produksjon) and Marianne Gray (Yellow Bird).

Co-starring Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Julie R. Ølgård, Headhunters is the story of Roger Brown, apparently Norway’s most fortunate headhunter, who seems to have everything. But his life is actually financed by stealing art, and now he is ready for a really big heist – a several multi-million euro masterpiece, which at first seems easy to snatch - the problems start after he has done so...