Disney to Release 'Centenarian Who Climbed Out The Window' in Nordic Territories

COLOGNE, Germany - The Walt Disney Company Nordic has picked up rights across Scandinavia for The Centenarian Who Climbed Out The Window and Vanished, an adaptation of the comic novel from Swedish writer Jonas Jonasson, which has become a best-seller across Europe.

NICE FLX, a joint venture between Swedish producers NICE Drama and FLX2.0, are adapting the book, in which a 100-year-old man absconds for a month-long road trip around Sweden — a journey that takes him back through the history of the 20th century. Principle photography is set to begin this fall in Sweden and Eastern Europe for a planned Christmas 2013 release.

Veteran Swedish TV helmer Felix Herngren is attached to direct, with Herngren, Henrik Jansson-Schweizer and Patrick Nebout producing.

Walt Disney will bow the film in the Nordic territories and has an option for the international rights for the finished film. The deal was brokered at the European Film Market in Berlin last week by producer Nebout and Eric Brogerg, general manager of motion pictures at Walt Disney Nordic.

Already a criticial and commercial hit across Scandinavia, as well as Germany, Italy, France and Spain, The Centenarian is set to be published in the U.K. and the U.S. through Disney's Hyperion imprint.