[This is a re-post of my interview from the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.  While I rarely re-post interviews, this was one of my favorite interviews of 2012 and with the movie now playing in limited release, I decided it was worth another post.]

Every once in awhile you land an interview that you can’t wait to share. The one you’re about to watch with Chris Evans is one of those. At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, I got to sit down with Evans for over twenty minutes (we were scheduled for a lot less) to talk about his great work in director Ariel Vromen‘s The Iceman. As you can see in the trailer, Evans plays a killer and is nearly unrecognizable in dirty long hair as Richard Kuklinski’s (Michael Shannon) friend and partner.

I’ve spoken to Evans a lot over the years, and one of the things I love about him is his honesty and willingness to talk about everything. If you ask him a question about his career, or even his contract with Marvel, he’ll talk about it. Most actors will try and deflect the question, or give a politician’s answer. That’s not how Evans operates and it’s very refreshing. So besides talking about The Iceman and working with Michael Shannon, Evans talked about how his career has blown up, the intricacies of his Marvel contract, the business of Hollywood, playing a critical character of the Marvel universe, Captain America 2 (Captain America: The Winter Solider), whether he knows anything about Captain America 3, the success of The Avengers, Joss Whedon, Thor 2, Bong Joon-ho‘s Snowpiercer, the greatness of Hayley Atwell, his upcoming anti-romantic comedy A Many Splintered Thing with Michelle Monaghan, and so much more. Hit the jump for more.

Director/co-writer Ariel Vromen’s The Iceman opens this weekend in limited release.  The drama is based on the book by Anthony Bruno that chronicles the life of Richard Kuklinski (played by Michael Shannon), a professional hitman who kept his work secret from his family.  The contract killer received the nickname “The Iceman” because he froze the bodies of his victims in order to disguise their time of death and throw the authorities off track.  The film also stars Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, Winona Ryder, Robert Davi, and Danny Abeckaser.  For more on The Iceman, watch the trailer.

At the recent Los Angeles press day, I landed an exclusive interview with Winona Ryder.  We talked about making The Iceman, the way she prepares for a role, her most challenging role, if she still has to audition, her obsession with The Wire and The Big Lebowski, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to what she had to say.

[This is a re-post of my review from the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.  The Iceman opens today in limited release.]

The Iceman is a hitman movie. It’s about a hitman and nothing else. Director and co-writer Ariel Vromen takes no chances on his film based on the life of mob enforcer Richard Kuklinski. The movie paints a two-dimensional character, and then wants credit for not making him one-dimensional. There’s more effort put into developing the characters’ era-appropriate facial hair than developing the story into anything more than a description of Kuklinski’s actions. Only Michael Shannon‘s overpowering screen presence stops The Iceman from being the driest crime drama in recent memory.

Opening this weekend, in limited release, is director/co-writer Ariel Vromen’s The Iceman.  The drama is based on the book by Anthony Bruno that chronicles the life of Richard Kuklinski (played by Michael Shannon), a professional hitman who kept his work secret from his family.  The contract killer received the nickname “The Iceman” because he froze the bodies of his victims in order to disguise their time of death and throw the authorities off track.  The film also stars Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, Winona Ryder, Robert Davi, and Danny Abeckaser.  For more on The Iceman, watch the trailer.

At the recent Los Angeles press day, I landed an exclusive interview with Michael Shannon.  We talked about the way he prepares for a role, making The Iceman, the balance between Hollywood-izing the subject matter versus also telling the real story, whether he still has to audition, and so much more.  In addition, he also talked about playing General Zod in Man of Steel, Jake Paltrow’s Young Ones, other future projects, losing his anonymity, and we even talked about his early work playing a Wrestlemania fan in Groundhog Day!  Hit the jump to either read or listen to what he had to say.

Producer/actor Danny Abeckaser plays Dino Lapron, the best friend of real-life mob hitman Richard Kuklinski, in The Iceman, Israeli director Ariel Vromen’s fascinating portrait of the notorious contract killer of the 70’s and 80’s.  Abeckaser, who grew up in Brooklyn, got the acting bug at an early age, went on to become a New York nightclub promoter in the mid-90’s before returning to his first love playing small roles in friends’ movies, and then making his mark in Holy Rollers which he produced and acted in.

At the recent press day for The Iceman which opens this Friday, Abeckaser talked to us about the challenges of getting the film made, how he prepared for his role, why he liked how his character brought out the human side of Kuklinski, what it was like working with Michael Shannon and Winona Ryder, why he thinks audiences are attracted to mob movies, what he looks for in a role, and his experience rubbing elbows with a real mobster.  He also discussed his role in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, his plans to shoot his own movie, The Life, directed by Fabrizio Conti, and how he’s hoping for a new Snickers commercial with Joe Pesci.

Ray Liotta plays real-life mobster Roy Demeo in Ariel Vromen’s crime drama, The Iceman, based on the story of notorious contract killer Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) whose career prospects expand when Demeo offers him the opportunity to earn a living as a mob enforcer.  The role marks the second time in 30 years that Liotta has played a real-life mobster since his acclaimed performance in Martin Scorsese’s gangster classic, Goodfellas. 

At the film’s recent press day, Liotta talked about getting back into that world again, why he likes playing pretend, how he researched his larger than life character, what it was like working opposite Michael Shannon, how he’s met real life mobsters, why he was reluctant to play Frank Sinatra in The Rat Pack, and why he tries to avoid typecasting and chooses roles that are diverse and challenging.  He also revealed his upcoming projects including playing himself in The Muppets…Again!, a hitman in the crime thriller Pawn, a preacher in The Identical, and a guy cheating on his wife in Sin City:  A Dame to Kill For.  Hit the jump to read more:

Robert Davi turns in a killer performance in Ariel Vromen’s crime thriller, The Iceman, portraying Leo Marks, a character inspired by Anthony Gaggi, the captain of the Gambino crime family.  Opening in theaters on May 3^rd, The Iceman chronicles the life of notorious hitman Richard Kuklinski and stars Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans and Ray Liotta.  In powerful roles that range from a James Bond villain to an FBI profiler, Davi has made a career out of playing tough guys both on the big screen and on television, and he’s worked with some of the most respected actors in Hollywood.

At a highly entertaining roundtable interview, Davi discussed his character, the appeal of the genre, getting his start in the business with Frank Sinatra in Contract on Cherry Street, the enduring ties between show business and organized crime, rubbing elbows with made men at Café Roma, and winding up on the cover of the LA Times Magazine in a feature article entitled “The Mob Goes to Hollywood.”  He also talked about launching his professional singing career, headlining The Venetian in Las Vegas, his new album Davi Sings Sinatra:  On the Road to Romance, and the script he recently finished writing.  Hit the jump to read more.

Director/co-writer Ariel Vromen’s The Iceman chronicles the life of notorious contract killer Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) who earned the nickname for freezing the bodies of his victims to throw authorities off his trail.  A man of many contradictions, Kuklinski was by various accounts a loving husband, a devoted father, and a ruthless hitman who concealed his work from his family.  Opening on May 3^rd, the film also stars Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, David Schwimmer, Ray Liotta and Robert Davi.

At the recent press day, Vromen talked about why he thought Kuklinski’s story would make a fascinating film, how he convinced Shannon to shoot a test scene that helped secure the financing, why the ying yang dynamic between Shannon and Ryder worked so well, what led to some of the surprising casting choices for the supporting roles and how he balanced those with veterans of the genre, and why he was inspired by American mob movies while growing up in Israel.  He also discussed his next project, Narco, a drug-centric action thriller set in the world of narco-trafficking submarines.  Hit the jump to read the interview.

A new trailer for the thriller The Iceman has landed online.  The film stars Michael Shannon and chronicles the life of Richard Kuklinski, a professional hitman who kept his work secret from his family. The contract killer received the nickname “The Iceman” because he froze the bodies of his victims in order to disguise their time of death and throw the authorities off track.  This trailer makes the film feel a bit more dramatic than the action-oriented first trailer, but it looks like it might reveal a tad too much of the film’s plot.  Matt caught the film at the Toronto Film Festival and was not impressed by director/co-writer Ariel Vromen’s shallow take on Kuklinski, saying the pic is “about a hitman and nothing else.”

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also stars Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, Winona Ryder, and James Franco.  The Iceman opens on May 3rd.

Every once in awhile you land an interview that you can’t wait to share.  The one you’re about to watch with Chris Evans is one of those.  At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, I got to sit down with Evans for over twenty minutes (we were scheduled for a lot less) to talk about his great work in director Ariel Vromen‘s The Iceman.  As you can see in the first trailer, Evans plays a killer and is nearly unrecognizable in dirty long hair as Richard Kuklinski’s (Michael Shannon) friend and partner.

I’ve spoken to Evans a lot over the years, and one of the things I love about him is his honesty and willingness to talk about everything.  If you ask him a question about his career, or even his contract with Marvel, he’ll talk about it.  Most actors will try and deflect the question, or give a politician’s answer.  That’s not how Evans operates and it’s very refreshing.  So besides talking about The Iceman and working with Michael Shannon, Evans talked about how his career has blown up, the intricacies of his Marvel contract, the business of Hollywood, playing a critical character of the Marvel universe, Captain America 2 (Captain America: The Winter Solider), whether he knows anything about Captain America 3, the success of The Avengers, Joss Whedon, Thor 2, Bong Joon-ho‘s Snowpiercer, the greatness of Hayley Atwell, his upcoming anti-romantic comedy A Many Splintered Thing with Michelle Monaghan, and so much more.  Hit the jump for more.

The Iceman is a hitman movie.  It’s about a hitman and nothing else.  Director and co-writer Ariel Vromen takes no chances on his film based on the life of mob enforcer Richard Kuklinski.  The movie paints a two-dimensional character, and then wants credit for not making him one-dimensional.  There’s more effort put into developing the characters’ era-appropriate facial hair than developing the story into anything more than a description of Kuklinski’s actions.  Only Michael Shannon‘s overpowering screen presence stops The Iceman from being the driest crime drama in recent memory.

The line-up for the 2012 Telluride Film Festival has been announced.  The program will include Michael Haneke’s Palm d’Or-winning Amour, the Bill Murray-fronted Hyde Park on Hudson, Michael Winterbottom’s Everyday, the Michael Shannon crime thriller The Iceman, Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell, and many more.  The festival will also include some special surprise screenings, with Ben Affleck’s highly anticipated drama Argo rumored to appear.  Additionally, the 2012 Silver Medallion Awards will be given to Roger Corman, Marion Cotillard, and Mads Mikkelsen.

Hit the jump to read the full press release which includes the entire line-up.  The 2012 Telluride Film Festival runs from August 31 – September 3rd.

The first trailer for the thriller The Iceman has been released.  The film chronicles the life of Richard Kuklinski, a professional hitman who kept his work secret from his family. The contract killer received the nickname “The Iceman” because he froze the bodies of his victims in order to disguise their time of death and throw the authorities off track.  “Michael Shannon as a hitman” was really all I needed to hear to get me in the theater, but the film looks to have some great scenes between Shannon and Ray Liotta.  Moreover, Chris Evans is nearly unrecognizable in dirty long hair as Kuklinski’s mentor.  James Franco was originally slated to play that role before Evans took over, but it appears that Franco is still in the film as a supporting character.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Ariel Vromen, the film also stars Winona Ryder.  The Iceman recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is slated to play at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals.

The line-up for the 2012 Venice Film Festival has been announced and it’s a surprisingly lean year.  Usually, there’s a lot of overlap between the Toronto International Film Festival and Venice, but the only major crossovers are Terrence Malick‘s To the Wonder, Robert Redford‘s The Company You Keep, Ramin Bahrani‘s At Any Price, Mira Nair‘s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and Ariel Vromen‘s The Iceman.  Venice does have a few standout exclusives this year, most notably Brian De Palma‘s new film, Passion, starring Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace.  Other notable exclusives include Abdallah Omeish‘s Witness: Libya (executive produced by Michael Mann) and Harmony Korine‘s Spring Breakers.

Hit the jump for the full line-up.  The 2012 Venice Film Festival runs August 29 – September 8th.

The line-up for the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival was announced this morning, and now we’re getting first images from some of the movies playing at the fest.  We now have the first looks at:

• Ariel Vromen‘s The Iceman starring Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, David Schwimmer, Michael Shannon, and Ray Liotta.
• Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman‘s Imogene starring Annette Bening, Matt Dillon, Darren Criss, and Kristen Wiig.
• Yaron Zilberman‘s A Late Quartet starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mark Ivanir, Imogen Poots, Christopher Walken, and Catherine Keener.
• Josh Boone‘s Writers starring Liana Liberato, Jennifer Connelly, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, and Kristen Bell.

Hit the jump to check out the images along with a brief synopsis for each film.  The 2012 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 – 16th.