The Playlist

'Sightseers' Director Ben Wheatley Talks Improvisation & The Influences Of Documentaries On The Film

By Kevin Jagernauth
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September 17, 2012 2:59 PM
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1 Comment

Interviews

Camper van holidays in the north of England and murder do not, traditionally, go hand in hand. But trust Ben Wheatley, the mind behind pitch-black breakthrough films "Down Terrace" and "Kill List," to bring them together for his third feature film, "Sightseers." From a script by British comedians Alice Lowe and Steve Oram (who workshopped the characters on the U.K. circuit for years), and executive produced by Edgar Wright, the film is a darkly funny, curiously moving film that drew rave reviews when it premiered at Cannes (including our own).

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In Theaters: 'The Woman in Black' Will Hope To 'Chronicle' A 'Big Miracle'

By Katie Walsh
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February 3, 2012 5:16 PM
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News

Happy Friday all, and welcome to February. It finally feels like a normal release weekend, now that we are out of the January no-mans-land. Funny how that self-fulfilling prophecy works out. Or, how studios strictly adhere to the "January movie" policy. Anyway, onwards and upwards my pets. We've got to get to the teen found footage movies, and the heartwarming whale tales, and the haunted house flicks, and the lone awards-contender dregs. Go go gadget In Theaters!

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'Kill List' Director Ben Wheatley Talks Sneaking In Script Rewrites, Influences & How Hard It Is To Make Naked People Scary

By Drew Taylor
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February 1, 2012 12:06 PM
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News

When we saw "Kill List" back at South by Southwest last year, well, we almost pooped ourselves in fear. Not really. But it was close. The movie, a clever-as-fuck mash-up of suburban domestic drama, hitman thriller, and occult horror film, really left an impression on us (one Playlist team member was visibly shaken – we had trouble finding him afterwards) – and we saw it at 9 o'clock in the morning! This weekend, "Kill List" is finally unleashed on unsuspecting theaters nationwide and we can't wait for everyone to get a look at this new genre classic. In anticipation of its release, we got to talk to writer/director Ben Wheatley, who discussed the film's development, sneaking an unauthorized script rewrite in, trying to sell a movie that you didn't want to spoil, and why naked people aren't that scary. Tread lightly if you haven't seen the film, though, spoilers ahead.

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'Kill List' Director Ben Wheatley Reveals Plot Details For 'Freak Shift,' Has Director's Cut Of 'Sightseers' Ready To Show Edgar Wright

By Drew Taylor
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January 5, 2012 3:57 PM
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4 Comments

News

EXCLUSIVE: One genre movie that electrified almost all of us at The Playlist last year was "Kill List," from writer/director Ben Wheatley. A kind of domestic drama/hitman thriller/suburban comedy/horror movie, it wowed us when we first got a gander of it at South by Southwest, and then tickled even more of us at the Empire Big Screen festival in its native U.K. Well, it's finally about to be released in the United States, and while we'll have more from our interview with Wheatley before "Kill List" hits theaters, we first wanted to offer some updates on various projects the filmmaker has in the works, including the Edgar Wright-produced "Sightseers," his Nick Frost vehicle "I, Macrobane," and the very cool-sounding monsters versus cops movie called "Freak Shift."

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'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' & 'Drive' Lead London Film Critics Nominations

By Drew Taylor
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December 20, 2011 3:02 PM
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1 Comment

News

The London Film Critics' Circle has released their nominees this morning, with some surprising frontrunners. Tomas Alfredson's Cold War thriller "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and Nicolas Winding Refn's pulpy blast "Drive" were the top nominees, with six nominations apiece, while Lynne Ramsay's chilling "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and Asghar Farhadi's emotionally devastating "A Separation" each picked up five nominations. Steve McQueen's sex addiction drama "Shame" and indie black-and-white silent thingee "The Artist" each secured four nominations. Sadly "Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star," was, again, overlooked.

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The Amazing Race: 'Shame' & 'Tinker Tailor' Lead Noms At British Independent Film Awards

By Oliver Lyttelton
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October 31, 2011 5:30 AM
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4 Comments

Paddy Considine's 'Tyrannosaur' Also Wins Seven Nods, 'Kevin' & 'Kill List' Close BehindWhen "Chariots of Fire" writer Colin Weiland announced on stage at the 1982 Oscars that "The British are coming!," it went on to live in infamy; the British failed to come, and the U.K. film industry continued on much as it had before. But if David Seidler or Tom Hooper had exclaimed the same at the Academy Awards this February, there might have been less egg on their face -- the victory, and huge box office success of "The King's Speech" has been a precursor to the best year for British film that we can remember.

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Future Scares: Ben Wheatley's 'Kill List' & Elizabeth Olsen's 'Silent House' Get 2012 Release Dates

By Kevin Jagernauth
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October 25, 2011 4:17 AM
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3 Comments

So, looking for some scares that don't involve some footage shot for about $10 and then cobbled together with some jump scares? (That's right we're looking at you "Paranormal Activity 3"). Well, you might have to wait until 2012 but the early part of the year should satisfy your thirst for cinematic thrills.

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'Kill List' Director Ben Wheatley Working On "Cops Versus Monsters" Sci-Fi 'Freak Shift' For 2013

By Oliver Lyttelton
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September 22, 2011 2:21 AM
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1 Comment

Five Things We Learned From The Fast-Rising British HelmerAfter claiming awards at Fantastic Fest, Raindance, and IFF Boston for his debut feature, “Down Terrace,” U.K. director Ben Wheatley premiered his follow-up at this year’s SXFantastic to similar adulation, and rave reviews. (Read ours here.) Called “Kill List,” the film takes cues from the “kitchen sink crime drama” framework of “Down Terrace,” but ups the ante considerably, particularly in its deeply deranged third act. The Warp Films production was duly acquired by genre label IFC Midnight for a North American release in early 2012.

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Empire Big Screen '11: 'Kill List' Helmer Ben Wheatley's Next Is Edgar Wright-Produced 'Sightseers'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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August 15, 2011 2:41 AM
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0 Comments

Comedy 'I, Macrobane' With Nick Frost Will Follow In 2012Perhaps the biggest homegrown hit of Empire Big Screen over the weekend was Ben Wheatley's "Kill List," a low-budget hitman/horror flick from the director of the excellent, terminally underseen crime film "Down Terrace." More than perhaps any other British film that had footage shown, the clips had people talking for much of the weekend, and director Ben Wheatley hit the event on Saturday, along with stars Neil Maskell and MyAnna Buring, to get the buzz going. If you've read our review from SXSW, you'll know that it's a film worth getting very excited about (it even made one member of The Playlist team physically ill -- in a good way), and it crystallizes Wheatley as a real talent to watch.

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Empire Big Screen '11: Sony Reveals Footage From 'The Amazing Spider-Man,' 'Anonymous' & More

By Oliver Lyttelton
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August 13, 2011 9:23 AM
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2 Comments

Footage Reports On 'Kill List,' 'The Pirates,' 'Arthur Christmas' & 'Total Recall'After our report from the Warner Bros. and eOne panels earlier this morning at Empire Big Screen, things moved swiftly along with Optimum bringing along some homegrown hits and Sony a few hopeful blockbusters, including the weekend's lone glimpse of a superhero...

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