Netflix has unveiled the first footage of The Electric State, an adaptation of the narrative art book by Simon Stålenhag. The story takes place in 1994, in the aftermath of a battle between humanity and artificial intelligence that ended in a devastating stalemate. The people who died were buried; the automatons who were destroyed rust away where they fell. The defeated robots have been banished to an “exclusion zone” in the southwestern desert, while human society attempts to rebuild without the help of the mechanical beings it created.

The Electric State is directed by the Russo brothers, and Joe Russo shared his thoughts on why the book resonated with them, stating: “The texture in the images was really powerful, and it felt like a story about broken families and broken people trying to find each other in a broken world.”

The film features a star-studded cast, including Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things, Enola Holmes) as Michelle, a young woman on a quest to find her lost brother, whom she had believed to be dead. Chris Pratt (Passengers, Marvel) plays Keats, a war veteran turned long-haul trucker involved in a smuggling operation with one of his former adversaries—a construction machine named Herman, voiced by Anthony Mackie (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier). The ensemble also includes Woody Harrelson (True Detective, Triangle of Sadness) voicing the leader, Mr. Peanut, along with Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones), and Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once).

The Electric State is set to premiere on Netflix early 2025.

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Lisa Ridzén has been announced as the winner of the Swedish 2024 Book of the Year Award for her runaway bestselling debut When The Cranes Fly South at the official award ceremony held at the Gothenburg Bookfair.

The award is bestowed by Bonnier Book Clubs, that sees a jury shortlist twelve candidates according to criteria of superb linguistic quality; epic reader’s experiences that are relevant for and appealing to a wide reader demographic and stories that are truly well-executed when it comes to plot, characters and milieus. The public can then vote for their favourite novel throughout a period of several months and following a huge voter engagement, Lisa Ridzén was crowned the winner.

The jury motivation read as follows:

“What a gem! 89-year old Bo moves into our reader-hearts! After his wife has moved to a dementia care home in Östersund, Bo’s loneliness is only broken up by the visits from his home care team. Fortunately he has his beloved Sixten for company – the elk hound that his son has begun talking about removing from him… A moving, thought-provoking and tender tale that goes straight to the heart.”

Anja Gatu and Anna Nilsson are the winners of the Swedish 2024 Children’s Crime Fiction Award for The Cat Who Loved Me, the sixth book in The Cat Spies of Rosengard series.

The award is presented to an author who writes crime or suspense for children in the age 6-12, whose work has contributed to the development of the genre and inspired a greater interest in books and reading among children.

Motivation from the Crimetime jury:

“For a thrilling children’s detective series of the highest quality, with vibrant illustrations that enhance the joy of reading. It addresses current, and sometimes frightening, topics, but in a disarming and entertaining way. Its reflection of contemporary issues makes it stand out and hopefully reach a broader audience. The characters are clever, smart, cute, and absolutely irresistible. We love our spies in Rosengård – because after all, everybody wants to be a cat”.

Mariann Hole is a highly acclaimed and award-winning Norwegian actress, known from film and TV, as well as from theatre. She is part of the permanent ensemble at the National Theatre in Oslo, where she has performed several praised roles since her start in 2008.

Hole starred in the celebrated and awarded drama series Made in Oslo (2022), and acted female lead in the thriller series Ammo (2022). 2024 saw the premiere of HBO Max’s acclaimed comedy drama MILF of Norway in which she was given the lead role. MILF of Norway was met with great reviews, and Hole was highly praised for her portrayal of Lene.

Hole will also star as Nora in A Doll’s House at the National Theatre in Oslo this autumn.

Quisling: The Final Days, written by Anna Bache-Wiig, Siv Rajendram Eliassen and directed by Erik Poppe, saw its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and has received great reviews.

Quisling: The Final Days was shortlisted to be the Norwegian Oscar Entry.

“A superb historical drama about the far-right’s threat to democracy. /…/ In a fresh and provocative approach to the titular subject matter, Poppe and his screenwriters view it through the lens of Quisling’s prison meetings. /…/ This is a gripping cinematic experience.”
– Variety, US

“The plot and focus kept me intensely enthralled. The film is so interesting and so ingeniously made. /…/ I would not be surprised if this film is nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. The film deserves it.”
– Telemarksavisa, Norway ★★★★★★

“Afterwards, the film stuck in my mind. It challenges you perhaps in more areas than I first thought. Maybe the most dangerous people aren’t those who just appear to be evil.”
– Haugesunds Avis, Norway ★★★★★

“Quisling: The Final Days is a painful and very good film that in several sequences has me close to breathless, spellbound by the humanly incomprehensible.”
– Bergens Tidende, Norway ★★★★★

“High-level cinematography.”
– Cinema, Norway ★★★★★

“Historical drama with current relevance /…/ Anna Bache-Wiig and Siv Rajendram Eliassen’s superb script effectively discusses the obvious conflict between Quisling’s stated goals and the means he used to achieve them.”
– Filmpolitiet NRK, Norway ★★★★★

“Quisling: The Final Days is stylish and well-acted.”
– Filmtopp, Sweden ★★★★

“Impressive, thought-provoking, and forces us to ponder difficult questions.”
– Kulturbloggen, Sweden ★★★★

Killer Heat, the movie adaptation of Jo Nesbø’s The Jealousy Man from his short story collection The Jealousy Man & Other Stories, premieres today on Amazon Prime.

The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises), Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies, The Fault in Our Stars) and Richard Madden (Game of Thrones, Bodyguard) and follows two twin brothers (Madden in a dual role as he portrays both twins) who are caught up in a violent love trianglewith the enigmatic Penelope Vardakis (Woodley). The plot thickens when a detective, known as The Jealousy Man, played by Gordon-Levitt, is called in to investigate a man (Madden) who might or might not have murdered his own twin.

Directed by filmmaker Philippe Lacôte, the script is developed by House of Gucci writer Roberto Bentivegna and Bridge of Spies’ Matt Charman.