“Art house SF disaster movie.” Bet that’s a phrase you never expected to read. But Lars Von Trier is going into Emmerich territory
Spider-Man ’s Mary Jane, Kirsten Dunst, has signed up to star in Melancholia , an SF disaster movie written and directed by Lars Von Trier. Hold on. Rewind. “An SF disaster movie from Lars Von Trier”? That’s like saying, “a subtle, romantic comedy from Michael Bay”.
But it’s true, according to Deadline New York . The famously weird Danish director, who makes David Lynch look like Chris Colombus, is moving into Roland Emmerich territory. He’s following the controversial Antichrist with a film about an enormous planet, Melecholia, which in a previous press release about the movie was show looming perilously close to the Earth.
The film was actually announced late last year when Penelope Cruz was attached (presumably she dropped out to do Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides instead). Although little in known about the plot, film will not be an alien invasion movie, said Peter Aalbaek Jensen, from the film’s production company Zentropa. “ Melancholia has come together pretty quickly. Lars von Trier is really happy with the project.” The budget is expected to be around $7 million. “As a disaster movie, Melancholia will use some special effects, but nothing compared to Hollywood,” says Aalbaek.
“No more happy endings!” add Von Trier. Not very shockingly.
Melancholia will shoot July through September in Southern Sweden. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling, Alexander Skarsgård, Stellan Skarsgård and Udo Kier are also attached.
