Lars Von Trier Begins Shooting His Next "Melancholia"
To mark the beginning of production of his new film Melancholia, Danish director Lars von Trier met the press in Sweden earlier this week. Sitting in front of a packed gathering at Film i Väst’s Trollhättan studios in Western Sweden, where von Trier is shooting for the fourth time, the director and his stellar cast – father and son Alexander and Stellan Skarsgård, Kiefer Sutherland, Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg – remained very discreet about the film’s plot.
“There is a wedding and melancholia, but I don’t want to say any more than that,” offered von Trier in his usual monosyllabic and enigmatic way. Revealing little more than the fact that Alexander Skarsgård will marry Dunst and their union will end dramatically only a few days after the ceremony.
However, US actor Sutherland added that Melancholia will have a “brutal honesty”, which he particularly likes in the director’s films. He also said that he loved “filming ‘live’, without any rehearsals”, a first-time experience in his career.
Dunst, who plays Gainsbourg’s sister, described Melancholia as a “poetic film”. The psychological disaster movie started shooting on July 22 and filming will last until September 8. The film will be delivered for next year’s Cannes Film Festival, where the iconic Danish filmmaker’s work has won numerous awards in the past, including Best Actress for Gainsbourg in 2009’s controversial Antichrist.
Melancholia is produced by Denmark’s Zentropa in co-production with Sweden (Memfis Film), France (Slot Machine) and Germany (Zentropa International Köln).
TrustNordisk has already pre-sold the film to over 20 territories, including Italy (BIM), Germany and AustriaConcorde) and Switzerland (Frenetic).
http://dearcinema.com/news/lars-von-trier-begins-shooting-his-next-melancholiaLars Von Trier Leaks Details About "Antichrist" Follow-Up
PARIS—Lars von Trier offered a trademark few words to describe his new opus on Tuesday — but one of them stuck. Asked to describe the visual style of "Melancholia," which has begun shooting in the Swedish city of Trollhättan and is due for release next year, the Danish director said: "Shit." Von Trier quickly added, “No, I hope not. But a little shittier than the one I did before.”
Few will forget that last work, "Antichrist," which shocked Cannes before earning female lead Charlotte Gainsbourg the festival's best actress award last year. The story of a couple secluding themselves in a forest cabin named "Eden" to overcome the grief over the death of their son — only to cryptically be possessed by nature’s evil and descend into madness and harrowing genital mutilation — was born in part from the difficult depression from which von Trier was suffering at the time.
The notoriously capricious director was mum about the plot for his self-scripted "Melancholia," which production company Zentropa has described as a psychological disaster movie with an end-of-the-world scenario. Still, not too many people will die, at least not on screen, according to the producers.
“I have a plan and nobody will ever find out what the plan is,” a playful von Trier told the audience of 60 frustrated — though hardly surprised — journalists who had traveled from across Europe to query him and his cast. “It’s a story about two sisters and a planet,” von Trier revealed. “Kirsten [Dunst] is getting married, but only for a short while, of course.”The lucky on-screen husband will be Alexander Skarsgaard (perhaps best known from the HBO series "True Blood" and "Generation Kill"), whose father Stellan Skarsgaard also appears in "Melancholia." Kiefer Sutherland will play the leading man, joined by an intriguing cast of thespian talents and cult favorites, among them John Hurt, a returning Charlotte Gainsbourg, Charlotte Rampling and Udo Kier.
Dunst is the latest Hollywood star invited to descend into von Trier’s convoluted universe, following the paths of Nicole Kidman ("Dogville") and Willem Dafoe ("Antichrist"). Penelope Cruz was reportedly also in talks with von Trier for the role before deciding to favor the fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie.
“I’m afraid of what I can say and can’t say,” noted a smiling Dunst. “You can say anything, come on,” replied von Trier. “We don’t rehearse," Dunst volunteered. "It keeps things really alive.” http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/35335/lars-von-trier-leaks-details-about-antichrist-follow-up/
And previous rumor did happen for a reason. 
