For years, fans of Michael Haneke have hit their nearest arthouse to experience his perverse, cold-blooded, darkly humorous pictures. Now, the filmmaker is joining the throngs who are headed to television, for a project that truly sounds unlike anything he’s done before. If some have dismissed “Happy End” for playing the hits, so to speak, well Haneke has something truly original — at least for him — on the horizon.
The director has teamed with FremantleMedia’s UFA Fiction to create his first ever TV series, “Kelvin’s Book.” The ten-part series will be in English, is set in a dystopian world, and will tell the adventurous story of a group of young people in a not too distant future. During a flight, they are forced to make an emergency landing outside of their home and are confronted with the actual face of their home country for the first time.
It sounds a bit like the premise for your standard YA novel mixed with “Lost,” but we’re sure in Haneke’s hands it’ll be something utterly singular. Even more, it looks like the filmmaker isn’t done commenting on the current fascination with digital technology.
“No contemporary director has moved and inspired me more than Michael Haneke. ‘Kelvin’s Book’ is an extraordinarily rich, gripping and ambitious story. With contemporary themes and a reflection of the digital age that we live in, there’s no better time for this project. We’re privileged to be working with the esteemed Michael Haneke to bring his creative and unique vision to international audiences,” said Nico Hofmann, CEO of UFA
However, there are some big questions that still need to be answered regarding the project. Who’s writing the script? And is Haneke just creating the project and sticking around as an executive producer, or will he be rolling up his sleeves to direct some or all of the episodes? At any rate, Haneke is pretty excited to be making something on a bigger canvas.
“After ten TV-movies and twelve films, I wanted to tell a longer story for once,” he said. We can’t wait to see what comes of this.
