Colman Domingo shares raw take on new film's similarity with Luigi Mangione's story

Colman Domingo thinks a society that doesn’t look out for the welfare of its citizens can push people to take extreme measures.

Attending the premiere of his new film, Dead Man’s Wire, Colman reflected on the true-story inspired movie.

Gus Van Sant’s film is set in 1977 and depicts the real story of Tony Kiritsis (played by Bill Skarsgard), a real estate developer who kidnapped his broker after failing to make his mortgage payments. 

Tony does this out of a sense of having been wronged by the powers that be.

Explaining the film’s theme during a Venice Film Festival press conference, the Sing Sing star said, "This is about an everyman feeling like they have no resources or any agency in the world."

"We need to tell stories like that again and again because this is exactly what happens when people are up against the wall. We can prevent things like this by really examining these people as human beings," he added.

Director Van Sant acknowledged the movie's similarity to the recent killing of a healthcare CEO, for which Luigi Mangione has been accused. He noted that they didn't change anything about the film due to the shooting. 

Having previously made films like Drugstore Cowboy and Good Will Hunting, the director said of the stories, "I relate to them."

"Stories about one individual versus a whole system are just something I respond to emotionally," he added.

Dead Man’s Wire will premiere at the festival on Tuesday, September 2.