Göteborg Film Festival, running from Jan. 27-Feb. 5, will welcome back some familiar faces during its 46th edition. But it keeps on looking out for skillful newcomers, says Josef Kullengård, head of industry at the festival and the Nordic Film Market. “We want to be the place where you discover new Nordic talent,” he tells Variety.
“It’s a strong year for projects in development, while the workin-progress section combines established directors such as Erik Poppe [presenting ‘Quisling’] with first-timers or people like Ulaa Salim, following ‘Sons of Denmark’ with ‘Eternal.’ It definitely mirrors what the current Nordic film landscape looks like.”
Oscar-winning actor Alicia Vikander will also introduce a new wave of directors, unveiling films produced by the students of educational film program Alicia Vikander Film Lab 2022.
“When she was appointed honorary fellow by the Sten A. Olsson Foundation for Research and Culture, her response was: ‘Let’s do something with this money,...
“It’s a strong year for projects in development, while the workin-progress section combines established directors such as Erik Poppe [presenting ‘Quisling’] with first-timers or people like Ulaa Salim, following ‘Sons of Denmark’ with ‘Eternal.’ It definitely mirrors what the current Nordic film landscape looks like.”
Oscar-winning actor Alicia Vikander will also introduce a new wave of directors, unveiling films produced by the students of educational film program Alicia Vikander Film Lab 2022.
“When she was appointed honorary fellow by the Sten A. Olsson Foundation for Research and Culture, her response was: ‘Let’s do something with this money,...
- 1/27/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
More than 70 speakers from 17 countries, including “Skam” showrunner Julie Andem, “It Takes Two” game creator/filmmaker Josef Fares, and top commissioners from Viaplay, Netflix, Amazon Studios, Dr, Svt, Nrk and Yle will take center stage at Göteborg Film Festival’s TV Drama Vision.
The festival’s flagship drama confab will run Feb. 1-2 both on-site in Sweden’s second largest city, and online, with all streamed sessions open to accredited professionals.
A record 542 delegates – including 39 online visitors – have signed up for the sold-out event, set under the overarching theme “Navigating Disruption and Cultivating Talent.”
”It’s been a challenge to set the core of this year’s program, considering the drastic changes in the drama industry, fuelled by the macroeconomic uncertainties, streaming wars and changing strategies,” acknowledges TV Drama Vision honcho Cia Edström. “But our top industry guests will offer inspiring best-practices on how to navigate these changing times, cultivate talent and innovate in storytelling.
The festival’s flagship drama confab will run Feb. 1-2 both on-site in Sweden’s second largest city, and online, with all streamed sessions open to accredited professionals.
A record 542 delegates – including 39 online visitors – have signed up for the sold-out event, set under the overarching theme “Navigating Disruption and Cultivating Talent.”
”It’s been a challenge to set the core of this year’s program, considering the drastic changes in the drama industry, fuelled by the macroeconomic uncertainties, streaming wars and changing strategies,” acknowledges TV Drama Vision honcho Cia Edström. “But our top industry guests will offer inspiring best-practices on how to navigate these changing times, cultivate talent and innovate in storytelling.
- 1/23/2023
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
On the heels of crowning the class of 2023, Variety is marking 25 years of keeping a keen eye on the next generation of filmmakers with its annual 10 Directors to Watch franchise.
Over the past quarter-century, the editorial initiative has cast an important career spotlight on such future boldface-name directors as Alfonso Cuaron, Christopher Nolan, Ava DuVernay, Wes Anderson, Chloé Zhao, Barry Jenkins, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Steve McQueen, Taika Waititi, Kasi Lemmons, Michael Winterbottom, Sarah Polley, Catherine Hardwicke, Lulu Wang, Jay Chandrasekhar, David Gordon Green and Fernando Meirelles.
The scouting for 10 Directors to Watch goes on all year among Variety‘s editorial staff. The series was birthed in January 1997 by veteran Variety editor Steven Gaydos, executive VP of global content and leader of the Focus features department. The goal is to identify hot helmers before they pick up any significant hardware — aka major award wins, Gaydos said.
Variety‘s Steven Gaydos
“We look for a distinctive voice,...
Over the past quarter-century, the editorial initiative has cast an important career spotlight on such future boldface-name directors as Alfonso Cuaron, Christopher Nolan, Ava DuVernay, Wes Anderson, Chloé Zhao, Barry Jenkins, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Steve McQueen, Taika Waititi, Kasi Lemmons, Michael Winterbottom, Sarah Polley, Catherine Hardwicke, Lulu Wang, Jay Chandrasekhar, David Gordon Green and Fernando Meirelles.
The scouting for 10 Directors to Watch goes on all year among Variety‘s editorial staff. The series was birthed in January 1997 by veteran Variety editor Steven Gaydos, executive VP of global content and leader of the Focus features department. The goal is to identify hot helmers before they pick up any significant hardware — aka major award wins, Gaydos said.
Variety‘s Steven Gaydos
“We look for a distinctive voice,...
- 1/8/2023
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
2022 is shaping up to be one of The Game Awards’ biggest years yet. Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok are deadlocked for nominations, and titles such as Horizon Forbidden West and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 follow closely behind. The biggest awards can go any way, but let’s be honest: most gamers will tune in for the trailers and reveals.
Since The Game Awards is currently one of the biggest game-centric celebrations outside of E3, it’s a tradition for companies to fill in the gaps between awards with ads for their upcoming games. Last year alone, gamers got announcements like long-awaited reveals of Alan Wake 2 and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, as well as debuts like Slitterhead. It’s a foregone conclusion that this year’s Game Awards will also be full of trailers, but nobody is entirely sure which reveals to expect. Of course, the rumor mill (and a few...
Since The Game Awards is currently one of the biggest game-centric celebrations outside of E3, it’s a tradition for companies to fill in the gaps between awards with ads for their upcoming games. Last year alone, gamers got announcements like long-awaited reveals of Alan Wake 2 and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, as well as debuts like Slitterhead. It’s a foregone conclusion that this year’s Game Awards will also be full of trailers, but nobody is entirely sure which reveals to expect. Of course, the rumor mill (and a few...
- 12/7/2022
- by Matthew Byrd
- Den of Geek
Amazon Studios has picked up the rights to an adaptation of the Game Awards-winning video game “It Takes Two,” with Seven Bucks attached to produce and “Sonic the Hedgehog” writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller set to adapt the screenplay.
Developed by Hazelight Studios and published by Electronic Arts, “It Takes Two” follows a couple on the verge of divorce who find their minds transported into two dolls made by their daughter. The game uses cooperative gameplay as players control the couple, who work together to try to find a way back to their normal bodies.
Casey and Miller will serve as executive producers with the game’s lead developers, Josef Fares and Oskar Wolontis, along with Stephan Bugaj of dj2 Entertainment. Dwayne Johnson, Hiram Garcia and Dany Garcia will produce for Seven Bucks, with Kimberly Bialek overseeing production. Dmitri M. Johnson and Dan Jevons will also produce for dj...
Developed by Hazelight Studios and published by Electronic Arts, “It Takes Two” follows a couple on the verge of divorce who find their minds transported into two dolls made by their daughter. The game uses cooperative gameplay as players control the couple, who work together to try to find a way back to their normal bodies.
Casey and Miller will serve as executive producers with the game’s lead developers, Josef Fares and Oskar Wolontis, along with Stephan Bugaj of dj2 Entertainment. Dwayne Johnson, Hiram Garcia and Dany Garcia will produce for Seven Bucks, with Kimberly Bialek overseeing production. Dmitri M. Johnson and Dan Jevons will also produce for dj...
- 4/20/2022
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
An upcoming film adaptation of the video game It Takes Two has landed at Amazon, with Seven Bucks Productions coming aboard to produce alongside dj2 Entertainment, Deadline can confirm.
It Takes Two is an action-adventure co-op platform game developed by Hazelight Studios and published by Electronic Arts, which centers on struggling married couple May and Cody. The film will follow the couple as they contemplate divorce, finding their minds transported into two dolls that their daughter, Rose, made to represent them. They must then find a way to get back into their bodies—a quest which takes them through the most wild, unexpected and fantastical journey imaginable.
The critically acclaimed two-player game won Game of the Year at both the 2021 The Game Awards and the 25th annual D.I.C.E Awards., and has sold more than five million copies, boasting an ever-growing player count of oner 10 million worldwide. The...
It Takes Two is an action-adventure co-op platform game developed by Hazelight Studios and published by Electronic Arts, which centers on struggling married couple May and Cody. The film will follow the couple as they contemplate divorce, finding their minds transported into two dolls that their daughter, Rose, made to represent them. They must then find a way to get back into their bodies—a quest which takes them through the most wild, unexpected and fantastical journey imaginable.
The critically acclaimed two-player game won Game of the Year at both the 2021 The Game Awards and the 25th annual D.I.C.E Awards., and has sold more than five million copies, boasting an ever-growing player count of oner 10 million worldwide. The...
- 4/20/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
“It Takes Two” is getting the movie treatment, with the project now set up at Amazon for priority development, Variety has learned exclusively.
Variety reported in January that the game was being adapted for the screen. As previously reported, dj2 Entertainment will produce the film, with Seven Bucks Productions now boarding the project along with Amazon Studios. Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia will produce on behalf of Seven Bucks. According to sources, Dwayne could also star in the film, but nothing is official as of now.
The film adaptation will follow May and Cody who, as they go through a divorce, find their minds transported into two dolls that their daughter, Rose, made to represent them. Now they must go on a wild and fantastical journey to find a way to get back into their bodies.
“Sonic the Hedgehog” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” writers Pat Casey and...
Variety reported in January that the game was being adapted for the screen. As previously reported, dj2 Entertainment will produce the film, with Seven Bucks Productions now boarding the project along with Amazon Studios. Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia will produce on behalf of Seven Bucks. According to sources, Dwayne could also star in the film, but nothing is official as of now.
The film adaptation will follow May and Cody who, as they go through a divorce, find their minds transported into two dolls that their daughter, Rose, made to represent them. Now they must go on a wild and fantastical journey to find a way to get back into their bodies.
“Sonic the Hedgehog” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” writers Pat Casey and...
- 4/20/2022
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Video game developer Hazelight Studios will team with Sonic The Hedgehog co-producer Dmitri M. Johnson and his dj2 Entertainment to bring It Takes Two to screen.
The two-player video game, which took home the marquee Game of the Year prize at The Game Awards 2021, follows married couple Cody and May, who are struggling to keep it together for their young daughter. They’re transformed into magical dolls and must navigate their hardest issues and insecurities, with the help of an anthropomorphic couples’ therapy book named Dr. Hakim. They traverse fantastical imaginations of their mundane home to try to rekindle the love they once had.
No studio or network has been attached to the project yet, but Sonic The Hedgehog writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller, who will return to pen the film’s upcoming sequel alongside John Whittington, will adapt the video game.
The video game hails from A Way...
The two-player video game, which took home the marquee Game of the Year prize at The Game Awards 2021, follows married couple Cody and May, who are struggling to keep it together for their young daughter. They’re transformed into magical dolls and must navigate their hardest issues and insecurities, with the help of an anthropomorphic couples’ therapy book named Dr. Hakim. They traverse fantastical imaginations of their mundane home to try to rekindle the love they once had.
No studio or network has been attached to the project yet, but Sonic The Hedgehog writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller, who will return to pen the film’s upcoming sequel alongside John Whittington, will adapt the video game.
The video game hails from A Way...
- 2/1/2022
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
“It Takes Two,” the hit video game from Hazelight Studios that last year won Game of the Year from the Game Awards 2021, will be adapted into a film and a TV series from the writers and producing team behind “Sonic the Hedgehog” and its upcoming sequel.
Hazelight is teaming with dj2 Entertainment on the screen adaptations, and the production company has tapped Pat Casey and Josh Miller, who wrote the original “Sonic” and its sequel, to write the adaptation for both the film and series versions.
No studio or network is attached to the “It Takes Two” adaptation at this stage.
“It Takes Two” has sold three million copies as of October after being released in March last year. The game is a Pixar-esque adventure about a married couple on the verge of divorce who get magically transformed into rag dolls and must now overcome their fractured relationship and...
Hazelight is teaming with dj2 Entertainment on the screen adaptations, and the production company has tapped Pat Casey and Josh Miller, who wrote the original “Sonic” and its sequel, to write the adaptation for both the film and series versions.
No studio or network is attached to the “It Takes Two” adaptation at this stage.
“It Takes Two” has sold three million copies as of October after being released in March last year. The game is a Pixar-esque adventure about a married couple on the verge of divorce who get magically transformed into rag dolls and must now overcome their fractured relationship and...
- 1/31/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Hazelight Studios has teamed with dj2 Entertainment to adapt the videogame “It Takes Two” for film and television, Variety has learned exclusively.
The game follows the adventures of Cody and May, two humans transformed by magic into living dolls. Trapped in a fantastical world, they must overcome their fractured relationship and a variety of challenges in order to return to normal. During their journey, they are guided by the love guru, Dr. Hakim.
“Creating the world and story in ‘It Takes Two’ was so much fun for me and the team,” said Hazelight founder and creative director Josef Fares. “Since it has a strong narrative with many crazy characters and just as crazy co-op action moments, the potential is huge for a great adaption to film or television.”
The game is unique in that it does not have a single-player mode, but rather must be played as a co-op game...
The game follows the adventures of Cody and May, two humans transformed by magic into living dolls. Trapped in a fantastical world, they must overcome their fractured relationship and a variety of challenges in order to return to normal. During their journey, they are guided by the love guru, Dr. Hakim.
“Creating the world and story in ‘It Takes Two’ was so much fun for me and the team,” said Hazelight founder and creative director Josef Fares. “Since it has a strong narrative with many crazy characters and just as crazy co-op action moments, the potential is huge for a great adaption to film or television.”
The game is unique in that it does not have a single-player mode, but rather must be played as a co-op game...
- 1/31/2022
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
The Game Awards leveled up in viewership, with its 2021 live ceremony earning a total of 85 million global livestreams.
One of the gaming industry’s biggest nights, The Game Awards returned to the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles for a live and in-person event on Thursday, Dec. 9. Hosted and produced by Geoff Keighley, The Game Awards 2021 honored the year’s best gaming titles, notable influencers and upcoming talent. Taking home the night’s marquee Game of the Year honor was Hazelight and EA’s It Takes Two, from A Way Out creator Josef Fares. Additional honorees were Deathloop, Kena: Bridge of Spirits and Forza Horizon 5.
While a gaming-focused ceremony, The Game Awards also featured some strong Hollywood star-power with Simu Liu, Ben Schwartz, Keanu Reeves, Giancarlo Esposito and Ming-Na Wen among the ceremony’s presenters. The event also gave new looks at highly-anticipated TV and film titles including Sonic 2 and Paramount+’s Halo series,...
One of the gaming industry’s biggest nights, The Game Awards returned to the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles for a live and in-person event on Thursday, Dec. 9. Hosted and produced by Geoff Keighley, The Game Awards 2021 honored the year’s best gaming titles, notable influencers and upcoming talent. Taking home the night’s marquee Game of the Year honor was Hazelight and EA’s It Takes Two, from A Way Out creator Josef Fares. Additional honorees were Deathloop, Kena: Bridge of Spirits and Forza Horizon 5.
While a gaming-focused ceremony, The Game Awards also featured some strong Hollywood star-power with Simu Liu, Ben Schwartz, Keanu Reeves, Giancarlo Esposito and Ming-Na Wen among the ceremony’s presenters. The event also gave new looks at highly-anticipated TV and film titles including Sonic 2 and Paramount+’s Halo series,...
- 12/20/2021
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
At a time when it feels like live service and multiplayer titles dominate the video game industry, it’s easy to forget that we live in a fascinating age for the art of video game storytelling.
Modern video game stories often benefit from new avenues of development and distribution that allow a greater variety of voices to tell unique stories that would have once struggled to find a home in this medium. Maybe some Triple-a studios have pivoted away from narrative-based games, but a host of smaller studios and independent developers have more than picked up the slack.
For those who believe that gaming offers one of the most complex and satisfying storytelling mediums in all of the entertainment, please be sure to find the time to experience the absolute best video game stories of 2021.
10. Unpacking
Some of the best video games in recent years have reminded us that truly...
Modern video game stories often benefit from new avenues of development and distribution that allow a greater variety of voices to tell unique stories that would have once struggled to find a home in this medium. Maybe some Triple-a studios have pivoted away from narrative-based games, but a host of smaller studios and independent developers have more than picked up the slack.
For those who believe that gaming offers one of the most complex and satisfying storytelling mediums in all of the entertainment, please be sure to find the time to experience the absolute best video game stories of 2021.
10. Unpacking
Some of the best video games in recent years have reminded us that truly...
- 12/7/2021
- by Matthew Byrd
- Den of Geek
The Independent Gamer is a curated roundup of news from indie gaming, landing here every other Friday.
It Takes Two is the game on everybody’s minds (and consoles) this month.
From publisher Electronic Arts (under its EA Originals label) and Swedish game developer Hazelight Studios, the co-op platformer has romantic comedy vibes as it explores relationships and divorce with playful humor and a touch of darkness. It was released March 26 and has enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive reception.
In fact according to Hazelight’s founder Josef Fares, who directed the game, it has been “quite insane.” He recalls ...
It Takes Two is the game on everybody’s minds (and consoles) this month.
From publisher Electronic Arts (under its EA Originals label) and Swedish game developer Hazelight Studios, the co-op platformer has romantic comedy vibes as it explores relationships and divorce with playful humor and a touch of darkness. It was released March 26 and has enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive reception.
In fact according to Hazelight’s founder Josef Fares, who directed the game, it has been “quite insane.” He recalls ...
The Independent Gamer is a curated roundup of news from indie gaming, landing here every other Friday.
It Takes Two is the game on everybody’s minds (and consoles) this month.
From publisher Electronic Arts (under its EA Originals label) and Swedish game developer Hazelight Studios, the co-op platformer has romantic comedy vibes as it explores relationships and divorce with playful humor and a touch of darkness. It was released March 26 and has enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive reception.
In fact according to Hazelight’s founder Josef Fares, who directed the game, it has been “quite insane.” He recalls ...
It Takes Two is the game on everybody’s minds (and consoles) this month.
From publisher Electronic Arts (under its EA Originals label) and Swedish game developer Hazelight Studios, the co-op platformer has romantic comedy vibes as it explores relationships and divorce with playful humor and a touch of darkness. It was released March 26 and has enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive reception.
In fact according to Hazelight’s founder Josef Fares, who directed the game, it has been “quite insane.” He recalls ...
It wouldn’t have been The Game Awards if the Founder of Hazelight Studios Josef Fares wasn’t involved. The annual gaming celebration brought the enigmatic game director back to release the first trailer for his new co-op game, It Takes Two. “At Hazelight, we’re always looking to push the boundaries of what’s expected in games, and It […]
The post Hazelight Studios’ ‘It Takes Two’ Reveal Trailer Takes Marriage Counseling to a Whole New Level appeared first on Cinelinx | Movies. Games. Geek Culture..
The post Hazelight Studios’ ‘It Takes Two’ Reveal Trailer Takes Marriage Counseling to a Whole New Level appeared first on Cinelinx | Movies. Games. Geek Culture..
- 12/11/2020
- by Matt Malliaros
- Cinelinx
It Takes Two, the next IP from A Way Out developer Hazelight Studios, was revealed as an EA Original title during today’s EA Play 2020 press conference. Developers said that under the leadership of multi BAFTA award-winning game director Josef Fares, Hazelight Studios is “setting out to deliver a visionary game that reinvents the genre, […]
The post Hazelight Studio and EA Reveal New IP It Takes Two appeared first on Cinelinx | Movies. Games. Geek Culture..
The post Hazelight Studio and EA Reveal New IP It Takes Two appeared first on Cinelinx | Movies. Games. Geek Culture..
- 6/19/2020
- by katykakes
- Cinelinx
When I first saw Josef Fares, director of A Way Out, it was at Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards shouting “F*** the Oscars!” at a live audience of over 100,000 viewers. I, like many others, was in awe. This was a man with true passion who believed in his vision, one who might provide the kind of shake-up this industry could always use. Known for the highly-regarded title, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Fares is known for creating compelling stories with two lead characters (though in that game, both were controlled by a single player). I was excited to see what kind of story he would tell, and how his game would challenge the common conception that video game narratives are often much weaker than those of films or novels.
Tragically, I see almost none of that man in A Way Out, a game so blasé in its writing I...
Tragically, I see almost none of that man in A Way Out, a game so blasé in its writing I...
- 3/22/2018
- by David Morgan
- We Got This Covered
Ah, another E3 season is upon us, breathe it in. Just like the last 2 years, Cinelinx once again has boots on the ground and it’s time for another of my Recaps, but this time I’m not alone! Please welcome the newest member of the Cinelinx E3 Team, Aaron, as we discuss our impressions from Day 1 of the E3 2017 weekend!
Matt’s Takes:
Lines and Lines and Lines of EA Play: Just like last year, Electronic Arts kicked off the E3 season with their brand-new presentation format, EA Play. Unlike last year, they invited way more people than they could actually fit. Hundreds of people from around the world flocked to the Hollywood Palladium, creating a line that made circles around the entire event area. Despite many tickets registered and press access received, many members of the gaming community were turned away after waiting in line for countless hours.
Matt’s Takes:
Lines and Lines and Lines of EA Play: Just like last year, Electronic Arts kicked off the E3 season with their brand-new presentation format, EA Play. Unlike last year, they invited way more people than they could actually fit. Hundreds of people from around the world flocked to the Hollywood Palladium, creating a line that made circles around the entire event area. Despite many tickets registered and press access received, many members of the gaming community were turned away after waiting in line for countless hours.
- 6/12/2017
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Jordan Maison)
- Cinelinx
During their EA Play event at E3, EA – in partnership with Hazelight – announced A Way Out, a new EA Originals game coming from the creative minds behind the critically-acclaimed indie title, Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons. Coming early 2018, A Way Out is a co-op only game uniquely tailored for two players to work together no matter the situation.
Through a compelling narrative, Leo and Vincent will embark on an emotional adventure, where they will live some memorable action moments that they will face together including car chases, stealth passages, melee fights, shootouts and many more. The story of A Way Out begins in prison with two separate inmates, Leo and Vincent, who don’t know each other. While their individual stories progress, players will have to build a relationship based on trust as they break both men out of prison into the world beyond. This co-op only experience is...
Through a compelling narrative, Leo and Vincent will embark on an emotional adventure, where they will live some memorable action moments that they will face together including car chases, stealth passages, melee fights, shootouts and many more. The story of A Way Out begins in prison with two separate inmates, Leo and Vincent, who don’t know each other. While their individual stories progress, players will have to build a relationship based on trust as they break both men out of prison into the world beyond. This co-op only experience is...
- 6/11/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
A new co-op adventure game from the makers of the BAFTA award-winning Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons was officially unveiled yesterday.
Unveiled during EA’s E3 press conference, the title, A Way Out, is set for release in early 2018 and will be a uniquely tailored co-op only game for two players.
It follows the lives of two prison inmates, Leo and Vincent, strangers to one-another. Both players have to build a relationship between the two inmates and successfully break both men out of prison.
“Josef and his team at Hazelight represent everything that EA Originals stands for,” said Patrick Soderlund, Executive Vice President of EA Worldwide Studios.
“They are a small and very talented group with a vision and passion for a game that is truly unique in the video game industry. A Way Out is going to surprise people with its innovative co-op gameplay and the way it...
Unveiled during EA’s E3 press conference, the title, A Way Out, is set for release in early 2018 and will be a uniquely tailored co-op only game for two players.
It follows the lives of two prison inmates, Leo and Vincent, strangers to one-another. Both players have to build a relationship between the two inmates and successfully break both men out of prison.
“Josef and his team at Hazelight represent everything that EA Originals stands for,” said Patrick Soderlund, Executive Vice President of EA Worldwide Studios.
“They are a small and very talented group with a vision and passion for a game that is truly unique in the video game industry. A Way Out is going to surprise people with its innovative co-op gameplay and the way it...
- 6/11/2017
- by Jamie Press
- The Cultural Post
A Way Out is a new indie co-op game that is played entirely in split screen either online, or in couch co-op.
The game comes from the same studio that brought us Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons. The game is played entirely in co-op meaning you always have someone working alongside you, and you get to see their screen. This leads to a lot of unique situations allowing you to accomplish different areas of the game in ways you decide. Each character has unique "perks" about them that allow certain situations to unravel differently based on the players actions.
“This game is going to bring a co-op experience unlike anything you have ever seen before,” said Josef Fares, Writer and Director at Hazelight. “The idea for A Way Out came when me and a friend tried to find a story driven co-op game that wasn’t a drop-in/drop-out experience.
The game comes from the same studio that brought us Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons. The game is played entirely in co-op meaning you always have someone working alongside you, and you get to see their screen. This leads to a lot of unique situations allowing you to accomplish different areas of the game in ways you decide. Each character has unique "perks" about them that allow certain situations to unravel differently based on the players actions.
“This game is going to bring a co-op experience unlike anything you have ever seen before,” said Josef Fares, Writer and Director at Hazelight. “The idea for A Way Out came when me and a friend tried to find a story driven co-op game that wasn’t a drop-in/drop-out experience.
- 6/10/2017
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Dustin Spino)
- Cinelinx
During last weekend’s The Game Awards 2014, EA took to the stage to reveal that it would be acting as publisher for Josef Fares’ new title. As the creative mind behind last year’s wonderful, award-winning Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, news of Fares’ sophomore effort was met with much excitement, and it’s understood it will be developed under his new company, Hazelight.
In order to get the word out, Fares and Co. have also released a brief teaser trailer for the property, which goes behind the scenes at the new-fangled studio to detail the development process going into the studio’s first game. Speaking of which, at the tail end of the footage, we see our first look at the as-yet-untitled project, which features two characters riding a train at moonlight. Could this mean that Fares’ latest will experiment with dual protagonists in the vein of Brothers?...
In order to get the word out, Fares and Co. have also released a brief teaser trailer for the property, which goes behind the scenes at the new-fangled studio to detail the development process going into the studio’s first game. Speaking of which, at the tail end of the footage, we see our first look at the as-yet-untitled project, which features two characters riding a train at moonlight. Could this mean that Fares’ latest will experiment with dual protagonists in the vein of Brothers?...
- 12/9/2014
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
If you’ve been wondering what Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons director Josef Fares has been up to, you’ll be interested to hear that he’s formed a new company called Hazelight.
Although we currently know nothing about it, Hazelight is hard at work on a new video game that will be released on at least one platform sometime in the unknown future. Sorry we can’t tell you more, but we’d be making stuff up if we tried. That said, we can let you know that Electronic Arts will be handling the title’s publishing duties, because they just announced that fact during the 2014 Video Game Awards.
Stay tuned for more information regarding Hazelight and its founder Josef Fares.
Thanks for reading We Got This Covered...
Although we currently know nothing about it, Hazelight is hard at work on a new video game that will be released on at least one platform sometime in the unknown future. Sorry we can’t tell you more, but we’d be making stuff up if we tried. That said, we can let you know that Electronic Arts will be handling the title’s publishing duties, because they just announced that fact during the 2014 Video Game Awards.
Stay tuned for more information regarding Hazelight and its founder Josef Fares.
Thanks for reading We Got This Covered...
- 12/6/2014
- by Chad Goodmurphy
- We Got This Covered
Irrfan Khan, Christina Voros and Catherine Dussart to preside over feature competition juries; seven world premieres of Arab films in feature competitions.
Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Oct 23-Nov 1) has released the names of its jury members, who will select the award winners of this year’s Adff competitions.
This year’s Narrative Features jury led by Mumbai-based actor Irrfan Khan (The Lunchbox, Life of Pi) will be rounded out by Algerian novelist and academic Waciny Laredj, award-winning English writer-director Steven Shainberg, Australian film director Cate Shortland and Palestinian actor Ali Suliman.
The panel evaluating the New Horizons section led by Paris-based film producer Catherine Dussart (The Missing Picture) includes Syrian actor Bassel Al Khayat, Moroccan filmmaker Leila Kilani, Geneva-based Indian filmmaker Anup Singh and film critic Charles Tesson, artistic director of Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival.
Heading the Documentary Features jury is Brooklyn-based director and cinematographer Christina Voros. The other jury...
Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Oct 23-Nov 1) has released the names of its jury members, who will select the award winners of this year’s Adff competitions.
This year’s Narrative Features jury led by Mumbai-based actor Irrfan Khan (The Lunchbox, Life of Pi) will be rounded out by Algerian novelist and academic Waciny Laredj, award-winning English writer-director Steven Shainberg, Australian film director Cate Shortland and Palestinian actor Ali Suliman.
The panel evaluating the New Horizons section led by Paris-based film producer Catherine Dussart (The Missing Picture) includes Syrian actor Bassel Al Khayat, Moroccan filmmaker Leila Kilani, Geneva-based Indian filmmaker Anup Singh and film critic Charles Tesson, artistic director of Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival.
Heading the Documentary Features jury is Brooklyn-based director and cinematographer Christina Voros. The other jury...
- 10/20/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Following its success at the BAFTA Games Award ceremony, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons creator Josef Fares has hinted at his next project. Speaking with Digital Spy, the Swedish filmmaker-cum-game creator briefly discussed the nebulous concept, which he described as “something that hasn’t been done before.”
“I’m moving on to the next thing. I have my next idea ready, it’s super cool. It’s very different,” he told Digital Spy. “I can tell you this — if I tell you the idea now, you’d say, ‘I haven’t played something like this before’. I can’t tell you more. But definitely something that hasn’t been done before.”
Though Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons was developed by Starbrezze Studios — the team behind last year’s heist-fuelled shooter PayDay 2 and The Darkness — Fares suggested that his follow-up IP could be built by his own independent studio instead.
“I’m moving on to the next thing. I have my next idea ready, it’s super cool. It’s very different,” he told Digital Spy. “I can tell you this — if I tell you the idea now, you’d say, ‘I haven’t played something like this before’. I can’t tell you more. But definitely something that hasn’t been done before.”
Though Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons was developed by Starbrezze Studios — the team behind last year’s heist-fuelled shooter PayDay 2 and The Darkness — Fares suggested that his follow-up IP could be built by his own independent studio instead.
- 3/14/2014
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Danish director Thomas Vinterberg is among the contenders for the 2013 Nordic Council Film Prize, complete with $62,000 (Dkk 350,000).
Vinterberg, who last won the prize in 2010 with Submarino, will be among five nominated directors.
The line-up includes:
The Deep (Djúpid), Baltasar Kormakúr (Iceland)Eat Sleep Die (Äta sova dö), Gabriela Pichler (Sweden)The Hunt (Jagten), Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark)I Belong (Som du ser meg), Dag Johan Haugerud (Norway)Open Up to Me (Kerron sinulle kaiken), Simo Halinen (Finland)
“’The human face’, the individual facing the group or society, and respect and dignity are common themes that run like a thread through all these films,” said managing director Hanne Palmquist, of the Nordisk Film & TV Fond, which administers the prize.
“A Nordic reality sets the framework where daily life and its dilemmas are portrayed by eminent actors with empathy, humour and credibility. The nominated films are of high international quality, have a personal voice and something genuine at heart,” she added...
Vinterberg, who last won the prize in 2010 with Submarino, will be among five nominated directors.
The line-up includes:
The Deep (Djúpid), Baltasar Kormakúr (Iceland)Eat Sleep Die (Äta sova dö), Gabriela Pichler (Sweden)The Hunt (Jagten), Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark)I Belong (Som du ser meg), Dag Johan Haugerud (Norway)Open Up to Me (Kerron sinulle kaiken), Simo Halinen (Finland)
“’The human face’, the individual facing the group or society, and respect and dignity are common themes that run like a thread through all these films,” said managing director Hanne Palmquist, of the Nordisk Film & TV Fond, which administers the prize.
“A Nordic reality sets the framework where daily life and its dilemmas are portrayed by eminent actors with empathy, humour and credibility. The nominated films are of high international quality, have a personal voice and something genuine at heart,” she added...
- 9/3/2013
- by jornrossing@aol.com (Jorn Rossing Jensen)
- ScreenDaily
Starbreeze Studios' ("Payday 2," "Syndicate") experimental twin-stick adventure-puzzler gets a wider release.
Originally released as part of Microsoft's Xbox Live Summer of Arcade, "Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons" is making the leap to the PC and the PS3 next week. This is following a little under three weeks' exclusivity on the Xbox 360, where it was priced at 1200 Ms Points or $15.
The top-down, twin stick-controlled "Brothers" puts you in control of a pair of siblings, each of whom can interact with the environment in unique ways, making the game function like a single-player co-op title.
Back in April, we spoke with one of the minds behind the game, Swedish filmmaker Josef Fares, who saw the "Brothers" as less a game and more a three to four hour experience.
[Source: 505 Games]
Related posts:
Review: 'Spelunky' (Psn) - Exploring New Territory
Devolver Digital Releases A Teaser For 'Always Sometimes Monsters'
--
Follow @MTVMultiplayer on Twitter...
Originally released as part of Microsoft's Xbox Live Summer of Arcade, "Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons" is making the leap to the PC and the PS3 next week. This is following a little under three weeks' exclusivity on the Xbox 360, where it was priced at 1200 Ms Points or $15.
The top-down, twin stick-controlled "Brothers" puts you in control of a pair of siblings, each of whom can interact with the environment in unique ways, making the game function like a single-player co-op title.
Back in April, we spoke with one of the minds behind the game, Swedish filmmaker Josef Fares, who saw the "Brothers" as less a game and more a three to four hour experience.
[Source: 505 Games]
Related posts:
Review: 'Spelunky' (Psn) - Exploring New Territory
Devolver Digital Releases A Teaser For 'Always Sometimes Monsters'
--
Follow @MTVMultiplayer on Twitter...
- 8/30/2013
- by Charles Webb
- MTV Multiplayer
Gothenburg music and film festival Way Out West wrapped on Saturday (August 10) after holding the world premiere of Snabba Cash: Life Deluxe, the third and final instalment in the hit Swedish crime trilogy (known as Easy Money in English).
Source: Photo by Carla Orrego Veliz
The team behind Snabba Cash: Life Deluxe
Directed by Jens Jonsson, Snabba Cash: Life Deluxe was produced by Tre Vanner and is released locally by Nordisk Film on August 30.
Way Out West screened around 30 films in total including Scandinavian premieres of films such as Per Fly’s Waltz For Monica, a biopic of legendary Swedish singer Monica Zetterlund, Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster, Stephen Soderbergh’s Behind The Candelabra and music documentaries such as Shane Meadows’ Made Of Stone and Reincarnated: Snoop Lion.
The festival also held Swedish premieres of Before Midnight, The East, The Broken Circle Breakdown and Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer.
Screenings were held...
Source: Photo by Carla Orrego Veliz
The team behind Snabba Cash: Life Deluxe
Directed by Jens Jonsson, Snabba Cash: Life Deluxe was produced by Tre Vanner and is released locally by Nordisk Film on August 30.
Way Out West screened around 30 films in total including Scandinavian premieres of films such as Per Fly’s Waltz For Monica, a biopic of legendary Swedish singer Monica Zetterlund, Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster, Stephen Soderbergh’s Behind The Candelabra and music documentaries such as Shane Meadows’ Made Of Stone and Reincarnated: Snoop Lion.
The festival also held Swedish premieres of Before Midnight, The East, The Broken Circle Breakdown and Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer.
Screenings were held...
- 8/12/2013
- ScreenDaily
Gothenburg music and film festival Way Out West wrapped on Saturday (August 10) after holding the world premiere of Snabba Cash: Life Deluxe, the third and final instalment in the hit Swedish crime trilogy (known as Easy Money in English).
Source: Photo by Carla Orrego Veliz
The team behind Snabba Cash: Life Deluxe
Directed by Jens Jonsson, Snabba Cash: Life Deluxe was produced by Tre Vanner and is released locally by Nordisk Film on August 30.
Way Out West screened around 30 films in total including Scandinavian premieres of films such as Per Fly’s Waltz For Monica, a biopic of legendary Swedish singer Monica Zetterlund, Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster, Stephen Soderbergh’s Behind The Candelabra and music documentaries such as Shane Meadows’ Made Of Stone and Reincarnated: Snoop Lion.
The festival also held Swedish premieres of Before Midnight, The East, The Broken Circle Breakdown and Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer.
Screenings were held...
Source: Photo by Carla Orrego Veliz
The team behind Snabba Cash: Life Deluxe
Directed by Jens Jonsson, Snabba Cash: Life Deluxe was produced by Tre Vanner and is released locally by Nordisk Film on August 30.
Way Out West screened around 30 films in total including Scandinavian premieres of films such as Per Fly’s Waltz For Monica, a biopic of legendary Swedish singer Monica Zetterlund, Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster, Stephen Soderbergh’s Behind The Candelabra and music documentaries such as Shane Meadows’ Made Of Stone and Reincarnated: Snoop Lion.
The festival also held Swedish premieres of Before Midnight, The East, The Broken Circle Breakdown and Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer.
Screenings were held...
- 8/12/2013
- ScreenDaily
Leave it to a film director to try to come up with some new ideas for video games. Josef Fares, best known for his work "Zozo" and other award-winning Swedish films, has teamed up with Starbreeze Studios, best known for their work on "The Darkness" and "The Chronicles of Riddick" (both of them) to collaborate on an all new title, "Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons," an experiential, single-player story. Fares' cinematic background gives him a unique perspective on the craft of telling stories, making his first foray into gaming a bit unconventional.
"Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons" is a single-player, adventure-puzzle game that puts players simultaneously in control of two brothers - one older and one younger - as they go on a search to find a cure for their sick father. That was just about everything that Fares would reveal about the story in the game. He...
"Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons" is a single-player, adventure-puzzle game that puts players simultaneously in control of two brothers - one older and one younger - as they go on a search to find a cure for their sick father. That was just about everything that Fares would reveal about the story in the game. He...
- 4/16/2013
- by Jason Cipriano
- MTV Multiplayer
Last September, Starbreeze (the developer behind Syndicate) revealed that their next project, titled Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons, would be released sometime this Spring on the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and PC (via Steam). At the time of the announcement, we didn’t get much information about the upcoming game, and it sort of fell off the radar over the following months. With Spring 2013 currently bearing down on us, 505 Games has released a new walkthrough trailer that finally lays out exactly what this unique title is all about.
Directed by Swedish filmmaker Josef Fares, Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons centers around an “epic fairy tale journey” of two brothers who are desperately searching for the “Water of Life” to cure their ailing father.
The title has a clear co-op focus (with the two brothers having to work together to solve puzzles), however, the actual gameplay is single-player only.
Directed by Swedish filmmaker Josef Fares, Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons centers around an “epic fairy tale journey” of two brothers who are desperately searching for the “Water of Life” to cure their ailing father.
The title has a clear co-op focus (with the two brothers having to work together to solve puzzles), however, the actual gameplay is single-player only.
- 3/9/2013
- by Justin Alderman
- We Got This Covered
"It's a top-down action-adventure emotional experience" explains Starbreeze's Josef Fares, who provides a two-minute walkthrough for this downloadable game coming to the 360 and PS3 this spring. "Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons" kind of slipped under my radar over the last few months, and I've been curious what Starbreeze was up to post-"Syndicate" reboot.
Their new title has you controlling two brothers as they search for a cure for their father's life-threatening illness, with independent control of each brother assigned to the thumbsticks and varied interactions with the world based on which brother's doing the interacting. So there's a cooperative element to the game in as much as you can consider cooperating with yourself "cooperation."
From the official synopsis:
Guide two brothers on an epic fairy tale journey from visionary Swedish film director, Josef Fares and top-tier developer Starbreeze Studios. Control both brothers at once as you experience co-op play in single player mode,...
Their new title has you controlling two brothers as they search for a cure for their father's life-threatening illness, with independent control of each brother assigned to the thumbsticks and varied interactions with the world based on which brother's doing the interacting. So there's a cooperative element to the game in as much as you can consider cooperating with yourself "cooperation."
From the official synopsis:
Guide two brothers on an epic fairy tale journey from visionary Swedish film director, Josef Fares and top-tier developer Starbreeze Studios. Control both brothers at once as you experience co-op play in single player mode,...
- 3/8/2013
- by Charles Webb
- MTV Multiplayer
The Chronicles of Riddick developer might go outside of their first-person shooter comfort zone for their next title, according to an interview with Edge Online.
Syndicate (my review) took the visceral, at times brutal Fps experiences that we tend to associate with Starbreeze games and dropped it in the middle of a listless shooter with a small toolbox for you to mess around with. Aside from the multiplayer, it was not very good.
Well, the company's CEO, Mikael Nermark, is boasting that their project, a collaboration with filmmaker Josef Fares, P13 will be something players aren't expecting, refusing event to comment on whether the upcoming title will be an Fps. Details are scarce on the downloadable title which Starbreeze is funding and releasing through 505 Games, but it's something definitely worth keeping our ears to the ground for.
Personally, I'd love it if Starbreeze made another first-person title like Riddick that wasn't necessarily a shooter.
Syndicate (my review) took the visceral, at times brutal Fps experiences that we tend to associate with Starbreeze games and dropped it in the middle of a listless shooter with a small toolbox for you to mess around with. Aside from the multiplayer, it was not very good.
Well, the company's CEO, Mikael Nermark, is boasting that their project, a collaboration with filmmaker Josef Fares, P13 will be something players aren't expecting, refusing event to comment on whether the upcoming title will be an Fps. Details are scarce on the downloadable title which Starbreeze is funding and releasing through 505 Games, but it's something definitely worth keeping our ears to the ground for.
Personally, I'd love it if Starbreeze made another first-person title like Riddick that wasn't necessarily a shooter.
- 7/6/2012
- by Charles Webb
- MTV Multiplayer
Starbreeze has announced a partnership with award-winning director Josef Fares for a new intellectual property. Starbreeze is currently developing the first-person shooter revival of Syndicate, but was won over by a prototype presented by the Swedish director and The Story Lab. "Just minutes into Josef's presentation we knew that this was a game that we wanted to develop, and we started to work on the concept the very same day," said Starbreeze CEO Mikael Nermark. Josef Fares is an acclaimed Swedish director of films like Jalla! Jalla!, Kopps, Zozo (more)...
- 9/19/2011
- by By Scott Nichols
- Digital Spy
The second annual Doha Tribeca Film Festival wrapped up on Saturday, October 30, with its very first awards ceremony. Best Arab Film went to Hawi, written and directed by Ibrahim El Batout. Best Arab Filmmaker went to Balls, directed by Josef Fares. The Audience Award for Best Narrative went to The First Grader, directed by Justin Chadwick, and a Special Jury Mention Audience Award for Best Documentary went to Grandma, A Thousand Times, directed by Mahmoud Kaabour. Best Arab Short Film went to Sirwar Zirkly's Missing. The Arab awards and the Audience Awards came with prize monies of $100,000 (Usd) each. Amanda Palmer, the Executive Director of the Doha Film Institute, called this a "fantastic moment for Qatar," and added that "this year's Dtff has provided a fantastic showcase for Arab and International filmmakers. The array of films we've screened over the past five days span from the personal to the epic,...
- 10/31/2010
- TribecaFilm.com
The second Doha Tribeca Film Festival wrapped things up in fine style on Saturday night, attracting thousands to the announcement of the Jury and Audience Award winners, a Closing Night Gala screening of "First Graders" and an open-hour concert by superstar Ragheb Alama at the brand new Katara Cultural Village. "Hawi" directed and written by Ibrahim El Batout, won Best Arab Film and "Balls" directed by Josef Fares picked up ...
- 10/30/2010
- Indiewire
Berlin -- Writer-director Lars von Trier and producer Meta Louise Foldager have received the 2009 Nordic Council Film Prize for their art house shocker "Antichrist."
The prize, which comes with a $70,500 bursary, is presented annually to a feature film "of cultural value" produced in the Nordic territories. Previous winners include Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki for "The Man Without a Past" (2002) and "Zozo" from Swedish filmmaker Josef Fares.
The 2009 jury praised "Antichrist" as a "wild, visually beautiful and shockingly violent film," that "breaks down the boundaries between inner and outer realities."
"Antichrist" was the love-it-or-hate-it film in Cannes this year. Charlotte Gainsbourg won the best actress gong for her harrowing performance but many critics panned the film for its over the top gore. IFC is bowing "Antichrist" in the U.S. on VOD today and starts a limited release Friday.
The prize, which comes with a $70,500 bursary, is presented annually to a feature film "of cultural value" produced in the Nordic territories. Previous winners include Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki for "The Man Without a Past" (2002) and "Zozo" from Swedish filmmaker Josef Fares.
The 2009 jury praised "Antichrist" as a "wild, visually beautiful and shockingly violent film," that "breaks down the boundaries between inner and outer realities."
"Antichrist" was the love-it-or-hate-it film in Cannes this year. Charlotte Gainsbourg won the best actress gong for her harrowing performance but many critics panned the film for its over the top gore. IFC is bowing "Antichrist" in the U.S. on VOD today and starts a limited release Friday.
- 10/21/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Four incredibly cool and interesting trailers- Josef Fares' semi-authobiography Zozo, a different vampire tale in Let the Right One In, Harmony Korine's Mister Lonely, and finally the shockingly wicked 13 Tzameti from Gela Babluani. 13 TZAMETI (http://www.13-tzameti.com/) is a winner-take-all thriller, where an unfortunate young man is transformed into Contestant #13 with no way out save his luck. - - -...
- 9/20/2008
- The Movie Fanatic
AFI Fest
A boxoffice hit in Europe, the Swedish-Danish "Kops", from Svenska Filminstitutet, is a crowd-pleasing if slight comedy about a chummy police force that takes drastic measures when its sleepy, crime-starved town is about to render its services obsolete.
While the pace is at times as ambling as life in that quaint little Swedish community, Lebanese-Swedish filmmaker Josef Fares ("Jalla! Jalla!") draws amusing performances from his cast of amiable characters, while the film's good-natured ribs at American pop culture give it an edge as potential crossover material.
With little to challenge them other than the occasional wandering cow, Hogbotrask's finest bide their time snacking on waffle hot-dogs and playing cards with little old ladies. But when cost-cutting Swedish authorities inform them that they're going to be closing down the station because of the cold, hard fact that the town has been virtually infraction-free for the past 10 years, the force organizes its own crime spree in order to justify its existence.
Reminiscent of 2001's "Super Troopers" and, of course, all those "Police Academy" movies, "Kops" retains an agreeable flavor of its own thanks to its collection of true characters -- most notably the gung-ho Benny (Torkel Petersson), who's constantly immersing himself in "Matrix"/"Die Hard" Hollywood action fantasies in which he takes down imaginary bad guys while uttering heavily accented variations of "Freeze, motherfucker!"...
A boxoffice hit in Europe, the Swedish-Danish "Kops", from Svenska Filminstitutet, is a crowd-pleasing if slight comedy about a chummy police force that takes drastic measures when its sleepy, crime-starved town is about to render its services obsolete.
While the pace is at times as ambling as life in that quaint little Swedish community, Lebanese-Swedish filmmaker Josef Fares ("Jalla! Jalla!") draws amusing performances from his cast of amiable characters, while the film's good-natured ribs at American pop culture give it an edge as potential crossover material.
With little to challenge them other than the occasional wandering cow, Hogbotrask's finest bide their time snacking on waffle hot-dogs and playing cards with little old ladies. But when cost-cutting Swedish authorities inform them that they're going to be closing down the station because of the cold, hard fact that the town has been virtually infraction-free for the past 10 years, the force organizes its own crime spree in order to justify its existence.
Reminiscent of 2001's "Super Troopers" and, of course, all those "Police Academy" movies, "Kops" retains an agreeable flavor of its own thanks to its collection of true characters -- most notably the gung-ho Benny (Torkel Petersson), who's constantly immersing himself in "Matrix"/"Die Hard" Hollywood action fantasies in which he takes down imaginary bad guys while uttering heavily accented variations of "Freeze, motherfucker!"...
AFI Fest
A boxoffice hit in Europe, the Swedish-Danish "Kops", from Svenska Filminstitutet, is a crowd-pleasing if slight comedy about a chummy police force that takes drastic measures when its sleepy, crime-starved town is about to render its services obsolete.
While the pace is at times as ambling as life in that quaint little Swedish community, Lebanese-Swedish filmmaker Josef Fares ("Jalla! Jalla!") draws amusing performances from his cast of amiable characters, while the film's good-natured ribs at American pop culture give it an edge as potential crossover material.
With little to challenge them other than the occasional wandering cow, Hogbotrask's finest bide their time snacking on waffle hot-dogs and playing cards with little old ladies. But when cost-cutting Swedish authorities inform them that they're going to be closing down the station because of the cold, hard fact that the town has been virtually infraction-free for the past 10 years, the force organizes its own crime spree in order to justify its existence.
Reminiscent of 2001's "Super Troopers" and, of course, all those "Police Academy" movies, "Kops" retains an agreeable flavor of its own thanks to its collection of true characters -- most notably the gung-ho Benny (Torkel Petersson), who's constantly immersing himself in "Matrix"/"Die Hard" Hollywood action fantasies in which he takes down imaginary bad guys while uttering heavily accented variations of "Freeze, motherfucker!"...
A boxoffice hit in Europe, the Swedish-Danish "Kops", from Svenska Filminstitutet, is a crowd-pleasing if slight comedy about a chummy police force that takes drastic measures when its sleepy, crime-starved town is about to render its services obsolete.
While the pace is at times as ambling as life in that quaint little Swedish community, Lebanese-Swedish filmmaker Josef Fares ("Jalla! Jalla!") draws amusing performances from his cast of amiable characters, while the film's good-natured ribs at American pop culture give it an edge as potential crossover material.
With little to challenge them other than the occasional wandering cow, Hogbotrask's finest bide their time snacking on waffle hot-dogs and playing cards with little old ladies. But when cost-cutting Swedish authorities inform them that they're going to be closing down the station because of the cold, hard fact that the town has been virtually infraction-free for the past 10 years, the force organizes its own crime spree in order to justify its existence.
Reminiscent of 2001's "Super Troopers" and, of course, all those "Police Academy" movies, "Kops" retains an agreeable flavor of its own thanks to its collection of true characters -- most notably the gung-ho Benny (Torkel Petersson), who's constantly immersing himself in "Matrix"/"Die Hard" Hollywood action fantasies in which he takes down imaginary bad guys while uttering heavily accented variations of "Freeze, motherfucker!"...
- 11/12/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- Kops, the police spoof from Swedish director Josef Fares, was awarded the audience prize at this year's Hamburg Film Festival, which wrapped Saturday. The follow-up to Fares' hugely successful comedy debut Jalla! Jalla!, Kops is set in the quiet, crime-free town of Hoegbotraesk. When Swedish authorities decide to shut down the local police station the small-town cops start their own mini-crime wave in order to stay in business. This year's audience prize was the first to be awarded by Hamburg newspaper the Hamburger Abendblatt. The festival's top award used to be presented by magazine TV Spielfilm. Other prizes awarded at this year's fest included the Emil prize for best children's film for Richard Ciupka's Das Geheimnisvolle Fraeulein C (The Secretive Miss C.), and the Douglas Sirk lifetime achievement award, which was presented to French star Isabelle Huppert.
- 9/30/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Columbia Pictures has won a tight bidding war for remake rights to the Swedish comedy Kopps for Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo's Happy Madison to produce. The race for the rights came down to Columbia and Dimension Films, which was in the mix to acquire the project for Old School helmer Todd Phillips. Other talent that circled the project included Ben Stiller, director Adam Shankman, writing team Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield and Anger Management scribe David Dorfman. Josef Fares' Kopps -- currently onscreen in Sweden and posting successful numbers -- centers on a small-town police force that is on the verge of being shut down because of a lack of crime in the area. In order to save their jobs, the local cops take matters into their own hands.
- 4/15/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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