Saturday, November 9, 2013

Danish film 'The Idealist' shoots in Texas

Pictured: Thomas Bo Larsen, Søren Malling, Peter Plauborg, Christina Rosendahl; photo credit: Christian Geisnæs



High-profile Danish film The Idealist films at the University of Texas this coming week and is expected to also lens a bit in Dallas. Main shooting is in Denmark and Sweden.

According to Variety, the story "revolves around a nuclear disaster that erupts during the Cold War, and its subsequent international cover-up.  Pic will follow an everyday man who fights to break the silence and unveil the truth."
 
It's based on true events:

"Near the American Thule Air Base, Greenland, January 21, 1968: A US Air Force B-52 bomber carrying four hydrogen bombs is abandoned by the crew after a cabin fire and crashes on to sea ice in the North Star Bay, causing the conventional explosives aboard to detonate and the nuclear payload to rupture and disperse.

A couple of days later the Danish and US governments announce that the incident is under control – no need to worry about violation of Danish sovereignty, nuclear weapon policy or radiation danger. Meanwhile hundreds of Danish workers at Thule are mobilised for a gigantic cleanup operation; after eight months all traces of the smashed aircraft and the plutonium contaminated snow have been removed.

18 years later a Danish young radio journalist, Paul Brink, is approached by one of the former Thule workers, who argues that a colleague’s mysterious skin disease was caused by the cleanup effort. Brink is skeptical, but as it turns out that other participants in the operation across the country are struggling with the same disorder, he confronts government agencies with his suspicions. The silence is deafening."

UT-Austin stands in as the National Archives. Christian Rosendahl is directing and also co-wrote the script. The cast includes noted Danish actors Soren Malling (A Hijacking), Peter Plaugborg (Borgen) and Thomas Bo Larsen (The Hunt)