English filmmaker Ben Wheatley has been gaining ground and acclaim with his bleak and chilling takes on horror in films like Kill List and Sightseers. But now he's prepping to take his career to the next step, having wrangled an internationally beloved star for his next venture, High Rise. For this thriller, he's landed on the only Tom Hiddleston. And then promptly (and understandably) bragged about it on Twitter:
As the Berlin Film Festival prepares for its 2014 kick-off, its European Film Market is already churning out news. Chief among its headlines is Hiddleston's latest project. Based on J.G. Ballard's novel, High-Rise will have the Thor star playing a young doctor who becomes snared in the sinister class warfare that breaks out in his building. Here's the book's official synopsis:
"When a class war erupts inside a luxurious apartment block, modern elevators become violent battlegrounds and cocktail parties degenerate into marauding attacks on 'enemy' floors. In this visionary tale, human society slips into violent reverse as once-peaceful residents, driven by primal urges, re-create a world ruled by the laws of the jungle."
Wheatley will helm the adapted screenplay penned by Amy Jump, who has previously co-written Kill List and Sightseers, as well as Wheatley's last release A Field in England, which opens in limited release on Friday. Jeremy Thomas, who previously worked with Hiddleston on Jim Jarmusch's sensational vampire drama Only Lovers Left Alive, will produce.
THR notes Wheatley and Hiddleston share an admiration for each other. Regarding this collaboration, Wheatley said:
"I am very excited to be working with Hiddleston on this project. He brings an intelligence, vulnerability and humour to his roles, be they art-house or blockbuster that will make Laing come alive. It's also a great privilege to be working with Ballard's seminal book."
For his part, Hiddleston said of Wheatley, "He [Wheatley] brings with him impeccable taste, courage, wit and singular brilliance: the perfect combination to realise the ambition of J. G. Ballard's unique vision."
Clearly they expect something spectacular to come out of their teaming up. High-Rise will shoot this summer in the U.K. In the meantime, Hiddleston will roll into production on Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak, and can be seen in the upcoming Only Lovers Left Alive or on stage in Coriolanus in the West End of London.
