‘Easy Money’ gets Scorsese’s seal of approval in new trailer

Just in time for its North American re-release, the 2010 Swedish crime drama "Easy Money" is getting a serious endorsement from one of America's top crime directors. Renowned filmmaker Martin Scorsese has given "Easy Money" - originally titled "Snabba Cash" - his official seal of approval by attaching "Martin Scorsese Presents" to the Weinstein Company distributed film.

In a TWC press release, Scorsese went on the record to say how "deeply impressed" he was by director Daniel Espinosa's "Easy Money," calling the crime thriller "a film to be reckoned with." That's no small thing coming from the guy who has made some of the most critically acclaimed crime films of the past forty years, including "Taxi Driver," "Goodfellas," and "The Departed." The Weinstein Company is obviously hoping that Scorsese's crime movie clout will help sell the Swedish-language film to North American audiences. The Weinstein brothers employed a similar strategy at their former company Miramax, using the "Quentin Tarantino Presents" branding to market Chinese martial arts films like "Iron Monkey" and "Hero" to great effect.

Based on the 2006 novel by Jens Lapidus and directed by Espinosa ("Safe House"), "Easy Money" is a multi-layered crime drama that stars Joel Kinnaman ("The Killing") as JW. An economics student with a bright future, JW becomes wrapped up in drug dealing and organized crime in an attempt to maintain his lavish lifestyle and win the heart of a rich girl. Living beyond ones means by engaging in criminal activity usually doesn't end well, no matter what the intentions.

Watch the trailer for "Easy Money" below.

The Swedish thriller helped ignite the Hollywood career of filmmaker Espinosa. Following in the footsteps of other Swedish exports like "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "Let the Right One In," Espinosa's crime drama turned heads on this side of the pond and helped him score a gig directing the Denzel Washington/Ryan Reynolds action-packed "Safe House."

But Epsinosa wasn't the only one to benefit from the success of "Snabba Cash." Much like "Dragon Tattoo" led to Hollywood's discovery of "Prometheus" star Noomi Rapace, "Snabba Cash" also gave Espinosa's leading man, Joel Kinnaman, a bit of an international career boost. In addition to becoming a regular on AMC's hit series "The Killing" (ironically based on a Scandinavian TV show "Forbrydelsen") and having a bit part in "Safe House," Kinnaman was recently cast as Officer Alex Murphy, the titular character in MGM's "Robocop" reboot.

"Easy Money" itself is slated for the Hollywood remake treatment. "17 Again" star Zac Efron is set to produce and act in an adaptation of Lapidus' book for Warner Bros. As for the Swedish-language version, the film will have a limited North American theatrical release on July 27. Fans of Kinnaman and/or "Safe House" should definitely check it out.

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