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In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:48Read transcript
American Gangster poster
American Gangster

Half-Assed Internet Research

Budget penalties, gifts, real-world family connections, locations, and a Godfather Part III idea

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:11Read transcript
  • Brian Grazer and Ridley Scott reportedly returned three million dollars after overrunning the budget
  • The BET series American Gangster is noted as predating the movie
  • Russell Crowe reportedly gave RZA a mint 1961 Gretsch guitar and they remained friends
  • Frank Lucas’s real driver is identified as Sean Combs’s father, who was killed when Combs was two
  • The production used parts of upper Manhattan that could still pass for 1970s New York
  • Francis Ford Coppola reportedly considered a Frank Lucas-like character for The Godfather Part III
American Gangster poster
American Gangster

Apex Mountain

Sprawling, disjointed gangster films; Lymari Nadal; bad portrayals of 1960s and 1970s athletes; drug-kingpin biopics: yes

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:44Read transcript
  • Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, and Ridley Scott are rejected as apex choices
  • Sprawling, disjointed gangster films are assigned an apex
  • John Ortiz is discussed as near an apex performance
  • John Hawkes is judged not yet at his apex
  • Harlem films are rejected, with Mo’ Better Blues preferred
  • Miami Vice is selected for the Golden Triangle on screen
  • Josh Brolin is rejected because No Country for Old Men released the same year
  • Lymari Nadal is assigned her apex as Frank’s wife
  • Bad portrayals of 1960s and 1970s athletes are assigned an apex
  • Real drug-kingpin biopics are assigned an apex, with Blow and Paid in Full as comparators
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:06Read transcript
American Gangster poster
American Gangster

Picking Nits

Frank’s market position, lack of consequences, unclear chronology, family awareness, and fabricated epilogue

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:46:44Read transcript
  • Frank’s superior direct supply should have let him eliminate Harlem competition
  • Territory and distribution relationships are offered as constraints on expansion
  • Frank faces no repercussions for shooting Tango in public
  • Harlem loyalty is offered as an explanation for the silence
  • Woody Allen and Diane Keaton are shown together before their real relationship and before Keaton was well known
  • The chronology is too unclear about whether scenes are weeks or years apart
  • Frank’s mother knowing he sells drugs is criticized as disconnected from the movie’s reality
  • The closing-title claims are mocked for extending the film’s fabrications
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:49:37Read transcript
  • The usual all-Black-remake prompt is inverted into an all-white American Gangster
  • Mark Ruffalo and Adam Scott are proposed, with Scott as Nicky Barnes
  • Rob McElhenney is proposed as Tango and Tom Cruise as Frank
  • Sally Field is proposed as Frank’s mother
  • JJ Redick is proposed as Stevie, changing baseball to basketball
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:50:38Read transcript
  • The candidate list includes Wayne Jenkins, Danny Trejo, Mad Dog Russo, Doris Burke, Samuel L. Jackson, Nora Byer, Tony Romo, Chris Collinsworth, Daniel Plainview, Longlegs, Bangkok Craig, and Wilford Brimley
  • A mock historical-sports narration about Frank and Blue Magic is performed as the choice
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