November
4
American Gangster Breaks Boxoffice Record
American Gangster kicked ass at the boxoffice this weekend, reports Variety:
Universal's Denzel Washington-Russell Crowe starrer "American Gangster" smacked the weekend box office, becoming the highest grossing R-rated crime-drama in history. Pollination of DreamWorks Animation's "Bee Movie" combined to give the film biz its first honey-sweet frame in nearly two months. Directed by Ridley Scott and produced by Imagine Entertainment, "Gangster" grossed an estimated $46.3 million from 3,054 locations, outpacing expectations and easily beating "Bee" for the No. 1 spot. It's the best opening for both Crowe and Washington, as well as the highest opener of the fall to date.
If you want a treat, download Charlie Rose's Friday show on American Gangster (as soon as they post it). First, Rose interviews Brian Grazer, Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott, who all get in a word or two. I found myself recognizing how tricky it must be to handle those two big movie stars. (I found my SAG Q & A for Master and Commander with Crowe and Paul Bettany rough going.) While I give Grazer credit for pushing the movie through and recognizing its commercial power, I found it odd that writer Steve Zaillian was missing from the proceedings. He's the one who sent his script to Scott, after it had been set aside by director Antoine Fuqua.
The second part of the Charlie Rose show is a hoot. He interviews not only exec producer Nicholas Pileggi (who sounds like he wrote the damn thing), cop-turned-lawyer Richie Roberts (who is played by Crowe), New York Magazine writer Mark Jacobson (whose original piece was about Harlem druglord Frank Lucas, but not Roberts), and Lucas himself, undiminished in a wheelchair. They genially debate the various versions of the story, and Roberts smiles at Lucas with obvious affection--he still represents him, and has taken on the education of Lucas's son, who is his godson. Roberts said that the movie softens how tough he had to be to bring Lucas down. Lucas is still larger than life, while admitting that he did terrible things that he is ashamed of. Everyone in the room clearly gets a big kick out of him.
I like these photos of rival kingpins Nicky Barnes and Frank Lucas. Lucas says that while Barnes moved more drugs than he did, he made way more money because he eliminated the middleman by going to the source, obtaining his drugs in Southeast Asia. Pileggi made the point that none of this would have been possible if everyone involved in getting the drugs to market hadn't been corrupt--the suppliers, the military, and the New York cops who took a piece of Lucas's action. Lucas was more than happy, in the end, to help Roberts bring the corrupt New York cops down.
Here's the trailer:
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