Lars von Trier and Zentropa announces the first cast for the Danish director's upcoming feature "The House That Jack Built," for which principal photography will start in spring 2017.
American actor Matt Dillon will play the lead as the serial killer Jack, while Swiss actor Bruno Ganz takes on the role as the mysterious Verge, who has a recurring conversation with Jack about his actions and thoughts.
Lars von Trier comments:
"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."
The film, set in Washington State in the US, follows the highly intelligent Jack over a span of 12 years, introducing the murders that define Jack's development as a serial killer. We experience the story from Jack's point of view, as he postulates each murder being an artwork in itself. As the inevitable police intervention is drawing nearer, he is taking greater and greater risks in his attempt to create the ultimate work of art.
Additional cast members, which will be including four prominent female roles, are to be announced shortly.
The first part of the shoot will take place in Trollhättan, Sweden, where Trier worked on "Melancholia" and several of his earlier films. Then the crew will be moving on to Copenhagen to shoot, mostly on location.
"The House That Jack Built" is produced by Zentropa Group in co-production with Film i Väst, Copenhagen Film Fund, Slot Machine, with support from the Danish Film Institute, the Swedish Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, CNC, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Eurimages, the Media Programme of the European Union – and in cooperation with DR, Nordisk Film Distribution, Concorde Filmverleih, Potemkine, Les Films du Losange and SVT. International sales are handled by TrustNordisk.
The film is expected to be ready in spring 2018.
