Iceland review - 2002, Page 10

8 ICELAND REVIEW
SHORT CUTS
Ph
o
to
s:
H
u
g
sj
ó
n
, P
ál
l S
te
fá
n
ss
o
n
.
ICELAND’S SAGA IN SILICONE
The Saga Museum opens in
the Pearl
The history of Iceland has been dressed up
in rags and riches, given silicone implants
and brought to life in the Saga Museum,
which opened in one of the hot-water
tanks in the Pearl last July. The museum
shows very realistic silicone figures from
Iceland’s history, like Snorri Sturluson and
Leifur the Lucky, stuck in a decisive
moment of time. A CD guide tells visitors
the story of each figure and gives a good
overview of the history of Iceland.
THE FORBIDDEN DANCE
The ban on private dances
at strip clubs is in effect
The ban on private dances in strip clubs in
Reykjavík and Akureyri came into effect on
the 1st of August. The bans have caused
much controversy, with strip club owners,
congressmen, and politicians battling it
out in the press. The towns of Keflavík and
Kópavogur are now debating whether
they should follow the example of the cap-
itals of the north and south, or choose
another route to follow.
ICELAND’S IN THE IN-CROWD
Young Brits think
Iceland is cool
Young Brits between the ages of 18 and 30
think Iceland is one of the ‘coolest’ coun-
tries in Europe, according to a recent poll
taken by the British marketing company
Superbrands. The article on the web-site
edition of BBC news states that this age
group considers Italy to be the ultimate,
cool European country. Iceland, England
and Spain tie for second place. However,
Germany is in the ‘honorary’ place, mean-
ing the lowest on the list.
NJÁLSSAGA RE-ENACTED
Njálssaga, the television series, is coming soon to a Scandinavian home near you
The film company Njálssaga began production on a television series based on Njálssaga. The first episode was
filmed in August, in Rangárvallasýsla district (south Iceland), where the saga actually took place. The other
episodes, ten in total, will be filmed in the years 2004 and 2005.
The Njálssaga project has been very well received. In addition to Iceland’s RÚV national television, all the
state television channels in Scandinavia have bought the broadcasting rights to the series.
Among the actors in the new television series are Ingvar E. Sigurdsson as Njáll himself, Hilmir Snær
Gudnason as the strong and handsome Gunnar of Hlídarendi, Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir as Gunnar’s cruel lover
Hallgerdur Langbrók, and Halldóra Geirhardsdóttir as Bergthóra. Björn Brynjólfur Björnsson will be directing
the series.
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