Fox, Insurgent Backing Rory Culkin’s ‘Lords of Chaos’

Twentieth Century Fox and Insurgent Media have partnered with Vice Films and Chimney Pot to finance crime story “Lords of Chaos,” starring Rory Culkin.

The project was first unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival in May with Swedish film and music-video director Jonas Akerlund helming the English-language film. It centers on the Norwegian heavy metal band Mayhem, known for violent stage performances and the 1993 murder of guitarist Øystein Aarseth (also known as Euronymous) by former member Varg Vikernes.

Production companies are Vice Films, Insurgent, Scott Free, Kwesi Dickson, Chimney Pot, and Eleven Arts. Fox has taken rights to North America, U.K., Scandinavia, and Brazil.

Culkin will play Euronymous. New cast members include Emory Cohen as “Varg,” Jack Kilmer playing “Dead,” Valter Skarsgård playing “Faust,” and Sky Ferreira as “Ann-Marit.”

Akerlund was the original drummer of the metal band Bathory and directed music videos for Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Maroon 5, and Beyoncé. He also directed “Spun,” starring Jason Schwartzman, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy, and John Leguizamo.

Vice’s Danny Gabai said, “This is a wildly freaky story that our audience has been obsessed with for years, and Jonas’ brilliantly imaginative take on it is simultaneously one of the most uniquely entertaining and beautifully humanistic scripts we’ve seen in a long time. We couldn’t be more excited to be working with Fox, Insurgent, and Scott Free on this and can’t wait to unleash it on the world.”

Producers are Vice’s Gabai and Jim Czarnecki, Insurgent’s Ezna Sands, Scott Free’s Jack Arbuthnott, Chimney Pot’s Fredrik Zander and Dickson, and Eleven Arts’ Ko Mori. Executive producers are Vice Films’ Eddy Moretti, Shane Smith, and Vince Landay, Insurgent’s Ashley Richardson, and Scott Free’s Carlo Dusi.

Vice’s “The Bad Batch” won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Protagonist is handling international sales on “Lords of Chaos.”

Culkin is represented by Paradigm. Cohen is repped by CAA, Harvest Talent Management, and Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Klein. Kilmer is repped by CAA and Principato Young Entertainment. Skarsgård is repped by Paradigm, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Agentfirman planthaber/kildén/mandic. Ferreira is represented by Mosaic.

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