Stellan Skarsgård sees the worth in having an excellent meal, particularly whereas on set. The actor stated through the Karlovy Range Movie Competition, by way of Selection, that he opted to take a half-million kroner pay minimize (about $50,000 USD) for Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Worth” to make sure the crew acquired good lunches from craft companies.
“I wasn’t presupposed to be [an executive producer] at first, however I stated, ‘I’d by no means movie in Norway with out having a particular contract.’ After [Erik Skjoldbjærg’s 1997 film] ‘Insomnia,’ I gathered the entire crew and stated, ‘I’ll by no means movie on this nation once more – except we get an excellent lunch,’” Skarsgård stated. “I misplaced eight kilos on ‘Insomnia.’ We might often get a loaf of bread, that’s pre-sliced, and a plastic salami. That’s it! I’ve made different movies in Norway since then, nevertheless it has at all times stated in my contract that everyone ought to get lunches of the very best European commonplace. And that’s costly. Norway, they’re the richest nation, however they don’t need to spend cash on meals.”
Skarsgård’s poor expertise on “Insomnia” led him to take issues into his personal arms for “Sentimental Worth,” which received the Grand Prix at Cannes 2025 and is already a 2026 Oscar contender.
“I went down, I feel, half 1,000,000 kroner in my wage to pay for this, for the meals for everyone,” he stated. “And the producer stated, ‘You’ll get credit score for that.’ Additionally, the meals must be served on actual china – no plastic, paper luggage or no matter. And also you’re not standing in line, you sit down and eat. It makes everyone happier and makes the movie significantly better. I haven’t made one dangerous movie in Norway since.”
Skarsgård in contrast his style for meals to his style for movies, saying, “There’s lots of people who restrict what they eat. ‘I’m not consuming meat,’ they are saying. I eat all the pieces. I’ve this urge for food for all times, but additionally, it’s not a style that makes the movie dangerous. It’s laziness. The American movies I’ve made, they have been made by actually good administrators. Like ‘Ronin’ with John Frankenheimer, ‘Dune’ with Denis Villeneuve or my first Marvel movie. Sadly, I had to join 4 of them. However the first one was directed by Kenneth Branagh!”
He continued, “They’re legitimate tasks, even when they’re part of the massive system. What’s dangerous concerning the system is one thing that has to do with the neo-capitalistic society we reside in, the place all the pieces is owned by funding corporations. Like when AT&T, a fucking phone firm, took over Time Warner. A phone firm! And the pinnacle of AT&T, he stated to the HBO folks: ‘Now you stop this kind of arty-farty shit and begin doing lighter fare so we will get our 15%.’ That’s horrible.”
Learn IndieWire’s latest interview with Skarsgård about “Sentimental Worth” right here.
