The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo (English remake)

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How Rooney Mara became "The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo"
By Borys Kit


LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Bringing an end to the mounting suspense surrounding one of the biggest talent hunts in years, director David Fincher on Monday phoned Rooney Mara, a relatively unknown young actress, to break the good news.

Moments later, Columbia announced that Mara had been chosen to play punk hacker Lisbeth Salander in the English-language movie adaptation of Stieg Larsson's international best-seller, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

Until the surprise announcement, Mara was best known -- at least among hard-core horror movie fans -- as the girl who fought Freddy Krueger earlier this year in the remake of "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

But all that is changing rapidly. Not only has Mara landed the coveted "Dragon" role opposite Daniel Craig, who will play investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she also will appear in Fincher's new movie about the early days of Facebook, "The Social Network," which will open the prestigious New York Film Festival on September 24.

In fact, though young actresses from throughout the world were called in to test for the Salander role, Mara, born in Bedford, N.Y., might have had the inside track all along thanks to having worked with Fincher. Even before its release, "Network" is becoming a veritable farm team for future Sony franchises: While it has boosted Mara's fortunes, it also helped another member of the cast, Andrew Garfield, land the part of Peter Parker in the studio's relaunch of "Spider-Man."

Although moviegoers won't issue their final verdict on Mara's casting until Sony releases "Dragon" on December 21, 2011, the up-and-coming actress will see an immediate pay raise. She received $65,000 for her starring role in the low-budget "Nightmare."

In order to test for "Dragon," finalists had to agree to test deals with salaries in the $150,000-$200,000 range as well as options for the second and third movies in the planned trilogy that also would bring with them significant salary bumps.

Although fans might be disappointed that their favorite did not make the cut, industry reaction to Mara's selection was positive. "I think that's perfect," casting director Jane Jenkins -- who has worked on such high-profile book-to-movie adaptations as the first "Harry Potter" movie and "The Da Vinci Code" -- said of the decision to go with a fresh face.

"If I had been casting it, that's the direction I would have urged them to go in. You want somebody with enough experience under their belt so that the director and producer are confident she can handle the challenges. But you don't want the audience to come to it with preconceived ideas, and the audience that sees this movie is not going to be familiar with 'Nightmare on Elm Street.'"

Said one producer who has worked with Mara: "She takes acting very seriously. This is not a hobby for her."

Hailing from families that own the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers, Mara has appeared in several indies, including the boarding-school drama "Tanner Hall" and "Youth in Revolt."

For support, she's got older sister Kate Mara, an actress who has a role in the upcoming Danny Boyle movie "127 Hours." And she's displayed a philanthropic side, organizing the charity Faces of Kibera, which supports orphans in Kenya.

Ever since Sony and producer Scott Rudin secured the English-language remake rights to the three novels in Larsson's Millennium Trilogy -- the three Swedish-language films, starring Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth, already have been released in Europe -- speculation about who should play the antisocial heroine, a diminutive girl who breaks into computers with ease and faces down villains who tower over her, has been building.

Natalie Portman was one of the first to be mentioned because she was a fan of the books. She and her manager even tried to option the books themselves, only to lose out to Rudin.

Other well-known names also entered the derby: Anne Hathaway, Evan Rachel Wood, Scarlett Johansson, Carey Mulligan, Ellen Page and Kristen Stewart. Within industry circles, other less familiar names also were mentioned: "Alice in Wonderland" star Mia Wasikowska; "Lemony Snicket" alumna Emily Browning; Alison Pill, who appears in "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"; and Andrea Riseborough, who appeared in "Happy-Go-Lucky."

There was lots of discussion about whether some actresses were too old or too tall: Mara checks in at 5-foot-5 and is 25 years old. Although the filmmakers declined comment on specific contenders, the media turned the casting process into something of a public guessing game. Just last week, Irish bookmaker PaddyPower.com issued odds making Portman the odds-on favorite at 11-4.

Mara was about halfway down the list as a 12-1 long shot. Inside the studio, though, the biggest debate was whether to go with a known quantity or opt for a new face. Portman and Johansson, who came in for meetings, appear to have been the most serious contenders among the known quantities.

Recently, a new batch of relative unknowns emerged. Along with Mara, they included Australians Sarah Snook and Sophie Lowe and Frenchwoman Lea Seydoux. They were asked to read with Craig and test in full make-up. The winning actress also had to prove adept at mastering a Swedish accent. Steven Zaillian's screenplay maintains the same setting as the novels, and the adaptation will begin filming next month in Sweden.
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Rooney Mara to Play Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Posted by Jessica Derschowitz


NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Actress Rooney Mara has been cast as Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher's adaptation of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

Sony Pictures announced Monday that Mara will play Salander, a fearless genius tormented by a terrible childhood, in the crime thriller based on the first book in Stieg Larsson's best-selling series.

The role of the leather-clad hacker was at the center of a much-talked-about casting search that included high-profile contenders like Ellen Page, Kristen Stewart, Carey Mulligan and Natalie Portman.

Mara, 25, was most recently seen in the remake of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and will appear in the upcoming film "The Social Network," which was also directed by Fincher.

Daniel Craig will star alongside Mara as journalist Mikael Blomqvist, who teams up with Salander to investigate the decades-old disappearance of the niece of a Swedish industrialist.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" begins shooting in Sweden this fall, according to the release. It is scheduled to hit theaters on Dec. 21, 2011.
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Post by kaytodd »

Sonic Youth wrote:How about Kristen Stewart? She's got 'tude.

I have no doubt she is on the top of the producers' list. Good choice. And would help the box office big time.

I am glad they are doing this. Some say this takes away from the Swedish original but I understand both films have done very good business in the U.S. There is a large group of fans of the books (count me among them) who were looking forward to the films and became entranced with Noomi Rapace while watching Dragon Tatoo. I think the films will do about as much business as we can expect. An English version with talented attractive behind and in front of the camera (this describes the first two Swedish films) will introduce the wonderful Millenium trilogy to a much larger audience.




Edited By kaytodd on 1280373467
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Post by Sonic Youth »

How about Kristen Stewart? She's got 'tude.
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Post by kaytodd »

I hope they make major changes from the book and the first two films about the relationship between Craig's character and the "Girl" and the girl's personality. Noomi Rapace is such a unique presence that it would be futile for any actress to try to recreate her performance. Maybe Craig's chracter will be more outgoing and dynamic than the character in the Swedish films (actually, Mikael and Lisbeth relationship was more complex in the novels than in the Swedish films, especially at the end of the first book. They may decide to recreate that, which would be more interesting). I am sure they will get a good actress to play Lisbeth but I have a hard time imagining anyone other than Rapace playing the Girl from the novels. This could work well if they decide to have the actress not play the Girl from the novels but a different type of character.
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Post by Reza »

Hd Reporter 7/27/2010


Daniel Craig takes the lead in ‘Dragon Tattoo’ – plus ‘Fire’ and ‘Hornet’s Nest’
By Jay A. Fernandez | July 26th, 2010 at 12:20 p


Daniel Craig has closed his deal to star in Sony’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” plus the two potential follow-ups that will be based on author Stieg Larsson’s best-selling trilogy.

David Fincher is on board to direct the adaptation, which Steve Zaillian is writing and Scott Rudin is producing.

With all development and production on the next James Bond film recently halted by producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson in the midst of MGM's endless financial restructuring, Craig needed a new job. The Larsson trilogy provides him with another franchise to nurture until Bond can unholster his Walther.

The CAA-repped actor is currently filming the DreamWorks sci-fi actioner "Cowboys & Aliens" for a July 2011 release. Later that year, he will appear -- in motion-capture form -- in Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn," but his acting work is completed. Craig also has the Universal thriller "Dream House" wrapped.


Paramount will release "Tintin" December 23, just two days after Sony has "Tattoo" scheduled to open.

Music Box Films is in the process of releasing the original Swedish-language film adaptations in the States. “Tattoo” has grossed $9.6 million in the U.S. and $92 million internationally. The second film, “The Girl Who Played With Fire,” has grossed $2.9 million in the U.S. since its release earlier this month; it grossed $51 million internationally.

"The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" is scheduled to be released later this year.
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Post by Franz Ferdinand »

In addition to this news, from the QMI Agency:

Still up for grabs is who will co-star with Craig as Lisbeth Salander, a bisexual punk goth computer hacker. According to reports, candidates for the role include Carey Mulligan, Alice in Wonderland’s Mia Wasikowska, Canadian Ellen Page and Rooney Mara (A Nightmare on Elm Street).
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Bond star Craig signs on for 'Dragon Tattoo'
Associated Press


LOS ANGELES – Daniel Craig has a new mission. The current star of the James Bond films has signed on for the English-language remake of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

Distributor Sony Pictures confirmed that Craig is taking on the role of journalist Mikael Blomkvist in the thriller based on the first novel in the best-selling series from the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson.

The violent story teams Blomkvist with the title character, Lisbeth Salander, a deeply troubled genius tormented by a terrible childhood, as they delve into the mystery of a missing girl whose disappearance leads them to a string of decades-old murders.

The role of Lisbeth has not yet been cast.

Directed by David Fincher, the film is due in theaters next year.
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