American Gangster (film)

American Gangster
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ridley Scott
Screenplay by	Steven Zaillian
Based on	"The Return of Superfly" by Mark Jacobson
Produced by	Ridley Scott Brian Grazer
Starring	Russell Crowe Denzel Washington Chiwetel Ejiofor Cuba Gooding Jr. Josh Brolin Ted Levine Armand Assante John Ortiz John Hawkes RZA
Cinematography	Harris Savides
Edited by	Pietro Scalia
Music by	Marc Streitenfeld
Production companies	Imagine Entertainment Scott Free Productions Relativity Media
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	October 19, 2007 (2007-10-19) (Apollo Theater) November 2, 2007 (2007-11-02) (United States)
Running time	157 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$100 million[1]
Box office	$266.5 million[1]

American Gangster is a 2007 American biographical crime film directed and produced by Ridley Scott and written by Steven Zaillian. The film is loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts. The film stars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, with co-stars Ted Levine, John Ortiz, Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ruby Dee, Lymari Nadal and Cuba Gooding Jr.

Development for the film initially began in 2000, when Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment purchased the rights to a New York magazine story about the rise and fall of Lucas. Two years later, screenwriter Steven Zaillian introduced a 170-page scriptment to Scott. Original production plans were to commence in Toronto for budget purposes; however, production eventually relocated permanently to New York City. Because of the film's rising budget Universal canceled production in 2004. After negotiations with Terry George, it was later revived with Scott at the helm in March 2005. Principal photography commenced over a period of five months from July to December 2006; filming took place throughout New York City and concluded in Thailand.

American Gangster premiered in New York on October 20, 2007, and was released in the United States on November 2. The film was well received by critics and grossed over $266 million worldwide. Many of the people portrayed, including Roberts and Lucas, have stated that the film took much creative license with the story, and three former DEA agents sued Universal claiming the agency's portrayal was demoralizing. American Gangster was nominated for twenty-one awards, including two Oscar nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Supporting Actress for Ruby Dee, who also won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.