On Friday, we brought you an exclusive look at General Sir Thomas Of The Royal Hiddelstonians in Ben Wheatley’s latest, High-Rise. There is exciting news to report about the director’s next film, crime thriller Free Fire. In a move that should boost the **Sightseers **filmmaker’s already growing profile in America, Martin Scorsese has come aboard as an executive producer{
Free Fire is described as a hard-boiled crime film set in 1970s Boston. A secluded meeting between two gangs in a warehouse suddenly explodes into a shoot-out and a fight for survival. Wheatley already has Luke Evans, Armie Hammer, Cillian Murphy, Olivia Williams and regular collaborator Michael Smiley aboard to star, and intends to start the cameras rolling in a few months. Knowing the director, he’s probably got three more movies ready to go after that.
And while he’s cited some of Scorsese’s output such as Goodfellas and Casino as among the influences on this latest pic, he’s even more excited to have the man himself aboard. “I wouldn’t be making films if it wasn’t for Martin Scorsese,” Wheatley tells Screen International. “I think that’s the case for a lot of directors. It’s an honour and an extreme thrill to have him involved in this project. Wow.”
High-Rise, a dystopian thriller set in a London skyscraper in the '70s, and adapted from J.G. Ballard’s novel, will arrive later this year.