Tommy Wirkola
Tommy Wirkola | |
|---|---|
Wirkola in 2013 | |
| Born | 6 December 1979 Alta, Norway |
| Education | Bond University |
| Occupations | Film director, screenwriter, producer, actor |
Tommy Wirkola (born 6 December 1979)[1] is a Norwegian filmmaker. He is known for his film work in hybrid thrillers that combine horror, action and satire, including Dead Snow (2009) and Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014), which were both selected for the Sundance Film Festival.[2]
For his hybrid genre-focused work, he has won numerous awards and nominations. Dead Snow won the and was nominated for four Scream Awards including Best Horror Film. Dead Snow 2 won him Best Film at the Horror Film Festival, Best Director at the International Fantastic Film Festival and Best Screenplay as well as Best Film at Alamo Drafthouse's Fantastic Festival in 2014. What Happened to Monday was nominated for Variety's Piazza Grande Award at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2017. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) was nominated for the People's Choice Award for Best Horror Film. Violent Night (2022) was nominated for Most Outstanding Stunt Performance at the ACTRA Awards as well as for Best Original Score at the International Film Music Critics Awards and at the Reel Music Film Festival.
Career
Wirkola is of Sami-Finnish ancestry.[3]
His first film was 2007's Kill Buljo, which he co-wrote with Stig Frode Henriksen.[4] They later collaborated on the 2009 horror comedy Dead Snow,[5] the 2010 mockumentary Kurt Josef Wagle and the Legend of the Fjord Witch,[6] and the 2014 sequel to Dead Snow, Red vs. Dead.[7][8]
In 2012 Wirkola directed & produced the television comedy series Hellfjord. Consisting of seven thirty minute episodes, the series is about an Oslo police officer who is banished to a small village after accidentally killing his police horse.[9]
Wirkola's first English-language, large-budget film, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, was released in 2013 to mainly negative reviews. Starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton, the film was nevertheless a financial success, grossing $226.3 million worldwide on a budget of $50 million.[10][11]
What Happened to Monday, a science fiction film starring Noomi Rapace and Willem Dafoe, and the dark comedy The Trip, also starring Rapace, were released in 2017 and 2021 respectively.
Wirkola's next film, Violent Night, a dark comedy starring David Harbour as a vigilante Santa Claus, was released in December 2022.[12] The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $76.6 million worldwide.[13]
Wirkola co-directed the 2024 animated musical sex comedy Spermageddon, a dual narrative focusing on both a teenage couple having sex for the first time and Simen the Semen and his friends in a quest for the Egg.[14]
In May 2024, it was announced that Wirkola had signed with Columbia Pictures to develop a survival thriller titled Beneath the Storm, with Phoebe Dynevor cast in the lead role.[15] That August, principal photography began in Australia, with Whitney Peak and Djimon Hounsou joining the cast.[16] In March 2025, the film was renamed Shiver.[17]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Editor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Remake | Yes | No | No |
| 2007 | Kill Buljo | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2009 | Dead Snow | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2010 | Kurt Josef Wagle and the Legend of the Fjord Witch[18] | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2013 | Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2014 | Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2017 | What Happened to Monday | Yes | No | No |
| 2021 | The Trip | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2022 | Violent Night | Yes | No | No |
| 2024 | Spermageddon | Yes[a] | Yes | No |
| 2026 | Thrash † | Yes | Yes | No |
| Violent Night 2 † | Yes | No | No |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Remake | Attendant 2 |
| 2007 | Kill Buljo | Sid Wisløff |
| 2009 | Dead Snow | Dying Zombie |
| Tomme Tønner | Gjørme-Knut | |
| 2013 | Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters | Deputy #4 |
Accolades
| Year | Work | Awards | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2009
|
Toronto After Dark Film Festival Audience Awards
|
Best Feature Film | Winner | |
| Best Horror Movie | Nominee | |||
| Best Foreign Movie | Nominee | |||
| 2010 | Best Innovation | Nominee | ||
2014
|
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters | Favorite Horror Movie | Nominee | |
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival Choice Awards
|
Audience Award for Feature Film | Winner | ||
| Best Director | Winner | |||
| Best International Film | Nominee | |||
Fantastic Fest Gutbuster Comedy Features Awards
|
Best Picture | Winner | ||
| Best Screenplay | Winner | |||
| Best Screenplay | Winner | |||
Toronto After Dark Film Festival Audience Awards
|
Best Feature Film | Winner | ||
| Best Film to Watch with a Crowd | Winner | |||
| 2017 | What Happened to Monday | Locarno Film Festival | Variety Piazza Grande Award | Nominee |
Notes
- ^ Co-directed with Rasmus A. Sivertsen
References
- ^ "Nå hopper Wirkola av". DN.no. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ^ Fouché, Gwladys (2 February 2009). "Dead Snow cashes in on the vogue for film Nazis, with added snow". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
- ^ Kautto, Hanne (5 September 2012). "Pihla Viitalalla iso rooli Hollywood-leffassa". yle.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ Kill Buljo – Dimension Extreme Archived 14 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "DØD SNØ – crossingEurope". Crossingeurope.at. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ^ Juan of the Dead (26 February 2010). "The Director Of DEAD SNOW And KILL BULJO Takes The Piss Out Of First-Person Horror With KURT JOSEF WAGLE AND THE LEGEND OF THE FJORD WITCH". Twitchfilm.net. Archived from the original on 1 March 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ^ "Director Tommy Wirkola Talks HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS and DEAD SNOW". Collider. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ^ Kevin Melrose (12 February 2013). "Wirkola Plans Dead Snow Sequel". Spinoff.comicbookresources.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ^ "Hellfjord". fantasticfest.com. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- ^ "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ New Scribe to Sweeten 'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters'
- ^ McCall, Kevin (14 September 2022). "David Harbour's Holiday Flick 'Violent Night' to Screen at NYCC". Collider. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ "Violent Night (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ Del Don, Muriel (19 June 2024). "Review: Spermageddon". Cineuropa. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (13 May 2024). "Phoebe Dynevor to Star In Shark Thriller For Sony; Tommy Wirkola Directing". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
- ^ Gajewski, Ryan (14 August 2024). "Phoebe Dynevor Shark Thriller From Tommy Wirkola Gets Title and Summer 2025 Release". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik; Tapp, Tom (24 March 2025). "Sony's Shark Thriller Starring Phoebe Dynevor Surfaces With New Title & Year-Later Release Date; 'Street Fighter' Off Schedule". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
- ^ Turek, Ryan (26 February 2010). "Dead Snow Director Returns With Fjord Witch". ShockTillYouDrop. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2014.