Ariel Vromen's The Iceman Scores a "Killer" Cast: James Franco, Michael Shannon, and Benicio Del Toro to Star
Posted 01.24.11 by BrentJS
In a statement released jointly by Millennium Films and Bleiberg Entertainment, it has been revealed that James Franco, Michael Shannon, and Benicio del Toro have signed on to star in director Ariel Vromen's (Rx, Danika) new movie, The Iceman. The movie, which Vromen co-wrote with Morgan Land (Rx), is based on the book The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer by Anthony Bruno and on the documentary The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer by Jim Thebaut, and tells the story of convicted murderer Richard Kuklinski, who claims to have killed more than 250 people as a contract killer for the mob.
The statement also offered this synopsis of the movie, which identifies the roles that Shannon, Franco and del Toro will be playing:
THE ICEMAN is the electrifying true story of Richard Kuklinski (Shannon), a notorious mob contract killer and loving family man. He earned his nickname by freezing the bodies of his victims, disguising the time of death, and throwing police off-track. He was a man who used his tendencies toward violence and detachment from consequence to create an idyllic family life. His family and neighbors believed he was an average businessman, having no idea about his deadly alternate life. Kuklinski killed over one hundred people during his life. He never felt remorse for anything he had done, except hurting his family. Del Toro co-stars as Kuklinski’s employer, the notorious mobster Roy Demeo, and Franco plays his mentor assassin known as Mr. Softee.
It should be noted that Vromen's The Iceman is an entirely different movie than The Ice Man, which is based on Phil Carlo's book about Kuklinski and has Mickey Rourke attached in the title role.