EXCLUSIVE: True-crime thriller Golden State Killer (previously known as The Policeman), starring Vincent Gallo and James Franco, is on sale this week at the Cannes market with Lionsgate.
The film has secured a domestic distribution release via Lionsgate’s longtime genre partner Grindstone.
Written and directed by Vito Brown, the movie has Gallo playing Golden State killer Joseph James DeAngelo, the serial murderer and rapist who began terrorizing California residents all the way back in the 1970s, only being brought to justice in 2018. Franco plays a detective who faces the impossible task of finding the serial killer at the height of his crime spree before he can claim his next victims.
Producers are Scott Clayton, Jordan Gertner, Barry Brooker, Todd Williams, and Gary A. Hirsch. Gertner was previously aboard as writer-director but that’s no longer the case, we understand.
The project, which is currently in post-production, hit some turbulence last year when it was scrutinized by SAG-AFTRA over misconduct complaints against Gallo by multiple female actors. The complaints spotlighted sexual comments allegedly made by Gallo in the audition process, which took place in November 2023.
Actor, filmmaker and musician Gallo, a Venice Best Actor winner, is known for subversive and provocative works including The Brown Bunny.
127 Hours, Spring Breakers and Pineapple Express star Franco has a spate of independent projects in production or post including Bunny-Man and Alina of Cuba: La Hija Rebelde. He hasn’t appeared in a studio movie since the 2021 settlement of a legal case brought against him by former students who accused him of sexual misconduct.
