Several years ago, I concocted the idea for a movie I'd still love to make. It was entitled "The Last Ride of the Valkyrie"; and I'd envisioned it as (among other things) a vehicle for Dutch bodybuilder Hannie van Aken to star as "Thyvalla", a Valkyrie who survives the destruction of Asgard and Valhalla, and must battle the evil Loki for the Odinstone which alone will restore the Realm. Her quest would take her to modern-day Earth, where she meets a handsome yet bookish student of Norse mythology who accompanies her back to the Asgardian dimension to aid her efforts.

I've got notes, plot fragments, and scenes written out; they're scattered all throughout my (not very well organized) archives. There's also the drawing above, which let me visualize what Ms. van Aken might look like as Thyvalla. If I may say so myself, it's one of my better drawings. Some of you may even recognize the Muscle & Fitness photo I used as reference. (I'd post it here, but a.) I don't have permission from Weider to do so, and b.) I can't find the pic just now. (I know I've got it somewhere...)

UPDATE: In June of 2006 I was contacted by Joel Davis in L.A., who shares my interest in female muscle and has a toehold in the movie business as a screenwriter, who saw this very picture, read the description of the movie, and proposed that we partner in writing a screenplay. So buoyed by his enthusiasm, I went ahead and wrote a first draft of "Last Ride of the Valkyrie". Joel critqued it, made some interesting additions and changes, and we came up with a (so far) final version co-written by us. Joel suggested we enter the script in a couple of competitions, including the 2007 Rhode Island International Film Festival (Joel being a native of Providence). Lo and behold, we won the grand prize!

Now if we can just get some financing to get the movie made...

©2001-2009 David C. Matthews