Jo Nesbo’s Snowman Heading To Norway

It is no secret that an American adaptation of Jo Nesbø’s bestseller The Snowman is in pre-production. However, whilst Stockholm has long been in the running, the recent announcement of tax breaks for film and TV in Norway has ensured that the Working Title’s vision to shoot exterior scenes there will soon be realised.

Former culture commissioner Hallstein Bjercke said in a statement: “I announce that the production of The Snowman will be located in Oslo. This is something that I have known for a while but have not wanted to tell without approval from the production company. Last night I received an email that informed me that it was okay to publish the news.”

Bjercke added that production is expected to start in early January 2016, and that discussions first began to bring it to Norway in May 2012. It is not yet known who will play the lead role of Harry Hole, but Michael Fassbender has been previously linked to the role, and Rebecca Ferguson is also rumoured to be joining the cast.

The film will centre on Norwegian detective, Harry Hole who investigates a number of murders of women around Oslo. His training with the FBI leads him to search for links between the cases, and he finds two – each victim is a married mother and after each murder a snowman appears at the murder scene.

The Snowman will be the first foreign production to benefit from the government’s newly launched tax incentive for film and TV production. “I know that it was important for the production that this scheme be in place,” says Hallstein Bjercke. However, the Norwegian Film Institute is concerned that a project such as The Snowman could exhaust the funds allocated to the scheme in one go. Association Director Sverre Pedersen said that if a production at half a billion chooses Norway and spends 200 million there, then the entire 40 million pot will be gone.