On 'Headhunters,' Stieg Larsson and Martin Scorsese: A Q&A with Jo Nesbø

Jo Nesbø is in a good mood, and why not: Headhunters, the Norwegian adaptation of his standalone thriller about an art-thieving corporate recruiter, has become the country's biggest box-office export and a genuine international hit. We spoke about the film, the L-word comparisons, and what's next for Harry Hole.

On Headhunters' success, Nesbø credits director Morten Tyldum's ruthlessness: 'The book has jokes I love. Morten cut them. He was right.' He kept no veto over the adaptation — his rule, he says, is sell the rights or keep the book, never both.

On the inevitable Stieg Larsson question, he's gracious and slightly weary: the two get shelved together because both are Scandinavian and translated, 'like saying two Norwegians are the same person because they both ski.' Larsson wrote rage, he says; 'I write appetite.'

And Harry Hole? Martin Scorsese is attached to The Snowman, which Nesbø calls 'surreal in the best way.' (History note: Scorsese ultimately stayed on as executive producer, with Tomas Alfredson directing the 2017 film — and Tyldum, the man who cut the jokes, went on to an Oscar nomination for The Imitation Game.) The film that started it all is cataloged here.