Over the last 40 years, Renny Harlin has carved out a career as one of Finnish cinema's most successful filmmaking exports, turning his hand to all m
Over the last 40 years, Renny Harlin has carved out a career as one of Finnish cinema’s most successful filmmaking exports, turning his hand to all manner of movies from genre classics including Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, and Cutthroat Island to more recent fare such as Deep Water and Samuel L. Jackson action vehicle The Beast. But having blazed his own trail as a European filmmaker who cracked Hollywood, Harlin has today unveiled Harlin House, an electrifying recent production company purpose-built to facilitate open the door for emerging and future directors from across Europe.
Unveiled at Helsinki’s Night Visions International Film Festival, Harlin House — co-founded by Harlin alongside producer Johanna Harlin and M3 Global Strategy’s Max Michael — is set to give the next generation of continental filmmaking talent the mentorship and support necessary to make their moviemaking dreams a material reality. At the heart of the company is the Harlin House Fellowship, which will see Fellows develop their projects alongside Harlin and the company’s advisory board, whose impressive cohort includes Jurassic World‘s Colin Trevorrow, Deadpool‘s Tim Miller, and Minions duo Kyle Balda & Janet Change Balda. The plan is for the company to make its first film next year, with at least two films expected to arrive the following year, and seven to ten films aiming to be produced over its first five years with any luck.
“I know what it means to arrive from Europe with a story to tell and no clear path into Hollywood, ” said Renny Harlin in a heartfelt statement accompanying Harlin House’s launch. “Helping another filmmaker find that path is a central part of this company’s mission.” If the Fellows and films of Harlin House can emulate the success of its founder, then the future is looking vivid indeed for a whole recent swathe of European talents to break through and follow in the great Finn’s footsteps. And to that we simply say ihana!
