Mark Wahlberg Will Remake Iceland's Best Thing Since Björk
The Icelandic thriller Reykjavík-Rotterdam has an all-star Icelandic cast, a four-star rating from Iceland's daily paper, won five Icelandic film awards, and is the country's Academy Award submission for Best Foreign Film. But there's one thing Reykjavík-Rotterdam does not have: MARK FUCKING WAHLBERG. Until now, says Variety:
Working Title Films has put in motion a remake of the Icelandic thriller “Reykjavic-Rotterdam” as a star vehicle for Mark Wahlberg.Aaron Guzikowski (“Prisoners”) will write the script. Baltasar Kormakur, who starred in the film, and produced it and owned remake rights, will direct the remake.
An ex-freight ship worker, fired for smuggling alcohol between Reykjavic and Rotterdam, is struggling as a security guard. His best friend convinces him to sign on for one last crooked job. The worker doesn’t realize his friend has set him up and plans to make off with his family while he’s away at sea.
Ah, classic friend-betraying-friend-to-steal-his-family story. Because that's something that happens. You admire a friend's family, send him on a ship, and finally move into his house with the expectation that his family will accept you as the new patriarch. I can understand why this is such a popular film. Because of realism.