Lars Von Trier May Make An Action Movie, Writing US-Set Horror Film

Director Lars von Trier has quit talking to the press, at least for now, but that doesn't mean other people aren't talking about what he may do next. With the director's two-part Nymphomaniac released around the world, two different Trier collaborators are talking about what he might do next. And, to borrow language from Upworthy, at least one of the answers will surprise you.

Speaking to Screen Daily at Cannes, producer Peter Aalbaek Jensen talked about a couple upcoming projects. There are a few worth noting, but the most attention-getting quote is that he says Trier "is talking about making a Trier version of an action movie."

What does that mean? The director has put his stamp on a few genres in the past, whether thriller (The Element of Crime), mystery (The Kingdom), melodrama (Breaking the Waves), sci-fi (Melancholia) or musical (Dancer in the Dark). His entire career, more or less, is making "a Trier version" of something we're familiar with as a typical genre form. So it's wide open, really.

If you've never seen some of Trier's earlier stuff, especially the TV series The Kingdom referenced above, you're in luck. His company Zentropa is restoring many of his early works, including The Kingdom. Here's a featurette talking about the restoration process:

In addition, Trier is writing "a US-set horror film" for Danish director Kristian Levring, who made The Salvation with Mads Mikkelsen, and worked on Antichrist with Trier. Levring also directed The King Is Alive, which was the fourth film in the Trier-led "Dogme95" movement.

Jensen confirmed that Trier is writing the movie, which backs up comments Levring made to  Soundvenue (via Indiewire) just days ago. Levring explained,

I've always thought that Lars would be able to do a fantastic horror movie. And I've told him so many times throughout the years, and in the end he said: 'I want you to stop talking about it, so I'll write it for you instead.' It takes place in Detroit, and then there is the wordplay between Detroit and 'destroyed.' It's about a man fighting his inner demons. That doesn't tell that much, but that's because we haven't gotten any further so far ... it's real horror. Of course, there is a psychological aspect, but it's a real horror movie. That's what we're aiming for, at least.

And while we're talking about the efforts of Trier's occasional producer Jensen, the man is also producing a Viking project called The Long Ships (Rode Orm),  which is directed by Hans Petter Moland (In Order of Disappearance) and scripted by Tobias Lindholm (The Hunt).

Stellan Skarsgaard and some of the other Skarsgaard clan will star, and Jensen explained "[Stellan] can bring one or two sons, depending on what we need in the story" to Screen Daily. The project isn't coming soon, with a 2016 shoot window planned, but it will be big. At the moment, Jensen plans potentially two features, and a four-part TV series.

"I haven't seen a good Viking film in my life," Jensen said. "The atmosphere of our story is very much Pirates of the Caribbean goes Viking."