Lars von Trier has never been short on ambition, but even he must’ve wondered what he could possibly do next after his two-part, button-pushing epic “Nymphomaniac.” Well, he’s decided to turn from sex to death. First announced in 2015, “The House That Jack Built” was originally pitched as an 8-part TV series, but along the way, it has been retooled into a feature film, with Von Trier’s producer saying earlier this year that it’s structurally in line with “Nymphomaniac.” Either way, it sounds like yet another effort that will see the director take audiences to the edge. And with production slated to begin soon, he’s starting to put his cast together.
Matt Dillon has signed up to play the lead role in the film as a serial killer, with legendary actor Bruno Ganz as Verge who will be a sounding board of sorts for the murderer. It actually sounds not unlike the relationship Charlotte Gainsbourg‘s character in “Nymphomaniac” had with Stellan Skarsgård, and the format of ‘Jack’ does sound similar.
Set in Washington during the ’70s and ’80s, and stretching out across twelve years, the story will be told from Jack’s point of view as he develops into a serial killer, and tries to create his grand work of “art” as the police draw closer to capturing him.
“[Von Trier] calls it the five incidents, which is the murder cases and then he has a lot of digressions in between to connect the story, in a similar way as in ‘Nymphomaniac,’ ” producer Louise Vesth said in the spring. “It will be a serial killer movie like you’ve never seen before.”
There’s much more casting to come including four prominent female roles, and cameras will roll soon in Denmark and Sweden. [Deadline]