John Patton Ford made a name for himself with his Taxi Driver-esque debut, Emily the Criminal. The small-budget and concise thriller proved his directing chops. It has led to an opportunity to turn a long-dormant script into a finished film. The newly released How to Make a Killing pairs Ford with one of Hollywood’s biggest rising stars, Glen Powell. Powell also features alongside stars like Margaret Qualley, Ed Harris, Jessica Henwick and Topher Grace. How to Make a Killing is a departure in tone from Emily the Criminal, far more bombastic and quick-witted than its predecessor. However, Ford taps into similar themes of the evils of the economic system and the allure of wealth.
READ OUR REVIEW OF THE FILM HERE
Becket Redfellow is the forgotten love child of a rich aristocratic dynasty. Despite his disownment, Becket is raised to believe he can one day inherit the family fortune, as long as he outlives his relatives. However, that day is taking too long to arrive, and Becket chooses to take matters into his own hands and ‘prune the family tree’. One by one, Redfellows fall, as Powell climbs higher up the social ladder, and further into illicit and murderous deeds. With adversaries on his tail and the FBI following his tracks, Becket can only dive further into his scheme to save himself.
Ford sat down with us for a discussion about How to Make a Killing, and details “the huge privilege” he had in working with his star-studded cast, and recounts the over ten-year journey with the script he originally submitted to The Black List back in 2014. He also details the struggles in turning their South African shooting location into New York, especially in a place “where it does not want to happen”.
You can watch the full interview here:
How To Make A Killing is in UK cinemas now.
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