Dead Man's Wire is based on the true crime story of Anthony George Kiritsis, an American kidnapper from Indianapolis who felt wronged by his mortgage broker Richard O. Hall. Taking matters into his own hands, Kiritsis took Hall hostage with a shotgun rigged to a DIY dead man's wire that hooked up both of them to the gun's trigger; if either made a move or got shot, it would be the end of Hall.
The movie stars Bill Skarsgard as Tony Kiritsis, Dacre Montgomery as Richard 'Dick' Hall, and Cary Elwes as Detective Michael Grable, one of the lead policemen on the case. Al Pacino (M. L. Hall), Colman Domingo (Fred Temple), and Myha'la (Linda Page) also appear in the film.
On the red carpet for Dead Man's Wire at AFI Fest in Los Angeles, The Direct spoke with the cast and director about the movie. Elwes noted that "The story is so extraordinary that we really didn't have to take many licenses" and that they "were pretty faithful to the [real] story."
Director Gus Van Sant explained that often, "the original story was usually much more interesting than the things we were making up." He also elaborated that while there was plenty of information about Anthony and Richard on the day, there was less about the actual police to work from.
Below is more of the interview. The entire list of talent that The Direct spoke with includes Cary Elwes (Michael Grable), Gus Van Sant (director), Myha'la (Linda Page), Daniel Hill (Jimmy Kiritsis), Kelly Lynch (Mabel Hall), and Austin Kolodney (screenwriter).
Dead Man's Wire will have a limited theatrical release starting on January 9, 2026, and expand wider on January 16. For more true crime stories, Peacock released Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy, which offers a fresh perspective on the infamous serial killer.
Balancing Fiction With the True Story for Dead Man's Wire
"I Think the Most Absurd Thing of It All Is That It All Actually Happened..."
The Direct asked the cast and filmmakers behind Dead Man's Wire about balancing fiction with the true facts about what actually happened on that day in the real world and respecting the true story whilst making changes.
Cary Elwes: The story is so extraordinary that we really didn't have to take many licenses. You know, my character is based on a real guy, and I met with the kids who shared with me the details of everything that happened that day of the kidnapping. And we were pretty faithful to the story... Yeah, sure, there were bits and pieces that we tweaked, but for the most part, what you see is what happened.
Gus Van Sant: Well, one of the ways we just—the less you know about the original story, the better. Maybe it is for you to like, make your own piece, although the original story was usually much more interesting than the things we were making up. So it's always a blend of real life affecting the cinema life for the actors, it meant a lot to like, know who they were playing.
There was a lot of information about the two of these characters, maybe less about the police who were involved. But it's sort of, it's, I'm used to doing it. It's like all the films I've made have elements of reality that you're kind of [basing from] the real story, and you're interpreting it as a drama.
Myha'la: I think Gus did something really cool with this, the way he uses the real footage from the time, from the documentary. He also does some, like, really cool, shot-for-shot, matchy sort of stuff. But I think the thing that really makes it his own is the edit. There's so much more comedy in this movie than we expected. Well, let me not speak for anyone else, but then I expected there to be... And of course, like some costume decisions, my character, in and of itself, is creative license that he's taking.
Daniel Hill: I think one of the things that's really important about this film is that this is a true story that actually happened. And even though a lot of people who have seen it thus far in various festivals, even though we're getting all this crazy stuff, one of the things that keeps coming up from a lot of people is the absurdity of it all. And it is absurd. But I think the most absurd thing of it all is that it all actually happened...
For me, the big challenge was, you know, you have to have some levity. And so I really tried to find that dark humor in with my character, you know, playing Bill Skarsgard's brother Jimmy Karitisis, I come in, a little into the film, to try to help him figure things out, but I don't have a clue what I'm doing. The character doesn't either.
So, one really great thing is we had a ton of source material with this being a real thing, so I actually got to watch footage of Jimmy's speech patterns and the way he looked and the way he moved. And while, I think in real life, me and Bill are both taller, both characters, the fact that mine and Bill's heights are about the same, that's how we can make it work...
Austin Kolodney: I come from a love of history class. That was the one I excelled in more than any other subject in school. But doing that research was a lot of fun to have a menu to choose from of these nuggets of like, oh, that character talked like that, and this character lived this way, like those are things that inspire the creative.
But then also another quote that I go back to that another director had told me was, Austin, I'm gonna wean you off of the facts and bring you closer to the truth. And that phrase kind of instilled within me the confidence to veer from the nuts and bolts facts and figures into telling the story that I think is hopefully going to be as richly entertaining as it needs to be, like in the theate,r without it being too much of a book report, but I think also hopefully still holds respect to the core ethos of what happened
All of the interviews from the red carpet can be seen below:
For more interviews from The Direct, be sure to check out our conversation with Regretting You star McKenna Grace.
