The following press release has confirmed the main cast for Swedish director Daniel Alfredson’s English-language debut. KIDNAPPING FREDDY HEINEKEN will see Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins star at the title character of the fact-based events of 1983 which saw the largest ever ransom paid for an individual at the time. It’s based on the novel by Peter R. de Vries and now the three main players integral in plotting the crime have been found. Jim Sturgess (CLOUD ATLAS), Ryan Kwantan (TRUE BLOOD) and Sam Worthington (AVATAR) have joined the project which begins shooting at the end of the month.
Jim Sturgess, Sam Worthington, Ryan Kwanten, join Anthony Hopkins in “Kidnapping Freddy Heineken”
Feature Film starts production in late October in Europe; Produced by Informant Media
Jim Sturgess, Sam Worthington, Ryan Kwanten and Anthony Hopkins will star in “Kidnapping Freddy Heineken,” an international action thriller to be directed by Daniel Alfredson (“The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest”). Netherlands actor Mark van Eeuwen and Australian newcomer Tom Cocquerel have also joined the cast.
“Kidnapping Freddy Heineken” starts principal photography in late October in Belgium and then locates to Amsterdam and New Orleans.
The film will tell the story of what has been called “the most notorious kidnapping of the 21st Century,” which resulted in the largest ransom ever paid for an individual at that time. Freddy Heineken (played by Hopkins) and his chauffeur, Ab Doderer, were kidnapped in 1983 and released on a ransom of 35 million Dutch guldens (the equivalent of about 50 million dollars today.)
The screenplay by UK-based screenwriter William Brookfield (“Rough Magic”) is based on Emmy Award-winning Netherlands crime journalist Peter R. de Vries’s bestselling book, which details the kidnapping of brewery magnate Alfred “Freddy” Heineken and has been on top of the Netherlands bestsellers list for more than two decades.
The film is being produced by Informant Media partners Judy Cairo and Michael A. Simpson, and Howard Meltzerunder the Informant Europe banner for the award-winning Los Angeles-based film finance and production company. Informant partner Eric Brenner is executive producer.
Embankment Films is handling international pre-sales and distribution.
John Papsidera is the film’s casting director and is a co-producer. Guirec van Slingelandt co-produces for Netherlands-based European Film Company, and uFilm is co-producing in Belgium.
Finance for the film is provided by Informant Media, Global Film Partners, Three Point Capital, uFilm and the National Bank of Canada.
Executive producers include Darrel Casalino, Sam Solakyan, Grant Guthrie and Sandra Siegal.
Informant Media’s recent productions include the multiple Oscar® and Golden Globe winner “Crazy Heart,” starring Jeff Bridges; “Hysteria,” starring Maggie Gyllenhaal; “Erased,” starring Aaron Eckhart and Olga Kurylenko; and “Stuck in Love”, starring Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Connelly.
Informant’s “Crazy Heart” became one of Fox Searchlight’s Top Ten grossing films of all time when it was released worldwide in 2009. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Actor (Jeff Bridges), Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song. The seminal song, “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart),” won an Oscar®, and Maggie Gyllenhaal received an Oscar® nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The film won two Golden Globes® awards: Jeff Bridges for Best Actor, and “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” for Best Original Song. The “Crazy Heart” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart),” both produced by produced by T Bone Burnett, were each honored with Grammy® Awards. The album won for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album while “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” received a Grammy® in the Best Song for Motion Picture category. “Crazy Heart” also won the coveted Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature.
Hopkins is represented by UTA and manager Rick Nicita. Sturgess is repped by CAA. Worthington is repped by CAA and Anonymous Content. Kwanten is repped by CAA and Orly Adelson Productions. Cocquerel is represented by CAA. Alfredson is repped by WME. Brookfield is repped by UK-based United Agents. Van Eeuwen is repped by Netherlands-based Montecatini Talent Agency.
Source: Informant Media
