wire

In between such pistol-packing antiheroes as Bonnie Parker and Luigi Mangione, financially-squeezed Americans rooted for Tony Kiritsis, a working stiff who took his mortgage lender hostage in 1977 Indianapolis, claiming that the loan company cheated him out of his land. “Dead Man’s Wire,” the title of Gus Van Sant’s wonky true crime caper, comes from Kiritsis’ weapon: a shotgun tied to a noose looped around the neck of his prisoner, Richard Hall. His hair-trigger homemade contraption pressured all three major networks into giving Kiritsis airtime to explain his grievances to the public. Pressing a sawed-off barrel to Hall’s head, the hot-tempered chatterbox told the cameras, “I am sorry I humiliated this man this way, even though he must’ve surely had it coming.”

To the establishment’s horror, many viewers sided with Kiritsis. “How about some Tony Kiritsis t-shirts, some Tony Kiritsis badges, a Tony Kiritsis fan club?” one supporter wrote to the local paper, the Indianapolis News.

Or how about a biopic that fires blanks?

Van Sant has long taken aim at the intersection of violence and mass media culture. Over his career, he’s attacked it from several angles, including the fame-seeking satire of “To Die For,” his elegy for the publicly out politician of “Milk” and the clinical ennui of “Elephant,” his take on the Columbine massacre, in which his pair of teen killers numb themselves with grisly entertainment. Kiritsis’ story is an irresistible target: an ignored man thrilled to have the attention of the spanking new Action News squads who barge onto the scene unprepared for the risk they might broadcast an on-air murder.

But this time, Van Sant seems more interested in the period-piece décor and the aesthetics of early video footage (the cinematography is by Arnaud Potier) than he is in the bleak humor of Kiritsis’ televised tirade cutting to a burger commercial. The result is a faintly comic curio that hurtles along without much impact.

The mishaps start when Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård) storms Meridian Mortgage’s office only to discover his intended captive, the ruthless M.L. Hall (Al Pacino), is away vacationing in Florida. Hall’s cowed and coddled son Richard (Dacre Montgomery) will have to do, even though the real estate scion is so passive that he barely bothers to fight for his life. If you’ve seen the original footage of the bizarre press conference where Hall, a twitch from assassination, stares blankly past the flashbulbs, then you know that Van Sant and Montgomery (the “Stranger Things” bully cast against type) get their victim exactly right while robbing Kiritsis, and the audience, of a worthy adversary. In one cold yet weightless moment, the boy-man realizes his own dad might not care whether he survives.

At least the younger Hall’s dull demeanor — then coded as dignity, now as soullessness — makes Kiritsis seem more alive. The real Kiritsis was short-statured with a car salesman’s sideburns; he had the kind of face you only see onscreen during competitive bowling. Lanky, hunched and fragile, Skarsgård’s version isn’t quite as salt-of the-earth, although he’s captured his rapid patter and the burning menace in his eyes. He plays the role somewhere between a soapbox preacher and a “Scooby-Doo” episode that imagines Shaggy unmasking a money-grubbing bad guy and threatening to beat him to death.

Kiritsis is so convinced of his righteousness that he genuinely believes the mortgage company’s manipulations, not his own murder threat, to be the big story. When Hall proves too mute to debate, Kiritsis vents to a radio disc jockey named Fred (Colman Domingo), even though Fred is more interested in smooth tunes than hard news. (Springboarding from this and his perky TV host role in “The Running Man,” Domingo needs to star in his own comedy stat.) Won’t someone, even an inessential young reporter played by Myha’la, poke into the alleged scam?

Yet despite how often Austin Kolodney’s script has Kiritsis say he just wants to be heard, the soured mortgage deal is so impossible to follow that even the movie itself deems it unnecessary. Our attention pivots to the futility of this self-described “little guy” trying to get someone with clout to take him seriously. In this period, criminal psychology was just starting to go mainstream. An FBI agent (Neil Mulac) instructs the Indianapolis cops to think deeper about Kiritsis’ motivations, wielding chalk to illustrate how anger is rooted in humiliation and disrespect. Kiritsis is screaming mad and the police’s yawns aren’t helping.

Today, Kiritsis would have a podcast. But cranks like him seem especially at home in the 1970s — the mad-as-hell decade — when their polyester button-downs make them look extra itchy around the collar. It’s easy to picture Kiritsis exiting a double-feature of “Network” and “Dog Day Afternoon” and vowing that he, too, isn’t going to take it anymore.

Van Sant sees the parallels between Kiritsis and “Dog Day Afternoon’s” populist bank robber Sonny Wortzik — heck, he’s even stunt-cast Pacino as the fat-cat financier — but the film doesn’t appear to have the budget to examine how Kiritsis’ anger fires up the cash-strapped masses. It certainly can’t afford to include the real-life scene at an Indianapolis Pacers game where an arena of basketball fans cheered for his not-guilty verdict, although I would have settled for even a bit player who helps us understand why a jury of his peers let him off the hook.

Instead, the movie inexplicably squanders its energy on needle drops that act against the mood: the watery irony of Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby” cooing over an image of Hall handcuffed in a bathtub. Better is Danny Elfman’s spartan and fraught score, particularly the dyspeptic drums.

Was Kiritsis a narcissistic madman or a schmuck who’d put too much trust in the American ideals of hard work and fair treatment? Van Sant alludes to the latter when the televisions keep showing John Wayne on other channels, the gunslinging Duke setting things right in a classic western or winning the 1977 People’s Choice statuette for best actor.

It’s no wonder that Kiritsis figured he’d be a hero, too — and that, in real life, many of the people watching at home agreed — although as obvious as that point is, it would have been nice if Van Sant explored it. At least we get Kiritsis’ sentimental, expletive-laden version of an awards speech which devolves into him thanking his family, Hall’s family and even the police academy before he gets hustled offstage. Kiritsis is certain he’s accomplished something great. We’re glumly aware of how many others are waiting their turn in the wings.

ACTOR Isiah Whitlock Jr – whose starring role in The Wire launched an iconic catchphrase – has died aged 71.

Whitlock Jr was best known for his recurring roles in Law & Order and Veep as well as being a regular in Spike Lee films.

His iconic catchphrase “Sh*******t” was also enshrined into pop-culture after he first delivered the line in 25th Hour.

In an interview in 2008, Whitlock Jr revealed he had picked up the phrase from his uncle Leon.

“I did it there, and I did it in She Hate Me,” he said.

“But then, when I got on to The Wire, I saw a couple of opportunities where I could do it, and I did.

“And they started writing it in.”

Whitlock Jr was born in South Bend, Indiana, and began his acting career after graduating from college, when he joined San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater.

The star first appeared on screen in 1987 in a guest role on CBS’ Cagney & Lacey.

He continued to appear on TV for the following 35 years, starring in the Law & Order franchise in multiple episodes of Special Victims Unit and Criminal Intent.

Best known for his role as corrupt State Senator R. Clayton “Clay” Davis in The Wire, he appeared in all five seasons of the popular crime drama.

Whitlock Jr later got to play a man obsessed with The Wire in the 2011 comedy Cedar Rapids.

The star was confirmed dead on Tuesday by his long-time manager Brian Liebman.

“Isiah was a brilliant actor and even better person,” Liebman told Deadline.

“He was loved by all who had the pleasure to work with or know him. 

“He will be greatly missed.”

A fan favourite on HBO’s political comedy Veep, he played Secretary of Defence General George Maddox.

Whitlock Jr was a series regular on Showtime’s legal thriller Your Honor, where he portrayed a politician with connections in organised crime.

His final TV role was in the Netflix murder mystery series The Residence, where he depicted the Chief of Police, opposite Uzo Aduba.

The show premiered in March.

The star had a long-standing relationship with Spike Lee, appearing in six of the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s movies: 25th Hour (2002), She Hate Me (2004), Red Hook Summer (2012), Chi-Raq (2015), BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Da 5 Bloods (2020).

He also appeared as a doctor in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, as well as roles in Chappelle’s Show, Pieces of April, Enchanted and Pixar’s Cars 3 and Lightyear.

On the big screen, Whitlock Jr was most recently seen in Elizabeth Banks’ black comedy Cocaine Bear.

His voice will also be heard as part of the voice cast in the Pixar/Disney animated feature Hoppers, which is slated for release in March, 2026.

Isiah Whitlock Jr., best known for his role in HBO’s “The Wire” and his collaborations with director Spike Lee in films such as “BlacKkKlansman” and “Da 5 Bloods,” has died. He was 71.

Whitlock’s manager, Brian Liebman, shared news of his client’s death in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

“It is with tremendous sadness that I share the passing of my dear friend and client Isiah Whitlock Jr.,” Liebman wrote. “If you knew him — you loved him. A brilliant actor and even better person. May his memory forever be a blessing. Our hearts are so broken. He will be very, very missed.”

Liebman told Deadline that Whitlock died peacefully in New York after a short illness.

Born in South Bend, Ind., Whitlock had dreams of playing pro football. He told NPR in 2021 that, while playing at Southwest Minnesota State University, he got “banged up … concussions, broken ankles.”

“To me it just didn’t seem to make sense anymore. … I wandered by the theater department.” After nabbing a role in “The Crucible,” he said he’d been “working ever since.”

After graduating in 1976, Whitlock joined the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.

At the start of his career, the actor picked up roles in procedurals and dramas, including iterations of the “Law & Order” franchise, notably “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”

He most famously left his mark on HBO’s “The Wire” as corrupt Maryland State Sen. Clay Davis, whose drawn-out, drawled profanity, “s—,” became a memorable element of the 60-episode crime drama.

After brief appearances on multiple short-lived TV series, including Fox’s “New Amsterdam,” ABC’s “The Unusuals,” CBS’ “Chaos,” and others, Whitlock made his HBO return with a recurring role on the political satire “Veep” as George Maddox, the secretary of defense and presidential candidate.

Whitlock also appeared on CBS shows “The Good Wife,” “Elementary,” FX’s “Louie,” “Atlanta,” Fox’s “Gotham,” NBC’s “The Carmichael Show” among many more. His final TV role was as Chief of Police Larry Dokes in Netflix’s 2025 mystery comedy drama “The Residence.”

On the big screen, Whitlock appeared in the black comedy horror film “Cocaine Bear” in 2023, as well as multiple movies directed by Lee, including “She Hate Me” (2004), “Chi-Raq” (2015), “BlacKkKlansman” (2018) and “Da 5 Bloods” (2020).

The director shared a photo of the two on his Instagram account, writing, “Today I learned of the passing of my dear beloved brother Isiah Whitlock. God Bless.”

Whitlock is slated for two posthumous releases, the 2026 Pixar animated film “Hoppers” and the Irish American film “The Body Is Water,” directed by Vicky Wight.

James Ransone, a character actor who played an impulsive, drug-dealing dock worker in the iconic HBO series “The Wire” and later appeared in horror films “Sinister” and “It: Chapter Two,” died in Los Angeles on Friday. He was 46.

According to the L.A. County medical examiner’s office, Ransone died by suicide.

A native of Maryland, Ransone studied theater at the Carver Center for Arts and Technology in the Baltimore County community of Towson, before breaking into television a few years later.

Ransone appeared in several prominent horror films. He portrayed Max in “The Black Phone,” a film about a teen boy who is abducted by a serial killer. The movie was based on a short story written by Joe Hill — Stephen King’s son — and starred Ethan Hawke. Ransone reprised his role in the sequel, “Black Phone II.”

Ransone appeared in another horror film with Hawke, taking on the role of Deputy in “Sinister.” The movie centers around a writer who finds snuff films in his new house. Ransone also acted alongside Bill Hader, Jessica Chastain and Bill Skarsgård in the follow-up “It: Chapter Two,” playing Eddie Kaspbrak, one of several characters being tormented by killer clown Pennywise.

While promoting the film, he defended the horror genre against those who consider it a “throwaway” category.

“To those people I’ll say, ‘Tell that to William Friedkin or Stanley Kubrick,’” Ransone said in an interview with Anthem Magazine.

He also had roles in the shows “Generation Kill,” “Treme” and “Bosch.” His final TV appearance came in the a second-season episode of Peacock’s comedy crime show “Poker Face,” which aired in June.

But he will likely be remembered most for his turn as Ziggy Sobotka in “The Wire,” a dark and uncompromising drama — hailed as one of the best TV shows of all time — that explored various aspects of Baltimore and its institutions. Ransone appeared in all 12 episodes of the show’s second season, which focused on the decimation of the city’s docks.

He played the son of a dock union leader, whose scheming charisma got him into trouble with other low-level criminals — but also endeared him to some viewers. In one notable story arc, he bought a duck, which he paraded around with a diamond necklace; the bird later died because he fed it too much alcohol.

The critically acclaimed HBO series aired from 2002 to 2008 and starred Dominic West, Michael Kenneth Williams, John Doman, Idris Elba, Wood Harris, Lance Reddick, Wendell Pierce, Frankie Faison, Lawrence Gilliard Jr. and more.

In a statement released to the Baltimore Banner news site, “Wire” creator David Simon called Ransone’s death “grievous and awful.”

“He committed not only to the work but to the camaraderie that turns every good film production into something familial and caring,” said the statement by Simon, who also cast Ransone in “Generation Kill” and “Treme.”

In an interview on MSNBC after the release of the movie “Sinister 2,” Ransone said he was proud of the work he had done on “The Wire” but called it a “real double-edged sword” in that people would forever typecast him as Ziggy. He described himself as a horror film fan and spoke of how working with filmmakers such as Simon, Sean Baker and Spike Lee had opened his eyes to many social inequities.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Ransone was living in L.A. at the time of his death. A man with his name is listed on the California secretary of state’s website as living in the 700 block of North Martel Avenue, in the Fairfax neighborhood.

LAPD spokesperson Officer Norma Eisenman said that around 2 p.m. Friday a police squad responded to a 911 call about an undetermined death at that location. Inside, she said, officers found a white male who appeared to have taken his own life.

Because foul play isn’t suspected, the case is being handled by the medical examiner’s office, Eisenman said, adding that she could not confirm that the man was Ransone or provide other details about the 911 call.

TMZ reported that Ransone was a married father of two, and wife Jamie McPhee posted a fundraiser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in her social media profile.

In recent years, Ransone came out as a sexual abuse survivor and also spoke openly about his struggles with addiction.

In 2016, he told Interview Magazine that he had gotten sober at age 27 “after being on heroin for five years.”

“People think I got sober working on the ‘Generation Kill.’ I didn’t. I sobered up six or seven months before that,” he told the publication. “I remember going to Africa and I was going to be there for almost a year. I was number two on the call sheet and I was like, ‘I think somebody made a mistake. This is too much responsibility for me.’”

Ransone in 2021 disclosed that he had been sexually abused by a former tutor at his childhood home in Phoenix, Md. over a six-month span in 1992, according to the Baltimore Banner. He revealed the allegations on Instagram, where he shared a lengthy note that he had sent his alleged abuser, the Banner reported. A police investigation was later launched into the allegations but closed without any charges being filed.