David Fincher Confirmed for Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Part 1

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This is a continuation thread, the old thread is [split]332507[/split]

 

[Hunter Rider]

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/12/15...s-brad-pitt-and-george-clooney-in-the-rumors/

Another international phenomenon is about to get a US remake, probably before you’ve even had a chance to catch the original. Doesn’t mean the Stateside do-over isn’t sounding tasty, though…

The biggest crowd pleaser at this year’s Frightfest was the English speaking world’s premiere of a smart, pointed thriller in the Silence of the Lambs vein, though with added politics. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is an adaptation of the first book in Stieg Larsson’s worldwide smash novel trilogy Millennium, known as Män som hatar kvinnor in its native Sweden - a title that would translate literally as Men Who Hate Women. It’s a rather apt title.

The deal for US adaptations of the book series is closing now, with Sony reported to be tying up the last loose ends of some rather complex negotiations. Things have apparently been slower than with normal rights negotiations, largely due to the sudden death of Larsson shortly before the publication of the first novel, and the ensuing entanglements when it became clear that he had neither married his common law wife or left a will; and partly due to the existence of the Swedish film versions.

Linked to the project are screenwriter Steve Zaillian and producer Scott Rudin. That’s a real power player duo and they give the project a genuine whiff of Oscar even before a single word has been scripted.

Back when we first commented on a possible US remake, Russ passed on news that Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino were supposedly interested in snapping up the rights. Anne Thompson now tells us that Tarantino’s agent has issued a denial, which is a great shame. She doesn’t mention Pitt, but does say that George Clooney has been rumoured as an interested party along the way. He’d make great casting for Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Bloom in the US?), the male lead of the series.

The female lead, Lisbeth Salender, is the series’ most powerful weapon and would be a highly prized role for any actresses in range. In the Swedish films she’s played by Noomi Rapace, pictured at the head of the post, in a true starmaker of a turn. Don’t be surprised if she crosses over to have an American career - heck, she could even end up reprising the role she originated in the Swedish films for these remakes. Anne Thompson suggests Ellen Page, Kristen Stewart or Natalie Portman but I can only really see Page nailing it as already written. Who knows what Zaillian will turn Lisbeth into, though?

Here’s a mini-review from my Frightfest roundup showing just what Rudin and Zaillian would have to live up to, or for that matter straighten out:

This 2 and a half hour adaptation of Steig Larson’s internationally best selling novel played like a good TV mystery drama in the European vein – a Rebus, Wallander or Spiral as opposed to CSI or Without a Trace, say. It wasn’t at all bad, despite being intermittently dull and oftentimes predictable. The best scenes were great though, and there’s one particularly cinematic clue with a series of sequenced photographs that reminded me of something similar in American Gangster. When the film doesn’t work it’s because the adaptation is too faithful to the novel, sticking to the workings of a medium in which long strings of dialogue and verbal exposition are as welcome and functionally suitable as chunks of action.

The Swedish version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo hits US cinemas in March. Expect to see it on a lot of Year’s Best lists this time next year.

​

 

[Crockett]

Daniel Craig talking a bit about the film in an interview with Esquire.
http://www.esquire.com/features/daniel-craig-interview-0811-3

Listen to him speak on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: "It's as adult as you can possibly make it. This is adult drama. I grew up, as we ****ing all did, watching The Godfather and that, movies that were made for adults. And this is a $100 million R-rated movie. Nobody makes those anymore. And Fincher, he's not holding back. They've given him free rein. He showed me some scenes recently, and my hand was over my mouth, going, Are you ****ing serious?"

He raises his eyes, looks upward to describe what he saw in a set of Fincher's dailies that startled him this way. You can imagine — the book contains sodomy and torture chambers and lighting people on fire. And yet, "it's not that he simply showed me footage that was horribly graphic," Craig says. "It was stuff that was happening, or had happened. And somehow you don't see it."

This is the adult thing: to not be obvious about it. "There's more than one way to sense violence," he says. "Much more powerful ways than seeing it step-by-step."

It's still astonishing that the Sony gives Fincher a free rein, especially on a high-budget R-rated film, kudos to them.

 

[dark_b]

it looks like Social Network gave him free rein on this movie. this is very good.

i have a good feeling that the R rating will make a big difference with this movie.

 

[Prison Mike]

I saw the Swedish film recently. It was too fast paced and they left out some things I would have liked to see (I wish Berger had more of a presence, I wish they showed the Blomkvist and Cecilia affair, and Henrik giving Blomkvist the Wennerstrom incentive at the beginning). They're small things but I hope the Fincher version shows these things.

 

[Crockett]

I saw the Swedish film recently. It was too fast paced and they left out some things I would have liked to see (I wish Berger had more of a presence, I wish they showed the Blomkvist and Cecilia affair, and Henrik giving Blomkvist the Wennerstrom incentive at the beginning). They're small things but I hope the Fincher version shows these things.

Yeah obviously when there's an adaptation you can't have everything from tbut book but I thought the Swedish movie did good since it focused on Mikael and Lisbeth, which it's the core of the book.

Now for Fincher's version, it looks like Erika will have the same role she had in the book but the reports of Mikael being less promiscuous in Fincher's version makes me wonder if they'll elminate Mikael's affair with Cecila, somwhat like the Swedish movie.

I think we'll see some more Wennerström affair, a proper closure to it at least.
More importantly, hopefully the movie ends the same way as the book, which it's one drawback I had with the Swedish movie.

 

[Matt Mortem]

I saw the Swedish film recently. It was too fast paced and they left out some things I would have liked to see (I wish Berger had more of a presence, I wish they showed the Blomkvist and Cecilia affair, and Henrik giving Blomkvist the Wennerstrom incentive at the beginning). They're small things but I hope the Fincher version shows these things.

This was definitely one thing I wish was in there. It makes his motivation for doing everything make more sense.

 

[Travod]

http://www.ugo.com/movies/comic-con-2011-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-coverage

Apparently the movie is going to have something at Comic-Con :P

 

[Prison Mike]

Yeah obviously when there's an adaptation you can't have everything from tbut book but I thought the Swedish movie did good since it focused on Mikael and Lisbeth, which it's the core of the book.

Now for Fincher's version, it looks like Erika will have the same role she had in the book but the reports of Mikael being less promiscuous in Fincher's version makes me wonder if they'll elminate Mikael's affair with Cecila, somwhat like the Swedish movie.

I think we'll see some more Wennerström affair, a proper closure to it at least.
More importantly, hopefully the movie ends the same way as the book, which it's one drawback I had with the Swedish movie.

You know, I never really got it when fanboys would cry foul when a superhero movie would deviate from the source material. I kind of get it now.

 

[Hurm...]

Anyone know what glasses Craig wears in the trailer? I've been looking for them.

 

[Boom]

It's still astonishing that the Sony gives Fincher a free rein, especially on a high-budget R-rated film, kudos to them.

And yet Universal won't let GDT direct a $150 million dollar adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness. But that's neither here nor there, I guess .

Anyway, they're better off letting Fincher do his thing. He's at his absolute best when he's not held on a leash. So yes, good for Sony.

 

[Crockett]

And yet Universal won't let GDT direct a $150 million dollar adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness. But that's neither here nor there, I guess .

Anyway, they're better off letting Fincher do his thing. He's at his absolute best when he's not held on a leash. So yes, good for Sony.

Sony knew what's expected when doing an adaptation of this and they see the potential of a R-rated franchise so I'm glad they don't shy down. No doubt it's risky but I'm glad they're willing to give it a shot, with none other than Fincher who's directing it.

It's a shame Universal wouldn't do the same, I'm guessing they were putting a factor how del Toro's movies does in the box-office but he had Cameron to back up him and produce the movie. They just didn't have the balls to do it.

 

[The Dark Defender]

I saw the Swedish film recently. It was too fast paced and they left out some things I would have liked to see (I wish Berger had more of a presence, I wish they showed the Blomkvist and Cecilia affair, and Henrik giving Blomkvist the Wennerstrom incentive at the beginning). They're small things but I hope the Fincher version shows these things.

There are extended versions that are about a half hour longer coming to the US later on, the verisons that were released theatrically here and now on dvd/blu ray are trimmed quite a bit.

 

[Crockett]

There are extended versions that are about a half hour longer coming to the US later on, the verisons that were released theatrically here and now on dvd/blu ray are trimmed quite a bit.

I've only seen the extended cut for the first movie, they're like 30 minutes than the theatrical cut. There's a few new scenes like Janne, who's in several scenes and when Henrik helping finance Millennium and becomes a board member, just tiny sections that got in, nothing really major but it's just enough for it to stand out from the theatrical cut I guess.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

I hope to god this film succeeds and we see more franchise films not directed at 14 year old boys and their dates.

 

[redhawk23]

I hope to god this film succeeds and we see more franchise films not directed at 14 year old boys and their dates.

lolz you think they have dates?

 

[Project862006]

More Life In Girl Remake

Hollywood remakes of foreign-language pics often create some distance from the original by tweaking the story or moving the setting to America, but filmmaker David Fincher seems unafraid to measure up directly against the popular Swedish "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."
The original pic trilogy -- gritty and culturally evocative, and based on a blockbuster book series that seemingly put Swedish noir in every bookstore and e-reader around the world -- racked up big numbers for producer Yellow Bird: $235 worldwide box office, more than 5 million DVDs sold and 50 million TV viewers. It also focused a global spotlight on Swedish crime fiction, and helped boost and perhaps redefine the local film industry in a way that even Ingmar Bergman could not.
But far from softening or sentimentalizing the material for American tastes, signs are that Fincher's pushing the visceral anger and Swedish nihilism of Stieg Larsson's books to new extremes. Fincher's decision to shoot in Sweden underlines this.
Photos of Rooney Mara as the abused yet somehow invulnerable Lisbeth Salander, with her pierced nipples, shaved eyebrows and roughly chopped hair, make her look even more renegade than the role's originator, Noomi Rapace.
Sony is gambling that Fincher's edge is exactly what's needed to tempt the huge international audience of Larsson/Salander fans again, so soon after they saw the Swedish trilogy, bought the DVDs and watched the miniseries, as well as pulling in the post-literate "Social Network" generation.
In theory, Swedes would be the most skeptical about Hollywood's haste to remake their country's greatest hit. However, judging by the enthusiastic response at Stockholm's Cinematheque in May when Fincher unveiled the first trailer for his "Dragon Tattoo," the Swedes don't have any qualms about the new version.
The locals were already won over by Fincher's bold, some might say hubristic, decision to stay true to the Swedish essence of the novel and to film in Sweden.
"What I saw looked fabulous," says SVT drama topper Peter Gustafsson, who backed the original movie in his previous job as an SFI consultant. "The big question is whether the fact there's a Swedish film of the same book is going to make the audience not want to see it. But I think everyone will want to see how it is different."
In the U.S., the potential-R-rated route is often a challenge. But to Sony's advantage, the three films were not widely seen in English-speaking territories, with the Swedish movies seen by a fraction of those who read the books. The three novels have sold more than 17 million copies Stateside (including 3.5 million e-books), whereas the three films totalled 2.2 million admissions and 750,000 DVD sales -- outstanding figures for a foreign-lingo movie, but still leaving a lot of readers on the shelf, and the mainstream aud untapped.
In continental Europe, and most of all in Scandinavia, a higher proportion of Larsson's readers have seen the Swedish films. In Spain, 3.6 million book
sales translated into 2.7 million admissions across the trilogy. In Sweden, 3.6 million book sales were virtually matched by 3.1 million ticket sales, plus 950,000 DVD sales and 7.6 million TV viewers.
Spain, Italy, France and the U.K. registered drops of more than 75% in admissions from "Dragon Tattoo" to the final chapter of the trilogy. Some of that may be the result of the fact that the two sequels were cobbled together from footage from the original TV miniseries.
The dropoff in the U.S. was less precipitous -- starting from a lower base -- and DVD sales were actually higher for the third film than for the first.
But only Scandinavia really sustained a large mainstream audience across the entire trilogy.
For the new version, it helps that Yellow Bird, the producer of the original Millennium trilogy, is co-producing Fincher's film with Scott Rudin for Sony -- although the Swedish company's involvement is more a matter of courtesy that active input.
"We have (been able) to watch a lot of the material," says Yellow Bird president Mikael Wallen. "Just the fact they filmed every single exterior minute in Sweden means it feels very Swedish, and of course it's based on the same book, but it will feel very different from our films."
However popular the original "Tattoo" and its two sequels, there's also a sense that their scope was compromised by their TV roots. Rapace's performance elevated the material onto the bigscreen, but the $20 million trilogy arguably left room for a more ambitious treatment.
"It's not like the property has been used up," suggests veteran TV producer Lars Blomgren. "Fincher can make a fantastic movie, a fantastic three movies, out of these books. The second and third Swedish movies were never meant for cinema release."
Even the first Swedish adaptation "wasn't in my opinion a proper feature script," argues Gustafsson. "It was based on two really good TV scripts, and it has four or five endings, typical things you wouldn't do if you started from scratch as a film. From what I've learned from hearing Fincher talk, they have boiled it down to the essence, driving the main story much harder, much more focused on Lisbeth Salander."
Locals have responded with a certain degree of shock and awe to the spectacle of a heavyweight Hollywood director wielding the biggest budget ever seen in Sweden.
"They were in Stockholm for weeks and weeks, and everyone is 100% positive about it," says Charlotta Denward, head of production at the Swedish Film Institute. "It's very special for Swedish crews, to learn how Hollywood does it. There's a completely different view of what's possible. Many of us are a bit shocked by how much money you can spend on nothing -- lighting a street for hours, or repainting a whole block."
Adds Blomgren, "So many people have been involved in this project, the gaffers and grips and so on, they have had the chance to learn and see film production at the highest level, so it's good for everyone."
Denward concludes, "It makes us proud, not just that the remake was made in Sweden, but that they wanted the Swedish element to be very strong, and it's David Fincher, not just any director."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118039957

 

[dark_b]

More Life In Girl Remake

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118039957

Photos of Rooney Mara as the abused yet somehow invulnerable Lisbeth Salander, with her pierced nipples, shaved eyebrows and roughly chopped hair, make her look even more renegade than the role's originator, Noomi Rapace.

 

[Rocketman]

Just when you thought life couldn't get any better, this comes along:

[YT]pPTnMVs5vkw[/YT]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPTnMVs5vkw&feature=player_embedded

 

[The Englishman]

Just when you thought life couldn't get any better, this comes along:

[YT]pPTnMVs5vkw[/YT]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPTnMVs5vkw&feature=player_embedded

This is the best thing i have ever seen, every trailer should be made in this style with this music from now on.....t:

 

[Doctor Jones]

Genius. The TDK one is great too.

 

[nite-owl]

Character portfolio's.
http://www.dailyblam.com/news/2011/...-released-for-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo

 

[Matt Mortem]

I saw those on the official website this morning. It's cool putting faces to names

 

[nite-owl]

There's a part of the score on the website as well.

 

[obin_gam]

There's a part of the score on the website as well.

And Reznors second oscar-statuette confirmed