Hello There! This is Adam Frazier and you are listening to Skull-Face Island, the official movie podcast of Geeks of Doom! As always I’m joined by Joe Wright’s Secret Lover, David Allen… and the Daniel Plainview to my H.W., producer Tim Grant.
Today on the Show: We’ll discuss Andrew Dominik‘s latest film, Killing Them Softly, and boot-up the Geek-O-Matic TeleFax, which is currently malfunctioning and appears to be print out headlines… FROM THE FUTURE! We’ll also play WHO AM I!? Each of us has a card slapped on our foreheads. On that card is the name of an actor or director – we have no knowledge of who is on this card – and we will be forced to ask questions in order to solve the mystery of… WHO AM I? As always, the Mystic Spinner will decide who goes first…
Killing Them Softly Directed by Andrew Dominik
Written by Andrew Dominik
Starring: Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta The Weinstein Company
Rated R | 97 Minutes
Release Date: November 30, 2012
Written and directed by Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), Killing Them Softly is an adaptation of George V. Higgins‘ 1974 crime novel, Cogan’s Trade.
When South Boston low-lifes Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) break into an illegal card game and steal the cash, they attract the attention of contract killer Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt).
The underground poker circuit is run by low-level mobster Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta), who becomes an immediate suspect because he robbed his own card game a few years back. The two thugs assume the blame will fall on Trattman, leaving them free from mob retaliation. As you might imagine, they assume wrong.
The South Boston mob sends a representative (Richard Jenkins) to sit down with Cogan to work out the details of Frankie and Russell’s demise, and what to do with Markie – who is living on borrowed time after his previous stunt.
Killing Them Softly is set in the months leading up to the 2008 Presidential election, where writer/director Andrew Dominik repeatedly hits us over the head with comparisons between a financial crisis, a corrupt political system, and the violent circumstances of Higgins’ crime-drama.
Brad Pitt is a man going around taking names, and he decides who to free and who to blame. The first trailer for Andrew Dominik‘s Killing Them Softly, which makes excellent use of Johnny Cash’s “When A Man Comes Around,” has been released. The crime flick follows Pitt and James Gandolfini as professional hit men trying to recover money that was lost in a raid made by two low-life crooks. Check it out below.
The film marks Dominik’s return as a director after an eight-year absence, so there really isn’t much to say after watching the trailer, because it speaks for itself. Killing Them Softly made its official debut over at Cannes where critics praised it. It certainly has earned my attention.
Following his brilliant film, The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, a meditative and neo-Altman/Bergman-esque take on the western, we’ve waited with bated breath for the return of director Andrew Dominik, and it’s now time.
Box Office Mojo reveals that Cogan’s Trade has been tapped to bow on September 21, further hinting that the film will likely debut at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals later this year.
The team of Brad Pitt and Andrew Dominik have worked together in the past on the brilliant western, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and now they’re set to work together once again on a new movie.
The new project is called Cogan’s Trade and will revolve around Jackie Cogan, a mob enforcer who has to investigate a big heist that takes place during a high stakes poker game being played under the protection of the mob. It’s described as a “comedic crime story,” meaning it will probably be along the lines of a Snatch or Ocean’s Eleven type of film.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
