Not since "Dancer in the Dark" from 2000, has Lars von Trier shot an international film in Denmark. One of the reasons has been the lack of local financing. With the establishment of Copenhagen Film Fund however, it appears that the financial incentive to stay in Copenhagen finally is large enough.
Lars von Trier's next film "The House That Jack Built" is funded as a Danish-Swedish-German-French co-production. It takes place in the State of Washington, but will be shot in Sweden and Denmark. Thus, the two Scandinavian countries are the film's main investors.
The production starts filming in Sweden’s Troldhättan area fall 2016, after which the team moves to Copenhagen in spring 2017 to film the second half. Here Copenhagen Film Fund intends to invest in the film's Danish spend.
The perfect murder
"The House That Jack Built" is set in '70s America. We follow the highly intelligent Jack over a period of 12 years, and are introduced to the murders, which is defining for Jack's development as a serial killer. The audience experience the story through Jack while he argues that every murder he commits is a work of art in itself. Although police slowly approaches, he runs greater and greater risks in the quest to create the ultimate work of art.
Lars von Trier will, as with his previous films, aim for a strong international cast. But no names have yet been confirmed. In an interview in Screen Daily the film's producer Louise Vesth from the production company Zentropa explains:
“Lars wants to find someone who wants to work with him 100%. It’s not just about good acting. He wants to create the film and this character of Jack together with an intelligent actor.”
Big international intrest
Originally, the film was scheduled for sales after the cast was confirmed. The film's sales agent TrustNordisk has however found that buyers are eager to secure the next project from the creator of Nymphomaniac, Antichrist and Melancholia. During Cannes Film Festival in May they pre-sold the film to Latin America (California Filmes), Benelux (September), Poland (Gutek), Thaiwan (Movie Cloud), the former Yugoslavia (Cinemania), Czech Republic (Aero) and Romania (Independenta Film 97).
