BIER SHOOTING BROSNAN IN ITALY

9 June 2011 | By FILMupdate

IN PRODUCTION. Susanne Bier is shooting her new film, the romantic comedy "The Bald Hairdresser", in southern Italy with Pierce Brosnan and Trine Dyrholm in the leads. The film is set to release on 30 August 2012.

After Bier's triumph with "In a Better World", winning her a Golden Globe and an Academy Award, the Danish director is now filming "The Bald Hairdresser", her first comedy since "The One and Only " from 1999 which still holds the title as one of recent Danish cinema's biggest boxoffice hits.

"The Bald Hairdresser" is, in a Danish context, a big-budget production of 41 million DKK (5.5 million euro) with former 007 star Pierce Brosnan in one of the leading roles.

A wedding in Italy

The film takes us to scenic Sorrento in southern Italy where Astrid (Molly Egelind) and Patrick (Sebastian Jessen) are celebrating their wedding. The bride's mother is the beautiful cancerous hairdresser Ida (Trine Dyrholm) who has just been left by her husband of 25 years. This boastful ex-husband of hers (Kim Bodnia) and his new blonde girlfriend (Christiane Schaumburg-Müller) are also invited to the wedding together with the bride's brother (Micky Skeel Hansen), a soldier ready to blow up at any minute.

Pierce Brosnan plays the bridegroom's English father, the absent-minded businessman Philip who wonders why he's still living in Denmark and still mourning his wife after her tragic death. On the colourful guest list is also Benedikte (Paprika Steen), Philip's neurotic sister-in-law, whose hormones are running a bit wild.

Bier's usual team

Bier has teamed up with her crew from "In a Better World" and a number of her previous productions: Anders Thomas Jensen has scripted the story which was developed by him and Bier, cinematographer is Morten Søborg, editor Pernille Bech Christensen, and Sisse Graum Jørgensen is producer for Zentropa.

"The Bald Hairdresser" is produced with support from the Danish Film Institute, the national broadcaster DR TV and a number of international co-producers and investors. International sales are handled by TrustNordisk.

Domestic release is set for 30 August 2012.