The breakthrough of television as the main source for news led to historic moments captured for all of the nation to see. One of those moments came in 1977, when Indiana man Tony Kiritsis took hostage his mortgage broker, holding him captive with a shotgun wired to his head. The 2 1/2 day ordeal was broadcast live, becoming a national sensation and, in some circles, turning Kiritsis into a folk hero. Now that story gets told by Gus Van Sant in his new film, Dead Man’s Wire, which arrives in theaters next month.
Bill Skarsgard stars as Tony Kiritsis, who falls behind in his mortgage payments and decides on an extreme plot to expose what he sees as corruption. Dacre Montgomery stars as his hostage, Richard Hall, joined by Al Pacino, Colman Domingo, Cary Elwes, Myha’la, John Robinson, and Kelly Lynch.
The film is directed by Van Sant, his first since 2018’s Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. Austin Kolodney wrote the screenplay.
The response following its Venice world premiere was extremely positive, with Van Sant earning a standing ovation. Having just seen the film myself last night, I agree with them.
SYNOPSIS: “Based on a true story, the 1977 kidnapping of a prominent banker grips the nation and turns the abductor into an outlaw folk hero. As the media frenzy peaks, the standoff becomes a spectacle of desperation, defiance and blurred justice, which resonates even today.”
Dead Man’s Wire begins an awards-qualifying run on December 12th, followed by a release in select theaters on January 9th. It will open wide on January 16th 2026.
