It's understandable that everyone wouldn't take to Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac twin-bill, what with it being a four-hour plus movie about a woman's tawdry sexual escapades. But for those who are fans of von Trier's...ummmm, let's just call it "unique" look at female sexuality (and I'm one), the full 5 1/2 hour Director's Cut of Nymphomaniac Parts 1 & 2 are screening at the Venice International Film Festival and will hopefully make their way to the U.S. at some point. While that's exciting, what has really caused a stir is new of von Trier's next project which will be on the small screen.
During the Nymphomaniac press conference in Venice, von Trier appeared on screen through video link, dialed up by his pal Stellan Skarsgard. It was then that producer Louise Vesth announced von Trier would be embarking on an English-language television series that is expected to have a huge international cast...
Vesth: “Now, when he’s not able to speak, so he cannot say that it’s not ture, I’m happy to announce that the next Lars von Trier project will be a TV series in the English language. He has a really really good idea which I cannot tell more about right now. He wants a huge cast and from what I heard I’m sure that it will be something that you have never seen before and you will definitely never see it again.”
The show will be titled The House that Jack Built. The hope is for shooting to begin in 2016 with von Trier beginning work on the scripts this fall. And as usual for the provacative filmmaker it's expected to be unlike anything else on TV. Or so says producer and Zentropa founder Peter Aalbæk Jensen who says “it will be a TV series without precedent" and cautioned “You better hold your breath.”
Hard to believe it has been twenty years since von Trier's last foray into television with The Kingdom, which was weird in all the ways one would expect from him, which is why it's considered a cult classic by many. Given the loosened boundaries of TV nowadays the lengths he'll be able to go make this a project worth getting excited about. Can we assume Skarsgard, Udo Kier, and probably Charlotte Gainsbourg have already been called up?[Deadline]
