Ben Wheatley is riding high following Kill List, Sightseers and A Field In England. Now he’s planning something on a slightly larger scale, as ScreenDaily reports that he’s taking on J.G. Ballard’s dystopian High-Rise.
Making a movie based on the 1975 book has long been a dream project for producer Jeremy Thomas (who was also Ballard’s friend), and now it seems he’s finally going to make it happen. Amy Jump has written the screenplay, which is ‘Set in a luxury high-rise building, the book follows a group of affluent tenants hell-bent on an orgy of destruction. Cocktail parties degenerate into marauding attacks on ‘enemy’ floors and the once-luxurious amenities become an arena for technological mayhem.’
‘Human society slips into violent reverse as the inhabitants of the ultra-modern high-rise, driven by primal urges, recreate a world ruled by the laws of the jungle.’
Vincenzo Natali (Splice) had been attached to direct an adaptation but when he let his rights lapse, Thomas decided to take the film in another direction, and that’s when Wheatley came along.
“I love Ballard’s work,” the director says, “This project started out with me looking at my bookcase, seeing the book, and thinking: ‘that would make a great film’. I started looking into who had the rights for the book and that led me to Jeremy, who has made some of my favourite films. It took me a few meetings just to get over the typewriter he has from Naked Lunch in his office.”
“The idea is to be true to Ballard,” Wheatley added. “It is such a rich and interesting time that it seemed a shame to set it anywhere other than England… The scope of the film is exciting. It will be challenging, like Crash, but it’s not as dark as Kill List. The book is pretty out there, though.”
The plan is to shoot next year.