Tulsa native John Swab has been exploring this country’s drug crisis from different angles in his movies. In 2021 he directed Body Brokers, which shone a light on Big Pharma and the rehab industry, and how they worked together to commit health insurance fraud on a massive scale. Now, Swab is back with King Ivory, an action flick centering on the Tulsa drug cartels, the addicts, and the law enforcement entangled in the deadly fentanyl epidemic.
Leading the film is James Badge Dale, an actor who has always been deserving of more spotlight. He’s joined by another actor in a similar boat, Ben Foster, along with Michael Mando, Rory Cochrane, Melissa Leo, Ritchie Coster, George Carroll, Sam Quartin, and the late Graham Greene.
SYNOPSIS: From civilians to criminals to addicts to law enforcement, and everyone in between, all walks of life intersect in this thriller about the epidemic that is fentanyl; street name: King Ivory. It is business as usual for Tulsa drug cop, Layne West (James Badge Dale), battling the local criminal element, which hits too close to home when his son, Jack (Jasper Jones), gets hooked on fentanyl. In conjunction with his partner, Ty (George Carroll), and FBI counterpart, Beatty (Rory Cochrane), West makes it his mission in life to take down those responsible, including the Mexican cartel’s local shot-caller, Ramón Garza (Michael Mando), Indian Brotherhood War Chief, Holt Lightfeather (Graham Greene), who controls state-wide trafficking while serving life inside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester a.k.a. “Big Mac,” and the local Irish Mob family outfit, led by George “Smiley” Greene (Ben Foster), along with his mother, Ginger (Melissa Leo), and uncle, Mickey (Ritchie Coster). As Holt educates West during a prison visit, “The cartels want your kids, the next generation, who want what is new, and fentanyl is new.”
Roadside Attractions and Saban Films will release King Ivory in theaters November 14th.
