Renny Harlin drops out of $20m Mannerheim

Finnish Hollywood-director Renny Harlin has pulled out of  the €12-14 million ($17-20 million) Mannerheim, Finland’s so far most expensive feature to be staged with his Finnish producer, Solar Films’ Markus Selin. ”I simply lost my faith in the project,” Harlin told local daily, Ilta-Sanomat.

According to Harlin, whose latest film, 5 Days of August with Rupert Friend, Val Kilmer and Andy Garcia will be released on June 5, he has declined several offers for other films because he thought ”now is the time”. He also said he planned to develop his own version of Mannerheim within the next three years.

Selin, who co-wrote and produced Harlin’s international break and Hollywood ticket, Born American, aka Arctic Heart (1986), was not available for comment. Per the Finnish press, the production of the film will go ahead as planned, with a new director attached; Selin would announce further early June.

Harlin’s come-back to Finnish filmmaking, the bio-pic of Finnish president Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, has been on and off several times since it was announced in 2000, mainly due to financial problems. Most recently it was reported back on track and ready to shoot at Hungary’s HCC Studios, with new German backing.

With a cast including Mikko Nousiainen (Mannerheim), Irina Björklund, Pamela Tola, Laura Bim, Peter Franzén, Ville Virtanen,  Kari Väänänen and Esko Salminen, the portrait of the Finnish soldier and statesman is scripted by Heikki Vihinen, Marko Leino, Mika Karttunen and Mikko Alanne.