With LET THE RIGHT ONE IN and TINKER TAILER SOLDIER SPY under his belt, it's clear that Swedish director Tomas Alfredson knows how to craft a quality flick, but the reviews for his upcoming adaptation of Jo Nesbø's crime-thriller "The Snowman" haven't exactly been bursting with praise. Starring Michael Fassbender as a detective on the hunt for a serial killer who uses snowmen as his calling card, THE SNOWMAN was intended to launch a new franchise, but, due to the lackluster response, that may be unlikely.
While speaking with NRK (the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation), Alfredson revealed that production on the film was very rushed, in fact, he estimates that they were unable to shoot between 10-15% of the script, which turned into a big problem once they hit the editing room.
Our shoot time in Norway was way too short. We didn’t get the whole story with us and when we started cutting we discovered that a lot was missing. It’s like when you’re making a big jigsaw puzzle and a few pieces are missing so you don’t see the whole picture… It happened very abruptly – suddenly we got notice that we had the money and could start the shoot in London.
I still plan on checking out THE SNOWMAN for myself, but it's certainly a shame to hear that it couldn't come together, especially with all the talented folks involved in its production.
The official synopsis for THE SNOWMAN:
When an elite crime squad’s lead detective (Fassbender) investigates the disappearance of a victim on the first snow of winter, he fears an elusive serial killer may be active again. With the help of a brilliant recruit (Ferguson), the cop must connect decades-old cold cases to the brutal new one if he hopes to outwit this unthinkable evil before the next snowfall.
THE SNOWMAN will hit theaters on October 20th.