‘We Will Push Acting to Levels Not Seen in a While,’ Says Ruben Östlund About Next Movie, as New Joachim Trier, Tarek Saleh Pics Are Unveiled in Cannes

variety.com:

Annika Pham Back in Cannes a year after presiding over the main Cannes jury, the two-time Palme d’or winner Ruben Öslund unveiled more details about his next mega-project, English-language “The Entertainment is Down,” which he said should be ready for Cannes 2026.

The press conference, attended by the hottest talent and producers from the Nordic region and beyond, was hosted by Film i Väst, one of Europe’s largest regional film funds.

Making his usual rock star appearance, flanked by actors Kirsten Dunst and Daniel Brühl, Östlund unveiled more details about “The Entertainment is Down”, to be shot entirely on a real 747 airplane, bought by the producers for the movie. ”I was in London doing some casting and Erik [Hemmendorff, producer and partner in the Swedish banner Plattform Produktion] was in Northern London looking for airplanes.

A few days later I asked: ‘Did you buy it?’ And he said: ‘Yes!’ That was quite early in the process. I said: ‘Oh, Then we do have to make it!” Trying to justify the extravagant spend for what will be – as usual- a major European co-production led by Plattform, with their long-time partners Philippe Bober (The Co-Production Office) and Film i Väst, Östlund said: ”What I love about our set up, is that all the money is invested in making the movie – days of shooting etc.” ”We wanted to have a real airplane because very often, when you watch an airplane movie, characters are put in a corner, pretending to be on a big flight but we don’t really see it.