by Ilich Mejía
In 2015, Sweden selected Hannes Holm's A Man Called Ove as their submission for the Academy's Foreign Language Film race. The selection payed off, as the country earned their 15th nomination in the category. Now, Tom Hanks and his production company Playtone have acquired the rights to develop an English version of the film.
Ove is based on Frederik Backman's namesake novel about Ove, a grumpy curmudgeon who, after losing his wife, decides to commit suicide. His attempts are comedically salvaged by silly interactions with charming neighbors that help him reconsider his outlook on life. Hanks will star as Ove and his wife, Rita Wilson, has joined as a producer.
For those of you keeping track, this marks the second film from the 2016 Foreign Language Film race to score an English remake. The first was Germany's Toni Erdmann, whose remake will star Jack Nickolson and Kristen Wiig with a likely script from Girls's creators Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner.
Who are we suspecting is next? Iran's The Salesman? Denmark's Land of Mine? None of the above: Hollywood please just learn how to read subtitles and let a good thing be?? Share your thoughts!