The Story behind the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and others at the Olean Public Library

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The Millennium trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest)  by Swedish author Stieg Larsson (1954-2004) is the literary phenomenon of the last decade, with 15 million books sold worldwide, 25 translations in over 40 countries, and a movie that is blasting box-office records in Scandinavia and several European countries.

 This film portrait of Stieg Larsson reveals the story of an outstanding success – a worldwide phenomenon who at the age of 50, died from a sudden heart attack before his first novel was even published. This triumph is analyzed by close friends and relatives of Stieg Larsson; by his publisher, his journalist colleagues and by various professionals who have worked on the films, including leading actors Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist who play Lizbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist.

Stieg Larsson’s life gives us an insight into how he became the author we have come to know.  The child who grew up in a humble environment, amid hostility and strife, went on to become a dogged and forthright journalist.  He published six books on particularly-cherished subjects: democracy, violence against women, racism, and death threats against journalists on account of their beliefs.  This latter subject was particularly dear to him after he and a number of his colleagues were personally threatened after creating a magazine determined to combat the rise of the Extreme Right-Wing and racism.

Stieg Larsson stood his ground, refusing to be silenced by fear.  The only compromise he made was refraining from marrying his girlfriend in order to protect her.  This decision affected her adversely after his death as it led to a highly publicized fratricidal inheritance war.  Larsson would have probably looked down on such behavior as he had always advocated respect for others and fought against the corrupting power of money, this becoming the only cloud cast on an otherwise amazing and unexpected Scandinavian success story of colossal proportions.

The film is made available via Music Box Films. This event is free and open to the public. The Olean Public Library is located at 134 North Second Street, Olean , NY . For more information please call (716) 372-0200 or visit the library website at www.oleanlibrary.org or the film website at http://dragontattoofilm.com