Having endured a difficult time on the American remake of his own 1994 thriller NIGHTWATCH, he returned home to create arguably his best work in 2002’s big-budget I AM DINA. Fun genre flick THE SUBSTITUTE and controversial Sundance hit JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY are both set for US reinventions, while his latest incendiary offering DELIVER US FROM EVIL shows that he has lost none of his edge.

With an adaptation of Dean Koontz’s bestselling novel The Husband in the works, Ole took time out to speak candidly with us.

Are you thankful that you didn’t end up in the National Film School, where Dogme is preached?
It has made my approach to filmmaking freer than some of my colleagues. I respect my colleagues, but I also think it’s rare to find people in Scandinavia that are capable of thinking outside the box. Drama is drama. The only rule for drama is that it is dramatic. Why is it that so many films adopt small human conflicts? Why aren’t the stories trying to get somewhere else, rather than just inside the kitchen, like Tomas Alfredson’s LET THE RIGHT ONE IN? The first 10 minutes you think, “Jesus, this little kid is actually pretty boring.” The more you get into it, though; you understand that it’s actually perfect. He’s such a dry, tormented kid. Isn’t it wonderful that you can see this film in Scandinavia? The pace is very Scandinavian but the story, which is definitely outside the box, is so crazy.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS BEING ASKED IN THIS INTERVIEW:

• You’re making Danish movies that are trying to bridge the gap between Europe and Hollywood. Are you at a point now, where you want to shift the European sensibility more to the States?

• Your films have always looked beautifully realised up on screen, in conjunction with visionary cinematographer Dan Laustsen. How does the relationship work between the two of you?

• Joachim Holbek’s score for JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY is an integral element in the film’s success. How important is the music, together with the visuals, in the whole aesthetic?

• What’s your take on the way films are being constructed at the moment?

• It’s almost like these directors are trying to outdo each other with spectacular shots, instead of using them sparingly where it’s inherent to the development of the story like the car crash scene in JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY. It had me gripped throughout…

• You appear to have a love/hate relationship with the press and public in Denmark when it comes to your films. Does it irk you that they continually find ways to pick at your work?

• How do you juggle the writing and directing when you’re progressing through each stage?

• Focus Features recently signed you to do an adaptation of Dean Koontz bestselling novel The Husband…

• You seem to be a one-man movie machine at the moment, Ole. What other projects are on your slate for the rest of the year?

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