Ben Hamilton
January 3rd, 2019

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Is comedian Anders Matthesen emerging as Denmark’s answer to Seth MacFarlane, the creator of ‘Family Guy’?

Very possibly, according to the reaction to his animated film ‘Ternet Ninja’, which he not only directed, but wrote, animated and provided most of the voices for.

New one-week record
The film sold 345,947 tickets in the week following its release on December 25 – a new one-week record for a Danish film.

Written as a follow-up to his 2004 film ‘Terkel i knibe’ – a 2010 attempt to Anglify it bombed in the US, taking just 350 dollars in its opening weekend – this time around Matthesen had help directing the film from  Thorbjørn Christoffersen.

Oscar winner dead at 97
One of Denmark’s most acclaimed animators, Børge Ring, has died at the age of 97 in the Netherlands. Ring won an Oscar in 1984 for the best animated short film with ‘Anna and Bella’, which was made in Dutch – the language he learned to speak after moving to the Netherlands in 1952. Ring was also a noted composer and many Danes will fondly remember his flute piece from the popular ‘Valhalla’ cartoon series in the mid-1980s. As a freelancer he had an eclectic client base that included the rock group Pink Floyd for whom he made onstage visuals.

Pornography pioneer dead at 84
Ole Ege, who is best remembered as being a pioneer of pornography, has died at the age of 84. Ege, who was no stranger to making illegal erotic films before the legalisation of pornography in 1969, embraced the genre in the 1970s, making some of the country’s most successful films. He co-founded Museum Erotica on Købmagergade in the centre of Copenhagen, which opened in 1992 and proved to be extremely popular with the public and tourists, remaining open until 2009.

Painting the prince as a proper geezer
Kasper Eistrup, a former member of the Danish band Kashmir, has talked to DR about his experience painting a portrait of Crown Prince Frederik. “For a long time, it looks like shit,” he said about the portrait. “But you just have to keep on going back and continue working on that shit, until it turns into eyes.” The portrait was finally revealed in mid-November, although it was not the official portrait to mark the prince’s 50th birthday, as that was painted by Australian artist Ralph Heimans. With his work, Eistrup was adamant that he would do it his way: “I wanted to paint the man – [sitting alone] on a large sofa as he has some big shoes to fill.” Frederik apparently approves.

Queen and king of hip-hop popping over … not together
The queen of hip-hop herself, Nicki Minaj, is coming to Copenhagen to play at the Royal Arena on March 1. Tickets start at 320 kroner. While Phlake, who some might say is her male counterpart, will be gracing the venue on November 9. Ticket prices start at 275 kroner. Also coming to Denmark is Angie Stone. The soul diva will be appearing at Store Vega on October 26. Tickets cost 410 kroner. All of the mentioned tickets are available at ticketmaster.dk.

‘Bird Box’ breaks records and some viewers’ patience
Susanne Bier’s latest film ‘Bird Box’ was streamed 45 million times over the seven days following its release on December 21 – the most successful ever opening week for a film shown on Netflix. Nevertheless, some critics have been harsh, indicating the film is a love it or hate it kind of affair. ‘Bird Box’ has a current score of 52 on Metacritic.