Mark my words: Magnolia Pictures may have made the best pickup of the year when they bought rights to Morten Tyldum's adaptation of Jo Nesbo's Headhunters at the European Film Market. The assumption by many when the deal was announced was that Headhunters was a throw-in to a larger purchase given that it came in a package with Lars Von Trier's Melancholia but those people clearly hadn't seen the footage shown in the market.
Scandinavia is on a ridiculous hot streak when it comes to classy, high end action thrillers right now. With a seemingly never ending supply of brilliant crime novels to draw on, the past years have brought us adaptations of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Snabba Cash (Easy Money), both of which triggered international bidding wars and sparked immediate remakes. Headhunters is the next to follow that path.
Jo Nesbo is one of the most popular crime novelists in the region, one who has been resistant to adapting his works in the past but agreed this time thanks to the persistence and savvy approach by producers. Though it hasn't released anywhere yet the combination of Nesbo's source material, a huge star in Max Manus lead Aksel Hennie and a very solid director in Tyldum have led to sky high expectations at home while the reel of raw material in Berlin led to immediate worldwide sales. And, yes. Though nobody is saying to who, yet, the Hollywood remake rights have already been sold. What's it all about?
Scandinavia is on a ridiculous hot streak when it comes to classy, high end action thrillers right now. With a seemingly never ending supply of brilliant crime novels to draw on, the past years have brought us adaptations of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Snabba Cash (Easy Money), both of which triggered international bidding wars and sparked immediate remakes. Headhunters is the next to follow that path.
Jo Nesbo is one of the most popular crime novelists in the region, one who has been resistant to adapting his works in the past but agreed this time thanks to the persistence and savvy approach by producers. Though it hasn't released anywhere yet the combination of Nesbo's source material, a huge star in Max Manus lead Aksel Hennie and a very solid director in Tyldum have led to sky high expectations at home while the reel of raw material in Berlin led to immediate worldwide sales. And, yes. Though nobody is saying to who, yet, the Hollywood remake rights have already been sold. What's it all about?
The first teaser has just arrived online via Norway's VG TV and you can find it below. As I say in the headline, I think this may very well be the best trailer released so far in 2011. It's certainly in the top three.Roger is a man who seems to have it all: he is Norway's most successful Headhunter, married to the beautiful gallery-owner Diana, owns a magnificent villa - but living larger than he should. To keep up he is stealing art on the side. At a gallery opening, his wife introduces him to Clas Greve. Not only is he the perfect candidate for the CEO position of the GPS company Pathfinder that Roger is currently recruiting for; he is also in possession of a very valuable painting. Roger sees his chance to become financially independent, and starts planning his biggest hit ever. He soon runs into trouble - and it's not financial problems that are threatening to knock him over this time. The headhunt has begun. HEADHUNTERS is based on the bestselling book by author Jo Nesbø.