Stieg Larsson's trilogy goes to Hollywood

19 December 2011 - 02:02 By Sapa-AFP
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Hollywood's first film interpretation of the bestselling Millennium trilogy, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is set to open in the United States this week, starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.

The film, directed by David Fincher, is the first US interpretation of a book series by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson that has captivated the world since its publication in 2005, a year after his death, selling 65-million copies in 46 countries.

Britain's Craig, the current James Bond, plays magazine publisher-in-disgrace Mikael Blomkvist in the US version.

He is joined by young US actress Rooney Mara as talented hacker Lisbeth Salander. Mara's powerful performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a drama this week.

"I had read all the three books and I had a really clear picture of who this girl was," Mara said at a press conference in New York on Saturday.

The actress, who had a small role in the Facebook movie The Social Network, also by Fincher, said the director gave her a long to-do list for the role.

"I have to become a smoker, to have piercings, to ride a motorcycle, just stuff like that," she said.

Filmed in Stockholm and other parts of Sweden, and in Zurich, the film features extraordinary winter landscapes, recreating the atmosphere of isolation and mystery created in the novel.

As in Fincher's The Social Network, the film's eerie, pulsating score is by Trent Reznor, the leader of Nine Inch Nails, and Atticus Ross.

The film is due for release tomorrow in the United States in a bid to get an early start on the competition.

It goes on wide release in Britain on Boxing Day.

Global release is due in January for Europe, Australia and Latin America.

Swedish film versions of the three novels were released in 2009 to much world acclaim.

Crusading journalist Larsson was 50 when he died of a heart attack in November 2004, shortly before his Millennium trilogy became the biggest global publishing phenomenon of the 21st century.

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