As we are new here at WAM, we will first use some time to gather steam. We're looking for wreckers from anywhere on the globe who would be interested in contributing to Norway's first ever ninja movie for the big screen! (If you are a Norwegian wrecker you may know about the project from its local title: "Nytt Norsk Håp". Google that for some press coverage.)
The writer/director is Thomas Cappelen Malling, and the film is produced by yours truly and the Oslo-based production company Tordenfilm. We will shoot the film in the fall of 2009, and it will be ready for release in the second half of 2010. The total budget is NOK 19 million / EUR 2,1 million.
The film is centered on a secret force of Norwegian ninjas, led by Arne Treholt (see wikipedia link below), who fight back against Superpower incursions in the fair kingdom of Norway. Genre-wise it's a satirical adventure film. However, we strongly wish to avoid being a genre parody or spoof like "Naked Gun" or "Austin Powers". We want believable characters who take the events of the film at face value. Great comedy is a serious business, indeed.
We will discuss more of the film's content and style in relation to specific tasks.
But listed below are some thematic keywords for our film.
These are areas in which we wish to have wreckers contribute with tasks in the future.
Ninjas and ninjutsu - both historically and what we see in pop culture today
European Cold War history, seventies-eighties
The Treholt espionage trial ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arne_Treholt )
Zen buddhism
NATO's Stay Behind forces ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Gladio )
Conspiracy theories surrounding Cold War politics and espionage.
Seventies-eighties exotic military tech
Invisibility tech
Steampunk gadgets and vehicles
Eighties dress/hair styles and lingo
Old-school visual effects (in-camera stuff like miniatures, false perspectives, matte paintings etc.)
New-school visual effects (3D animation and compositing etc.)
Stunts/acrobatics/parkour/martial arts/extreme sports
The first task we ask of you, our wrecking partners, is to sign up for our production.
Use the Shots function to announce yourself and your areas of interest!
As inspiration, we've attached a "class of 1980" photo of the Ninja Force, taken at their training base at Ramsund, Norway. The legend reads: "When the job is done, it's history".
Master Hertz! I wholeheartedly concur with your view, Sir! This is a most serious undertaking and enterprise! But please, do join us on the 'Music ideas' thread - So we can 'pick your brain' if you will!? ;D
..Master Kramer, aswell!
I think the music you linked to is too "funny". I think this film needs a soundtrack with a lot more hero attitude - a little like Indiana Jones with a twist of Japan and also a lot more depth to fit the Norwegian landscape.
I know that I say this every time I comment on this film but I have to say it again: Don't make a joke out of it.
So, we need to talk more about music or a potential soundtrack or playlist.
Ofcourse, next to an original score (which I'm sure someone is already hard at work on, heavy with synths as it should be). A very cool and entertaining task to play around with is putting together a playlist or compilation of songs and music that could work out as some form of a soundtrack.
Music that could help strengthen the atmosphere and overall feel of the production. Or songs that helps illustrate the zeigeist and feeling that really make the audience connect with the setting/story/plot.
For those of you who doesn't have access to Spotify,
I'll transcribe the list below. But what sounds or tunes would YOU like to hear? Or what kind of music do you associate with the late 70s or early 80s that would be perfect to score a norwegian ninja movie?
Track - Artist - Album
'Right time, wrong place' - Dr.John (In The Right Place) 1973.
'Wanted Dead or Alive' - Warren Zevon (Wanted Dead or Alive) 1969.
'You Should Be Dancing' - Bee Gees (Children of the World) 1976.
'Secret Agent Man' - DEVO (Duty Now for the Future) 1979.
'Run to the Hills' - Iron Maiden (Number of the Beast) 1982.
'Coogi Sweater' - Boom Bip/Ali Lee (Sacchrilege) 2007.
'Voodoo' - Inger Lise Rypdal/Jahn Teigen (På Treff 76) 1976.
'Oslo' - Gro Anita Schønn (Takk For Glitter Og Stas) 1974.
'På Forsiden Av Verdens Gang' - Guggen & The Talents (På Treff Med 7) 1974.
'Foxhole, Live in San Fransisco 1978' - Television (Live at the Old Waldorf) 1978.
'Half a Man' - America (Hearts) 1975.
'Cold War' - STYX (Kilroy Was Here) 1983.
'Atomic Cocktail' - Slim Galliard (Like an Atom Bomb: Apocalyptic Songs from the Cold War Era) 2004.
'Sun/C79' - Cat Stevens (Buddha and the Chocolate Box) 1974.
'Streets of Fire' - Bruce Springsteen (Darkness on the Edge of Town) 1978.
'The Witch Queen of New Orleans' - Redbone (Message from a Drum) 1971.
'From Russia With Love' - Count Basie (Basie Meets Bond) 1965.
'Nightclub Ballad' - Wesensteen (Livaktig At The Kaffistova) 1967.
'Interstellar Overdrive' - 1978 Disco Floyd Band (Pink Disco) 1979/2009.
'Mirage' - Wesensteen (Livaktig At The Kaffistova) 1967.
'Rasputin' - V/A (På Treff 78) 1978.
'Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town' - Kenny Rogers (Kenny Rogers & the First Edition) 1969.
'Bikini Girls With Machine Guns' - The Cramps (Stay Sick!) 1989.
'Kic Me Russia' - De Press (Block To Block) 1981.
'Mil Etter Mil' - Jahn Teigen (Mil Etter Mil/Grand Prix) 1978.
'Sun And Steel' - Iron Maiden (Number of the Beast) 1982.
'Don't You Want Me' - The Human League (Dare) 1981.
'I Feel Love' - Donna Summer (I Remember Yesterday) 1977.
'Bo Jo Cie Kochom' - De Press (Block To Block) 1981.
Hey, this is a perfect idea for a separate task.
I will set one up using your shot above.
Is it possible to make your Spotify playlist collaborative? That way people who want to contribute can add further song and score ideas directly.
When it comes to music - we've had many, many people contact us wanting to do the score already. This is certainly flattering. But we have deliberately held off this process so far because we want to have images to work from.
This is not to say that we don't have concepts for the music. In fact we have several directions that we want to try. But from previous project experiences, talking about score is like dancing about architecture, and a lot of time is spent in meetings that really don't lead anywhere. We want the score/music process to be very concrete this time, bouncing off our footage.
Having a huge playlist of ideas is great though. It can be a big help in discovering things we wouldn't have thought of ourselves.
So bring it on!
perhaps one should paraphrase one or more scenes from the movie orions belte. it would fit very nice!!
one should let sverre anker ousdal once again play skipper on the sandy hook, together with helge jordal as tommy jansen and put jon michelet in the role hans ola sørlie had in the movie from 1984.
these are the right guys to deploy treholt and the ninjas out on covert ops.!!!
also.. it would be nice to once again see jon eikemo as a representative for the norwegian police, but this time as ørnulf tofte( chief investigator from politiets overvåkningstjeneste in the actual treholt case.) which could be treholt`s nemesis in the norwegian ninja movie.
and....!
let me strongly suggest reading the ørnulf tofte biography "spaneren" to get first hand information and inspiration regarding POT`s point of view on contraespionage dealing with the russians in norway and europe, at the time being.... and toftes point of view regarding the treholt case.
Our cast and script are in place and we're already approaching the middle point of our shoot, so we can't promise anything. But there are other ways to invoke the spirit of this classic...
PS: Would love to see the English version they shot simultaneously... it's on the double disk DVD edition.
Oh my sweet lord! You just blew my mind! 'For hælvete, gutar!?'
..funny thing is, I've been thinking about it too. However, rather struggling to put it into some form of context or transform into words.
It also somewhat amazes me that we haven't had any reference to either 'Orions Belte' OR 'Etter Rubicon' on any of the posts/influences here..
While on the topic of cold war and arctic regions.. What could be more perfectly intriguing and fascinating than unique soviet-era snowmobiles!? Some of these stayed in production up until as late as the 70s and 80s.
I know this follow-up is pretty damn late, but I DID SEE one of these badboys in a small news-segment on NRK this easter.. I just totally forgot to report it. (Will try to locate or find the segment on NRK nett-tv).
Some couple in their 60s, run/operate a seasonal motel or inn, and have done so for atleast 40 years. And they use a snowmobile from the late 40s to transport their goods up the mountain, as there are no roads.. It looked pretty damn fantastic! :)
I totally fell in love with one of the blogs referred to further down, the dark roasted blend, if you haven't yet explored it, you should. Everything on their site is breathtaking or weird.
Anyway, if you haven't already seen it, these women and their robot friends are simply wonderful. And even they're from a different era, the idea might be something for your Umbraco caracter.
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2007/08/ladies-robots.html
In the end of the 70ies NBC made an attempt to put on a gigant tv-drama called Supertrain. I was thinking that this train, witch apparantly caused so much trouble for the production (wrecking all the time) that it finally made them close the whole thing down. Maybe also because it was a major flop.
Anyway, it's a real fun train. And the music is also kind of interesting. And the way it's shot also. And the bad models. fun fun fun
Thanks for that, Vera. An interesting clip for analysis. In some of those shots, the scale of the train is totally believable, in others it falls flat. So - what makes the ones that work, work?
One of the missions of the ninja troop could be stopping a russian submarine with the help of a fishing boats fishing net. I remember spooky tales of russian submarines travelling up and down our fjords spying with their super telescopes, this was one of THE paranoia scenarios during the 80s! Maybe it could be linked with the deep sea divers in Norway as well, who were paving the way for the Norwegian oil adventure?
Wouldn´t it be cool with scuba diving Ninjas, originally disguised as mustachioed filshermen on an old fishing trawler!
Great idea! Maybe we could get some of the oil companies to help and even sponsor some of these scenes? Would be a great way to show off their high tech oil drilling platforms and would provide great scenery for the movie. Can beat the amazing fjords and the high sea.
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The film premiers in less than two weeks, august tenth. So my guess is that you are a bit late...