SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER NEWS 2013

10.24.13

The world premiere of THOR: THE DARK WORLD was held in London's Leicester Square on Tuesday evening. Stellan was on the red carpet with his wife plus several cast members and director Alan Taylor. Stellan reprised his role as scientist Erik Selvig in this latest Marvel film in which he runs around Stonehenge half naked. When interviewed on the red carpet, he said, "If you've seen what I've done before, you'll know that I'm naked in half of my films so it wasn't a big deal. And I was born naked too! I got a question through my agent asking would I mind [getting naked] and I didn't mind." After reading several reviews, I had the feeling that his comical scene brought welcome humor to the film, which presently has a respectable 83% on the Tomatometer. It hits US theaters on November 8th. Check out the film page and the premiere photo gallery. 

10.11.13

Wow, the critics really hate ROMEO AND JULIET! Out of 61 reviews at the Tomatometer, 47 are rotten giving the film a 23% rating. Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor sums the majority view this way:

"What can you say about a 'Romeo and Juliet' that lacks heat, romance, eroticism, or lyricism? Mercifully, not much. Carlo Carlei’s version of Shakespeare’s warhorse never leaves the barn. Streamlined (i.e., dumbed down) by screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who has seen better days with 'Gosford Park' and 'Downton Abbey,' this adaptation will probably turn off the young audiences for whom it was apparently intended. Hailee Steinfeld’s Juliet is rather lovely and rather bland; Douglas Booth’s Romeo might have stepped out of a special Renaissance Faire edition of GQ."

Over the past week, I have added over 50 new portrait photos to Stellan Online. I have also completed the TAKING SIDES film page, which I thoroughly enjoyed researching. I was thrilled to see overwhelming praise for Stellan's performance. I viewed it several years ago and loved it. Adapted from a play by Ronald Harwood, "Taking Sides" stars Harvey Keitel as a U.S. Army officer in charge of investigating Berlin Philharmonic conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, played by  Stellan, under the auspices of the American Denazification Committee in the years following WWII. Furtwängler is accused of staying in Germany and mounting performances for Hitler's staff during the war, but he argues that he owed it to his country to stay and lift spirits through music, while working behind the scenes to get Jewish musicians out of harm's way.

"Skarsgård is haughty and magnificently haunted, and Keitel has simply never been better as a crass middle American who becomes the unlikely custodian and avenging angel of the values of Western Civilization."  ...Seattle Post-Intelligencer

10.10.13

Danish director Lars Von Trier loves controversy so this new provocative poster campaign for NYMPHOMANIAC comes as no surprise. Fourteen of his actors perform their best rendition of an orgasm. There are no x-rated body parts revealed and most photos are taken tastefully from the chest up though Stellan gives us so much more. Again, no surprise since our Swedish thespian adores taking off his clothes. His poster actually reminds me of his shower scene in "Aberdeen".

10.08.13

Alas, we now have this beautiful poster of  THE RAILWAY MAN. The film premiered at TIFF on September 6th and was also featured at the Zurich Film Festival on September 30th. Internationally, American audiences will be the last to see it. Harvey Weinstein reportedly dished out $2 million to purchase US distribution rights but, for some reason, will not release it here in the states until some time next year. In the meantime, Australia will premiere it on December 26th followed by the UK a week later.

This weekend ROMEO AND JULIET will have a limited theatrical release in the US and Canada with a wide release in the UK. On the Tomatometer, it's scoring 29% with 7 reviews tallied. Today John Anderson of Newsday reviewed the film:

Less Bard, Less Passion. Every generation seems to get the "Romeo and Juliet" it deserves: Baz Luhrmann's hip-hop-and-Shakespeare sampling of '96; Franco Zeffirelli's countercultural nude-sex version of '68. Director Carlo Carlei's 2013 adaptation - starring "True Grit's" Hailee Steinfeld as the ill-fated Capulet, and the lush-lipped Douglas Booth as her main-squeezable Montague - has a predictable approach to making Shakespeare more accessible: less Shakespeare. And more Julian Fellowes, author of all those easily digestible "Downton Abbey" episodes, whose screenplay takes great leaping liberties with the Bard's most popular play, while feigning faithfulness. It's a neat trick.

It is not, however, a very successful movie, partly because what has so distinguished "R&J" is an uncanny use of comedy; the humor cuts the tragedy, while making it more sharp. There are certainly some laughable moments - Booth's first languorous close-up is one - but there's a sober, sobering spirit to the production that takes the joy out of a character like the Nurse and her exchanges with Friar Laurence and gives us a "Romeo and Juliet" that walks around, like much of its cast, with flared nostrils.

Here is our first look at Lily James as CINDERELLA! Disney states that the look, crafted by director Kenneth Branagh, honors the tradition of the iconic princess while giving it a new spin. "She combines knockout beauty with intelligence, wit, fun, and physical grace," Branagh says of the new version.

09.28.13

There will be a wide theatrical release for FRANKIE & ALICE on April 4, 2014. Yes, over five years since it was shot! The movie has finally been picked up by the Lionsgate label Codeblack Films. The deal ends years of struggling to find a distributor. It made its debut in Cannes in 2010 and was also presented at that year's AFI Festival, but interest then dwindled. Fortunately, Codeblack tends to specialize in distributing films for the African American market. Its president, Jeff Clanagan, announced, "Halle Berry delivers a spellbinding performance in 'Frankie & Alice'. Codeblack is thrilled to bring this important film to theaters nationwide delivering on our commitment to bring more quality films to the marketplace." Ms. Berry plays a woman with a multiple personality disorder (I have an aversion to such films. Think "SYBIL"!) and Stellan takes on the role of her doctor. Jordan Riefe of Critics Choice wrote, "Stellan Skarsgård as Dr. Oswalt, delivers his usual solid performance, expertly countering Berry’s hysteria with a soothing sobriety." 

09.12.13

The Weinstein Company has announced that it has acquired US rights to THE RAILWAY MAN, which received a prolonged standing ovation after its world premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival last weekend. The film will be released next year. TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein told the press, "With remarkable performances from Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman and Jeremy Irvine, Jonathan Teplitzky has crafted a moving and compelling film based on an incredible true story of a man named Eric Lomax, who was a POW during World War II. After watching people jump to their feet applauding when the credits rolled with tears in their eyes, we knew this was a film we wanted to help take to audiences across America." At least the Weinstein boys aren't releasing it on CHRISTmas Day as he's doing with "August: Osage County".

Last month I posted one of the first movie stills of Stellan from "Thor 2: The Dark World" and based on that photo, an anonymous fan doodled the following cartoon that I couldn't resist showing you. I love it!

Here's an update on Lars Von Trier's NYMPHOMANIAC.  The Norwegian cinema site Montages reports that the film will be five hours long. Yes, you got that right! It will be split into two 2 1/2 hour films that will be released simultaneously in theaters. There is even talk of a television spin-off series. Zentropa Entertainments has reported that production included "268 scripts, 11 weeks of shooting and 100 hours of material."  According to Montages, the first half of the film is much closer to "pure comedy" than Von Trier's last two films. However, "Nymphomaniac" will get progressively grimmer as the story spirals into darkness and tragedy. There will be eight chapters, each one having its own stylistic approach, dictated by content and tone. Some parts have a relatively ordinary formal language, but others are more experimental. One of the chapters is shot in black and white. The film still does not have an American distribution date, though the film is set to premiere at CHRISTmas in Denmark.

09.09.13

Actor Colin Firth said on Saturday he felt a special sense of obligation portraying the true story of a British soldier who was tortured and then suffered for decades before finding the strength to forgive his captors. In THE RAILWAY MAN, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, Firth portrays WW II veteran Eric Lomax, who was captured by the Japanese and spent years as a prisoner of war. Nicole Kidman plays Eric's wife and Stellan plays his friend Finlay, a former comrade in arms. The film drew a standing ovation following its premiere in Toronto on Friday, though reviews were mixed. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter both commended the performances of the actors, but were critical of the structure and direction. Still, the production team won praise from the real Patti Lomax, who acted as an adviser and was in the Toronto audience. The film has yet to find a US distributor.

Here are some new b&w photos of Stellan's family. The first photo shows his mother Gudrun, the second one is his son, Ossian, and the last photo shows his children - Valter, Eija, Bill and Gustaf.

09.05.13

It appears that Stellan's wife Megan has done more than change diapers over the past three years. The Swedish media is reporting that she has written a script for a film and TV series based on Stig Dagerman's book, GERMAN AUTUMN. The book was published in 1947 and consisted of a collection of stories that he had written for Expressen. It depicts the lives of the people who lived in the ruins of post-WWII bombed Germany. Stellan is set to be the executive producer. The photo below shows the couple in Dublin in February 2012 when they were expecting their second son.

Megan told the press, "Stellan always gives me Swedish books to read. When I read 'German Autumn', I felt Dagerman created a sense just by simply telling the facts. And it struck me how interesting and nuanced this was." She contacted the author's daughter, Lo, and purchased the film and television rights to the book. The project will be English-speaking. The Skarsgård couple will now be looking for funding and a director. Stellan previously was executive producer for "King Of Devil’s Island," a winner of various local awards and an international sales success. Megan says, "We are extremely proud to work with such an important collection of war journalism, and to take on the daunting task of bringing the ideas of such a treasured Swedish writer to a larger international audience. We thank his daughter, Lo Dagerman, and Catherine Mörk of Norstedts Agency, for their support of the project." This launching of Megan's newfound career reminds me of the way producer Virginie Silla propelled her name into the film industy by latching onto her husband's famous name, Luc Besson.

Tomorrow night at 6:30, the Toronto International Film Festival will hold the world premiere of THE RAILWAY MAN. Leading stars Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth will be in attendance. Stellan is presently in London shooting "Cinderella".