Martin Amis' futuristic murder mystery London Fields has been in the works for a long time, and has seen a number of top flight directors attached since the rights were picked up in 2000. David Cronenberg was the first, followed by David Mackenzie (Spread) and Michael Winterbottom, but the project has sat gathering dust even with a script provided by Amis himself. But now it's back on, and it won't be a veteran filmmaker at the helm, but commercials director Matthew Cullen making his feature debut.
Cullen, who recently did the prologue for Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim, will be joined by Amber Heard, Jim Sturgess, Billy Bob Thornton, and Theo James (Divergent). Heard should fit perfectly in the role of Nicola Six, a clairvoyant described as the "ultimate sexual femme fatale" and "a black hole of sex and self-loathing". Her plans to orchestrate her own murder entwines a terminally ill writer (Thornton) documenting her manipulations, a violent lowlife (Sturgess); and an unhappy married banker (James).
Production began today and London Fields should be ready by next year. [Deadline]
