British filmmaker Ben Wheatley is certainly hot property at the moment. With his film HIGH-RISE due to hit UK cinemas in February and his latest project FREE FIRE scoring a major international distribution deal, Wheatley is in demand. No surprise then that the director is in talks with producer David Lancaster to remake the classic thriller THE WAGES OF FEAR.
Wheatley is said to be in negotiations to co-write the project with his wife Amy Jump, as well as direct the feature for Rumble Films/TF1 and eOne. The original film, directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, tells the story of a group of men hired to transport a shipment of highly explosive nitroglycerin across the South American jungle. The 1953 French-Italian drama starring Yves Montand brought international fame to Clouzot and inspired a generation of filmmakers including William Friedkin.
Wheatley fans will certainly be salivating at the project. The filmmaker, best known for KILL LIST (2011) and SIGHTSEERS (2012), is the master of the macabre, with a string of cult classics already under his belt. His most recent film, hard satire HIGH-RISE starring Tom Hiddleston, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans and Jeremy Irons, recently screened at the BFI London Film Festival and received a worthy four stars from the team.
Wheatley’s latest project FREE FIRE sounds equally exciting. The action thriller features an all-star cast including Brie Larson, Armie Hammer and Cillian Murphy, with Martin Scorsese onboard as an executive producer. The rights for the film were bought last week with Alchemy paying close to $3 million for the US rights.
This review was originally written for ScreenRelish
Donna is the Founder and Editor of Frankly, My Dear UK. By day, she works as a digital marketing specialist, by night she reviews film, theatre and music for a wide range of publications including WhatsonStage and The Reviews Hub. Loves Formula 1, prosecco and life.
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