Magnolia Pictures Let The Right One In Press Kit

All of the following material is from the Magnolia Pictures press kit for Let The Right One In. The press kit is available in a zip file from Magnolia’s web site here.

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Lina Leandersson in LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, a Magnet Releasing film. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.	Lina Leandersson in LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, a Magnet Releasing film. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.
Kåre Hedebrant in LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, a Magnet Releasing film. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.	Ika Nord in LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, a Magnet Releasing film. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.
Kåre Hedebrant in LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, a Magnet Releasing film. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.	Tomas Alfredson, director of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, a Magnet Releasing film. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.
Theatrical poster for LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, a Magnet Releasing film. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.

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Production Notes

MAGNET 6-SHOOTER #1
www.sixshooterfilmseries.com

EFTI & Magnolia Pictures
Present

A Magnet Release

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

A film by Tomas Alfredson
114 min., 1.85:1, 35mm

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SYNOPSIS

A fragile, anxious boy, 12-year-old Oskar is regularly bullied by his stronger classmates but never strikes back. The lonely boy’s wish for a friend seems to come true when he meets Eli, also 12, who moves in next door to him with her father. A pale, serious young girl, she only comes out at night and doesn’t seem affected by the freezing temperatures.

Coinciding with Eli’s arrival is a series of inexplicable disappearances and murders. One man is found tied to a tree, another frozen in the lake, a woman bitten in the neck. Blood seems to be the common denominator — and for an introverted boy like Oskar, who is fascinated by gruesome stories, it doesn’t take long before he figures out that Eli is a vampire. But by now a subtle romance has blossomed between Oskar and Eli, and she gives him the strength to fight back against his aggressors. Oskar becomes increasingly aware of the tragic, inhuman dimension of Eli’s plight, but cannot bring himself to forsake her. Frozen forever in a twelve-year-old’s body, with all the burgeoning feelings and confused emotions of a young adolescent, Eli knows that she can only continue to live if she keeps on moving. But when Oskar faces his darkest hour, Eli returns to defend him the only way she can …

Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson weaves friendship, rejection and loyalty into a disturbing and darkly atmospheric, yet poetic and unexpectedly tender tableau of adolescence. The feature is based on the best-selling novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist.

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LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

1982. A country that keeps going despite everything. Despite the February cold which has made the landscape come to a halt, frozen the water in the lakes and made the branches on the trees as tense as violin strings. The birds have flown to somewhere less desolate and the bears are sunk in deep sleep. Cities keep going in spite of it all.

The shimmering green of the street lights keeping the darkness at bay over salted and gritted streets. The oil from a distant land burning in the boiler rooms of the concrete blocks.

The people who live there. Preserving the hope of the exact opposite of all this. Coming home, taking off their damp winter boots, acrylic jumpers crackling over their heads, snagging nylon tights, burled wall to- wall carpet, all that humming electricity.

The hardworking mothers in the suburbs, the faithful fathers scraping the frost off their SAAB’s, the children who regardless of the darkness get up at seven and head off to school where they all dutifully finish their plates of liver.

Everyone reads one of two news papers in the morning, one of two at night, watches one of two news shows in which politicians go on about that submarine which ran aground off the coast. Two ways of thinking, red or blue. How do they stand it, those who live there in spite of it all? The people who don’t turn to each other for warmth, who hold their tongues and turn their backs for fear of cracking into pieces like statues, for fear of killing each other?

When I read John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel Let The Right One In last summer I knew that I absolutely had to share this story on film. It’s a feeling you only get with one script or novel in a hundred. Most of the time there are parts of the material that grab me, a feeling here, a detail there, and urge to get my greedy hands on it and start rewriting. This time it was different. This is a story which is both grand literature and a fantastic drama. Despite the depressing background of a leaden grey Sweden, the harsh social conditions, the bullying and the bloody violence, I see it as a romantic love story with a hopeful and happy ending. I see the same dynamics between the dark background and the light foreground as in the stories of Charles Dickens, or the classical writers of horror, for that matter.

This is an entertaining film rich in social pathos and an in-depth knowledge of mankind, capable of attracting a mass audience without being flat or calculating. I also believe that its unequivocal Swedishness lends it great opportunities for international success.

Tomas Alfredson | Director

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LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR

My script is about being lifted out of the darkness by love. About going under and suddenly being rescued by a helping hand. A totally unexpected helping hand. It’s about a boy, Oskar. Intimidation and living in a dysfunctional home has made his life hell. He’s 12 and he wants revenge.

Above all it’s a love story. Of how Eli’s love releases Oskar, how she makes him look upon himself in a different light. Not as the scared one, not as the victim. How she gives him courage to stand up for himself. But Eli is a vampire. A real one, one that lives on blood. The title touches on what I think is the most interesting moral aspect on vampires. They have to be invited to get to you …

My stories are not excesses in blood and gore. It’s naturally there, but above all I try to describe how people react when faced with the Unknown. Our reality is sheer and fragile. We live our lives seeking happiness. And at the same time … a vague sensation of that all can be taken away from us, at any moment. A very thin veil divides us from the fall, the monster, the deafening darkness. Or love. The Unknown. What happens when it enters our lives? What do we do?

Let the right one in, is a very romantic story featuring strong violence, supernatural elements and a happy ending, played out in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg in 1982.

To put it simple:
“Can I come in?”
“Please let me in.”
“Come in.”

John Ajvide | Author and Screenwriter

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A BEST-SELLING NOVEL

Let The Right One In was first published in Sweden in 2004. The book, with its unusual mix of romance, horror and suburbia was very well received and shortly ended up on the bestseller-list. The author, John Ajvide Lindqvist is a former stand-up comedian, magician and writer of TV scripts.

So far Let Right One In has been sold to 12 countries:

COUNTRY	PUBLISHER	RELEASE
Norway	Damm & Son	2005
Holland	Signature	2006
Denmark	Forum	2007
Australia	Text publishing	2007
New Zeeland	Text publishing	2007
Italy	Marsilio	2007
Poland	Jacek Santorski	2007
Finland	Gummerus	2007
Spain	Escapa/Calpe	2007
Germany	Lübbe	2007
Great Britain	Quercus	2007
USA (as Let Me In)	St Martins Press	2007

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LETTER FROM THE PRODUCERS

When we read this novel we were totally captivated by it. It was quickly made apparent that we weren’t the first to have envisioned the film while reading the book though. The publisher sounded a bit fed up by the time we got through to him. We sent the book to director Tomas Alfredson, who immediately was interested, and we then contacted the author, John Ajvide Lindqvist, directly.

So far there had been over twenty requests from Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the US for the right to turn John Ajvide Lindqvist story into a film. Somewhere along the line however, we found that we shared a common vision, making this one of the most exciting Swedish film project in years. This is a deeply gripping love story between an insecure and victimized 12-year old boy and mysterious girl far from the ordinary. Oskar and Eli journey into unknown territory when they fall in love.

While she is everything he’s not- strong and assertive, he is something she can never be- human, normal. They’re both forced to fight for their love and to make crucial choices regarding their future. Oskar’s acts of defiance and Eli’s need for blood ultimately leads to a conflict where they’re forced to defend their lives and their will to stay together.

It’s a story about emancipation. Of how love and trust builds the foundation for personal growth and liberation. It moves along archetypical lines and contains all the classic and mythical ingredients of separation, descent, initiation and return, set in three acts. It’s a highly romantic story albeit combined with elements of finely tuned horror. The result is a unique and highly commercial product with the power to attract audiences from different age and target groups.

With Tomas Alfredson as the director, we began shooting in February 2007. So far John Ajvides’s book is being released by major publishing houses in no less than 12 territories, including Germany, Great Britain and the U.S. For us that’s a clear signal of the power in this finely crafted story. We have had well-founded economic basis for the project, with the terms clearly set out for all parties involved.

We have had the highest demands in terms of artistic quality and great faith in the commercial strength of this project. We are convinced that with our help Tomas and John Ajvide Lindqvist, have created an unforgettable film which will attract large local and international audiences at the cinema, on DVD and on television.

Carl Molinder and John Nordling | Producers, EFTI

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ABOUT THE CAST

Kåre Hedebrant — OSKAR
Kåre is twelve years old (born June 1995) and lives with his mother, father, nineteen-year-old sister and a cat in the outskirts of Stockholm. He attends the oldest specialized elementary school in Sweden (Adolf Fredrik´s School of Music) with singing as main subject. At school he is a member of the representative boys choir which will go on tour in central Europe during summer this year. Before playing the leading part of Oskar in LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, Kåre played the title role in a theatrical production of one of Astrid Lindgren´s children’s books. He likes to spend his spare time with his friends, reading comics or playing the piano and guitar. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is Kåre’s first appearance in a feature film.

Lina Leandersson — ELI
Lina goes to school in Falun, Sweden. She will turn 13 in September. Lina lives with mother Pernilla, stepfather Johan and two sisters. She loves to dance and spend time with her friends. She feels that the most exciting thing to happen in her life so far was to work on LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. This is Lina’s first appearance in a feature film.

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ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

TOMAS ALFREDSON – Director
Tomas Alfredson started his movie career by working as an assistant at Svensk Filmindustri. He spent a couple of years directing music videos and another couple of years starting up Swedish television channel TV4. At TV4 Tomas was part of building the entertainment department and initiated several long term successes such as “Fort Boyard”.

After his time at TV4 Tomas spent the next few years at SVT, the Swedish public broadcaster, with popular television series such as “Ikas TV-kalas” and entertainment show “7 till 9” together with legendary television producer Bo Rehnberg. In the early nineties Tomas directed his first television series for SVT´s drama department, “Bert”, a hugely successful family entertainment series. When the popular character was taken to the big screen in 1995 in Bert – den siste oskulden (Bert — The Last Virgin), Tomas was nominated to a Guldbagge Award for best director (the official Swedish film award, awarded annually since 1964 by the Swedish Film Institute).

By the end of the nineties Tomas became part of Killinggänget (a Swedish comedy group consisting of Sweden’s most prominent comedians) when he worked on their production Fyra små filmer (Four Little Films), four one-hour long, free standing films. The media satire Gunnar Rehlin – en liten film om att göra någon mycket illa, the romantic comedy Ben och Gunnar, the film about the world’s worst documentary filmmaker På sista versen and finally the mocumenatry Torsk på Tallinn that has become a television classic, winning both Swedish and international awards.

The collaboration with Killinggänget continued with the stage production “Glenn Killing på Grand – lite sång, lite dans, lite naket” and the next year the humorous web site “Spermaharen”. In 2004 Tomas directed Four Shades of Brown which was Killinggänget’s first feature film. The film was won four Guldbagge awards and Tomas was awarded best director. In the fall of 2009 Tomas will make his debut as a director at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm together with Killinggänget.

Tomas Alfredson has also had a long collaboration with author Klas Östergren which started with the critically acclaimed series “Offer och gärningsmän”, and a few years later “Soldater i månsken”. Most recently they created the 2006 Christmas calendar television show “En decemberdröm” for SVT. During 2007 Tomas directed Hur tänker hon? featuring comedian Johan Rheborg and sold out at Lisebergsteatern, Rival , China teatern and Circus.

Less known facts about Tomas are his cooking talents and that he was an awkward sing-along host together with Jonas Gardell at Vasateatern.

In 2001 Tomas Alfredson was awarded the price of the Swedish Film Critic Association and the scholarship of the Elisabet Sörenson memorial foundation.

TOMAS ALFREDSON’S FILMOGRAPHY:

2005 JULKALENDERN (Advent Calendar) (TV) SVT

2004 FYRA NYANSER AV BRUNT (Four Shades of Brown) (feature film) SFI, SVT Drama, NordiskFilm/TV Fund

AWARDED WITH:

BEST DIRECTOR, Swedish Film Institute’s Guldbagge Awards 2004

BEST FILM, Swedish Film Critics Association Award 2004

BEST FOREIGN FILM 2004 Copenhagen Night Film Festival 2004

2003 KONTORSTID (Office Hours) (feature film) SFI, SVT, SF, Film i Väst

2000 SOLDATER I MÅNSKEN (Soldiers by Moonlight) (TV) SVT Drama

AWARDED WITH:

BEST DIRECTOR, Rembrandt Award — Amsterdam 2000

BEST DIRECTOR, Golden Rockie Award — Banff Canada 2000

1999 TORSK PÅ TALLINN (Screwed in Tallinn) (TV) SVT Drama

AWARDED WITH:

GOLDEN GATE AWARD — San Francisco 2000

1999 BEN OCH GUNNAR (Ben and Gunnar) (TV) SVT Drama

1999 GUNNAR RHELIN — EN LITEN FILM OM ATT GÖRA NÅGON ILLA
(Gunnar Rehlin — A Short Film About Hurting Somebody) (TV) SVT Drama

1999 EN LITEN FILM OM DÖDEN (A Short Film About Death) (TV) SVT Drama Stockholm

1999 OFFER OCH GÄRNINGSMÄN (Victim and Perpetrator) (TV) SVT Drama

1995 BERT — DEN SISTE OSKULDEN (Bert: The Last Virgin) (TV) SVT Drama

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ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS (continued)

JOHN AJVIDE LINDQVIST — Writer
John Linqvist is a Swedish author, born 1968, grew up in Blackeberg, a suburb to Stockholm. He wanted to become something awful and fantastic. First he became a conjurer and came in second in the Nordic card trick championship. Then he was a stand-up comedian for twelve years. John Ajvide Lindqvist has written great parts of the TV series Reuter & Skoog as well as stage plays and TV drama. Let The Right One In is his first novel. It was selected as Best Novel in Translation 2005 in Norway and shortlisted for the Prize in Literature of the Swedish Radio. Let The Right One In also received the Selma Lagerlöf-prize for Literature 2008. His second novel, [sic] is currently being translated.

CARL MOLINDER — Producer, EFTI
Swedish producer, Stockholm. After Studies in business and a trainee program at Apple Mr. Molinder went on to work with Sales and Marketing. In 1994, together with producer colleague John Nordling, Mr. Molinder formed EFTI where he has been working as CEO and Producer since. EFTI has established a strong name with cutting edge TV productions such as “Knesset”, “Ulveson&Herngren” and “Late Night with Luuk,” which year after year were voted best TV show in Sweden. Mr. Molinder is responsible for producing over 400 commercials which has won EFTI numerous awards all over the world. In 2008 EFTI releases the first feature from the producer team. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, directed by Tomas Alfredson, has won several awards including the top prize at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. Currently Molinder and Nordling have paired up with Spitfire Pictures to produce the U.S remake of the film.

JOHN NORDLING — Producer, EFTI
Swedish producer, born 1961, grew up in Stockholm. Mr. Nordling has a background as a pop-promo director and TV-producer. In 1994 he teamed up with producer colleague Carl Molinder to form EFTI, a high profile Swedish production-company. The team brought several classic TV-shows on air. Both Knesset and Late Night with Luuk became legendary shows and propelled the host Kristian Luuk to stardom. In 2005 the team produced its first drama series. Ulveson & Herngren was broadcasted by SVT and received unanimous praise for its intricate layers of comedy. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is based on a Swedish bestseller and is Mr Nordling’s first attempt at feature films. The film, which is directed by Tomas Alfredson, has won a number of awards including the top prize at the Tribeca Film Festival and is sold to over 30 territories. Currently Mr. Nordling and Mr. Molinder are working on the U.S. remake of the film, which is to be co-produced with Spitfire Pictures in Los Angeles.

HOYTE VAN HOYTEMA — Cinematographer
Hoyte is a Dutch cinematographer who studied cinematography at the Polish National Filmschool in Lodz. Hoyte is now living in Sweden. Hoyte has shot several features, documentaries and successful TV series. His collaboration with Director Mikael Marcimain has won him critical acclaim and a nice collection of national and international prizes. In 2008 Hoyte got the Nordic Vision Award for cinematography in the film LET THE RIGHT ONE IN directed by Tomas Alfredsson handed out at the Gothenburg film festival. The film continues winning prizes all over the world, including the prize for best cinematography at the Montreal Fant-asia [sic] festival and the main prize at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Hoyte continues shooting features and occasionally commercials.

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EFTI | THE PRODUCTION COMPANY

EFTI is a Stockholm-based production company with a history in TV, commercials and drama. The company was founded in 1994 by Carl Molinder and John Nordling.

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is our first feature project. Several other features are in development due to be released 2009 and onwards. The aim is to establish EFTI a major provider of quality drama on the Nordic as well as the international scene. Over the years EFTI has attracted a great deal of gifted talent and have an unique network of contacts within a wide range of sectors in Sweden and abroad.

EFTIs catalogue include 15 major television series and over 400 commercials. We have made our mark with entertainment programs such as “Knesset,” “Pentagon,” “Eurovision Song Contest 2000,” “Grammy Awards,” “Superklasse” and “Varldens Humorkvall” (Unicef Comedy Night).

The talk show “Sen kväll med Luuk” (Late Night with Luuk), currently taking a long break, has been our greatest success in terms of audience figures, with 17 seasons under its belt and numerous awards.

“Ulveson & Herngren” (SVT Drama) was the first example of EFTIs new focus on drama. The show is a mockumentary-style look at the production of a comedy show starring Felix Herngren and Johan Ulveson, two of Sweden’s major comedians.