The Boss of It All

The Boss of it All
Danish theatrical movie poster
Directed by	Lars von Trier
Produced by	Meta Louise Foldager Vibeke Windeløv Signe Jensen
Written by	Lars von Trier
Starring	Jens Albinus Peter Gantzler Friðrik Þór Friðriksson
Release date(s)	8 December 2006
Running time	99 min.
Language	Danish Icelandic English Russian

The Boss of it All (Danish: Direktøren for det hele) is a 2006 Danish comedy film written and directed by Lars von Trier.^[1]

Plot

The owner of an IT company wishes to sell it. But, for years, he has pretended that the real boss lives in America and communicates with the staff only by e-mail. That way, all the unpopular decisions can be attributed to the absentee manager, while all the popular ones to him directly. But now, the prospective buyer insists on meeting the big boss in person. In a panic, the owner hires a failed, over-intellectualizing actor to portray this imaginary boss, and the actor proceeds to improvise all his lines, to the consternation of both the buyer and the company staff, who finally get to meet their ghostly boss.

Cast

• Jens Albinus as The Boss of It All / Kristoffer / Svend E
• Peter Gantzler as Ravn
• Friðrik Þór Friðriksson as Finnur
• Benedikt Erlingsson as Interpreter
• Iben Hjejle as Lise
• Henrik Prip as Nalle
• Mia Lyhne as Heidi A.
• Casper Christensen as Gorm
• Louise Mieritz as Mette
• Jean-Marc Barr as Spencer
• Sofie Gråbøl as Kisser
• Anders Hove as Jokumsen

Critical reaction

The reaction to the film has been rather positive. Scoring a 75% average on Rotten Tomatoes, it has become von Trier's most critically acclaimed work since 1996's Breaking the Waves scored an 84% average. The film was also nominated for two Bodil Awards, three Robert Festival Honours and the Golden Seashell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. Mia Lyhne won the best supporting actress award at the Zulu Awards in 2007.

Remake

On February 23, 2011, it was announced that Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz was remaking The Boss of It All for Universal Pictures with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer producing.^[2]

References

1. ^ Hjort, Mette; Jorholt, Eva; Redvall, Eva Novrup (2010). The Danish Directors 2: Dialogues on the New Danish Fiction Cinema. Intellect Books. pp. 295. ISBN 9781841502717. http://books.google.com/books?id=0Trq5MTxm0IC&pg=PA295. Retrieved 14 October 2010. 
2. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a305492/arrested-creator-remaking-von-trier-film.html

External links

• The Boss of It All at the Internet Movie Database
• The Boss of It All at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Director Interviews: Lars von Trier, The Boss of It All at Filmmaker Magazine
• 'I'm a control freak – but I was not in control' – interview with von Trier
• Slave to cinema – interview with von Trier