Yellow Bird is a
Swedish film and television production company. In 2003 Danish producer Ole Søndberg and Swedish author
Henning Mankell started a collaboration on a series of television films based on Mankell’s famous fictional detective
Kurt Wallander and Yellow Bird was born. The success of the initial Wallander films was followed by
Stieg Larsson
Karl Stig-Erland "Stieg" Larsson (, ; 15 August 1954 – 9 November 2004) was a Swedish writer, journalist, and activist. He is best known for writing the ''Millennium'' trilogy of crime novels, which were published posthumously, starting in 2 ...
’s
''Millennium'' trilogy,
Jo Nesbø
Jo Nesbø (; born Jon Nesbø; 29 March 1960) is a Norwegian writer, musician, economist, and former football player and reporter. More than 3 million copies of his novels had been sold in Norway as of March 2014; his work has been translated ...
’s ''Headhunters'',
Liza Marklund
Eva Elisabeth "Liza" Marklund (born 9 September 1962) is a Swedish journalist and crime writer.
Her novels, of which most feature the fictional newspaper journalist Annika Bengtzon, have been published in forty languages. Marklund is the co-owne ...
’s ''
Annika Bengtzon Annika Bengtzon is a fictional character in a Scandinavian noir book and film series created by the Swedish journalist, publisher and crime writer Liza Marklund. With the Annika Bengtzon series, Marklund introduced a female tabloid journalist as th ...
'' series as well as the British version of ''Wallander'' starring
Kenneth Branagh.
Yellow Bird was sold to media conglomerate
Zodiak Media
Zodiak Media was an independent French production company.
In February 2016, Zodiak merged with Banijay.
History
In 2008, the group re-branded itself as Zodiak Entertainment after the acquisition of Zodiak TV (Nordics, Eastern Europe, Russia ...
in 2007.
Productions
Tjuvarnas jul - Trollkarlens hemlighet
In this feature film adventure, with characters from the popular advent calendar "Tjuvarnas jul", the foundling Charlie meets a mysterious wizard at the carnival. He reveals to her a world of magic and entertainment. The leading roles are played by
Tea Stjärne,
Gustaf Hammarsten
Carl Gustaf Hammarsten (born 2 September 1967) is a Swedish film, television and theatre actor. He is internationally known for his role in ''Brüno'' (2009) as the title character's sidekick and gay lover.
Career Film
He has appeared in more t ...
and
Elisabet Carlsson
Elisabet Carlsson (born 9 January 1968) is a Swedish actress. She studied at the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting in Stockholm 1988–1992. She is married to the actor Stefan Roos and together they have a daughter.
Filmography
*' ...
.
Gustaf Skarsgård
Gustaf Caspar Orm Skarsgård (born 12 November 1980) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his roles in ''Evil'' (2003), '' The Way Back'' (2010) and '' Kon-Tiki'' (2012). He also appeared in the HBO TV series ''Westworld'' (2018), as Merlin in t ...
plays the role of the Wizzard.
Shooting occurred during autumn/winter 2013 with the premiere in autumn 2014.
Echoes from the Dead
A feature film released in 2013 and based on the debut novel by
Johan Theorin
Johan Theorin (born in 1963 Gothenburg) is a Swedish journalist and author. Throughout his life, Johan Theorin has been a regular visitor to the island of Öland in the Baltic sea. His mother’s family—sailors, fishermen and stone cutters—ha ...
. Its premise: Can you ever come to terms with a missing child? Julia Davidsson has not. Her five-year-old son disappeared twenty years ago on the Swedish island of Öland. No trace of him has ever been found. Lead roles are played by
Lena Endre
Lena Endre (born 8 July 1955) is a Swedish actress of film and television,* primarily in the Swedish and Norwegian markets, known for her parts in the Liv Ullmann film '' Trolösa'' (2000), and the '' Millennium series'' of films (e.g., ''The ...
,
Tord Peterson
Tord Peterson (21 April 1926 – 11 January 2021) was a Swedish actor. From 1953 onwards, he appeared in more than 80 films and television shows.
Peterson died in January 2021, at the age of 94.
Selected filmography
* ''The Hard Game'' (1956)
...
and
Thomas W Gabrielsson
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the ...
.
Headhunters
''Headhunters'' is a feature film released in 2011 and based on the novel by
Jo Nesbø
Jo Nesbø (; born Jon Nesbø; 29 March 1960) is a Norwegian writer, musician, economist, and former football player and reporter. More than 3 million copies of his novels had been sold in Norway as of March 2014; his work has been translated ...
. It is a dark comic thriller centered on a corporate headhunter whose life and marriage are suddenly threatened and turned upside-down when he himself becomes hunted by an unknown individual. The lead roles are played by
Aksel Hennie
Aksel Hennie (born 29 October 1975) is a Norwegian actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Headhunters'' (2011), ''Hercules'' (2014), and '' The Martian'' (2015).
Early life
Hennie was born in the Lamber ...
,
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Nikolaj William Coster-Waldau (; born 27 July 1970) is a Danish actor and producer. He graduated from the Danish National School of Performing Arts in Copenhagen in 1993, and had his breakthrough role in Denmark with the film '' Nightwatch'' ( ...
and
Synnøve Macody Lund
Synnøve Macody Lund (born 24 May 1976) is a Norwegian journalist, film critic, model, and actress. , she appears in the 2020 Netflix series '' Ragnarok'' and the 2020 Sky TV series ''Riviera''.
Early life
Lund was born on 24 May 1976 in Stord, ...
.
Wallander
From 2005 to 2006 13 new stories starring
Krister Henriksson
Jan Krister Allan Henriksson (born 12 November 1946) is a Swedish actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Kurt Wallander in the television films based on the novels by Henning Mankell.
Early life
Henriksson was born in Grisslehamn, Norr ...
as Kurt Wallander were produced. The first film is based on the Linda Wallander novel ''
Before the Frost
''Before the Frost'' (''Innan Frosten'', 2002) is a novel by Swedish crime-writer Henning Mankell.
The protagonist is Linda Wallander, daughter of Inspector Wallander. The book was to be the first in a three-book series with Linda as the main ...
'' and was released in cinemas. The rest of the films are original stories based on plots written by Mankell with scriptwriting completed by others. Two more were theatrical releases and the rest were released on DVD and shown on TV.
In 2008, a further 13 films were commissioned. Filming began in August 2008, and filming will continue, and releases begin, in 2009.
The first of these films, ''Hämnden'' (''The Revenge''), was a theatrical release on 9 January 2009, directed by award-winning Paris-based Franco-Swedish director Charlotte Brändström. The remaining 12 films will be released on DVD and then be broadcast on TV4 at a later date.
After filming is completed on the 2009 series, Henriksson will not play Wallander again, having only signed the new contract because he thought the 2005 series could have been better.
As a series, ''Mankell's Wallander'' has been nominated for The International TV Dagger at the 2009
Crime Thriller Awards
The Crime Thriller Awards is a British awards ceremony dedicated to crime thriller fiction. The inaugural event was held on 3 October 2008 at the Grosvenor Hotel, hosted by comedian and ''Jonathan Creek'' actor Alan Davies. It was televised on ...
, an awards ceremony presented by British television channel
ITV3
ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel b ...
and the
Crime Writers' Association
The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...
.
Yellow Bird recently co-produced two English-language
Wallander Wallander may refer to:
TV, film, books
* Kurt Wallander
Kurt Wallander () is a fictional Swedish police inspector created by Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell (1948 – 2015). He is the protagonist of many thriller/mystery novels set in and ...
series, starring
Kenneth Branagh as Wallander, with the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
broadcaster, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
. Series 1 premiered in the UK in November 2008 and series 2 aired in January 2010.
The first series won several BAFTAs. Branagh’s portrayal won him the award for best actor at the 35th
Broadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Awards (2009).
[Douglas, Torin (27 March 2009).]
Winners - 35th BPG Television and Radio Awards
". Broadcasting Press Guild. Retrieved on 27 March 2009.
The
Hollywood Foreign Press Association has nominated Branagh for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for his performance in ''One Step Behind''.
Stieg Larsson's Millennium books
Yellow Bird produced three films based on
Stieg Larsson
Karl Stig-Erland "Stieg" Larsson (, ; 15 August 1954 – 9 November 2004) was a Swedish writer, journalist, and activist. He is best known for writing the ''Millennium'' trilogy of crime novels, which were published posthumously, starting in 2 ...
's Millennium trilogy. The Millennium books were originally intended to be released as one motion picture and two television mini-series, but popular demand and pressure from the
Swedish Film Institute
The Swedish Film Institute ( sv, Svenska Filminstitutet) was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. The institute is housed in the ''Filmhuset'' building located in Gärdet, Östermalm in Stockholm. The building, com ...
, one of the main financiers behind the films, altered the original plans. The Millennium films have been sold to most European and many Latin American markets. The films also had a US release.
Yellow Bird executive producer Sören Staermose confirmed in an interview with Swedish newspaper ''Expressen'' that negotiations are taking place to produce English language Millennium films. This would not be a US remake of the Swedish films but rather new Hollywood films based on the books. In the interview he states that the possible US films might be produced in a similar way as the Wallander TV series starring Kenneth Branagh, shooting in Sweden using English speaking actors. He also states that it is up to the director and says that the story could just as well take place in another country, like Canada.
On December 16, 2009 ''
Svenska Dagbladet'' reported that
Sony Pictures Entertainment was in negotiations with Yellow Bird about the film rights according to Yellow Bird Managing Director Mikael Wallén.
Steve Zaillian
Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian (born January 30, 1953) is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award for his screenplay ''Schindler's List'' (1993) and has earned Oscar no ...
was in discussions to adapt the first book.
Liza Marklund's Annika Bengtzon series
The company acquired film rights to six of best-selling author
Liza Marklund
Eva Elisabeth "Liza" Marklund (born 9 September 1962) is a Swedish journalist and crime writer.
Her novels, of which most feature the fictional newspaper journalist Annika Bengtzon, have been published in forty languages. Marklund is the co-owne ...
's books featuring the criminal reporter
Annika Bengtzon Annika Bengtzon is a fictional character in a Scandinavian noir book and film series created by the Swedish journalist, publisher and crime writer Liza Marklund. With the Annika Bengtzon series, Marklund introduced a female tabloid journalist as th ...
. Plans to produce movies for the Scandinavian and international markets were underway for each of the six titles: ''Studio Sex'', ''Prime Time'', ''The Red Wolf'', ''Nobel’s Last Will'', ''Lifetime'' and ''A Place in the Sun''.
Marklund’s Annika Bengtzon series has a following all over the world. The eight books have sold more than nine million copies internationally and have been translated into 30 languages. Liza Marklund is currently working on the ninth book in the series.
Filming was expected to start at the end of 2010 with an estimated budget of approximately SEK 100 million.
Other projects
Yellow Bird has also produced six TV movies about criminal inspector Irene Huss, based on the books by
Helene Tursten
Helene Tursten (born in Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, ...
.
In March 2009 the company acquired the film rights for Norwegian crime writer
Anne Holt
Anne Holt (born 16 November 1958) is a Norwegian author, lawyer and former Minister of Justice.
Early life
She was born in Larvik, grew up in Lillestrøm and Tromsø, and moved to Oslo in 1978. Holt graduated with a law degree from the Universit ...
's books about inspector Yngvar Stubø and Inger Johanne Vik – a psychologist and lawyer with a previous career in the FBI.
In April 2009 the company announced they optioned film rights for Norwegian author
Jo Nesbø
Jo Nesbø (; born Jon Nesbø; 29 March 1960) is a Norwegian writer, musician, economist, and former football player and reporter. More than 3 million copies of his novels had been sold in Norway as of March 2014; his work has been translated ...
's most recent novel Headhunters.
The company purchased the rights to ''Blekingegadeligan'', the bestselling book by Danish journalist
Peter Øvig Knudsen about
The Blekinge Street Gang, a group of about a dozen
communist political activists who during the 1970s and 80s committed a number of highly professional robberies in
Denmark and sent the money to the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The series consists of 8 episodes and was shown on Danish channel DR1 in 2011.
International divisions
Germany
Yellow Bird produced a 2x90 German TV series based on the Henning Mankell novel ''
Kennedy's Brain
''Kennedy's Brain'' is a novel by Swedish writer Henning Mankell, that was originally published in the Swedish language in 2005. The English translation by Laurie Thompson was published in September, 2007.
With some elements similar to those of ...
''. The series is made for broadcaster ARD. The leading role is played by German actress
Iris Berben
Iris Renate Dorothea Berben (, born 12 August 1950) is a German actress and voice actress.
Biography
Berben was born in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia. She grew up in Hamburg, where her parents ran a restaurant.
Berben has appeared in about ...
. The series also stars Swedish actors
Michael Nyqvist and
Rolf Lassgård
Rolf Holger Lassgård (born 29 March 1955) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his many roles in crime dramas.
Life and career
Lassgård was born in Östersund, Jämtland. A keen amateur ice hockey player in his youth, he also joined theatre ...
.
In October 2008, Yellow Bird launched "Yellow Bird Pictures", a subsidiary based in Munich, Germany. The start up is a joint venture between Yellow Bird and producer Oliver Schündler. Yellow Bird Pictures will focus on
feature films and TV fiction for the German-speaking market. Initial productions will be based on rights that Yellow Bird already controls.
The German subsidiary adapted Henning Mankell's novel ''
The Chinaman''.
United Kingdom
In October 2017, Banijay Group (the current parent company of Yellow Bird as a result of acquiring the company's former parent
Zodiak Media
Zodiak Media was an independent French production company.
In February 2016, Zodiak merged with Banijay.
History
In 2008, the group re-branded itself as Zodiak Entertainment after the acquisition of Zodiak TV (Nordics, Eastern Europe, Russia ...
in February 2016) launched a British counterpart to Yellow Bird named Yellow Bird UK. Yellow Bird UK will focus on developing and creating original ideas with international appeal and a
Nordic noir
Nordic noir, also known as Scandinavian noir or Scandi noir, is a genre of crime fiction usually written from a police point of view and set in Scandinavia or Nordic countries. Plain language avoiding metaphor and set in bleak landscapes results ...
look and feel for British audiences, working with all broadcasters and platforms. Based in central London alongside fellow sister companies BlackLight and Fearless Minds, it will have close ties to the Swedish Yellow Bird.
In December 2019,
Netflix announced that Yellow Bird UK would produce an as-yet untitled series on the origin story of music-streaming service
Spotify.
United States
On 10 October 2018 (a year after the British division was launched), Yellow Bird teamed up with its fellow American sister company
Bunim/Murray Productions
Bunim/Murray Productions is an entertainment production company based out of Glendale, California, and is considered a pioneer in the reality television genre. It is best known for '' The Real World'', ''Road Rules'', ''Bad Girls Club''. Mary-El ...
to form Yellow Bird US, an American production joint venture based in Bunim/Murray's
Los Angeles offices.
In February 2020, Yellow Bird US announced it would adapt Krystal Sutherland's novel ''A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares'' into a TV series.
Notes and references
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yellow Bird (Company)
Film production companies of Sweden
Film production companies of Germany
Film production companies of the United States
2008 establishments in Germany
Television production companies of Sweden
Television production companies of the United States
Companies based in Stockholm
Companies based in Los Angeles
Swedish companies established in 2003
Entertainment companies established in 2003
Banijay