Ben Wheatley to Direct the J.G. Ballard Adaptation High Rise

Aug 29, 2013 by Brian Gallagher

Ben Wheatley to direct the J.G. Ballard adaptation High RiseBen Wheatley (Sightseers, Kill List) has signed on to direct the J.G. Ballard adaptation High Rise for HanWay Films. Here's the novel's official description. "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."

Amy Jump (Sightseers, Kill List) wrote the screenplay adaptation, with Jeremy Thomas producing. Vincenzo Natali was previously attached to direct, but once the rights lapsed, Jeremy Thomas decided to take the project in a different direction.

Here's what Ben Wheatley had to say about the project, and how he ended up working with producer Jeremy Thomas.

"I started looking into who had the rights for the book and that led me to Jeremy, who has made some of my favorite 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. It is such a rich and interesting time that it seemed a shame to set it anywhere other than England. I was born in 1972, three years before the book was written, so one of the attractions of the film was that I kind of imagine myself as one of the kids running around on the estate and my parents as the adults. 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."

Production is scheduled to begin sometime next year in the U.K.

High Rise is in development . The film is directed by Ben Wheatley.