Klown Forever divides the local critics and sells to the US
- The Americans are also preparing a remake of Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam’s original Klown from 2010
While Danish comedians Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam’s Klown Forever [+see also:
trailer
film profile] divided the local critics after its 24 September premiere, US distributor Drafthouse Films – which also released the original Klown [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2010) – did not hesitate to pick up the sequel for America.
“We want to be part of the Klown enterprise with Casper and Frank – their films are among the funniest ever made, and we are proud of sharing them with the audience,” said James Emanuel Shapiro, COO of Drafthouse.
The Danish comedy duo also has admirers in Hollywood. British actor-comedian Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G, Borat, Brüno) has declared Klown is his all-time favourite comedy, and US producer Todd Phillips is preparing an American version of the film starring Danny McBride.
Klown Forever had its world premiere at the L’Étrange Festival in Paris and went on to screen at the Austin Fantastic Fest in the US (where the first film won for Best Comedy and Best Original Screenplay in 2011).
Launched domestically by Nordisk Film Biografdistribution, it received between three and five (out of six) stars in reviews by Danish critics, some denouncing it as “course and vulgar”, and others praising it as “inspiringly taboo-breaking”.
Casper and Frank are at a crossroads in their lives: Casper is pursuing his dream of fame in Hollywood, while Frank, the father of two children, is engulfed in family life. In an attempt to save their friendship, Frank goes to Los Angeles – but nothing works out quite as planned.
Scripted by Christensen and Hvam, and produced by Jesper Zartov for their Nutmeg Movies, Klown Forever is directed by Klown regular Mikkel Nørgaard and also features Mia Lyhne and Iben Hjejle in the cast, among others.
Christensen and Hvam originally developed Klown for a TV show, which ran for six seasons on Danish TV2, and was sold for remakes in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Finland. The first Klown feature became the (so far) most popular local film of this century, taking 855,000 admissions.
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