Zentropa wrapped principal photography May 12 on historical Danish-language romance A ROYAL AFFAIR, directed by Nikolaj Arcel from a screenplay he wrote with his GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO collaborator Rasmus Heisterberg.
Mads Mikkelsen stars in the film, based on historical events. In 18th century Denmark, Johann Struensee, a German advisor to the schizophrenic King Kristián VII, became de facto ruler of the kingdom as well as the queen´s lover and the father to her child. Mikkesen describes the project as “the most romantic and dramatic film I´ve ever done,”
“This is the biggest and most spectacular love story in the history of Denmark,” executive producer Peter Albaek Jensen told Screen.
“Since I entered the Danish film business, people have been talking about making this movie. Nobody was able get the script right, but when I read Nikolaj and Rasmus´ script, I knew we had it.”
Production began March 14 in the Czech Republic, where the crew shot at 20 separate locations and spent just under half the production´s EUR 5.5m budget. The crew will shoot four days in Dresden. Financing comes from the Danish and Swedish film institutes, Danish and Swedish television, Eurimages, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, the Nordic Film and Television Fund, and the Czech Republic´s 20% rebate.
Jensen said the Czech rebate was only secondary in Zentropa´s decision to go to Prague. “The deciding element here was the quality of the (Czech) crews and the infrastructure,” he said. “We went to the Czech Republic to learn something and to get knowledge we couldn´t find locally in Scandinavia.”
TrustNordisk sold the film to Magnolia Pictures for US and Madman for Australia, during Cannes.