Dead Man's Wire

Last updated

Dead Man's Wire
Directed by Gus Van Sant
Written byAustin Kolodney
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyArnaud Potier [1]
Edited by Saar Klein [2]
Music by Danny Elfman
Production
companies
  • Elevated Films
  • Pressman Film
  • District 9 Productions
  • Sobini Films
  • RNA Pictures
  • Pinstripes
Distributed by Row K Entertainment
Release date
  • September 2, 2025 (2025-09-02)(Venice)
Running time
105 minutes [3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Dead Man's Wire is a 2025 American historical crime film directed by Gus Van Sant, written by Austin Kolodney, based on the true story of kidnapping by Tony Kiritsis in the 1970s. The film draws in part from the 2018 documentary Dead Man's Line, directed by Alan Berry and Mark Enochs, which explored the same events. [4] It stars Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Colman Domingo, Myha'la, Cary Elwes, John Robinson, and Al Pacino.

Contents

The film had its world premiere out of competition in the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2025. [5]

Premise

The film depicts the 1977 kidnapping by Tony Kiritsis of his bank mortgager, in which he requested hostage money and an apology. [6]

Cast

Production

An adaptation of the film was initially in development with Werner Herzog and Nicolas Cage attached to the project. [7]

In December 2024, Gus Van Sant was reported to be the director, from a script by Austin Kolodney, with Bill Skarsgård and Dacre Montgomery leading the cast. It is produced by Elevated Films and Balcony 9 Productions. [8] In January 2025, Colman Domingo, Myha'la, Cary Elwes, and John Robinson joined the cast. [9] [10] In February 2025, Al Pacino joined the cast. [11]

Principal photography took place in Louisville, Kentucky, in January 2025. [12] [13] [14]

Release

The film had its world premiere out of competition in the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2025. [15] [16] It was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2025, [17] [18] and will screen in the Special Presentations of the 61st Chicago International Film Festival on October 18, 2025. [19]

On September 9, 2025, Row K Entertainment acquired North American rights to the film. [20]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 100% of 25 critics' reviews are positive. [21] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [22]

Pete Hammond for Deadline writes that the film feels like "art imitating life both past and present" and cites Skarsgård's performance, calling it "completely convincing and dedicated." [23]

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
Miami Film Festival November 3, 2025Precious Gem Award Gus Van Sant Won [24]

References

  1. ↑ "Arnaud Potier". Lux Artists. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Saar Klein". Iconic Talent Agency. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Dead Man's Wire". Venice International Film Festival . Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  4. ↑ Unknown, Unknown (January 31, 2018). "Tony Kiritsis story: Indy's most insane hostage-taker now a movie". The Indianapolis Star.
  5. ↑ "Biennale Cinema 2025 | Dead Man's Wire". La Biennale di Venezia. July 14, 2025. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  6. ↑ Soni, Divya (December 15, 2024). "Bill Skarsgård to join Stranger Things star in new thriller". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  7. ↑ Ruimy, Jordan (March 17, 2024). "Nicolas Cage to Star in Werner Herzog's 'Dead Man's Wire'". World of Reel. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  8. ↑ Ruimy, Jordan (December 12, 2024). "Gus Van Sant to Direct 'Dead Man's Wire' Starring Bill Skarsgård". World of Reel. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  9. ↑ Bamigboye, Baz (January 21, 2025). "Breaking Baz: Colman Domingo Joins Gus Van Sant's Hostage Thriller 'Dead Man's Wire' As He Reveals Late Night Talks With DiCaprio About Hollywood's Future". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  10. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (January 24, 2025). "Myha'la, Cary Elwes & John Robinson Join Gus Van Sant's Hostage Thriller 'Dead Man's Wire'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  11. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 28, 2025). "Al Pacino Joining Gus Van Sant Hostage Thriller 'Dead Man's Wire'". Deadline. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  12. ↑ Millby, Jeff (January 8, 2025). "Be an extra in a new Gus Van Sant movie". Loutoday. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  13. ↑ Hansen, Piper (January 10, 2025). "Movie production recipient of $4M state tax credit to film in Louisville". bizjournals. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  14. ↑ "New feature film being shot in downtown Louisville 'Dead Man's Wire'". wlky.com. January 14, 2025. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  15. ↑ Ntim, Zac (July 22, 2025). "Venice Film Festival Lineup: Kathryn Bigelow, Guillermo Del Toro, Noah Baumbach & Benny Safdie In Competition". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Venice Film Festival Screening Date". Objectif Festival. July 27, 2025. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Dead Man's Wire". TIFF. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  18. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 21, 2025). "TIFF Galas & Presentations: World Premieres 'Good Fortune', 'Nuremberg', Sydney Sweeney Pic 'Christy', Angelina Jolie 'Couture'; North American Debuts Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein', Dwayne Johnson 'Smashing Machine'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Dead Man's Wire". Chicago International Film Festival . October 5, 2025. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  20. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (September 9, 2025). "New U.S. Buyer Row K Makes First Acquisition Gus Van Sant's 'Dead Man's Wire'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Dead Man's Wire". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Dead Man's Wire". Metacritic . Retrieved September 20, 2025.
  23. ↑ Hammond, Pete (September 2, 2025). "'Dead Man's Wire' Review: Bill Skarsgård In Gus Van Sant's True Story That Luigi Mangione Might Like – Venice Film Festival". Deadline. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Gus Van Sant to be Honored with Precious Gem Award at GEMS". Miami Film Festival. September 30, 2025. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.