Iceland´s biggest director, Baltasar Kormákur has been very busy with his latest film, White Night Wedding, written, produced and premiered within a year along side with a theater production with the same cast premiered about the same time. The film has been the number one film in Iceland since its premiere in early January and has been getting nothing but rave reviews.
He was also starring in a new comedy crime caper called Reykavík/Rotterdam which I believe just finished shooting. But that's not all. He has also been talking to US companies about directing over there, one being Wes Craven´s Last House on the Left remake but that ultimately went to another director. Today it was reported in the local papers that he is going to direct a film for Tom Hank's company Playton Films called Run For Her Life. The film stars Dermot Mulroney and the story revolves around about the ever growing marked for stolen organs, harvested from third world children. Sounds good.
Another favorite around here is Dagur Kari, director of Noi Albinoi, Dark Horse (and my new cheese commercial, he he). His latest project, The God Heart has been plagued with casting problems ever since he approached Ryan Gosling and Tom Waits to take the lead roles. Things were looking good and then Ryan had to go and get himself an Oscar nomination and pretty much couldn't commit to the project. That meant that Tom Waits was out as well because he wanted to work with Gosling. Well rather than scrapping the whole thing Dagur brought in two stellar actors to fill their shoes. Brian Cox and Paul Dano (fresh of There Will Be Blood) are now the leads in this drama about a homeless young man who is taken under the wing of a bartender in NY city.
Shooting is expected to begin in a couple of months in NY and Reykjavík.
Ólafur Jóhannesson aka Olaf De Fleur, director of the upcoming The Higher Force, starring Michael Imperioli, received the Teddy Awards for Best Picture in the Panorama program at the Berlin Film Festival for The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela. The film, which has been criminally overlooked by the industry over here, getting almost no support from anyone, is about the life of Philipino lady boy Raquela Rios who makes his living as a prostitute but yearns for a man who will love him for what he is and embarks on a journey that takes to to Iceland and France.
Ólafur has also been busy in NY filming a pilot called Ken'tuc'ee 1571 which includes some of the Soprano supporting cast, which he got through his Imperioli connection. Look forward to see that.
Well that's about it for the moment.