Culture News in Brief: Come together, Sir Paul urges Copenhagen

As long as it isn’t together for a selfie, or director Bille August will flip his lid

Somebody said Paul McCartney was dead … in 1966 two years after the Beatles (without Ringo Starr, who was in hospital) played their first and only concert in Denmark at KB Hallen in June 1964.

But if you don’t believe that conspiracist baloney, you’ll probably be super made up to learn the former Beatle is returning to Denmark for the first time since 2016.

At Royal Arena
Here to promote his latest album, ‘Egypt Station’, he is performing at Royal Arena on November 30.

“Come on down, we want to see you, we want to rock out and party with you again!” McCartney promises a country where he has “always had such fun experiences”.

Tickets start at 650 kroner and go on sale at 10:00 on August 29 at  livenation.dk and ticketmaster.dk, with a limit of six per customer.


New XR cinema to open in Copenhagen’s meatpacking district
Kødbyen, the meatpacking district, could soon have its own cinema, but it won’t be like your local multiplex. Makropol, a creative studio developing quite a reputation in the field of virtual reality, has announced plans to open the world’s first XR cinema next year, providing it can raise 500,000 euros in funding. XR is an umbrella term for VR, augmented reality and mixed reality. According to Makropol founder Mads Damsbo, the cinema will house one immersive experience at a time – similar to those presented by the company at various international festivals, which tend to combine VR, film and live performance. Tickets will cost around 260 kroner. The capacity of the location is said to be 960.

Acclaimed director doesn’t like selfie culture
Esteemed director Bille August, still going strong approaching his 70th birthday in November, has been despairing of a Danish youth obsessed with selfies, self-determination and the pursuit of self-esteem ahead of the August 30 launch of his new film, ‘Lykke-Per’, a period piece based on a series of novels written by Henrik Pontoppidan between 1898 and 1904. Speaking to TV2 News, August questioned modern thinking, particularly in regard to social media. “Those people who constantly feel the need to perform and feel they must compare themselves to others – they don’t get the time to reflect,” he said.

Danish video game sells over half a million copies
‘A Hat in Time’, a Danish video game inspired by Super Mario Bros, has now sold over half a million copies worldwide. Released in October 2017, gamers take on the role of an astronaut trying to acquire fuel for their broken-down spacecraft. The director, designer, programmer and author of the game, Jonas Kærlev, told DR that what had started as a project with some friends has developed quickly into a company employing 20 people. A Kickstarter campaign to raise 30,000 kroner five years ago ended up with 300,000, and the 28-year-old hasn’t looked back since.

Remake of After the Wedding in post-production
A remake of ‘After the Wedding’, the 2006 film made by Susanne Bier, is now in post-production, and it is believed it could hit the cinemas later this year. Starring Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams and Billy Crudup, it has been directed by Bart Freundlich, a relative newcomer in Hollywood. Cornerstone Films sold the rights to remake the film to a consortium made up of Ingenious Media, Rock Island Films and Riverstone Pictures.