American Gangster is a 2007 American biographical crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Steve Zaillian. The film is 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. It features Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in leading roles, with John Ortiz, Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Norman Reedus, Ruby Dee, and Lymari Nadal in supporting roles. 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 Pictures canceled production in 2004. After negotiations with Terry George, it was later revived in March 2005.
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| Release date: | October 19, 2007 |
| Directed by: | Ridley Scott |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 158 Minutes |
| Producer: | Brian Grazer, Ridley Scott |
| Editor: | Pietro Scalia |
| Music by: | Marc Streitenfeld |
| Cinematography: | Harris Savides |
| Screenplay by: | Steven Zaillian |
| Estimated budget: | $100,000,000 |