Later this month, the English-language Hollywood remake of the outstanding Swedish film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's juggernaut bestseller THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO opens in cinemas.
Crime fiction fans around the world seem to have very mixed feelings about this latest Hollywood effort to cash in on foreign creativity, and make it more accessible/palatable for a wider (ie American) audience who perhaps aren't too keen on subtitled films, no matter how good.
Will Rooney Mara be able to provide a performance as Lisbeth Salander in the same league as Noomi Rapace, who set the bar so very high and seemed to embody Larsson's creation? Does the fact that terrific director David Fincher is involved give sceptics more hope than if other Hollywood heavyweights had been involved? Ditto for screenwriter Steve Zaillian? We'll all just have to wait and see.
Unless, that is, we were lucky enough to attend the world premiere in London this week. Like renowned crime fiction afficianado and commentator Ali Karim, who has written and edited for the likes of The Rap Sheet, Shots! ezine, January magazine, Crimespree magazine, and many other specialist crime fiction publications. People think I've interviewed a tonne of crime writers, but I've got nothing on Mr Karim, who has been at the forefront of crime fiction commentating for many years.
Now, Karim has shared his thoughts on the English-language remake on The Rap Sheet:
"Let me say that I enjoyed the original Swedish version directed by Niels Arden Oplev, so I was intrigued to see what the Americans might accomplish with the same material. I was not disappointed, as this new version is, in a word, mesmerizing."
Karim has much more to say about the film, and you can read his full review here.
So, are you looking forward to seeing a new version of Larrson's blockbuster? Comments welcome.
From moody to magical: Rooney Mara is a far cry from her dark on-screen heroine as she attends The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo UK premiere in an elegant white dress
She plays a dark and disturbed young girl who wears black, is covered in tattoos and piercings and is extremely introverted.
But Rooney Mara couldn't have looked any more different to her on-screen heroine as she arrived at the UK premiere for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo tonight.
Mara, who plays the moody computer-hacker Lisbeth Salander, looked elegant and beautiful as she dazzled on the red carpet outside the Odeon Leicester Square in London.
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Ice queen: Rooney Mara looked very festive in her long lace and chiffon white dress as she arrived at the UK premiere of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Elegant: Mara looked stunning in the white dress which showed off her slender frame to perfection
Mara, 26, stopped for the cameras as she showed off her long white dress made from lace and chiffon and which clung to her slender frame perfectly.
Her dark hair was swept back into an elegant bun at the back of her head and she patiently stood for the flashbulbs as an assistant fussed around below her, spreading out the fishtail bottom of her dress.
Partners-in-crime: Mara was joined by her co-star Daniel Craig, who plays journalist Mikael Blomkvist
Blink and you miss it: Craig did manage to flash a grin for the photographers as he made his way inside the cinema
The young actress was joined by her co-star Daniel Craig, who plays journalist Mikael Blomkvist, and looked smart and sexy in his black suit, although he barely managed to raise a smile throughout the evening.
But unlike his on-screen sidekick, who was exposed to the cold London night, Craig, 43, kept warm in a thick black leather jacket as he posed for pictures with Mara.
Who's got the prettiest shoes? Stellen Skarsgard poses with his co-star Joely Richardson and his wife Megan before the ladies show off their footwear
Sisters: Joely, who wore a strange scaly dress, and Geraldine James, play on-screen siblings and were at the screening
Other stars of the film attended, including Stellen Skarsgard, who arrived with his wife Megan, Joely Richardson, Geraldine James and Steven Berkoff.
Stellen, 60, plays businessman and murderer Martin Vanger, Joely plays Anita Vanger while James plays her sister Cecilia who has an affair with Blomkvist, while Berkoff plays lawyer Dirch Frode.
The bad guys: Yorick Van Wageningen and Steven Berkoff also attended the premiere of their new film
The crew: Craig, Mara and Skarsgard posed inside the cinema with director David Fincher (far right) and writer Steven Zaillian (far left)
Yorick Van Wageninge, who plays Salander's rapist guardian Nils Bjurman, was also there along with director David Fincher and screenwriter Steven Zaillian.
The film is a remake of the 2009 Swedish adaptation of the award-winning, critically acclaimed Millennium books trilogy.
The original starred Michael Nyqvist, who plays Blomkvist, and Noomi Rapace, as Salander, and was made into a trilogy and all three films were released within nine months.
Happy couples: A very pregnant Sam Taylor-Wood came along with fiancé Aaron Johnson while last year's X Factor winner Matt Cardle attended with girlfriend Sarah Robinson
West End Girls: Made In Chelsea stars Francesca Hull and Gabrielle Ellis put on their finest for the red carpet event
The film also stars Christopher Plummer as Henrik Vanger, Robin Wright as Erika Berger and Goran Visnjic as Armansky, but none of them were at the screening.
In keeping with the novel, the original is quite a dark and violent film and Fincher said he wasn't planning the softly-softly Hollywood approach for his version, which has been rated 18 in the UK and R in the US.
It is released in the US on December 21 and in the UK on Boxing Day.
The latest issue of W magazine has actress Rooney Mara in full Lisbeth Salander mode on the cover, as part of a large feature on the upcoming David Fincher English-language adaptation of Stieg Larsson's worldwide phenomena of a book/series. As W magazine says in the introduction to its "exclusive first look from the set of the year's most anticipated film", Fincher, "the darkly obsessive director" of Fight Club and The Social Network - perhaps last years biggest or best film - has now taken on "the biggest franchise since Harry Potter".
Internationally, Rooney may be facing something of an uphill battle as Salander (given that Noomi Rapace was so pitch-perfect brilliant in the role in the Swedish-language films), but for American audiences (in particular) who may not have bothered with the subtitled films, the photos from the latest issue of W show that there is perhaps quite some potential there. And with David Fincher (FIGHT CLUB, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, etc) at the helm, things may not be so bleak for the film as those in the anti-remake camp may have it.
You can see a 9-picture slideshow of Mara in Salander mode on the W magazine website here. You can also read the interesting full article by W magazine's Lynn Hirschberg here.
Hat tip to Jeff Pierce of the excellent The Rap Sheetfor the heads-up.
What do you think? Are you looking forward to the English-language version?
