NEWS: JUNE 2020
06.21.20:
There
haven't been any movie stills of Stellan in his role as Baron Harkonnen
in the upcoming DUNE, but perhaps he'll be seen in the first
footage about to released next month. Christopher Nolan's "Inception"
will return to theaters on July 17 in celebration of its 10th
anniversary. The "Dune" footage will be screened before the movie and
I'm assuming that would be a coming attraction feature. Before shooting
began last year, Stellan was asked about his character and he replied,
"I'm going to spend a lot of time in the makeup chair. It says in the
script that the Baron weighs 300 pounds, and I can't gain that much
weight and survive, so they're creating a body that they will have to
glue on me. It will be prosthetics all over."
I
wish there were more roles in which Stellan wore glasses. He looks both
sexy and scholarly!
Covid-19
has caused many film and TV recordings around the world to shut down,
but at Dockhus Animation in Trollhättan, it is full speed as usual. As
reported a year ago, Stellan teamed up with producer/director Linda Hambäck
for the third time in creating another animated feature. This time it's
APSTJÄRNAN (The Ape Star), based on the book by Frida Nilsson.
Besides Stellan as the municipality's strong man, the lead roles are
voiced by Pernilla August as Gorillan, Rebecca Gerstmann as Jonna and
Melinda Kinnaman as the orphanage manager Gerd.
The film is still in
production and will result in 72 minutes of cartooning with a premiere
later this year. Hambäck says, "72 minutes is not a very long feature
film, but our target group at five-to-eight- year olds can only sit that
long." The film has already presold to France and Benelux.
06.17.20:
Stellan's
last appearance on the Dramaten stage was in the play MÄSTER
OLOF, which premiered on February 27, 1988 with 36
performances in total. The play is a historical drama in five acts about
the reformer Olaus Petri's struggle against the Roman Catholic Church in
the 16th century. First written in 1872, Strindberg rewrote it many
times in both prose and verse. Stellan had the title role with Max Von
Sydow playing opposite him. You may remember that Sydow passed away this
past March after a 70-year career. It's surprising that these two
legendary Swedish actors only appeared together in one film - "Oxen"
and this one play. You have to consider they were a generation apart but
still, you would think they would have collaborated more often. The
second row of images are production photos. Of theater, Stellan has been
quoted as saying - "The contact with the audience is priceless."
The
Party Film Sales will be negotiating deals for four films bearing
the Cannes 73 Official Selection label. The Italian-French
production LAST WORDS by US director Jonathan Nossiter will
be pre-sold without any images available to back it up, as the movie
is still in the final stages of post-production.
[See June 5 update]
Stellan
was asked by Porter & Sail’s destination guides
to comment on Stockholm and its cuisine. He happens to be a
total foodie, and when not on set, he's more than likely to be found
at a fine dining establishment in town.
"Stockholm is, to me, the most beautiful
city in the world - at least in the
summer. But even during the dark months, when it cuddles up to
survive the winter, it has its charm. The city is built on an island
where the Baltic Sea meets the lake of Mälaren and everywhere there's
water and a beautiful view."

"Scandinavian cuisine
has in the last few years risen to international fame. We have
become famous for being able to serve even moss and bark in a more
than edible way. You can find fantastic food of all schools in the
three capitals of Scandinavia. The common idea is to give a lot of
care to local, organic produce and then compliment it by stealing
shamelessly from other cuisines."
"One of my favorite
chefs in the world is Mathias Dahlgren, with his unpretentious and
precise way of making the simplest ingredient reveal its unknown
beauty. He has a two-star restaurant beside Grand Hotel, which is
fantastic, but since I'm always hungry and
need immediate satisfaction, I usually turn to his one-star
restaurant next door, Matbaren, which serves medium-size
dishes of wonderful food at the pace you want.
Two of Mathias' brilliant young
chefs, Adam Dahlberg and Albin Wessman, have now, after a few years
of hard work, opened their own place -
Adam/Albin, which shows the genius of their palates.
For extremely delectable beef, you
should experience Göran Svartengren's
rustic yet precise cooking at Svartengrens, where you can indulge in
perfectly handled meats from old dairy breeds that give a richness
of flavor you seldom experience. And I would
suggest you drink at Kvarnen, one of the oldest pubs in the
city."
In another article, Stellan
discusses some of his favorite foods and one very unfavorite food.

Meatballs - "I've never had
Ikea meatballs, but I make my own. Thanks to Ikea, it’s considered
very Swedish, but in Italy you have polpetti, and you have the
Albondigas in Spain, and you have them in Morocco - you find them
everywhere."
Crayfish - "The Crayfish Party
is a very Swedish tradition... You have to say cheers with aquavit
snaps and beer very often, so those parties tend to get out of hand
after a couple of hours."
Semla - "I'm not very much of
a dessert man, but this traditional dessert is something you eat
before Lent... You can buy it everywhere in Stockholm from February
to Easter."
Baltic Herring - "I love all
the pickled herrings, and the Baltic herring is a fantastic fish...
Just have it fried, with mashed potatoes and a little vinegar on the
fish; it's amazing."
Surströmming
- "Avoid at all costs! I have this idea that I should try
everything. And there are a lot of things that you can learn to eat.
I hated coriander the first time I tasted it - it tasted like soap -
and then after having it several times, suddenly I loved it. I
thought it would be the same with this fermented fish, and it never
happened. It is basically rotten fish. I mean, fermented fish can
turn into something lovely, like Vietnamese fish sauce. But
Surströmming, the rotten fish from Sweden, I don't like it. The
entire block stinks when you open a can of it, and you have to open
it underwater because there's so much pressure from the fermentation
inside. My American wife was invited to a party where they had that
fish, and she had never experienced it before, and she just started
laughing when this stinking fish came in. She couldn't stop laughing
and everybody was very offended. It is just f**king disgusting."
06.15.20:

Last
month Entertainment Weekly did an article on the Skarsgård
men. It began with - Picture your favorite Skarsgård with that
Swedish complexion and towering frame. Are you thinking of Alexander
Skarsgård? Are you thinking of Stellan Skarsgård, Alexander's father
who's been making movies since the early 1970s? Are you thinking of one
of the more underrated Skarsgårds?

Know your Skarsgårds! Certainly,
one thing they have in common is their height. Stellan's sons are all
6'4", one inch taller than their Dad. I've added my own favorite photo
of each of these attractive men.
ALEXANDER:
Where you've seen him: HBO's "Big Little Lies" and "True Blood",
and films, such as "Legend of Tarzan, "What Maisie Knew" and "Straw
Dogs".
To be seen: "Godzilla vs. Kong", "The Northman" and CBS All
Access' "The Stand" series.

GUSTAF:
Where you've seen him: Delos' captain in season 2 of HBO's "Westworld"
and boat-builder Floki in History's "Vikings".
To be seen: As Merlin in Netflix's "Cursed" series.

BILL:
Where you've seen him: Netflix's "Hemlock Grove", "Hulu's "Castle Rock"
and as Pennywise, the alien demon clown, in "It" and "It" Chapter Two".
To be seen: Opposite Tom Holland in "The Devil All the Time".

VALTER:
Where you've seen him: As Lippi in the Scandinavian thriller series
"Black Lake", and in the film "Lords of Chaos".
To be seen: Netflix's Icelandic series "Katla" and the thriller film,
"Don't Click".

Stellan discusses his acting sons:
"Alexander for years didn’t
want to deal with it at all because he did something in television
when he was quite young and he got a lot of attention and he did not
want that attention. But then he came back to it later. And Gustaf
wanted to be an actor from when he was two and a half, I think. Bill
was not sure. At that time he had two brothers who were actors
already and he wasn’t sure so he finished school properly with high
grades and stuff and was thinking of taking a trip on the
trans-Siberian railroad when he got a couple of really great roles
in Swedish films and then he was f**ked. And the fourth son, he just
quit school, got a couple of jobs, and he likes acting. I haven’t
opened any doors. I haven’t helped them with anything because they
have to do it on their own. I haven’t encouraged them to become
actors or discouraged them. It’s their lives, they have to fix it!"
06.13.20:

I
thought this Scandinavian viking birthday greeting was perfect for our Swede!
Yes, today Stellan Skarsgård turns 69 years
old and it also marks the 16th anniversary of Stellan Online and during
all these years, there's never been another comprehensive web site devoted exclusively
to him. Just before this web site was launched, there was an official
web site but the web developer became lax in updates and eventually went
offline. This was the home page photo -

At that time Stellan told me he
was no longer interested in having an official site. Of course, eventually
those scrolling tumblr and instagram accounts emerged but without any
serious commentary or aesthetics or accessible archive. How does one
learn about the life and career of a famous person with just a bunch of
photos? And how about the zillion animated screen caps! Don't get me
started... I suppose that satisfies the fandom engaged in teenage-like
crushes on movie stars. What Stellan has is Nordic magnetism,
intelligence and stage and screen presence. This was my original
home page photo -

Several years ago, I asked Stellan about his unique
last name and he responded, "I'm related to all Skarsgårds in
Sweden, none in Norway. My grandfather changed the name on his three
sons at a time when everybody in Sweden were Nilssons, Larssons, Olssons
and Anderssons." When Stellan Online was
created, Alex was just beginning to be noticed and he
actually managed his own web site.

Today when you google "Skarsgård",
you're likely to bring up any one of his four acting sons, but it
doesn't appear that they'll replace their father's notoriety anytime soon. Stellan has said he
would continue acting as long as he received "interesting offers" and didn't
"become tired". Certainly the energy he exhibits doesn't
look as if he's anywhere near the end of his career. So, Happy Birthday,
dear Stellan - may you continue to entertain us with good health and
good fun as always.
When Stellan began appearing in
the Marvel films, he was asked - If you could actually be a superhero,
what superpowers would you imagine? His reply was indicative of who he
is -

06.11.20:
I've
added several new images to the 1987 HIP HIP
HURRA! film page. I saw this movie many years ago and I think
what most impressed me was the cinematography, which was awarded the
Golden Osella at the 1987 Venice Film Festival. The film portrays the
life and times of a Scandinavian artist colony
who lived in Skagen on the Danish coast during the 1890s. The painters
became famous for the way they used the light in their work.
Stellan plays the Danish painter Soren Krøyer,
whose paintings are pure delight especially if you're fond of the sea
and turn-of-the-century finery! I've always thought I was born 50 years
too late.
Though it is essentially a Swedish production directed by a Swedish
director, several Danish directors had originally planned a film with
this famous artist colony as the subject. In the end, the Danish Film
Institute suffered some criticism when they decided on a screenplay by
Swedish director Kjell Grede.
The film's language was both
in Swedish and Danish and the film had to be shot mainly at the Kandestedene a little south of Skagen where there were not so many
tourists. It did not receive particularly good reviews in either Denmark
or Sweden. Most critics called it lifeless and dull. However, there was
agreement that the photography of Sten Holmberg beautifully captured
Skagen's special light. This is one of Krøyer's
most famous paintings and one of my favorites.

The
British Academy of Film and Television Arts is preparing to present the
awards for the best in British television of 2019. The 2020 BAFTA TV
Awards ceremony was initially scheduled to be held in the spring of
2020 but the event was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Now the ceremony will be held on July 31 with its sister
ceremony, the BAFTA TV Craft Awards set to be held two weeks prior, on
July 17. Both events shall be conducted in closed studios with shows
following social distancing and the nominees have been invited to
collect their awards virtually instead of appearing in person.
This year, the HBO and Sky drama
CHERNOBYL is
the leading contender in terms of the number of nominations across both
TV Awards and TV Craft Awards. Stellan has been
nominated in the "Supporting Actor" category while co-star Jared Harris
has been nominated for "Leading Actor". "Chernobyl" has also picked up
nominations in the following categories - "Mini-series", "Costume
Design", "Director: Fiction", "Editing: Fiction", "Make Up & Hair
Design", "Original Music", "Photograph & Lighting: Fiction", "Production
Design", "Scripted Casting", "Sound: Fiction", "Special Visual & Graphic
Effects", and "Writer: Drama".
The
smash-hit romantic comedy MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN will be
available for UK and Ireland Netflix users for the very first time
starting Friday,
June 26, 2020. Here are some new pics of Stellan with co-star Colin Firth.
Favorite Colin Firth film? Definitely, "The English Patient" especially
when he sings "Yes! We Have No Bananas".
06.07.20:
I
love this picture! And the cool shirt! It was taken at the Toronto
International Film Festival in September 2019 when Stellan was there for
the premiere of "Hope". The Moet and Chandon bottle was autographed by
several celebrities and TIFF auctioned it with proceeds benefitting
their "Share Her Journey" initiative supporting women behind and in front
of the camera.

These are some new photos that were
taken at the Stockholm premiere of "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" on July
11, 2018. The first one is Stellan hamming it up with actor Josh Dylan,
who plays the younger Bill in the film.
And this one was taken of another
"Mamma Mia" co-star at the Golden Globes. Great photo of two very
handsome men happy to be together for a special evening.

06.05.20:
The
Cannes Film Festival was scheduled to run May 12-23 but was canceled in
the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. However, 56 films have made the
cut for the Official Selection, including one of Stellan's films -
LAST WORDS. Selected films will be branded with an official Cannes
2020 label that they can take to additional festivals later this year
and use when they open in theaters.
As reported here in January 2019,
the Italian-French production was shot in Italy, France and Morocco
through the autumn of 2018. Directed by Jonathan Nossiter, the film's
cast also includes Nick Nolte, Charlotte Rampling, David di Donatello
and Alba Rohrwacher. Based on a Santiago Amigorena's novel, the synopsis
is as follows: In the year 2085, the world as we know it no longer
exists because of climate change. Very few people have survived. A young
man embarks on a long voyage in search of the last remaining community
of humans.
This is the second time that
Nossiter has teamed with Charlotte Rampling and Stellan. Exactly 20
years ago "Signs and Wonders" was nominated for the Golden Bear at the
Berlin International Film Festival. Stellan has worked with Charlotte in
four other films - "Aberdeen", "Boogie Woogie",
"Melancholia" and the upcoming "Dune".
I have seen this exceptionally-gifted actress in over 25 films starting
with the 1966 comedy "Georgy Girl". Always sensuous, always beautiful
and I respect her for aging without the usual cosmetic surgery of
Hollywood stars.
I
have a couple more photos from Stellan's theatre work at the Dramaten.
Swedish writer and playwright Hjalmar Bergman's play ETT EXPERIMENT
premiered November 10, 1984 and had 40 performances. The comedy in three
acts was directed by Hans Alfredson with Stellan in the lead role as
Herr Severin. The first photo shows him with Irene Lindh and the second
with Ewa Fröling.
Stellan co-starred with Ewa Fröling
on the cinema screen as well, most memorably as his wife in the 1992
Oscar-nominated OXEN for Best Foreign Film. Check out the
film page for newly added photos and
posters. I would certainly put "Oxen" in my list of top ten favorite
films with Stellan. I've seen it several times. Who can resist performances from Max
Von Sydow and Liv Ullmann as well!

And who can't love the smile on this
man!

06.04.20:
Among
Stellan's early films were a handful that
focused on erotica, which is not a surprise because we know that the
Scandinavians are known to be sexually liberated. I would say that
Strandhugg i somras (1972), Anita -
švédská nymfička (1974), and Inkräktarna (1974) fall into this category. Today I've posted the film page for
ANITA - SWEDISH NYMPHET. It was advertised
as a typical 70s soft porn movie starring Christina Lindberg and Stellan. In the past Stellan has told the
press, "I’m not ashamed at all for making it.
I needed the money. But I didn’t waste two hours to watch it,
because I know it didn’t turn out good... Nothing was
shown in that film that isn’t shown in any normal R-rated Hollywood
films these days. It was sexploitation. The director was very
ambitious and wanted to do a psychological film about a nymphomaniac
while all the producer wanted to do was show some tits and ass."
"Anita" was directed by Sweden's
then-reigning erotic auteur, Torgny Wickman. It was a co-production
between Swedish Filmproduction and Alpha France. The French company
stipulated that hard-core inserts using a body double for Lindberg be
filmed for all of the movie's sex scenes so the movie could be booked in
their chain of hardcore theaters in France. In 1975, independent U.S.
distributor Less Hessel's Cambist Films released the hardcore version
into American theaters.
The film is about a young woman
named Anita who suffers from psychological problems and sexual
promiscuity due to her troubled childhood and uncaring parents. She
meets Erik, a psychology student at the local university, and he begins
to help her by analyzing her as she details her sexual encounters. That
description could easily apply to Stellan's role in Lars Von Trier's
"Nymphomaniac" forty years later.
You can find several film clips of
"Anita' at youtube.com, and while you're there, check out a couple of
music videos of Stellan if you haven't already. One is with Eva Dahlgren
and the other with Lykke Li as seen below.

Here are a couple photos taken 25
years ago of Stellan with his "Harry and Sonja" co-star Viveka Seldahl.
06.02.20:
The
first photo of Alexander Skarsgård has just been released from
the CBS All Access mini-series "The Stand", a fresh adaptation of
Stephen King's pandemic-apocalypse novel. Ironically, the production
wrapped in March as the real-life global crisis began with the spread of
the Covid-19 virus. The ten-hour series also stars Whoopi Goldberg,
Heather Graham, James Marsden and Greg Kinnear. The CBS streaming
service has not announced the date of its release but it's expected to
premiere later this year. As Randall Flagg, Alex appears to have added
more hair and a full beard as seen in the above photo. CBS describes the
role, "Flagg is so beautiful, he is absolutely a lion-like God
figure. With perfect hair and … and also, there’s a softness to Alex’s
performance that I think is fascinating. Alex just plays it where you
feel not only sympathy for this character, but you hopefully understand
why it’s so easy for people to gravitate towards him. He’s just
magnetic, he’s just absolutely fascinating to watch. He’s galvanizing as
a leader."
In the past week Netflix announced
a new project called "Clark", a six-episode series about the
Swedish criminal Clark Olofsson, to be portrayed by Bill Skarsgård.
The Swedish-language series is based on Olofsson's autobiography and
will chart his early years until present day. Referred to as a
"celebrity gangster", Clark started his criminal career in the 1960s and
became one of the most controversial personalities in contemporary
Swedish history. "Clark" is set to be directed by Jonas Åkerlund and
will launch exclusively on Netflix.

Also coming up on Netflix is its first Icelandic series called "Katla",
which has begun filming. The series was created by award-winning director Baltasar Kormákur and its cast includes Valter Skarsgård. The
sci-fi series will consist of eight episodes. The storyline reads: "One year after the volcanic eruption of Katla, the calm of the
small town of Vík suddenly ceases when it turns out that the volcano is
still active. The ice around the volcano has started to melt and now
mysterious elements, which have long been deeply frozen in the glacier,
suddenly begin to emerge and have consequences that no one could have
ever anticipated." Though filming has begun, there is no premiere
date yet.

06.01.20:

"Stellan Skarsgård is a
movie star, but there are no rivalries here. He is a full-blooded
professional who arrives on time for both
photography sessions and interviews,
shakes hands and presents himself by his
first name. He is cooperative and surprisingly down to earth
considering his international stardom." ...Damernas
World
Another
film page added! KVINNORNA PÅ
TAKET ("The Women on
the Roof") is a 1989 Swedish film written and directed by Carl-Gustav
Nykvist, who happens to be the son of famous cinematographer Sven
Nykvist. As many of you know, Sven collaborated with Ingmar Bergman on
many occasions so that fact has an obvious influence on this film. It
was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at
the 62nd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. It was
screened in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 42nd Cannes Film
Festival but did not win. However, the film's cinematographers Jörgen Persson & Ulf Brantås
won an award for their work at the 1989 European Film Awards. The film
also won the Audience Award at the Rouen Nordic Film Festival in 1990.
And, most importantly, Stellan won his second Guldbagge for Best Actor.
Strangely, in the same year he also won the Best Actor Guldbagge for "Täcknamn
Coq Rouge". He had previously won in 1982 for "The Simple-Minded
Murderer" and won Best Supporting Actor in 2017 for "Borg/McEnroe".
This first feature from the
younger Nykvist takes place in Stockholm in 1914 while the threat of
World War I hovers in the background. Anna is a sophisticated,
tempestuous photographer with a mysterious history and the innocent and
timid Linnea gradually falls under Anna's spell. They form a
relationship based on mutual attraction; soon they are lovers. However,
their situation eventually becomes complicated when Anna's
sailor-boyfriend Willy (played by Stellan) returns and puts a strain on
their relationship.
Our sailor definitely sported a
different look with the dark hair and mustache, similar to his 'Tyrone'
in the 2002 film "No Good Deed".

Film critic Vincent Canby of The
New York Times wrote, "'The Women on the Roof'
is no 'Persona.'
(Bergman's brilliant 1966 film). It is heavier
on atmosphere, mood and plot than on psychological interest. It is like
a Polaroid picture after the shutter has been snapped, though, as one
watches, the details of the image slowly fade away instead of coming
into sharp focus."
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