THE KING'S CHOICE

Directed by Erik Poppe
(Paradox Film/Nordisk Film)

I worked as the Production Visual Effects Supervisor on "The King's Choice", which was the Official Selection (Norway) at the 2017 Academy Awards®. The movie is an important part of the Norwegian WWII history and being historically correct was a big task, also of the visual effects work. We recreated several parts of Oslo city as it looked back in 1940, the attack and the sinking of the German war ship Blücher in the fjords outside Drøbak, as well as the battles at Midtskogen and plane attacks in Nybergsund. The visual effects work was done by Windmill Lane VFX, Storyline Studios, Varg Studios and Rune Spaans. The movie received the Amanda Award (Norwegian Academy Awards) in 2017 for Best Visual Effects.

THE KING'S CHOICE – TRAILER

Based on extraordinary true events, Erik Poppe's superbly-realised box office hit is an absorbing story of morality and honour set during a pivotal moment in World War II, when an unprepared Norway was invaded by German forces and their monarch presented with a terrible ultimatum. Copyright © Paradox Film/Nordisk Film.

THE BLÜCHER ATTACK

The sinking of the German war ship Blücher in the fjords outside Drøbak close to Oslo, needed a lot of research to get right. The CG sequence was created by Windmill Lane VFX in Dublin. We shot plates at the actual location at Oscarsborg Fortress for reference. I worked for a long time to map out the events step-by-step, and talked to people who had family and friends who were eyewitnesses to the actual event. The attack is also very well documented in several books, and all this was crucial to get the sequence as accurate as possible. Due to budget restrictions we had to omit a few elements, but to date it is the most historically correct depiction of how the sinking truly happened. A keystone event in Norwegian WWII history. Here are a few slides from my research: