Gugino will next be seen in "Night at the Museum." She recently wrapped a stint on HBO's "Entourage." Hawkes stars in "Deadwood" and will next be seen in "The Amateurs" for Bauer Martinez Studios.

Harlem - The Apollo in the 1970s

Harlem - A History

Harlem at Answers.com

Harlem News

SFSU Magazine Spring 2006 - Interview with Steve Zaillian:

Your next screenwriting project is "American Gangster," about a Harlem drug lord during the 1970s. It's based on a true story.

It's really a story about an American businessman (Frank Lucas) who's black, who's building a kind of empire where no black man has built an empire before. He became the biggest heroin dealer in the United States for a very short period, a couple of years. The Mafia was coming to him, as opposed to the other way around, which was the way it's always been. So it's really about his rise and fall and at the same time the story of this policeman (Richie Roberts) who is trying to catch him.

Whose idea was it to make the film?
Nick Pileggi, who wrote the screenplay for "Goodfellas," knew [Lucas] and thought that there was a story in his life. But, for whatever reason, didn't want to write it himself, and asked me if I would be interested in doing it. And I said, 'I don't know, maybe I should meet these people.' So I met Frank Lucas, and also met Richie Roberts. It was through these interviews that the story just kind of gradually starting taking shape.

You were on the project, off, and now you're back on again.
To make a long story short, I had a falling out with the first director who was on the picture, and then [Universal] ended up not making that picture with the people who were involved at that time and then it was resurrected again recently with Ridley Scott, who I've also worked with before.

If I had talked to you three months ago we would be having a much different conversation because I would have been totally demoralized by what was going on and the fact that it wasn't being made. So this is a happy turn of events.

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