Denmark's Miso Film has partnered with Norway's Cinenord to produce another six Varg Veum films, following the success of the first crime series based on Gunnar Staalesen's best-selling novels.
The announcement was made on Wednesday April 9, following the excellent opening weekend figures in Norway for Varg Veum-Fallen Angels, the second feature made for the theatrical market. Backed by very positive reviews, the film directed by Morten Tyldum was released on 71 screens by SF Norge and went straight to number one, with over 31,000 admissions. "We've always said we wanted to see how Fallen Angels would open in the cinemas before taking a final decision on starting another six new films," said producer Jonas Allen, co-founder of Miso Film. "But with last weekend's figures and the big success on DVD, the ground to produce six new films is totally clear now."
The first feature film of the series Bitter Flowers by Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen was released in Norwegian cinemas last year and sold over 108,000 tickets. The second and third Varg Veum films Sleeping Beauty and Yours until Death, both directed by Erik Richter Strand, were made for DVD and television. So far, a total of 165,000 DVD copies of the three first Varg Veum films have been sold in Norway.
The six new ‘Varg Veum' films will be produced by CineMiso, a new joint venture between Norway's Cinenord, headed by the female duo Silje Hopland Eik and Tanya Nanette Badendyck, and Miso Film run by Allen and Peter Bose. "CineMiso is 50% owned by each company," said Badendyck. It was set up to produce the ‘Varg Veum' series, and we will continue to produce separately our own projects," she stressed.
Cinenord and Miso Film previously collaborated on Norwegian filmmaker Gunnar Vikene's 2006 children's film Trigger and will team up again on Vikene's upcoming youth project Vegas, set to start filming in September. Both companies also co-produced the Danish thriller The Candidate by Kasper Barfoed which will open in Denmark in August.
The six new Varg Veum films will include the same key cast members Trond Espen Seim and Bjørn Floberg, (photo). Badendyck said: "the search for scriptwriters and directors will start soon. The new films will follow the same schedule as the last ones, with two theatrical releases and four films made directly for television and DVD.
Total budget for the series is set at NOK 90m. CineMiso is working on the financing, with SF Norge and TV2 Norway again among the main investors.
Nordisk Film & TV Fond was one of the co-financiers of the first Varg Veum series.