An affair, a bunch of rowdy cricket fans, and a death on board.
Ruben Östlund has spiced up his upcoming flight drama with a bit of everything. However, he himself is looking forward to a scene where nothing happens at all.
For almost 15 minutes.
It's half-joking, but also serious. I want to create a scene that gets the most people ever to leave the cinema at the Cannes film festival, says the star director.
"The entertainment system is down", which will be filmed this spring, takes place almost entirely on board a Boeing 747, i.e., a jumbojet.
As the title reveals, the entertainment system on board has stopped working, forcing passengers to spend the long flight socializing with each other.
After the acclaimed "Triangle of sadness", the team joked that the next film would be simpler and filmed in Ruben Östlund's backyard.
Instead, it turned out to be the exact opposite, notes producer Erik Hemmendorff.
I don't know if I dare say it. But it's a four-month shoot, so the budget is around 270 million kronor, he says.
Bought a jumbojet
The money will be used, among other things, for the hundreds of extras needed to fill the plane.
But they have also gone towards buying a jumbojet in England and transporting it in parts to Budapest, where the interior is now being rebuilt.
To be able to plan the scenes in advance, the plane has also been built virtually. It has given completely new possibilities, notes Ruben Östlund.
He puts on VR glasses and shows around the plane.
Keanu Reeves will sit here. And here, the family, where Daniel Brühl and Kirsten Dunst play the parents, will sit, he explains.
Third Golden Palm?
Ruben Östlund won the Golden Palm at the Cannes film festival for both "The Square" (2017) and "Triangle of sadness" (2022). Now, the aim is set on a new hit in 2026.
If the audience can make it through the film.
For one of the scenes may be too much for some, hopes Ruben Östlund.
A girl has to wait a quarter of an hour to get to use the family's tablet. It opens up for a scene where the audience gets to follow her restlessness in real-time – without interruptions.
It can even give the infamous puke scene in "Triangle of sadness" a match, he thinks.
Although there's no conventionally provocative content, it's going to be the most provocative thing I've done, I think.
