American Gangster
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Ridley Scott
Denzel Washington
Russell Crowe
Josh Brolin
Carla Gugino
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Nobody used to notice Frank Lucas, the quiet driver to one of the inner city's leading black crime bosses. But when his boss suddenly dies, Frank exploits the opening in the power structure to build his own empire and create his own version of the American Dream. Through ingenuity and a strict business ethic, he comes to rule the inner-city drug trade, flooding the streets with a purer product at a better price. Lucas outplays all of the leading crime syndicates and becomes not only one of the city's mainline corrupters, but part of its circle of legit civic superstars. Richie Roberts is an outcast cop close enough to the streets to feel a shift of control in the drug underworld. Roberts believes someone is climbing the rungs above the known Mafia families and starts to suspect that a black power player has come from nowhere to dominate the scene. Both Lucas and Roberts share a rigorous ethical code that sets them apart from their own colleagues, making them lone figures on opposite sides of the law. The destinies of these two men will become intertwined as they approach a confrontation where only one of them can come out on top.
Director
Ridley Scott
Cast
Denzel Washington
Russell Crowe
Josh Brolin
Carla Gugino
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Cuba Gooding
Idris Elba
Ruby Dee
George Lee Miles
Roger Bart
Laurence Lowry
Krista Saab
Nino Del Buono
Jon Devries
Eric Silver
Kirt Leroux Harding
Norman Reedus
Janelle Cambridge
Larry Mitchell
Panama Redd
Sandra Park
Luis Salgado
Skyler Fortgang
Warner Miller
Roosevelt Davis
Jeff Greene
Clinton Lowe
Eddie Rouse
Jonathan Medero
Kevin Corrigan
Lonnie Gaetano
Mitchell Green
Warakarn Waruttamangkoon
Ron Piretti
Robert C Kirk
Andrea Rose Edmead
Tom Stearns
David Britton
Autavia Bailey
Quisha Saunders
Gavin Grazer
Jeff Mantel
David Spearman
Hamilton Clancy
Candyce Barnes
Bryant Pearson
Jason Veasey
Roger Guenveur Smith
Lee Shepard
Marjorie Johnson
James Hunter
Ritchie Coster
Albert Jones
Sam Freed
Flavia Tamara Livolsi
Latonya Tolbert
Paul Doherty
Nefertiti Robinson
Christopher A. Sawyer
Kesha Nichols
Saycon Sengbloh
Cedric Sanders
Thomas Guiffre
Fab Five Freddy
Tom O'rourke
Lymari Nadal
Fatima Robinson
J Kyle Manzay
Joe Morton
Jehan-pierre Vassau
Kadee Strickland
Linda Powell
Steve Mcauliff
Karen Adisson
Shannon Mcmillan
William Tate
Philip C. Canfield
Cicily Daniels
Armand Assante
Conor Romero
Kevin Geer
Wilhelm Lewis
Ric Young
Jon Polito
Tip Harris
Tamara Marrow
Scotty Dillin
Dawn A Douglas
Chance Kelly
Celestine Rae
Bari K. Willerford
Robert Wiggins
Neville White
Robbie Neigeborn
Daniel Farcher
Tyson Hall
Sarah Hudnut
Marielys Molina
Roxanne Amandez
Kathleen Garrett
Monique Lea-gall
Yul Vazquez
Ortos J. Gutierrez
Ruben Santiago-hudson
William Hudson
Ted Levine
Dan Moran
Carlos Sierra Lopez
John Hawkes
Jason Furlani
Anthony Hamilton
Koi Sinlapachan
Dylan Gallagher
Chuck Cooper
Serena Joan Springle
Arthur Mercante
Yuri Kamino-fennell
Melissia Hill
Fab Five Freddy Braithwaite
Robert Funaro
Luam Keflezghi
Jonah Denizard
John Ortiz
Malcolm Goodwin
Luana Jackman
Chris Mckinney
Daniel Hilt
Joey Klein
Al Santos
Pierra Francesca
Maryann Urbano
Jim R. Coleman
Maurice Ballard
Crew
Michael Adkins
G. A. Aguilar
Lawrence Amanuel
Noah Amos
Bill Anagnos
Belinda Anderson
Roy T Anderson
Louis Armstrong
Qodi Armstrong
Pie Arunyaphuti
Christopher Assells
Amal Baggar
Karen M. Baker
Tamu-ra Bakr
Peter Baran
Brian Barnes
Chris Barnes
Laura Figueiredo Barreto
Garrett Basch
Jonathan Baston
Joseph Baston
Charley Beal
Phillip Beck Jr.
Deborah Becker
Bobby Beckles
Bob Beemer
Cody Beke
Lola Belsito
Felix Bernard
Michael Bird
Matt Blades
Mirashyam Blakeslee
Eric Boncher
Antonio Bonilla
Sarah Bowen
Fab Five Freddy Braithwaite
Jeff Brannon
Julian Bratolyubov
Joanna Brett
Conrad F Brink
Dan Bronson
Rolland M. Brooks
Garf Brown
Jill Brown
Peter Bundrick
Scott Burik
Jared Burke
Ronald J. Burke
Alexander Burns
Adam Butera
Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler
Jeb Byers
Travis Cadalzo
Travis Cadalzo
John Caglione Jr.
John Cairns
Nicole Callender
Michael Cambria
Carol Campbell
Rick Canelli
Debbie Canfield
Kelly Canfield
Patrice Canfield Longo
Shari Carpenter
David M. Carr
Stephen Carter
Carolyn Cartwright
Johnny Cash
Sean Cassidy
Michael Castellano
Frank Cattano
Jared Cauliffe
Christopher Cenatiempo
John Cenatiempo
Victor Chan
Noreen R. Cheleden
Paul Cheponis
Eric Cheripka
Larry M. Cherry
Audrey Chon
Chaiyan (lek) Chunsuttiwat
Monika Chvatikova
Ashley Clark
Rudy Clark
Rory Clarke
Trenee Clayton
Jack Clement
Peter Cobbin
Peter Cobbin
Frederick Cohen
Liisa Cohen
Bob Colletti
Alisa Colley
Darin Collins
Jim Cook
Blaise Corrigan
Michael Costigan
K M Coughlin
Douglas Crosby
David Crossman
Cris D'annunzio
Debbi Datz-pyle
Yvens De Thelismond
Katherine Dejesus
Ruth A. Deleon
Kimmie Dellechiale
Thierno Diallo
Judi Dickerson
Tara Digerlando
Dino Dimuro
Liza Donatelli
Devin Donegan
Ana Katherina Drechsler
Edward Drohan
Bob Drwila
Shaun Carroll Duffy
David Dunlap
Dick Edwards
Edwin A Effrein
Edwin A Effrein
Guy Efrat
Fletcher Elkington
Woradet Em-eam
Abby Eon
Peter Epstein
Mark Eshelman
Ambika Fairfield
Jason Farrar
Cyd Fenwick
Ryan Ferguson
Nicole Ferrari
Christopher Ferraro
Ed Ferraro
Jonathan Filley
Jonathan Filley
Daniel Fine
Greg Finkel
Mo Fitzgerald
Mccord Fitzsimmons
Kevin W. Flynn
Kelly Foley-devitt
Richard Ford
Bruce L. Fowler
Steve Fowler
Walt Fowler
James Francis Ii
Aja Frary
Fab Five Freddy
Betsy Friedman
Carl Fullerton
Lowell Fulson
Gary G-wiz
Gary G-wiz
Kenneth Gamble
Jason Garcia
Risa Garcia
Harry Garfield
Geng Garum
Dan Gates
Emily Gaunt
Peter Gelfman
Oorlagh George
Terry George
Gordon H Gertsen
K. Scott Gertsen
Scott Getzinger
Jeffrey Lee Gibson
Alison Gilham
Greg Gilman
Rick Giovinazzo
Sam Glen
Don Glenn
Jessica Glenn
Gerald Gloster
Brent Godek
Eddie Goins
Tim Goldberg
Anthony Gonzalez
W Steven Graham
Brian Grazer
Staci Greenbaum
Elizabeth Greenberg
Scott Gregoire
Russ J. Griffin
Robert Griffon
Joe Grimaldi
Timothy Grimes
Jose Guerrero
Joe C. Guest
Emily Gunshor
Craig Haagensen
Damon Hahn
Per Hallberg
Anthony Hamilton
Anthony Hamilton
Matt Hansel
Gabriel Hansen
Kali Rashad Harrison
Isaac Hayes
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Nominations
Set Decoration
Best Supporting Actress
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Winner of the 2007 Satellite Award for Best Film Editing by the International Press Academy (IPA).
Released in United States Fall November 2, 2007
Released in United States on Video February 19, 2008
Brian De Palma previously attached to direct. Terry George previously attached to direct.
Antoine Fuqua was previously attached to direct, but abruptly exited due to "creative differences." Denzel Washington was previously attached to play the role of Frank Lucas. Benicio Del Toro was set to play the role of Richie Roberts. Universal settled Denzel Washington and Benicio Del Toro's pay-or-play deals estimated at $20 million-plus.
Universal Pictures re-hired Steve Zaillian in a reported seven-figure deal to rewrite the script.
Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment paid mid-against high-six figures for the rights to the New York Magazine article "The Return of Superfly" written by Mark Jacobson.
The project was previously to shoot in North Carolina, but moved to Toronto. The majority of filming was to take place in Toronto, however, the first three weeks were to be in New York, and the final week being in Thailand.
Universal was aiming for a November 4, 2005 release.
Project was scheduled to shoot in November 2004 but Universal shut the film down days after director Antione Fuqua left the project, citing time constraints and creative elements as its reason.
Released in United States Fall November 2, 2007
Released in United States on Video February 19, 2008
Winner of the 2007 award for Best Supporting Actress (Ruby Dee) by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
