When the producers set out to adapt Stieg Larsson’s book trilogy "Millennium," which consists of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, it was originally slated to be a six-part television series to air in Sweden. Then The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was released in theatres and became a surprise international hit. Talk of a U.S. remake, possibly directed by David Fincher, soon followed, and to capitalize on the fever surrounding the books the Swedish sequels were cut together for theatrical release as well.
In The Girl Who Played with Fire, the story focuses more intensely on the character of Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) as she finds herself wanted for three murders and enlisting the help of journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) in order to clear her name. Mikael still owes Lisbeth from the events that occurred in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and stands behind her, trusting her every word.
CityNews.ca spoke with director Daniel Alfredson about the film. Read our Q&A below.
Were you a fan of Stieg Larsson’s books?
I was a great fan. At the time I read the novels [it was] before they were published because I had a connection with the publisher. I read book one and two and liked them very much, especially the characters.
With the book series being so popular why was the adaptation planned to be a TV series at first?
They made a financing deal to do a series but after the first one they found out that maybe we could make these feature films as well. We had two scripts -- one for the series and one for the film.
Did that change anything with regards to the production?
In a way, yes, it did. We had more days of shooting. There are some scenes in the TV series that of course are not in the feature films and vice versa. It was a bit complicated at times but it worked out.
Since you didn’t direct the first film was it hard coming in for the sequels?
Not really because I knew of Niels [Arden Oplev, director of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo] and met him at an early stage when he was doing the casting process. I knew the actors he was doing screen tests with so we had communication at that time and I knew what was happening.
How did you find working with the cast?
It was fine. I knew Michael Nyqvist for so many years and I knew of Noomi as well. Many of the [actors] that were coming from the first film to the second I knew too.
Do you think the American remake will hurt the originals?
I don’t think so. I wish them luck and I hope they will be successful. Sweden is such a small country and we just struck luck when we did this [film series]. I think it’s nice when they try to do something based on a Swedish novel. I think that’s great.
Are you surprised by the success the films have had worldwide?
Yeah, very. It never happens really. A Swedish film getting international success... it’s fantastic. We didn’t know that when we were shooting and it has been an ongoing surprise.
How is the Swedish film industry normally?
Normally it’s one or two films [produced a year] but they are not commercial successes. They do the festival circuit and things but we have actors speaking Swedish, which is a very small language, and not very well known actors. It’s not very often it happens that a Swedish film can make such an impact abroad.
Any interest in making an American film?
Of course but it has to be a script I like. Otherwise I don’t think it would be a good job.
What do you hope the audience gets out of 'The Girl Who Played with Fire'?
I think they will find an exciting film and will want to see the rest of the trilogy. It’s a different drama than the last film, which was a cultural drama. We evolve the back-story of Lisbeth. The whole story of Lisbeth will be revealed in the third film and that’s when the whole story will be told.
The Girl Who Played with Fire is in theatres on July 9.
brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com
Top image: Daniel Alfredson on set of The Girl Who Played with Fire. Courtesy Alliance Films.