News

Filmmaker Patty Jenkins (Monster) has signed on to direct an American remake of the hit Norwegian comedy Jackpot, which is based on a story by Jo Nesb&#248 (Headhunters).

The story follows four men with dangerous pasts who all win big in a sports betting pool, although lethal complications arise when it comes time to split up the winnings. Magnus Martens directed the original film, which starred Kyrre Hellum, Henrik Mestad, Marie Blokhus and Mads Ousdal.

Dave Callaham (Godzilla, The Expendables 3) has signed on to write the screenplay, with Will Gluck (Annie) attached to produce through his Olive Bridge company. It isn't known when production may begin.

Patty Jenkins made her directorial debut with the 2004 drama Monster, which earned Charlize Theron an Oscar for Best Actress. She was, at one point, attached to direct Thor: The Dark World for Marvel before parting ways due to creative differences. She has since...

Magnus Martens' Scandinavian sleeper hit Jackpot (2011) is an exciting, playful and bloody comedy from the producer of 2006's Cold Prey. Based on the book by Norway's leading crime writer, Jo Nesbø, the film follows a group of scruffy young men, all of them with a criminal background, including Oscar (Kyrre Hellum), Thor (Mads Ousdal), Billy (Arthur Berning) and Tresko (Andreas Cappelen). To celebrate this release, we have Three DVD copies of the film to give away, courtesy of Metrodome Distribution. This is an exclusive competition for our Facebook and Twitter fans, so if you haven't already, 'Like' us at facebook.com/CineVueUK or follow us @CineVue before answering the question below.

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Jackpot

Stars: Kyrre Hellum, Henrik Mestad, Marie Blokhus, Andreas Cappelen, Arthur Berning, Mads Ousdal | Written by Magnus Martens, Jo Nesbø | Directed by Magnus Martens

After thoroughly enjoying Headhunters earlier in the year, I was quite geared up for a rollover of Norwegian noir from none more blackly comic Scandinavian scribe Jo Nesbø. Jackpot is another slice of Tarantino/Coen Brothers-esque crime capery with a rich seam of dark humour running through it like a nine inch nail through the cranium.

Our ‘hero’ is Oscar (Kyrre Hellum), who works at a factory that takes old plastics, chips them up (remember that, it’s important) and turns them into small fake Christmas trees. Oscar’s company specialises in employing ex-cons. As such, Oscar finds himself keeping some less than reputable company. Soon he is embroiled in a football pool with three of his colleagues, which, due to a quirk of fate, they...

Strangulations, ground-down corpses and bodies concealed inside tanning beds... surely we're talking about Tarantino or perhaps even one of the Coens' grittier films? Jackpot follows on from the phenomenal surprise success of last year's Headhunters, using another Jo Nesbo novel as source material for this darkly comic crime story. Having sold over nine million books, Norway's leading crime writer doesn't disappoint, again helping to sustain Scandinavia's current reputation as producers of high quality crime fiction.

Opening with a police interview set-up, Oscar Svendson (Kyrre Hellum) is quickly established as the film's protagonist. Combining filmed footage through the camera and 'live' action, Director and co-writer, Magnus Martens, uses Oscar's vulnerable situation to quickly make him a sympathetic lead. Having woken up weighed down by a corpse and surrounded by seven others in a Swedish strip joint, covered in blood and carrying a shotgun, Oscar has a lot of explaining to do...

Jo Nesbø has sold over 9 million books – This film is based on a story you haven’t read… An exciting, playful and bloody comedy from the producer of Cold Prey and based on a story by Norway’s leading crime writer, Jo Nesbø. Jackpot tells the story of four scruffy young men, all of them with a criminal background. Oscar (Kyrre Hellum), Thor (Mads Ousdal), Billy (Arthur Berning) and Tresko (Andreas Cappelen). They work at a factory in the middle of nowhere that makes plastic Christmas trees. And they bet on soccer …

Oscar Svendsen wakes up, terrified and bloodied; a shotgun in his hands, in what was once a respectable strip joint near Svinesund, Sweden. He is surrounded by eight bodies, and police detective Solør has a gun aimed at his chest. Solør is convinced of his guilt, but Oscar persistently denies any wrongdoing.

Reluctantly Oscar starts relating the incredible...

Here’s the UK trailer for Jackpot which is based on the book by Jo Nesbo (who has sold over 9 million books!) and will be with us 10th August. It’s directed by Magnus Martens and stars Kyrre Hellum, Marie Blokhus, Henrik Mestad, Mads Ousdal, Arthur Berning and Andreas Cappelen. We’re hearing good things abut this one and it’s well worth checking out next week when it’s released in a cinema near you. Check out the trailer below.

Oscar Svendsen wakes up, terrified and bloodied; a shotgun in his hands, in what was once a respectable strip joint near Svinesund, Sweden. He is surrounded by eight bodies, and police detective Solør has a gun aimed at his chest. Solør is convinced of his guilt, but Oscar persistently denies any wrongdoing.

Reluctantly Oscar starts relating the incredible story of four men who won top prize in a soccer...

Jo Nesbø has sold over 9 million books – Jackpot is based on a story you haven’t read.

Oscar Svendsen wakes up, terrified and bloodied; a shotgun in his hands, in what was once a respectable strip joint near Svinesund, Sweden. He is surrounded by eight bodies, and police detective Solør has a gun aimed at his chest. Solør is convinced of his guilt, but Oscar persistently denies any wrongdoing.

Reluctantly Oscar starts relating the incredible story of four men who won top prize in a soccer pool and suddenly found themselves 1,739,361 kroner richer. But it turned out to be difficult to divide the money by four.

Jackpot is an exciting, playful and bloody comedy from the producer of Cold Prey. It is based on a story by Norway’s leading crime writer, Jo Nesbø. We meet a group of scruffy young men, all of them with a criminal background. Oscar...

Jackpot

Stars: Kyrre Hellum, Henrik Mestad, Marie Blokhus, Andreas Cappelen, Arthur Berning, Mads Ousdal | Written by Magnus Martens, Jo Nesbø | Directed by Magnus Martens

After thoroughly enjoying Headhunters earlier in the year, I was quite geared up for a rollover of Norwegian noir from none more blackly comic Scandinavian scribe Jo Nesbø. Jackpot is another slice of Tarantino/Coen Brothers-esque crime capery with a rich seam of dark humour running through it like a nine inch nail through the cranium.

Our ‘hero’ is Oscar (Kyrre Hellum), who works at a factory that takes old plastics, chips them up (remember that, it’s important) and turns them into small fake Christmas trees. Oscar’s company specialises in employing ex-cons. As such, Oscar finds himself keeping some less than reputable company. Soon he is embroiled in a football pool with three of his colleagues, which, due to a quirk of fate, they...

Today, the Toronto International Film Festival announced their excellent Midnight Madness and Vanguard line-ups. Among the films playing in these program with new images and synopses are: No One Lives (directed by Ryuhei Kitamura) Starring Luke Evans, Adelaide Clemens, Derek Magyar, Lee Tergesen, and America Olivo Sightseers (directed by Ben Wheatley) Starring Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Eileen Davies, Jonathan Aris, Richard Glover, and Monica Dolan 90 Minutes (directed by Eva Sørhaug) Starring Aksel Hennie, Kaia Varjord, Bjørn Floberg, Annmari Kastrup, Mads Ousdal, and Pia Tjelta Beijing Flickers (directed by Zhang Yuan) Starring Duan Bowen, Lv Yulai, Shi Shi, Han Wenwen, and Li Xinyun Hit the jump to check out the images and synopses. The 2012 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 – 16th. All images and info via Tiff. No One Lives From the director of Versus and The Midnight Meat Train, No One Lives is a smart and original horror movie with,...

Jo Nesbø has sold over 9 million books – This film is based on a story you haven’t read. Jackpot is based on a story by Norway’s leading crime writer, Jo Nesbø and comes from the producers of the Norwegian slasher movie Cold Prey. The film follows a group of scruffy young men, all of them with a criminal background. Oscar (Kyrre Hellum), Thor (Mads Ousdal), Billy (Arthur Berning) and Tresko (Andreas Cappelen). They work at a factory in the middle of nowhere that makes plastic Christmas trees. And they bet on soccer…

Oscar Svendsen wakes up, terrified and bloodied; a shotgun in his hands, in what was once a respectable strip joint near Svinesund, Sweden. He is surrounded by eight bodies, and police detective Solør has a gun aimed at his chest. Solør is convinced of his guilt, but Oscar persistently denies any wrongdoing. Reluctantly Oscar starts relating the...

Magnus Martens’ producer may not have like his crime comedy very much, but he did like something Jo Nesbø wrote and so the core concept for Jackpot landed in Martens’ hands. The action comedy focuses on an innocent factory owner named Oscar (Kyrre Hellum). When Oscar’s employees, all ex-cons, aren’t churning out little fake Christmas trees, they’re up to no good. Well, at least Thor, Dan and Billy (Mads Ousdal, Andreas Cappelen and Arthur Berning) are. The trio convinces Oscar to join in on their can’t-lose soccer bet, but when guys actually win, rather than split the cash and enjoy their riches, people start dying. In honor of Jackpot’s international [ Read More ]...

So here we have Arthur Berning, Mads Ousdal, and Kyrre Hellum in a scene from Jackpot, which has its International Premiere in the Cinemania strand at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.From a highly reliable source I've heard Magnus Martens' dark crime-comedy described as "very Guy Ritchie"--which I took in a good way, meaning early Guy Ritchie.Well, this image would certainly seem to bear that out. Characters sitting around and talking, both trying to clarify a complex plot and adding to it--until sudden, bloody violence erupts. Yeah, sounds like my kind of movie....

This eccentric little ride, which made some noise at Fantastic Fest a couple of years ago, offers up a fictionalized account of the events surrounding Norwegian diplomat Arne Treholt who was found guilty of selling military secrets to the Soviets in 1984. In this fantastical imagining of the story, Treholt (a stone-faced Mads Ousdal) is the leader of King Olav’s super secret anti-terrorist ninja squad who train on a remote island near Oslo. This rat-tag group of fighters often find themselves up against another top-secret government outfit that stages false communist terrorist attacks to scare “the ignorant masses.” Golan-Globus this is not. Unless you’re up on Norwegian history, much of the political and social satire might not exactly translate. But “Norwegian Ninja,” among other things, is also a low-tech homage to Cold War espionage films and works in spite of any cultural divide. Those drawn to the title with visions of hardcore ninja action,...

Relentlessly droll, Norwegian Ninja is a movie that could have very easily (and almost does, on occasion) overstay its welcome. Thanks to mixing a ridiculous premise (Norway--they have ninjas!), with actual historical events, with performances set to late 80's direct-to-video super-seriousness, writer/director Thomas Cappelen Malling's film ultimately sells the excess of quirk it's carrying, delivering a visually inventive, action-packed take on Cold War espionage. Mads Ousdal plays Commander Arne Treholt, a fictionalized version of the Norwegian diplomat of the same name who, in 1984, was convicted of selling secrets to the Soviets. Norwegian Ninja purports to tell the tale of how this glasses-wearing patriot and leader of King Olav's personal ninja force would ever provide aid to our former enemies in the Kremlin. Along the...

Filed under: Cinematical

What if a man accused of selling secrets to the enemy was, in actuality, a Ninja (???!!!). From that amusing premise, dreamed up by director Thomas Cappelen Malling in his childhood while idly watching televised news reports, 'Norwegian Ninja' has been born. Surprisingly enough, it's based on fact. (No, not the ninja part.)

Back in the early 80s, a diplomat named Arne Treholt was accused of high treason for selling government secrets to the Evil Empire (i.e. the Soviet Union and Iraq). He was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison, though he continues to claim that he is innocent of all charges. In the seemingly lighthearted film version, Treholt (Mads Ousdal) is a government-sanctioned ninja and lives on an island where he trains other agents in the way of the ninja: appearing in a puff of smoke out of nowhere, stalking without being seen, etc. (The...

Filed under: Cinematical

What if a man accused of selling secrets to the enemy was, in actuality, a Ninja (???!!!). From that amusing premise, dreamed up by director Thomas Cappelen Malling in his childhood while idly watching televised news reports, 'Norwegian Ninja' has been born. Surprisingly enough, it's based on fact. (No, not the ninja part.)

Back in the early 80s, a diplomat named Arne Treholt was accused of high treason for selling government secrets to the Evil Empire (i.e. the Soviet Union and Iraq). He was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison, though he continues to claim that he is innocent of all charges. In the seemingly lighthearted film version, Treholt (Mads Ousdal) is a government-sanctioned ninja and lives on an island where he trains other agents in the way of the ninja: appearing in a puff of smoke out of nowhere, stalking without being seen, etc. (The...

Days tend to blend together at a film festival. Thursdays feel like Mondays, a Saturday can feel like a Wednesday and so on. So the fact that Day Five of Fantastic Fest 2010 fell on a Monday only mattered when battling school buses in traffic. It still meant getting up early to secure tickets, a late morning nap, and then movies, movies, movies. In reality, though, Monday only brought two films: Yoshihiro Nakamura’s Golden Slumber and Jim Mickle’s Stake Land, before it was time to award the best films of the fest and feud it up. Hit the jump for all the details.

Golden Slumber

If The Fugitive was given a serious shot of nostalgia, it would be Golden Slumber. The latest film from director Yoshihiro Nakamura (who also did Fest favorite Fish Story) tells the story of a pseudo celebrity who is framed for killing the Prime Minister of Japan.

Though the festival continues for a few days yet all of the jury deliberations have wrapped up and each publicly announced film has screened at least once, allowing the audience votes to be tallied, and so last night the awards hardware (winners at Fantastic get beer steins) was broken out. And here are the winners:

Best Festival Bumper: Cherry Pie

Best Shakey Face: Cole Dabney

Best Animated Short: Teclopolis

Best Fantastic Short: Sorry, I Love You

Best Horror Short: The Legend of Beaver Dam with an honorable mention to Deus Irae

The features are broken into four sections: Audience Awards, Fantastic Features, Horror Features and the signature Amd Next Wave section awarding the best of the up and comers. Around these parts the Amd Next Wave is considered the top prize. And these went to:

Audience Awards:

Winner: Bedevilled

1st Runner Up: Golden Slumber

2nd Runner Up: Rubber

3rd Runner...

Fantastic Fest came to a close late last night after numerous horror, science fiction, fantasy, action, Asian, and cult films were screened at the Alamo Drafthouse.

It culminated with an awards ceremony in Austin, TX to honor the best of the festival.

The press release from Fantastic Fest, including all the award winners, is embedded below:

Austin, TX— Monday, September 27, 2010— Fantastic Fest is excited to announce this year’s crop of Fantastic Fest titles includes some of the brightest and hardest-hitting films of all time. We’ve seen a psycho-kinetic tire, a secret ninja, a town invaded by 8-bit enemies, and a family of cannibals that you might consider going home with. It’s a terrible task to pick favorites and single out any of the magnificent films, but our esteemed team of jurors have done the nearly impossible and chosen the best and most striking films of the festival.

Austin, TX--- Monday, September 27, 2010--- Fantastic Fest is excited to announce this year’s crop of Fantastic Fest titles includes some of the brightest and hardest-hitting films of all time. We’ve seen a psycho-kinetic tire, a secret ninja, a town invaded by 8-bit enemies, and a family of cannibals that you might consider going home with. It’s a terrible task to pick favorites and single out any of the magnificent films, but our esteemed team of jurors have done the nearly impossible and chosen the best and most striking films of the festival. The juries were comprised of some of the most esteemed filmmakers, critics, festival directors and show biz people in the industry. Their thoughtful deliberations provided the following acknowledgments of cinematic excellence in all things Fantastic: The audience awards are presented by accounting firm Maxwell Locke & Ritter, who provided the certified tabulation of ballots this year.

This. Is. Awesome. The producers of Dead Snow have enabled the creation of Norwegian Ninja, which is actually, amazingly, sort of based on a true story. In real life Arne Trehold was a Norwegian diplomat exiled after being convicted of working for the Soviets during the Cold War. In the film, he's not a spy, but a patriotic, heroic leader of a ninja clan. Writer-director Thomas Cappelen Malling makes his feature debut with this one, which caused a stir at Cannes. Watching the trailer it's easy to see why. I get a vibe akin to what you might get by applying the Black Dynamite sensibility to '70s Euro-crime and martial arts knock-off films. This trailer has all sorts of excellent little touches, and if the jokes and action flow as freely in the full feature, this could end up as a cult staple. Mads Ousdal plays the very fictionalized Arne Treholt,...