Culture News in Brief: Film to be made about Danish IS hostage Daniel Rye

In other news, creative productions have been green-lighted about Danish hygge (again!), a film called ‘Teenage Jesus’, and a dubious series of novels that re-imagine HC Andersen as a detective

Ben Hamilton

May 18, 2018

Toolbox Film has acquired the rights to make a film based on Puk Damsgård’s 2015 book about the Islamic State hostage Daniel Rye.

Niels Arden Oplev (‘Män som hatar kvinnor’) has been signed up to direct – a welcome chance to bounce back after helming the poorly-received ‘Flatliners’.

Out in September 2019
Filming will commence in October and take place in Aarhus, Trollhättan (Sweden), Jordan and Canada, with September 2019 a probable release date.

The Danish photographer was held in Syria for 398 days before being released after his family paid a ransom. Many of those held with him were executed.

Damsgård’s book, ‘Ser du månen, Daniel’, sold over 100,000 copies in Denmark.

HC Andersen re-imagined as a detective
Some might blame ‘Time after Time’, the 1979 film in which the British novelist HG Wells time-travels to Los Angeles to hunt down Jack the Ripper. It started a trend for casting real-life individuals in fictional roles, and its latest recruit is none other than Hans Christian Andersen. Three Danish novelists are currently re-imagining the children’s author as a detective. “First we laughed at the idea … it was perfectly ridiculous,” one of the authors, Thomas Rydahl, told DR. Quite.

Carlsberg web-series brings the hygge to the land of craic
Meik Wiking, the chief executive of the Happiness Research Institute and author of ‘The Little Book of Hygge’, is currently helping to make a Carlsberg web-series called the ‘The Danish Experiment’ in which four Irish creatives spend four days living in Denmark. The first episode is due to air on June 14 via various Carlsberg platforms and other media.

Ulrich often mistaken for American by fans
Just in case there was any doubt, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has never given into temptation and got a US passport – a country in which he has lived over half his life. “People are often surprised when I say I am Danish,” he told DRK in a contribution to one of its programs – presumably a reference to American fans who tend to be a little myopic in these matters. “I am Danish. It’s an essential part of who I am and how I see the world,” he said.

Danish film to be called ‘Teenage Jesus’
Trine Dyrholm has joined the cast of a new Danish film called ‘Teenage Jesus’ – a title that might ruffle a few feathers in Christian circles. Set in a psychiatric ward, filming began earlier this month at the Sankt Hans centre in Roskilde. The Danish Film Institute, Finnish Film Foundation and Nordisk Film & TV Fond are among the producers.

Mads was freezing making his latest film
Mads Mikkelsen has described his recently-completed performance in the film ‘Arctic’ as the “hardest thing I’ve done in my life”. In an interview with DR, he recalled how it was “mega cold … with snowstorms all the time” and how his weight plummeted by 30 percent during filming in Iceland. ‘Arctic’ tells the story of one man’s bid for survival in the icy wilderness following a helicopter crash.

Over a million tune in to watch Eurovision final
Some 1.13 million viewers tuned in to watch the final of the Eurovision Song Contest on DR1 last Saturday – a slight dip from 1.21 million in 2017. Denmark’s semi-final, which took place last week on Thursday, attracted 735,000 viewers.