As exciting as the prospect of “Zodiac” and “Seven” helmer David Fincher tackling Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is, I have to wonder if the whole project will feel like really old news by the time December 2011 rolls around. After all, fans of the book have no doubt already made the pilgrimage to their local Blockbuster outlets en masse and snapped up director Niels Arden Oplev’s excellent and haunting 2009 Danish adaptation of the world-wide bestseller. I’d also imagine, they’ve probably already moved on to the (not very good) follow-up film “The Girl Who Played with Fire.”
However, never eager to miss out on a cash-cow, Hollywood is bound and determined to cater to Larsson’s considerable fan-base and the wheels of Fincher’s project are rapidly picking up speed. First, there was the previously announced casting of Daniel Craig as Millennium journalist Mikael Blomkvist and now Deadline is revealing that Robin Wright (no longer Penn) may be jumping on-board along with — according to Variety — Stellan Skarsgard.
Wright would be playing Blomkvist’s Millennium colleague and on again/off again lover Erika Berger (who was played by Lena Andre in the Swedish films). However, as exciting as it is to hear that the talented actress will be appearing, those familiar with the story will recall that Berger’s contributions were pretty freakin’ slim. No, this seems more like a canny casting move on the studio’s part in that it guarantees a solid prominent-status supporting player for the sequels (should they happen) when Berger’s role is fleshed out a little more.
As for Skarsgard, he’s reportedly in negotiations to tackle the character of Martin Vanger, the president of his oddball family’s self-built corporate empire. This casting choice feels dead-on appropriate, as Skarsgard not only bears a faint resemblance to original actor Peter Haber, but also because he excels at playing introverted, secretive and intellectually imposing men. Should he sign on the dotted line, it’ll be a home-run for everyone involved and a treat for audiences who may have forgotten just how brilliant the actor can be when he’s matched with smart directors and snappy material.
Even though I feel somewhat loyal to the Swedish take on “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (seriously, if you haven’t seen it, remedy the situation!) I can’t help but be a little curious about what the always unpredictable Fincher may have up his sleeve. If he can find a Lisbeth Salander half as mesmerizingly compelling as Noomi Rapace he may wind up delivering a pretty cool flick. We shall see.
How do you IJM readers feel about the additions of Robin Wright and Stellan Skarsgard to the “Dragon Tattoo” cast? Do they match the mental pictures you created while reading the novel? And how do they stand up against their 2009 counterparts? Weigh in on our comments section and let us know!
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Follow Cam Smith on Twitter at http://twitter.com/camspcepisodes.
Well not having read the books I cant really say if these new additions fit the characters, but I do own the 2009 danish film, I just havent gotten around to watching it yet. But I do think that this fad might be dwindled down to just embers by the time the American version comes out next year.
I haven’t seen the original Swedish film yet (about to add it to my Netflix queue!), but I just finished the first book and loved it. I think Fincher is the perfect director, and the casting is pretty spot-on so far. But I think it really all hinges on finding the perfect Lisbeth. They really need to secure someone with serious acting chops for that part. Too bad Noomi Rapace doesn’t want to reprise her role because from everything I’ve heard she’s fantastic.