Vikingdom, the Malaysian produced movie based on an old Viking poem, had its world premiere in Malaysia on Thursday 12 September 2013. It stars among others the half-Norwegian, half-Malaysian actress Natassia Malthe in a love story with the main character Eirick, played by Australian actor Dominic Purcell, who must defeat one of the most powerful Roman Gods in order to ensure his people’s way of life is not destroyed.
To take down Thor (the God of Thunder who owns that powerful hammer), Eirick must, literally, go through hell and face all sorts of demons and impossible challenges.
To make the Malasian produced film visually take place in cold Norway, the film is heavy with computer-generated imagery – or CGI – orchestrated by director Yusry Abdul Halim.
In an interview with The Star, Yusry Abdul Halim says:
“The thing is, Vikingdom is about a Viking, so it’s supposed to take place in a Viking land, but we shot the whole movie in Malaysia. So, we had to change the background, add soldiers, create monsters and a lot of things that have never been done before.”
Director Yusry Abdul Halim (extreme left) with the cast of Vikingdom at the start of filming – (from left) Jon Foo, Purcell, Natassia Malthe,Craig Fairbrass and Conan Stevens.
Most of the film was shot in sound stages in Kuala Lumpur, with some outdoor locations including Shah Alam, where a massive battle scene was filmed.
Yusry noted that this may be the first time anyone attempted to shoot a Viking-based story in a tropical country.
“Everything is either rebuilt physically or on a computer,” said the director.
“We can always shoot this in Australia or the United States, but a studio is still a studio. And, I thought our outdoor location was good enough as we can add-on via post-production and pass it off as Scandinavian climate.
“Overall, I am happy with the visual effects in Vikingdom. I am pleased with it.”
Vikingdom which opened in cinemas nationwide on Thursday 12 September is set for a US release on 4 October will also be distributed to Australia and New Zealand.
Brynna (Malthe) confronts Eirick as they journey away from home.
Read original interview here:
