LATEST SKARSGÅRD NEWS:

2.07.12

Here are some photos of Stellan shopping in Dublin this week with wife Megan and little Ossian. He is so adorable and the spitting image of his mom!

2.05.12

I've just completed the film page for Stellan's Brazilian film, ROUGE BRÉSIL which was reported here on Stellanonline.com last fall when production began. Stellan was quoted as saying "I know Brazil by Carmen Miranda, Babenco, Walter Salles, 'City of God', and football. Now, I'm here to understand their origin."   It's fun to see him back in costume, complete with wild hair and beard.

The story behind the botched attempt by French forces led by Admiral Villegagnon to conquer Guanabara Bay in 1555 is the subject with the story adapted from the award-winning bestseller by Jean-Christophe Rufin. It was shot in Paraty in the state of Rio de Janeiro as a made-for-TV co-production between Brazil and France. Canadian director Sylvain Archambaut has used both Brazilian and Canadian actors. Stellan plays the protagonist, Villegagnon while Joaquim de Almeida plays the villain. He's awesome as the "bad guy" - I remember him in "Clear and Present Danger". According to Conspiração, the two ninety-minute episode series will be shown in France. However, in Brazil it will air as a five-episode miniseries and will have a theatrical version as well. The photos on the right show him with his make-up artist, Marlene Moura and in the left one, he poses with a couple of cast members. Be sure to visit the film page for more info & photos.

2.02.12

The programme for the 10th anniversary edition of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival was unveiled in the capital today. Stellan joined celebrities at the newly reopened Light House Cinema to launch the festival programme. He was joined by Amy Huberman, who is in the Irish film "Stella Days" and voices some of the animation in "Death of a Superhero," both of which will be screened at the festival. Earlier in the day Irish producer Arthur Lappin honored Stellan with a Volta, the festival's career achievement honor. The ceremony was held at the Merrion  Hotel. Stellan said he would always be grateful to Dublin. He related how he had met his wife in the Irish city while shooting medieval blockbuster, "King Arthur" in 2003. "It was in the Horseshoe Bar in the Shelbourne Hotel. My wife Megan is American and had been living in Ireland for five or six years. We're back over again together this week so Dublin has so many wonderful memories for both of us," he said. The woman in these photos is Amy Huberman.

Speaking of Megan, while most of us know that Stellan delights in international cuisines and is quite the gourmet cook in his own kitchen, what we didn't know is that his wife has a passion for food as well. She happens to host the online web site - lovefoodshare.com where you will find videos of Megan cooking up various recipes, such as black bean soup. Apparently, the web site is a four-person endeavor and includes Stellan's younger brother, Kettil, who has a background in restaurant management.

"About Megan" includes the following description:  "She has spent the last ten years on a culinary journey. The woman didn’t know a leek from a shallot, but now has amassed over sixty cookbooks and the cooking skills to match. She started from scratch… and now cooks all meals from scratch. Her frequent travels have introduced her to a wide array of food cultures, which she embraces in her own recipes. Her palate is impeccable, and her ability to throw together a delicious gourmet meal for twenty is a thing of beauty. Among her many cooking talents, she has mastered the art of ice cream making, with bold and exciting flavors that will bring you to your knees." Megan was featured in Expressen's magazine section shown below.

Of course, the question that comes to my mind as far as the Skarsgård family is - who is the head chef  in their kitchen? Or do they cook together? So now we know a little bit more about Megan. I had assumed she was Irish but now it's revealed that she's from Cleveland, Ohio. On the cooking web site, there is also an interesting video of Megan enlightening us with some good basic knowledge in wines with Jörgen Gunnarsson. And if you're into Twitter, you can follow Megan's tweets about good food.

The Hollywood Reporter has just announced that Stellan's next project is a screen adaptation of Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET. Filming began in Italy ten days ago helmed by Italian director Carlo Carlei with a script by Julian Fellowes. That name  should look very familiar these days because he wrote "Downton Abbey", which continues to be highly successful. The cast includes "True Grit" star Hailee Steinfeld (great choice!) as Juliet, Douglas Booth as Romeo, Paul Giametti as Friar Laurence, Kodi Smit-McPhee (another great choice!) as Benvolio, Ed Westwick as Tybalt, Natasha McElhone (beautiful!), Damian Lews as Lord Capulet, Christian Cooke as Mercutio, Tomas Arana as Lord Montague, Laura Morante as his wife, and Stellan as Prince of Verona. The Oscar-winning Fellowes ("Gosford Park") explains the new adaptation, "We felt that it had been quite a long time since there had been a romantic, traditional rendition of the piece. This is the romantic medieval love story as conceived by Shakespeare. We felt that really what we needed was just to make it slightly more accessible to today’s generation. That, I hope, is all we’ve done. My dream would be that you watch it and you think you’ve watched the whole thing written by Shakespeare."

Fellowes, who is currently writing the third season of "Downton Abbey", (yes!) is also producing along with Ileen Maisel and Lawrence Elman of Amber Entertainment, Simon Bosanquet of Generator Entertainment, Alexander Koll and Dimitra Tsingou of Swarovski Entertainment and Doug Mankoff and Andy Spaulding of Echo Lake Entertainment. Filming is taking place at Cinecitta Studios in Rome, and in the towns of Mantua and Siena.

Here's a little bit of trivia for die-hard Stellan fans. Can you name the two other films Stellan has starred in with Natasha McElhone?

I've just added an interview with Moviefone and an article from The Playlist, both dated December 21, 2011. When asked if he was satisfied with "The Avengers", Stellan responded, "No. Not really. But I'm not one of the superheroes... It's a small role... I think the script worked. What it will be when it comes out, I can't tell."  When asked about a possible role in the "Thor" sequel, Stellan replied, "It's not decided because they haven’t got a script yet. They’re working on that. They’ve been talking about it but it could go the other way as well." In the US, "The Avengers" will premiere on May 4, 2012, but it will open throughout the world during the previous week.

01.31.12

Here are a couple pics taken today in London. The third photo shows Stellan on January 13th at a Golden Globes party at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.

Stellan will be in Dublin on February 2nd to celebrate the program launch and 10th anniversary of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. He will be joined at the celebration by Irish actress Amy Huberman, as well as members of the Irish cinema industry. The event will take place at the newly re-opened Light House Cinema. In addition, Stellan will be honored earlier that day with a Volta, the festival Career Achievement Award at a reception attended by Irish filmmakers. The Festival presents the Volta awards annually to outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to the world of film, and Stellan is being honoured for his work in both Scandinavian and English language films.

In a recent interview, Stellan announced he would like to give the Best Director Oscar to David Fincher. He said, "He's amazing. I think he's such a great director, and he manages to do very expensive indie movies. He's actually skilled with his tools, like Lars von Trier. There's nothing he cannot do in film. He's not stuck with a technique. He often makes pretty complicated films with a forceful story, but he doesn't lose a single character when he does it. 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo's' crime story is not very exceptional, but there are two fantastic characters in it, and he executes it with such incredible pace. One of the beauties of  'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is the very delicate and strange relationship between the two main characters.

He adds, "I love having 30 shots of every scene. He's asked me to take the scene in a certain direction, and then he might say, 'Well, that was not so good.' And then I'd say, 'I know, I know, I know,' and we'd try something else. We were rehearsing in the basement right before we started shooting a scene in which Daniel Craig is tied up. Suddenly, Fincher put on that Enya song, and I screamed, 'Yes! It's perfect! Keep it, for fuck's sake!' I want the creative process to happen on the floor, not at home in my bedroom while I'm reading the script."

Stellan also thinks there should be a posthumous honor. He explains, "There was a Russian director named Elem Klimov, who did his films during the communist days. They were constantly struggling with the authorities and to be allowed to express themselves. But he did one of the best war movies I've ever seen — it's called "Come and See". Everybody who likes war movies should see it because it's really about what war is — it's horrible, and everybody's horrible in it."

01.10.12

Happy news! Stellan and his wife Megan are expecting their second child later this year. They have a son, Ossian, who will turn three in April. This will be Stellan's 8th child with six children from his previous marriage to My Skarsgård. Here's a photo taken of all his children in 2010.

Eldest son Alexander has made the cover of another magazine. Evidently, August Man is a Singapore men's  magazine, aimed at the affluent cosmopolitan man, and has become "the intelligent man's read in Asia."

Bill Skarsgård has been chosen by a jury as the Swedish SHOOTING STAR 2012. He will be introduced at the forthcoming 62nd Berlin International Film Festival to the international industry as one of Europe's best young actors. His latest project is a small role in the upcoming British drama, "Anna Karenina", directed by Joe Wright and starring Keira Knightley, Jude Law and Aaron Johnson.

12.20.11:

With THE GIRL IN THE DRAGON TATTOO opening in theaters today, most film critics have lavished the film with much praise though differing opinions are continually offered on Rooney Mara vs. Noomi Rapace. I'll give my opinion once I see the film. Personally, there are two factors in film that can prove highly annoying to me. They are wigs and accents. If you're going to spend millions of dollars on a film, pul-leese do not use a noticeably bad wig. Secondly, I am extremely sensitive to proper accents. For instance, in the Tom Cruise film, "Valkyries", the cast consists of British actors, some of whom play German generals, who deliver lines that sound like, "Jolly good, let's have a spot of tea." It's absolutely unwatchable! Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail, had this interesting comment on accents and Stellan's character:

"The odd variety of strong, weak and non-existent Swedish accents is only slightly distracting at first, and eventually, the speech styles seem almost a reflection of character. Curiously, it is the cast’s major Swedish actor, Skarsgård, who sounds the most American, which does nothing to undermine the power of his performance. While fans may argue for years over the superiority of Team Noomi or Team Rooney,  the version of Skarsgård's Martin Vanger tops both the book and the previous adaptation. He brings the story a much-needed sardonic zest for evil." 

Since Stellan has been out and about promoting 'DRAGON TATTOO', he gave several interviews. Here are some links to his interviews. (Click on each photo) The first one is from this morning's Today Show and the last link is the whole cast on the Charlie Rose show, which aired on December 15th.

AmNewYork spoke with Stellan last week about the film.

Q: In general, how do you feel about remakes?

Stellan: I'm fine with remakes if the remake is better. The problem usually with remakes has been that some brilliant European auteur has made a movie, and then some Hollywood executive says, "That was a great film - let's do it." So they take away everything that's edgy, everything that's personal, and then they hire a generic director to do it. When it comes to this film, it's not like a remake of an Ingmar Bergman movie - it's another movie based on the same book. And it's actually made by an auteur. It's made by David Fincher, who's one of the greatest directors in the world.

Q: Was it at all strange to shoot a Hollywood movie in English in Sweden?

Stellan: I've filmed in English in Sweden before, but that's been with [director] Lars Von Trier and in another part of Sweden. But it's the first time in 20 years I've been able to go straight from my own bed to work every morning, and that was very, very pleasant.

Q: Since your sons Gustaf, Bill and Alexander are all actors, when can we expect a Skarsgård family movie?

Stellan: [Laughs] We could do that. We could do that. I can bring in my mother, too, and we can cast quite a crew.

In a recent interview with the Irish Times, Stellan discusses his upcoming projects and without mentioning the actual name of the film, he reports that the project has been dropped due to financial problems. Stellan does mention the next Marvel movie and working with Lars von Trier again. Here are some comments from Stellan about von Trier from a recent interview with IndieWire.

Stellan explained that before "Melancholia," von Trier had been considering giving up filmmaking altogether, saying "He had a six year depression, we’ve been in touch all the time, and it was really, really bad for a long while. When we started 'Melancholia' I sat down and talked with him and he said, 'I don’t think it’s fun anymore' and I said 'Well, you better, because you can’t live without it.'" Fortunately, and ironically, given the title of the film, his apocalyptic drama seemed to find him reclaiming the joy of his profession, according to his actor; "Eventually I think he started to enjoy himself on 'Melancholia.' He had a very playful attitude on the set... his depression is over now, and we are going to be doing a film this summer."

Stellan was actually the first actor on board the director's next project, "The Nymphomaniac," which will co-star Charlotte Gainsbourg in what promises to be another taboo-pushing piece of work. Apparently, von Trier called and said, 'Stellan, I just want to book you for next summer, so don’t take anything else. I’m going to make a porno film and I want you to play the male lead.' 'Yes of course, Lars,' I said. 'But you will not get to fuck in the film.' I said okay, he said, 'But you will show your dick at the end, and it will be very floppy.' 'Okay Lars, I will be there, if that’s what you’re doing.' "

Did Stellan have any hesitations?  "None. It’s fun. If you make as many films as I do, the process of making it is where you live. It’s not the release dates and the reviews and rewards. My life is to be on set and I want to do interesting work. That’s why I want to work with interesting directors. I want to have fun, that’s my problem." Given his reputation as a prankster, I'm sure he'll have fun.

There are two new interviews you can check out on the Press page.

12.17.11:

The Observer has a series called "The film that changed my life" and today's edition featured Stellan:

When I was about 11 years old, my father stood me in front of the television at home and said: "This is a film you have to see." It was "Les enfants du paradis", directed by Marcel Carné. Shot in Paris during the Nazi occupation, it's about a troupe of mime artists and performers in the 1880s.

It's a very beautiful, epic story, but what moved me the most was the scene where Jean-Louis Barrault, who plays the mime artist Jean-Baptiste Debureau, is performing a pantomime on stage, his face painted white. He looks into the wings and sees the woman he loves with another man. You see his face crack behind the mask. For me, that moment captured what acting is all about – what is happening behind the mask.

The French actor Arletty, who played the love interest Garance, aroused me as an 11-year-old boy. It was her enormous sensuality – her way of moving, her way of speaking, her way of looking. Another wonderful character was Lacenaire, the murderer who goes around killing people for most of the film. His aim is to be hanged for his crimes in Paris, not some small-time town, and he eventually succeeds. It is beautifully written, very poetic. Carné worked with the writer Jacques Prévert on a couple of other beautiful films as well, and they were extremely successful together.

Seeing "Les enfants du paradis" interested me in the idea of becoming an actor, and I've used the "layers behind the mask idea" in my work. I've told lots of people about it – it's Emily Watson's favourite too, so I'm in good company. But I don't watch it often – perhaps once every 10 years – because it's already had its impact on me. There's no film I go back to more than a few times. There's too much fresh work to see.

12.14.11

Columbia Pictures has announced that the US opening of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO has been changed to December 20, one day ahead of its previous announced debut. The film has earned raving reviews following its London premiere on Monday. As of today, the Rottentomato meter is registering 94% with 31 reviews. It's definitely going to be a huge winner at the box office. The weather did not cooperate on Monday evening but the stars bravely walked the red carpet in the bitter cold and rain. Rooney Mara showed up in a lace creation by Givenchy Couture. She was joined by director David Fincher and co-stars Daniel Craig, Joely Richardson, Geraldine James, Yorickk Van Wageninge, and Stellan, who was accompanied by wife Megan, wearing a mini-dress - she must have been shivering as well.

When questioned about the problem of treading in the successful footsteps of the Swedish language version, Stellan responded, "It doesn't matter. Any good film is good because it has the personal view of the director that does it, and Fincher has a very strong personal view in everything he does, so I think it will be interesting."

Here are some pics from the world premiere in London:

Last night the film had its Swedish premiere at the Sergel Theatre in Stockholm. Stellan spoke to reporters and explained that although the film explores a very fictional dark side of society, its portrayal of feminine strength was particularly Swedish. The country is known for its cradle-to-grave welfare system and Ikea department stores. The film and books paint another picture, more in tune with its bleak and cold winters and a dark side found in a number of Swedish crime novels that have taken the publishing world by storm in the last decade. Stellan said foreigners, in general, did not know much about the small Scandinavian country and hoped that Sweden would not be too associated with the crime wave genre that has put Swedish Noir at the top of the modern world's literary map.

"I hope they don't think that the way Sweden is portrayed in those books and films is the way Sweden is, because it is still a very peaceful and lovely and very nice country to live in," he said.

Stellan further commented on his concern that people would connect the country to rape. Leave it to him to say, "I do not know anybody who has been raped anally. You might not believe it but that's the case, and I have never been raped anally." Yup, that's our man!

And then tonight, the New York premiere was held at the Ziegfield Theater. Attending were Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Robin Wright, Christopher Plummer and Stellan, again accompanied by wife Megan, wearing another mini-dress. You've got to give a round of applause for those cast members who traveled the publicity circuit this week to promote the film.

Be sure to visit the "Tattoo" gallery page for more photos from all these publicity events.

Now let's have some praise from the film critics:

"It moves like a mad dog, looks like a hi-def dream and is deliciously cast from top to bottom. Go and bask in the lushly photographed luridness."   ...Keith Uhlich, Timeout, New York

"Mr. Fincher also knows how to bring out the fearlessness in actors. As James Bond, Mr. Craig is a terrific mixture of sarcastic charm and sartorial splendor, in or out of the sack, but when the role calls for something darker, he’s equally well equipped. Mr. Skarsgård is especially scary because of the sheer exploitation of power with which he manipulates people under the guise of polite, amiable calm - making his later scenes from friendly to ferocious doubly shocking. Ms. Mara is a damaged ferret, her eyes darting, her tongue rubbing her stapled lips as she helps the mentally distraught reporter try to make sense of a deepening mystery. It all adds up to a noxious brew of teeth-grinding, knuckle-whitening brutality."   ...Rex Reed, The Observer

"Fincher teases out the full mythological grandeur of the material. He's not just a great director - he's an artist with the eyes of a voyeur, and he has made The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo into an electrifying movie by turning the audience into addicts of the forbidden, looking for the sick and twisted things we can't see."  ...Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

"A controlled, mesmerising, beautiful thriller scarred by scenes of unshakeable brutality and breathless tension."   ...Jamie Graham, Total Film

"What is wonderful to see is the grand severity of the northern Sweden landscapes. Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth captures the coldness of the climate and remoteness of the countryside in a tactile fashion to complement the frosty and distant nature of the characters."   ...David Germain, Associated Press

I'm always curious about a film's soundtrack and this is what film critic Tony Macklin had to say - "What distinguishes Fincher's film is its power, at times excruciating... The soundtrack should win an Oscar. It's terrific... There's the crunch of feet on snow, the whistle of the wind, the buzz of a floor cleaner, the boom of a night club, the zoom of a motorcycle. The music by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor is the pulse of the film - throbbing, beating, increasing tension, communicating horror."

"While the European take on this guttural European tale was quite marvelous with its performances and frosty execution, the Swedes didn’t have David Fincher. With its isolation, rage, and penetrative possibilities, the celebrated director was practically born to helm this graphic murder mystery. "   ...Brian Orndorf, Blu-ray.com

"Adapting the story with his usual flair for the dramatic and dark, David Fincher draws out themes and ideas that were barely present in the novel, creating a film that's less about the lugubrious story than the fascinating characters who inhabit it. It's a vast improvement on the source material, a brooding and gripping mystery that's captivating even if you know exactly how the story turns out."   ...Katey Rich, Cinema Blend

12.04.11

Here we have photos of Stellan attending last night's 24th annual European Film Awards in Berlin.

And I am thrilled to report that Lars von Trier's apocalyptic drama, MELANCHOLIA, which had received eight nominations, garnered trophies for Best Film, Best Cinematography and Best Production Design! The award for Best Director went to another very talented Danish director, Susanne Bier. Von Trier's wife, Bente Froge, accepted the Best Film prize on behalf of her husband, announcing that Lars had taken a vow of silence after his Nazi remarks at Cannes "but he did ask that I should wave to you in a kind and gentle way." The film's stars, Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg, were both nominated for Best Actress but lost to Tilda Swinton ("We Need to Talk About Kevin") and I'm not going to complain about that choice. She's the indie's counterpart to Meryl Streep. I highly recommend her performance in "Io sono l'amore" (aka I am Love) where she speaks Italian with a Polish accent!

Stellan was on hand to give out the EFA Lifetime Achievement Award to Mads Mikkelsen. You may remember that the pair starred together in "King Arthur". According to the Hollywood Reporter, the biggest laughs of the evening came when our Swede paid tribute to the Danish actor turning his speech into a mini-roast.

"I don't admire you for your looks, because you're not good looking," Stellan riffed. "You have an 'interesting' face. I know you've been voted sexiest man in Denmark like 6 times but those are by people who don't know you. And we have to remember Denmark is a very small place." He ended on a sweet note with, "Mads, everything you do has a clarity to it. There's nothing fuzzy about what you do. You're acting is clean, graceful and very poetic."

I have to agree that Mads is an A+ actor and his so-called "interesting" face has given him magnificent screen presence such as the villain in "Casino Royale". However, my favorite Mads film continues to be "Elsker dig for evigt" (aka Open Hearts), which you can rent at Netflix. FYI, there's a very humorous YouTube interview with Stellan and Mads back in February 2009. It was featured on Swedish television but someone kindly added English subtitles. A big thanks!