It's been a long time since we've had a really good gangster flick. I guess in some ways you could include A Prophet or Gomorrah, but I'm talking more in the mode of The Untouchables. What was the last one? Road to Perdition? The last director you might expect to be the guy to lead the next great mob pic is Ruben Fleischer, the man behind Zombieland and 30 Minutes or Less. He's taking a huge step away from the silly comedies with Gangster Squad, a star-studded, period piece that has become one of the most anticipated films of next year.
Entertainment Weekly has the first image of the film, which is based on a series of LA Times articles about a special LAPD unit in the 1940s designed to curtail the influence of the east coast mob on Los Angeles. The script is by ex-cop turned writer Will Beall, and the cast includes Sean Penn as the infamous Mickey Cohen, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Michael Pena, Giovanni Ribisi, Nick Nolte, and Robert Patrick. Wowsers. Gangster Squad will open next year on October 19th.
