Oscar-nominated Danish director Lars von Trier has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The 66-year-old’s longtime production company, Zentropa, announced the news in a statement Monday with his blessing to do so, according to Deadline.
“In agreement with Lars von Trier, Zentropa has chosen to publish that Lars has [been] diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease,” shared Louise Vesth, Trier’s producer at Zentropa, in the statement. “This is done to counter any speculation about his health ahead of the premiere of ‘The Kingdom Exodus.'”
Trier’s third and final installment of his 1990s cult supernatural TV series “The Kingdom” is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival at the end of August.
“Lars is in good spirits and is being treated for his symptoms, and work to complete ‘The Kingdom Exodus’ continues as planned,” Vesth added.
Trier is not expected to do much press to promote the show due to his diagnosis.
Lars von Trier at the 56th International Film Festival in Cannes, France. Corbis via Getty ImagesTrier’s other credits include “Dancer in the Dark Writer,” “Antichrist Writer,” “Melancholia Writer” and the “Nymphomaniac” films.
His career has been deemed controversial, especially when more than 100 viewers walked out — while others gave a standing ovation — during a screening of his 2018 film “The House That Jack Built” at the Cannes Film Festival.
“Matt Dillon plays a serial killer who, when he isn’t graphically mutilating women, hunts little kids with a rifle. His co-star Uma Thurman conveniently had a scheduling conflict and didn’t show up,” The Post’s Johnny Oleksinski wrote at the time.
Trier also made movies under a Danish movement called the Dogma 95 rules, in which films were made without any artificial lighting, tacked-on music or shooting scenes out of sequence. “The Idiots,” which includes an explicit sex scene, was the first film made following Dogma 95 rules in 1998.
In addition, all Dogma 95 films were made with hand-held cameras and directors were not credited.
