NY Observer > Denzel Washington

Cronenberg Casts Washington in Cold War Thriller

Christopher Rosen — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:37:20 -0400

David Cronenberg's crossover into the mainstream is almost complete. The indie stalwart, who got back on the Hollywood radar after modest successes with A History of Violence and Eastern Promises, is in negotiations to direct Denzel Washington in an adaptation of Robert Ludlum's The Matarese Circle. Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, the "masterminds" behind this summer's Wanted, are writing the script.

The Matarese Circle takes place during the Cold War, and deals with the partnership of two rival agents-an American and a Soviet-who fight to save the world from mass destruction. You know, typical spy stuff. While there hasn't been any word yet on who would play opposite Mr. Washington in the role of the Soviet agent, /Film speculates perhaps Viggo Mortensen, Mr. Cronenberg's go-to-muse of the last decade, would take on that part. read more »

Lee Readies Inside Man Sequel

Christopher Rosen — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:34:05 -0400

As we gear up to see Miracle at St. Anna, Spike Lee's 166-minute (166!!) WWII-mystery being released at the end of the month, news comes that Mr. Lee has signed up to direct a sequel to his biggest hit, the excellent faux-70s bank heist Inside Man.

Of course, there's no immediately apparent reason to continue the story of a cop (Denzel Washington) and a bank robber (Clive Owen) when the bank robbery is over. Will the sequel be mawkish and forced like the last twenty-minutes of Catch Me If You Can, when Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio go from enemies to co-workers? Ick! read more »

I Am Happy! The Great Debaters Gives Me Hope and Joy

Andrew Sarris — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:06:41 -0500

THE GREAT DEBATERS
Running Time 123 minutes
Directed by Denzel Washington
Written by Robert Eisele read more »

Jay-Z's American Gangster Is the Real Thing

J. Gabriel Boylan — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 07:17:47 -0500

His album is not just the back story to the story; it’s the soundtrack that should have been. read more »

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: Great Scott! Gangster Opens With Bang; Bee Flies and Lumet Thrives

Jake Brooks — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:49:16 -0500

The box office was awakened this weekend from its fall slumber, as if it too had just been hit by the first cold spell of the season. American Gangster (No. 1) may have only grossed one and a half times as much as Bee Movie (No.2) nationally, but here in the city, it almost tripled the cartoon’s gross, averaging an astronomical $91,969 per theater. Gangster, starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott, broke all types of genre-specific records, en route to smashing the personal opening weekend records for both actors.

A thanks from Universal, who are distributing the film, is in order to the New York Post, who keep giving wood to organized crime and feeding the city’s unquenchable thirst for news about its dons. Like one of Frank Lucas’ finely tailored suits, this film was made for Manhattan. read more »

A Saga of Corruption, Heroin and Charisma: Ridley Scott Delivers Socko Entertainment in American Gangster

Andrew Sarris — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:24:42 -0400

Denzel Washington dazzles as drug kingpin while Russell Crowe plays the best good cop in years. read more »

Girl on Film: Halloween Is Behind Us, But Gangster Continues the Bloodbath; Bees and Children From Mars

Sara Vilkomerson — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:46:15 -0400

This weekend, with Halloween safely behind us, along with the obligatory blood-spurting-zombies-eat-your-face-and-rip-your-guts-out gore flicks (please see Saw IV’s $32 million-plus box office gobble last weekend), we can happily hunker down and see a bloodbath the way we like it—all artistic like! The violent, gripping, and thoroughly entertaining American Gangster hits theaters this weekend, bringing the unsurprisingly stellar performances of Denzel Washington—who truly is a movie star, and for our money could out-charisma a Pitt or a Clooney if he had the opportunity—and Russell Crowe. This is the third teaming between Gangster director Ridley Scott and Mr. Crowe (Gladiator in 2000 and the mostly unseen A Good Year in 2006, which had the burly Aussie going for a bit of ill-advised physical comedy). read more »

Democratic Upset in Mount Vernon

Azi Paybarah — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:43:52 -0400
You may have missed this one, but there was a major Democratic upset in Mt. Vernon yesterday, where one of the longest-serving black mayors in the state, Ernest Davis, lost his bid for a fourth term to insurgent County Legislator Clinton Young, 48 to 52 percent.

Davis was dogged by stories of fiscal mismanagement while trying to run for an always-hard-to-achieve fourth term. While Davis was endorsed by Lt. Governor David Paterson, Young grabbed the support of local hero and movie star-activist Denzel Washington.

Also, Serapher Halevi, the head of the Mt. Vernon Democratic Party who was running on Davis’ slate, lost her bid to fill Young’s legislative seat.

Mt. Vernon is the ~~third~~ fifth-largest city in New York and is a significant power base for black politics outside New York City (along with Rochester, Hempstead and Buffalo). So expect to see some new-kid-on-the-block profiles of Young soon.

More on the races here and here.

The Two Towers

Tom Acitelli — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 19:23:45 -0400

At The Plaza, record-breaking deals but no big names yet; 15 Central Park West, on the other hand ... read more »

15 CPW

Michael Gross — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:42:14 -0400

Denzel, Sting, Norman Lear, Bob Costas, Sandy Weill and Nascar prince Jeff Gordon all have early seats at the greatest show on Central Park’s edge in decades. read more »