Ryan Wiik
Ryan Wiik | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gunnar Ryan Wiik September 23, 1981 |
| Occupation(s) | actor, producer, entrepreneur |
| Years active | 2005 - present |
Gunnar Ryan Wiik (/ˈvɪk/; born September 23, 1981), also known as Ryan Wiik, is a Norwegian actor, producer and entrepreneur. In 2007, Wiik made his Hollywood debut with a small role in the thriller, Timber Falls. In 2008 Wiik founded a film development company, Without You LLC, which in 2009 was acquired by WR Films Entertainment Group Inc. In 2011 Wiik’s company acquired the motion-picture rights to all 83 books in the Morgan Kane Western series by author Louis Masterson.[1]
In October 2013, it became known through the press that Wiik will star as the title role in the film Morgan Kane, although it now looks like that role is up for grabs. As of late November 2016 Wiik has been removed from the movie's cast according to IMDB.com.
Early life
Gunnar Ryan Wiik was born on September 23, 1981, in Hamar, Norway. He is the only son of Tore Bjærke Johansen, a business owner, and Sissel Elisabeth Wiik, a speech therapist. His parents divorced when he was a child, and he and his older sister lived with their mother in Hamar, Norway.
As a teenager, Wiik played basketball and golf on national levels in Norway. His ambitions to pursue a professional sports career were ended by a major back injury.
While living in Spain and working as a real estate agent in 2002, Wiik auditioned for acting roles and television commercials. Shortly thereafter, Wiik began a full-time acting study, first in Brisbane, Australia and later in Los Angeles, United States.
Career
In the late summer of 2005, Wiik was among the final contestants for a Norwegian talent search TV show, Filmstjerne (English translation: “Movie Star”).
In the months following Filmstjerne, Wiik produced and helmed the project “A Taste of Hollywood” in Norway, an intensive school program to teach and inspire 90 young filmmakers.
Wiik has partnered with the production company MCM Europe to produce and star in several short films directed by Christoffer Lunde: Did You Get the Diamond?; Budbilsjåføren; Life in a Flash; and The Blacklist.
2006–2009: Arrival in Hollywood
Wiik moved to Hollywood in 2006. He was now a trained actor with some experience from various independent European short films known only in festival circuits.
Having acquired a working visa in the USA, Wiik co-starred in a thriller, Timber Falls, directed by Tony Giglio.
WR Entertainment
In 2009, Wiik's film development company Without You LLC was acquired by WR Films Entertainment Group, Inc. [2]
On May 9, 2011, the trade magazine Daily Variety noted that WR had acquired the motion-picture rights to all 83 novels in the Morgan Kane series, which has sold more than 20 million books to date.[1]
In August 2011, it was made known that WR Publishing, a division of WR Entertainment had also acquired the worldwide eBook rights to the Morgan Kane book library of 83 titles.
In December 2011, the Morgan Kane titles published by WR Publishing ranked high on the iTunes best-seller list.[3] In 2015, several of the books in the series were still present on the Top 100 list of eBooks on iTunes.
In the spring of 2012, the Norwegian financial press broke several stories of Wiik meeting with investment banks regarding WR's film financing structure, the WR Film Fund. In an article in Finansavisen, the company claimed that a number of investors were interested in funding the WR transaction.
WR Films Entertainment Group, Inc. was in 2015 acquired by the Norwegian parent company WR Entertainment ASA, in which Wiik became a majority shareholder and member of the company's board of directors.[4] In December 2015 WR Entertainment ASA applied for admission to trading on the new stock exchange Merkur Market of Oslo Børs, and was subsequently approved and rang the opening bell on January 13, 2016.[5]
Morgan Kane
Using the pen name of Louis Masterson, late Norwegian author Kjell Hallbing started writing Western novels for European readers when he published Without Mercy, the first entry in the Morgan Kane series, in 1966. By 1985 he had written 83 books about Morgan Kane.
WR acquired the motion picture rights to the book series in 2011, and commenced on developing the planned film-franchise Morgan Kane. After years of preparation and assessing locations suitable for production of the first three films in the franchise, filming is now said to take place in Mexico. No news about any actual filming had reached the public by September 2016. The company has reported that producer Mark Huffam will be producing the film. [6]
Personal life
In 2001, Wiik underwent a major back surgery to overcome complications from scoliosis, an injury which had affected him since childhood.
Wiik currently lives in the West Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, California.
References
- ^ a b McNary, Dave (2011-05-09). "WR saddles up for Kane Westerns". Variety.
- ^ "WR Films Entertainment Group". www.wrfilms.com.
- ^ Furuly, Jan Gunnar (2013-12-22). "Morgan Kane gjør comeback på boktoppen". Aftenposten.no.
- ^ Eckblad, Bjørn (2016-01-15). "Tapte 320 mill. på én børsdag". DN.no.
- ^ Framstad, Anders Park (2016-01-13). "Dette er de syv debutantene på Oslos nye markedsplass". e24.no.
- ^ Stavrum, Gunnar (2016-01-12). "Norske Ryan Wiik blir verdenskjent som «Morgan Kane»". Nettavisen.no.