American Gangster – Set Visit 9/18/06

Ari, my lovely driver, picked me up at home around 5 PM. We drove to Riverside Drive in NYC, where I saw all the “home away from home” trucks parked all along the street. We were met there by Bruno (thanks, Bruno!), who took us in the car to Broadway and 136^th Street, the scene of the day’s shoot. I quickly met up with David Oliver, Russell’s stand-in, looking as handsome as ever, and he and Bruno showed me the lay of the land. Keith is away scouting locations in Santa Fe. I missed him.

When we first arrived, I thought all the people walking back and forth on the street were Harlem residents, but at closer look, you could tell they were an army of extras – young and old -- filling the sidewalks, crossing Broadway and crossing back. – watching out for cars, which were also part of the huge street set. All the vibrancy and crowded Harlem life was there around me to drink in.

I spotted Ridley near the camera, Judy, the dialogue coach I had met in France, Branko Lustig and, of course, Mickey, who is dressing Russell for this film. The real Richie Roberts joined us, looking handsome and fit, and we shared a few words about the Harlem past, and how he and Frank first met in real life. Frank Lucas and some friends were across the street, which I wasn’t able to access, so I didn’t meet him. He is now wheelchair bound. I also had a chance to chat with Mickey, and I told him he has lots of fans on the internet. I was rewarded with a big grin.

I looked over to the left and there on the sidewalk amidst all the extras, waiting to start their scene by crossing the street, were Russell and Denzel. They were dressed in dark suits, and Richie had his Star of David around his neck. His face was weathered with nice laugh lines applied around his eyes. It is the 1990’s, and he and Frank L. are now friends, walking together, drinking coffee, and talking. As they walk across Broadway a young gang of hoods approaches them and tries to block their way. At a warning glance from Frank, they move aside, and Roberts and Lucas continue their way across the rest of the street. That was the set-up and the scene and it took a few hours repeating until Ridley felt everything was right. The scene was Frank's first day out of prison. They wrapped about 7:00.

In between takes, I waved and shouted to Russell and he grinned and waved back. Later he was able to come over and give me a hug hello. I just missed seeing Dani and the boys, darn it, but our guy was looking mighty fine and relaxed.

Between another break, Russell took me to meet Denzel, who has the greatest grin in the world. I was to be careful with Denzel’s hands that were made to look older and arthritic for the age of his character. Russell introduced me as his friend Mary Murphy, which was very special. I told Denzel I had a web site for Clive Owen as well as for Russell, and we chatted a bit about Inside Man. Denzel shared that the line to the Sikh guy in the turban in Inside Man, “But I bet you can get a cab,” was his. He threw it in and it stayed.

Russell had just added a couple of words to his dialogue during the scene we were watching, so both of them like to spice up their lines!

We were surrounded by technical people, four cameras plus a video camera. It was fun to see all of this at work. With the back drop of NYC and Harlem and with people everywhere, it was visually exciting and so stimulating to see.

You were aware again of how much a movie is about waiting around until needed, until the next take begins. I recognized several actors who are familiar to me from television. I talked with one young man, an extra, who had done work on Law and Order.

I had a couple of presents for Charlie and Tennyson, so after the shoot, we said good-bye to David, and Bruno and I went back to our car to pick them up. We drove to Russell’s trailer, where I was able to say goodnight and to give him the gifts.

It was a great experience, one I will never forget, watching the mechanics of filming one brief shot from the film, and getting to see my friend and the other actors and Ridley in action.