"Kon Tiki" premieres in the U.S.

The Norwegian film "Kon Tiki" opens in theatres in LA and New York today, Friday. The movie is expected to screen in 400 theatres across the U.S.

"The Weinstein Company's strategy is to start out carefully, and then increase the number of movie theatres," says the producer of "Kon Tiki,"Aage Aaberge to Aftenposten.

Although the exact number of theatres screening the film has not been confirmed, both Aaberge and the Norwegian Film Institute expect that the gradual increase will end up at about 400 theatres.

The movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who distributes the film in the U.S., has cut down the length of the movie by 17 minutes to make room for even more drama, action - and sharks.

"The movies over here generally have a slightly faster pace than they do at home, to say the least," says co-director Espen Sandberg.

There was a pre-screening at the Paris Theater in New York on Monday evening, and lead actor Pål Sverre Hagen has already been in New York for a week. Despite the level of attention the film gets in the U.S. these days, he says he doesn't have certain expectations to its performance in American theatres.

However, he hopes that the shark scenes won't scare too many Americans. "I think us Norwegians seem to handle it with a bit more calm and dignity than the Americans, who have been traumatized by Steven Spielberg's "Jaws," says Hagen.

"Kon Tiki" was nominated for both the Golden Globes and the Oscars earlier this year.

(Aftenposten)

Julie Ryland