04.02.04
It's kaput after all. I got a response from James Merendino yesterday:

Me: So what's the latest info on the production of "The Swedish Job"? Has filming begun yet? Is Lena Olin still in it?

James: No and No... We are all doing other bigger things... Thank you :)

01.03.04
In an e-mail director James Merendino said filming will begin in March with Lena on board.

08.25.03
From the director, on the IMDB messageboard:

"As it is in Hollywood, we were making the film in connection with a company that was putting up the money. That company has failed to live up to their prromise for reasons of their own and it is not uncommon.

But, being a savey Director, I have backed up the film with three other company's who would love to make the film. We are closing our deal with the new company and will be making the movie over the winter..l. December. We like this better as we would like to take advantage of the fact that it is cold and Dark then. We think this will make the Florisda part of the movie funny as the hitmen are coming from one of the sunniest warmest places on the planet to One of the coldest and darkest.

Thank you all for your concern.

As for Lena. She is outr of the loop as she has to do her TV show. But, by the time we get it all toogether fro the Winter I'm sure she will also be available again and we will ut her back in the film at her pleasure.

The rest of the cast will probably remain more or less the same.

james Merendino"

08.25.03
A translated article from Swedish site Aftonbladet.

"Olin can forget about her "Swedish Job"
Message last night: The Swedish –American movie is cancelled. The Swedish-American big movie "The Swedish Job" should have been made in Stockholm this autumn with a lot of stars. But yesterday Lena Olin recived the sad news: "There will be no movie" Holllywood-stars like Harvey Keitel, Billy Bob Thornton and Freddie Prinze Jr was ready for "The Swedish Job". The Swedish US-export Lena Olin had also signed for the movie – as well as the homestars Mikael Persbrandt and Maria Bonnevie.

Olin disappointed
The making of the movie has been postboned several times but now it is confirmed that the project has been cancelled. – My agent called me from Los Angeles this afternoon and told me that there will be no movie, revealed a disappointed Lena Olin to Aftonbladet last night.

"Different ways of working"
She hasn’t any direct explanation of why but had a theory: - I think it is very difficult with this kind of international co-productions. You have completely different ways of working. She will hardly be unemployed despite the disappointment with "The Swedish Job" - Unfortunately I can’t talk about it but I have an exiting project going on in New York this autumn, says Lena Olin.

Vacation
She and her husband Lasse Hallstrom are in Sweden on vacation, but already tomorrow the autumn work starts for director Hallstrom. Then he will recive the first rawcutting of his coming movie "An Unfinished life" with among others Jennifer Lopez.
-She is really nice to work with and talented, she says about the star.

08.25.03
A translation of Swedish newspaper Expressen's article:

"The motion picture "The Swedish Job" is cancel. Yesterday evening the actress Lena Olin was informed by phone. - It's sad. It would have been really fun to film in Sweden, she says.
-It's a shame. That is one of the things I miss about Sweden - to work with Swedish (Collegues), she says. In the future she hopes to take a bite at swedish [writers] texts again.
- And I would like to work with a guy like Lukas Moodysson. When my son called and told me about "Lilja forever" I cried, I was that touched. It would be really exciting to work with the new generations of writers.

08.07.03
In an e-mail the director said that the young Swedish actor Mikael Persbrandt is playing the character Lena's character cheats with. And funnily enough, he is the real life finace/husband of Maria Bonnevie the actress who plays her daughter in the film. Here's a pic of the two of them.

07.25.03
In an e-mail from director James Merendino, he answered my question about what role Lena will be playing in the film.

"She is playing Maria Bonavie;s mother... Charater name Monica. She is cheating on her husband when we find her in the story and has a bad relationship with her daughter."

And in an e-mail to Mary in Oz, he stated that Lena's role is a major one, and she will be speaking both English and Swedish in it

Here's the initial artwork for the movie courtesy of Straight Edge Productions.

07.20.03
On the Internet Movie Database messageboard, Merendino wrote:

"The film is not a remake or a sequal to anything. It is a comedy, crime, crazy story by Will (Monster;s Ball) Rokos. He is amazing.

The plot is a bit complicated. A women and her boyfriend, kill her Husband and steal three million mob dollars from him, being that he doesn't need it anymore. They fleee to her native contry, Sweden.

Her father is watching and trying to understand why her mother is having an affair with a bingo parlour owner... this is the bergman oart of the story.

meanwhile the real owner of the money, the mob boss of south beach florida sends his biggest guns to find the girl and her boyfriend. This big gun has a boyfriend. Together ther team up with an eastern europian gypsy thug and a british and swedish ganster to track down the runaway couple.

In Stockholm - The girl stays with her cousin as she tries to lauder the money through a swedish bank by screwing the manager. back at the flat her mother arrives. (Their relationship is in the toilet.) While calling eachother sluts... The ganster's show up. Then the big gun's young lover betrays him and after a struggle, the boyfriend and the big gun fall off the balcony and the girl takes the money and calls her father, who is bonding with his wife's lover.

The big Gun leaves the hospirtal to get what he came for and the father and the wife's lover head toward the girl's cousin's flat. They all colide in a bloodbath of both physical and emotional violence. I know it's all confusing.. if you have questions... you can go to my site straightedgeproductions.net or to the fan site where there is real gossip jamesmerendino.com or email me at jmerendino@mac.com"

"There is a very large Swedish side to the plot. The real fun is it's rib poke at Bergman... It has nothing to do with the british original or the re-make of The Italian Job... We may change the name of this film to Swedes.
Will Rokos wrote the scrit eight years ago. I got involved after I saw Monsters Ball - Will Wrote that as well."

"I will be filming this movie in about five weeks, Josh Jackson will be taking Freddie's (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) place."
- IMDB Messageboard

07.03.03
On his website James Merendino, the director of this upcoming movie has said that it's a dream cast as far as he's concerned. "I can't believe that I will soon be shooting a picture with Harvey Keitel and Lena Olin."

Also, the movie was originally scheduled to being filming in Stockholm on Aug. 11th. "The date has been pushed back several weeks as director Merendino and producer Janet Yang are back in Los Angeles looking for more cast members to support Harvey Kietel and Lena Olin. Merendino feels the setback is 'minor and not unusual in anyway. Nor does it portend anything negative for the film.' "
- Straight Edge Productions