International filming locations, motorcycle riding by its Oscar-nominated actress and highly physical scenes made “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” the riskiest film for Fireman's Fund to insure in 2011.
The movie gets the riskiest-film honor even after some stunts were toned down or scrapped due to insurance concerns.
Rooney Mara, nominated for an Oscar in the Lead Actress category, was not an experienced motorcycle rider before filming. According to interviews with the movie's director, Mara trained for months on a motorcycle, but it wasn't enough to keep some risky scenes—included in the best-selling book on which the film is based—in the film.
Wendy Diaz, entertainment underwriting director at Fireman's Fund, says any decisions to adjust or throw out stunt plans are made mutually with the studio. The insurer of Hollywood films for the last 85 years does not tell movie-makers they can't do anything, but it does lay out the consequences.
The movie was also shot in Sweden and Switzerland, creating another realm of risk for equipment, set and cast transportation as well as the risk of illness in a foreign location.
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