Just Jared is reporting that James Franco has left The Iceman, a biopic about mob hitman Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski. The Iceman, is set to be directed by Ariel Vroman, and is will star Franco’s friend and collaborator Michael Shannon in the title role. Maggie Gyhllenhaal is also set to star as Kuklinski’s wife and it’s also been announced Ray Liotta is set to play Kuklinski’s employer, mobster Roy Demeo.
Franco was set to star as Kuklinski’s mentor assassin, Robert “Mr. Softee” Pronge, but Just Jared claim a “source” reported that Franco left because of contractual issues:
“James pulled out because he couldn’t come to an agreement on key contractual issues that didn’t involve financial terms.“Now it looks like this project might fall apart.”
It wouldn’t surprise me that the film could fall apart without Franco, as Michael Shannon has previously stated, with the film being independent, it was struggling to find the right investors. Now with Franco’s apparent exit, this looks like it may just be enough to kill The Iceman.
