The New York Post is reporting that resurgent star Mickey Rourke has signed on to the movie, The Ice Man, in which he’ll play sadistic mafia hitman, Richard Kulinski, who murdered over 200 people, before being caught in the mid-80s.
The news came from Phil Carlo, the author of the book that the film will be based on, who said that, “He’s really looking forward to being the Ice Man, and I think he’ll do a great job. He’s talking about it being his Raging Bull.”
It’s certainly good news for Carlo, as he refused to extend his film adapation deal with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura earlier this summer, because the producer wanted Channing Tatum to play Kulinksi, which Carlo though was totally wrong. At the time the author said he wanted Rourke, and it looks like he might have got his wish.
Kulinski is an interesting figure because although he became a fully fledged professional hitman, he started out as a pure serial killer, murdering 50 vagrants for kicks before he was 18.
While there’s a chance this is just Carlo spouting off to raise interest in the adaption of his film, it’d certainly be quite interesting if it turns out to be true.