Though he broke out with "Easy Money" and garnered a lot of attention from Hollywood, one could argue that Daniel Espinosa hasn’t really lived up to his Next Hot Thing status. "Safe House" was a forgettable action flick, and this spring’s star-studded "Child 44" was a complete bomb, but miraculously not a huge loss for Lionsgate, thanks to some smart accounting. So perhaps it’s not a surprise that the director has set up an upcoming project in Sweden.
READ MORE: Review: ‘Child 44’ Starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Gary Oldman, And Joel Kinnaman
Screen Daily reports that Espinosa will helm a new adaptation of Vilhelm Moberg’s novel "The Emigrants." Cinephiles will know that Jan Troell made a wonderfully received 1971 movie based on the same material (it earned four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay), but maybe there’s room for improvement? At any rate, the story tells the tale of the epic journey of a couple who immigrate to American from Sweden in the 1850s seeking a better life.
Petter Skavlan ("Kon-Tiki") will write the script and filming is slated to begin in 2017. Maybe Espinosa will squeeze in a picture before then? We’ll see.
Totally agree JT; both movies are classics and need proper, remastered HD releases. I\’m definitely interested in seeing this rendition; I enjoy Espinosa as a director for the most part and loved Kon-Tiki
I only hope this means that Troell\’s The Emigrants and The New Land will finally be released to home video. These incredibly beautiful films have been missing in action for decades. Yes, TCM recently showed The Emigrants, but only in the dubbed version, which is a serious No No for ANY movie lover. After you\’ve seen the original version, the dubbed version is unbearable.