James Franco once called Michael Shannon “basically my favorite actor,†and apparently, he really means it. After directing Shannon in both the short film Herbert White and his feature adaptation of The Broken Tower, Franco will now star opposite him in director Ariel Vroman’s The Iceman, which will also feature Benicio Del Toro. Shannon will play real-life contract killer Richard Kuklinski, famous for freezing his victims, while Franco will play an assassin that serves as his mentor. Good to see Franco working, we were worried he might actually get to sleep for a bit. [Deadline]