‘King Ivory’: Melissa Leo, James Badge Dale & Michael Mando Talk John Swab’s Fentanyl Crisis Crime Thriller – Venice Film Festival
deadline.comIndie filmmaker John Swab’s action thriller King Ivory, a multi-faceted dive into the U.S. fentanyl crisis that weaves together storylines from various angles of the war on drugs, had its world premiere in the Horizons Extra strand at the Venice Film Festival this week.
Much of the main cast was on hand to reunite on the Lido after having shot the movie under an interim agreement last year in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The story follows Tulsa drug cop, Layne West (James Badge Dale), who is battling the local criminal element, which hits too close to home when his son gets hooked on fentanyl.
West makes it his mission to take down those responsible, including the Mexican cartel’s local shot-caller, Ramón Garza (Michael Mando), Indian Brotherhood War Chief, Holt Lightfeather (Graham Greene), who controls state-wide trafficking while serving life inside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester and the local Irish Mob family outfit, led by George “Smiley” Greene (Ben Foster), along with his mother, Ginger (Melissa Leo), and uncle, Mickey (Ritchie Coster). RELATED: ‘The Room Next Door’s Pedro Almodóvar, Julianne Moore & Tilda Swinton Talk Life, Death, Euthanasia, Female Friendships – Venice Film Festival Tulsa native Swab, who is now nine-years sober, has spoken openly about his time as an addict.
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