'American Gangster' opens Nov. 2

BY GLENN WHIPP>FILM WRITER

Ridley Scott had followed the on-again, off-again saga of "American Gangster" over the years. The crime drama about Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas (infamous for smuggling heroin inside coffins of American soldiers returning from Vietnam) had been set up with directors Brian De Palma, Antoine Fuqua and Terry George, but had never gotten off the ground.

Scott was in Provence two years ago making "A Good Year" with Russell Crowe when Steven Zailian's screenplay arrived. Zailian and Scott had worked together on "Hannibal," and Zailian had, in fact, written "Gangster" hoping Scott would direct.

"I liked it, but it wasn't altogether my kind of thing," Scott says.

"And I had other movies to make. But when I read it again, I was attracted by the writing and the challenge. I gave it to Russell, and when we finished `A Good Year,' we went after this and tried to get it going again."

Crowe took the role of Detective Richie Roberts, the investigator pursuing Lucas, who is played by Denzel Washington. What interested Scott was not the more sordid aspects of the case, but the contrast between the two men.

"They are both paradoxes," says Scott of Lucas and Roberts, both of whom spent time on set. "Frank Lucas was charming, industrious and a business genius. He just chose to apply those qualities to dealing drugs. Richie Roberts was the opposite, a paragon of virtue at work, but he screwed up his private life. Those two universes coming together make for great drama."

As for the universes known as Crowe and Washington colliding, Scott says the two actors share a similar commitment to craft. Having worked with Crowe extensively, Scott needed an inside source on Washington. Conveniently, his brother, Tony, has made three movies with the actor.

"Tony is always saying Denzel is the best," Scott says. "He just told me not to mistake any grumpiness for anything other than being into the role. That was good to know from the outset to make everyone feel comfortable. Not that you're all that comfortable making a movie in Harlem in the summertime."