If there was ever any doubt over Michael Fassbender’s A-list status, expect that to change any day now. “X-Men: Days Of Future Past” was his biggest hit to date (and next year’s sequel “Apocalypse” could be even bigger), he won rave reviews at Sundance for “Slow West” and at Cannes for “Macbeth,” Telluride made him the Best Actor Oscar front-runner for “Steve Jobs,” and he’s got four films hitting in 2016, including blockbuster “Assassin’s Creed,” and Derek Cianfrance’s “The Light Between Oceans.”
Fassbender’s likely to have “Prometheus 2” coming up in the near future too, but he’s looking to squeeze in something else, and has found a new project, according to the Hollywood Reporter, in the shape of “The Snowman.” Adapted from a novel by best-selling Norwegian crime-writer Jo Nesbø (who penned international hit “Headhunters”), the film sees detective Harry Hole chasing a serial killer, Norway’s first, who kills married mothers and leaves their belongings on snowmen near the scene.
Optioned by Working Title and Universal at the height of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”-inspired Scandi-noir mania four years ago, the film was originally set to be directed by Martin Scorsese, but more recently Tomas Alfredson, the Swedish helmer of the brilliant “Let The Right One In” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” has taken over the director’s chair, though Scorsese will exec-produce, while Søren Sveistrup, creator of the original “The Killing” series, penned the script.
Fassbender would play Hole, and the hope has been that there’d be franchise potential in the series. Without having read the book, it does sound a touch generic, but Nesbø’s fans are fervent, and the wealth of talent attached is enormous (we’re particularly glad to see Alfredson with a new project, four years after “Tinker Tailor,” one of the best movies of the decade). And of course, we’ll turn up for anything Fassbender’s doing. There’s no indication of when this’ll go before cameras yet, but we imagine it’s aiming to hit theaters sometime in 2017.
The name is pronounced "hoo-lah" in Norwegian.
Tomas Alfredson couldn\’t direct his way out of a wet paper bag. He has the Reverse Midas Touch.
Wow, Droop got up on the wrong side of the bed. Yes, we get that the name is perfectly normal in Norway. However this is not a Norwegian film being announced. It\’s a big budget American film, in which the character will still presumably have the same name, but everyone will be speaking in English, not Norwegian, making the name unintentionally funny. I\’m sorry, there\’s no way around that. There is nothing "arrogant" about finding that name hysterically funny in a film made in English.
first, let me address the arrogant and ignorant, probably american, idiot above, who every time he hears a name that doesn\’t sound like john smith, thinks it sounds weird and labels it "bad". Hole happens to be a common scandinavian name, so is it our fault that you americans are so desperate to harvest the fruits of our labour? nah brah. also, let\’s not give the millennium trilogy all the credit. the genre has been around, and very popular in literature especially, for decades. including the harry hole series.
The book is fantastic. I would much rather see a Norwegian version of this, though.
Can we just address the elephant in the room and label "Harry Hole" as the worst name ever?!!