PROFILE
FROM Ben Wheatley
Director Ben Wheatley on 'Free Fire' British genre director Ben Wheatley's first film Down Terrace was made on a shoestring budget and shot in just 8 days. Since that debut in 2009, Wheatley's been making movies almost non-stop -- next up was the horror thriller Kill List, followed by Sightseers, A Field in England and High Rise. He collaborates with his wife Amy Jump, who both writes and edits his films. Wheatley got his start directing commercials and British television. His movies have devoted fans and critical acclaim, but can be divisive -- they're all super violent, though often darkly funny. His newest film, Free Fire , is no exception. Set almost entirely inside a decrepit Boston warehouse in late 1970s, the story centers around an ill-fated arms deal between members of the Irish Republican Army and a South African gun runner. The ensemble cast includes Armie Hammer, Cillian Murphy, Sharlto Copley and Brie Larson. Wheatley recently sat down with Matt Holzman, host of the new KCRW podcast, The Document . They start by talking about the unusual structure of the film and go on to discuss why all of Wheatley's movies involve people being killed, if he would ever direct a big studio film, and various release strategies for indies in the UK.
High Rise Horrors You may have seen Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun or David Cronenberg's Crash. They're both stories based on books by J.G. Ballard. Now a movie has been made about a novel of Ballard's that was considered impossible to adapt into a film. It's High-Rise, a story in which the occupants of a luxury apartment tower descend into barbarism. The film was directed by Ben Wheatley and produced by Jeremy Thomas.
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