Simon Rumley (Director of Red, White & Blue, Fashionista & Crowhurst) has begun a six week shoot on the brutal gangster thriller ONCE UPON A TIME IN LONDON for Gateway Films.
Dramatising the violent reign of two of London’s most notorious gangsters, Billy Hill (Leo Gregory) and Jack ‘Spot’ Comer (Terry Stone), ONCE UPON A TIME IN LONDON charts the legendary rise and fall of a nationwide criminal empire that lasted until the mid-fifties and which paved the way for the notorious Kray Twins and The Richardsons.
Described as ‘Peaky Blinders meets Legend’, the film also stars Holly Earl, Dominic Keating, Geoff Bell, Jamie Foreman, Doug Allen, Andy Beckwith, Roland Manookian, Justin Salinger, Kate Braithwaite and Laura Carter. Joining the eclectic ensemble are comedian Simon Munnery, boxers Frank Buglioni, Steve Collins and Joe Egan, footballer Jamie O’Hara, singer / TV star Nadia Forde, Union J’s JJ Hamblett and magician Ali Cook.
Director and co-writer Simon Rumley said today: "Having spent the last decade or so writing and directing thematically disparate but collectively extreme dramas, it makes absolute sense for me to progress to the gangster genre where love, lust, greed, paranoia, betrayal and violence are every day occurrences. The story of Jack Spot Comer, Billy Hill and their respective battles to become King of London’s Underworld has remained one of Britain’s most dynamic, thrilling and untold stories, but we’ll be exploring it in depth, with psychological dexterity and aiming to make it a unique viewing experience and a great British film."
Producers Terry Stone and Richard Turner added: “We’re thrilled to be working with Simon Rumley, one of the UK’s most exciting directors. This is a fantastic and long overdue story about the founders of organised crime in Britain. We have an incredible cast and the film promises to be a must see for all true crime fans.”
ONCE UPON A TIME IN LONDON is a Gateway Films & Ratio Film Presentation, directed by Simon Rumley, written by Will Gilbey, Simon Rumley & Terry Stone and produced by Terry Stone & Richard Turner. Co-Producer: Tiernan Hanby, DOP: Milton Kam, Costume Designer: Michelle May, Makeup Designer: Emma Slater, Production Designer: Anna Mould
