Beautiful 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' Promo Art From Designer Neil Kellerhouse Appears

by Cory Everett
September 17, 2011 4:21 AM
12 Comments

David Fincher's upcoming adaptation of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is one of the biggest question marks of the fall. Will it be an Oscar contender, a franchise movie for adults, or is Fincher just seizing the opportunity again to take advantage of a major studio to make something a bit more subversive than they were expecting? We were not fans of the original Swedish films so there should be plenty of room for improvement here, though the jury is still out from the eight minutes of footage we saw the other night.

One thing we are sold on is the film's marketing campaign, which so far has been every bit as impressive as last year's indelible push for "The Social Network." The teaser trailer (first "leaked" by the studio) never fails to give us goosebumps every time we see it in the theater and the teaser poster shot by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and designed by Playlist favorite, graphic artist Neil Kellerhouse, is every bit as striking.

We spoke to Kellerhouse a few months ago about the controversial 'Tattoo' artwork and whether he was surprised Fincher was able to get away with the nudity on the poster. He said, "He’s been true to his personality, he’s unwavering that way. I don’t think there’s any surprises at all. He was very up front about it the whole time." He also said he hoped to be working on the final artwork for the film and here we have our first look at some of that work. Kellerhouse said he creates sometimes hundreds of images for a film before settling on a final look with the director so while this isn't an official poster, it is a damn cool image. The image, which you can see below, debuted on the "unofficial" Tumblr site for the film, Mouth Taped Shut, along with some behind-the-scenes and other odds and sods.

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” opens on December 21st.

More: Films, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

12 Comments

| Reply
Tai | September 23, 2011 2:12 AMReply

SPOILER ALERT on previous comment! Sorry I didn't warn sooner.
Tai | September 23, 2011 2:10 AMReply

"I am really hoping the storyline to this filmed isnt messed around with like Fincher’s Fight Club because that would seriously piss me off. The Swedish version was fairly close to the book but I know americans like to “sugar coat” everything to make it much more appealing. "This isnt meant to have a happy ending much like fight club was never meant to have a happy ending so i sure am hoping Fincher doesnt resolve the story so everyone can come out being all happy about it because that simply is not the point of the novel so it shouldnt be the point of the film(.)"

@Renay: I wouldn't exactly call the ending to Fight Club happy. I mean, it DID end w/ the destruction of all credit structures and everything. The world wasn't going to be a lovely place after THAT. I'm gonna give Fincher the benefit of the doubt. None of his movies after Se7en have disappointed me...yet.
Susan | September 19, 2011 8:29 AMReply

Oh look another poster for this movie where the lead male is FULLY CLOTHED. No nipple shot, can't scare away the fanboys now can we? Nope, keep sticking to the nuddie shots of the lead actress so they can jerk off to it. Because a movie about a strong female can't be sold to the fanboys without degrading the actress with nuddie shots of her while keeping the male dressed and looking in charge. Fanboys have fragile egos.
Renay | September 19, 2011 3:13 AMReply

I am really hoping the storyline to this filmed isnt messed around with like Fincher's Fight Club because that would seriously piss me off. The Swedish version was fairly close to the book but I know americans like to "sugar coat" everything to make it much more appealing. This isnt meant to have a happy ending much like fight club was never meant to have a happy ending so i sure am hoping Fincher doesnt resolve the story so everyone can come out being all happy about it because that simply is not the point of the novel so it shouldnt be the point of the film
linda prendergast | September 18, 2011 7:53 AMReply

Books were awesome! Swedish version of first book was great,don't think they will find actress here as good. I am looking forward to Fincher's version but doubt it can be as good.
ian | September 18, 2011 6:50 AMReply

The American version will be a lot better than the Swedish version. David Fincher is awesome
Jax | September 18, 2011 6:46 AMReply

I thought the Swedish films were pretty good, Noomi Rapace was definitely the highlight. The Fincher one judging by the poster with Salander topless looks ironically like a film by, for and about "Men Who Hate Woman".
Tara | September 18, 2011 5:46 AMReply

The Swedish version wasn't great, and thats partly due to the fact that it was pieced together from a made for TV mini series. It lacked a certain amount of cohesiveness and missed so much detail. I'm hoping the US version improves upon these points. It looks promising based on the promo so far, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it'll be better over all. Also, Daniel Craig is an actor that actual fits the role much better than the Swedish actor....he's ruggedly handsome, witty and smart, and I would want to sleep with him....just saying! ;-)
Mike | September 18, 2011 4:53 AMReply

I too was disappointed with the Sweedish films. The first was ok; the next two stunk. Considering the greatness of the books, the movie adaptations were letdowns. Not nearly enough suspense and at times downright dull. I'm sure Fincher's version(s) will be better.
Meg | September 18, 2011 3:58 AMReply

Woah, wait, you didn't like the Swedish version? What makes you think that the American version would be better?
Tim | September 18, 2011 2:18 AMReply

what? no, not at all. have you ever seen a film by david fincher? he IMPROVES movies based on books (Fight Club).
joantas | September 18, 2011 2:12 AMReply

I saw the Swedish version and I thought it was great.I know the US version will suck because they will sugar coat it.The Swedish people know how to make a movie.Most likely the only good thing about the movie will be Daniel.