Jackie Earle Haley has done plenty of illegal things in the service of cinema, but only ever on screen. Now he’ll be encouraging others to break the law in the safe environs of the frame as he makes his film-directing debut with indie thriller **Criminal Activities.
Haley has gathered a solid cast for his first time calling the shots, with John Travolta, Michael Pitt, Dan Stevens and Rebecca Da Costa on board to star alongside the director himself.
The script follows four young men who reunite at a former classmate’s funeral. During the service, one of them drops some insider knowledge about a Wall Street stock and the group see the chance to become millionaires. Unfortunately, the deal goes bad and they lose their investment, which is particularly bad news for one, since he borrowed his share of the dosh from a mobster. See kids: even if you do think you’re on to a winner on the stock market, you don’t want to go borrowing cash from major criminals.
Once he’s rounded up the rest of his cast, Haley will kick off shooting in Cleveland this June.