Speaking at Comic-Con in San Diego, Antoine Fuqua reminisced about missing out on helming American Gangster. American Gangster is a 2007 crime thriller about a New York City police officer who is attempting to bring down Frank Lucas, a drug lord. In the movie, Denzel Washington plays him alongside Richie Roberts, played by Russell Crowe.The supporting cast of American Gangster consists of John Hawkes, Ted Levine, Josh Brolin, Lymari Nadal, RZA, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Speaking at the SDCC, Fuqua talks about missing out on American Gangster at the Collider’s Directors on Directing panel. Weeks before he was set to begin, the filmmaker claimed, the “film fell apart because of financing.”Benicio del Toro and Washington had already been cast, and Fuqua had originally intended for a different title. But unavoidable circumstances forced Ridley Scott to take over as director of the film. See the complete quote from Fuqua below:
“To be honest, I was ready for American Gangster. I had only a few weeks left to shoot American Gangster. Actually, I’m the one who gave it the moniker “American Gangster.” Before I got Denzel Washington interested, it was called Blue-something, but now it’s called American Gangster. Finances caused that movie to fail. Universal was unable to agree on the actors or budget at the time. I wanted it to be Benicio del Toro and Denzel as the police officer. Denzel and Benicio. Universal had other clients at the time. My heart shattered as that collapsed.My heart still hurts from that movie.I spent a few weeks preparing the entire film and getting ready to go into production. You can’t be upset because Ridley Scott made it after that. That’s just the way things are. That is the Hollywood way.”
How did the American gangster get along?
According to Fuqua’s description of the movie, American Gangster might have appeared slightly differently under his direction. Crowe’s character would have been replaced by del Toro’s, creating a distinct dynamic between the two lead characters, even if Washington still played the lead in the end product.Should American Gangster have been directed by Fuqua, it would have also carried on the intimate director-actor partnership between Fuqua and Washington, which started with Training Day in 2001.
Nevertheless, Scott had a lot more experience as a filmmaker while American Gangster was being produced. Prior to 2007, Scott directed movies like Blade Runner, Gladiator, and Alien, all of which were highly praised at the time and left a lasting impression.Critically, American Gangster also did well, receiving a 90% rating from viewers and a Certified Fresh 81% from reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes. Two Academy Awards were suggested for the movie: Best Achievement in Art Direction and Best Supporting Actress for Ruby Dee.
The Relationship Between Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua Explained.
Fuqua’s Washington Relationship Persisted Even in the Absence of the American Gangster.
Training Day, Fuqua and Washington’s first joint project, is arguably their most well-known piece of art. Washington was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Ethan Hawke in Training Day and won his second Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Despite spending years working on music videos, Fuqua’s feature Training Day garnered positive reviews and a 74% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This helped put Fuqua on the map in Hollywood.
Despite not being able to direct Washington in American Gangster, Fuqua and Washington went on to work together on a number of other films. These featured The Magnificent Seven and The Equalizer films, which have grown to be important parts of both performers’ careers. Although working on American Gangster with Washington and Fuqua would have been a pleasure, neither person’s career was greatly impacted by not getting to do it.
Overall, opinions about the Fuqua-Washington collaborations have been divided.One excellent illustration of this is the Equalizer series: The Equalizer 3, the highest-rated movie in the series, has a Certified Fresh 76% rating, whereas The Equalizer 2, the lowest-rated movie, has a considerably more mixed rating of 52%. Nevertheless, critics consider The Equalizer and its follow-ups to be outstanding instances of neo-noir cinema and to have a distinctive stylistic quality.The Magnificent Seven received a mixed response from critics as well; its Tomatometer score was 64%.
What Is The Latest Project of Ridley Scott After American Gangster?
Unlike Fuqua, who was a potential director of American Gangster, Scott did not continue to work closely with Washington. The formidable director went on to helm the Alien franchise movies Prometheus and Alien: Covenant following the 2007 release of the movie.In addition to collaborating with Matt Damon on movies like The Martian and The Last Duel, he recently directed Napoleon, a historical epic that received Oscar nominations for Visual Effects, Production Design, and Costume Design.
After more than ten years apart, Washington and Scott are reuniting this year for the highly anticipated sequel to Gladiator 2, which opens on November 22. Washington will play the brutal arms dealer Macrinus in the movie. As the two have not worked together in seventeen years, this should be a great opportunity for them to rekindle their director-actor relationship, which started with American Gangster.
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