Lars von Trier is no stranger to controversy having made films like The Idiots, AntiChrist and Nymphomania Vol 1 & 2 and even having been booted out of the Cannes film festival for his remarks about Nazi’s. He’s now turning his talents to a film about a serial killer and has cast Matt Dillon and Bruno Ganz in the lead roles in his upcoming film, ‘The House That Jack Built’. Dillon will play the titular Jack, an intelligent serial killer. Ganz – best known for playing Hitler in Downfall — will star as the mysterious Verge, who has a recurring conversation with Jack about his actions and thoughts.
Von Trier said in a statement, “The two gentlemen have each figured as milestones in my cinematic development. Besides being an epochal match, they are excellent actors and fit quite organically into ‘my cinematic family.’ I look forward with pleasure and pride to working with them both.” and according to producer Louise Vesth of Zentropa it seems that that von Trier had been inspired by Dillon’s performances in films like Drugstore Cowboy or The Outsiders. The rest of the film awaits casting but there are said to be four prominent female roles who, ”all have an important role to play.”
Von Trier and Dillon have already met to discuss the part and will continue to meet until the film starts shooting in spring 2017 and the film will follow serial killer Jack over a 12-year period in a non-linear way, capturing his development as a murderer as he strives to perfect the art of killing and the film will show the murders from Jack’s point of view who considers murder “the ultimate artwork.”
Some technical aspects of the film will be shot later this month until the end of the year and the principal photography will begin in spring 2017 for nine weeks.The first part of the shoot will be in Trollhattan, Sweden (Western Sweden) where von Trier has shot before most recently with 2011’s Melancholia. Despite being shot in Sweden the film is actually set in Washington State in the US.
The film is expected to be delivered in spring 2018 and if his previous films are anything to go by then expect the outrage to begin shortly…….
