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Forest Whitaker Gives TV an American Gangster

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Forest Whitaker by Lester Cohen/WireImage.com
Forest Whitaker and Marc Levin are executive-producing for Showtime Mr. Untouchable, a drama series that will tell the true-crime story of Harlem heroin lord Leroy "Nicky" Barnes (played by Cuba Gooding Jr. in the current box-office hit American Gangster). Whitaker's project has no connection to Ridley Scott's feature, Variety notes, but instead is based on Levin's just-released documentary of the same name. The series will chronicle how Barnes built a wildly successful drug empire in the 1970s, albeit at some expense to his Harlem neighborhood.

Posted by Matt Webb Mitovich
Nov 5, 2007 11:22 AM
Hey Matt, isn't it Denzel Washington in the movie American Ganster or is Cuba in it playing a role? Just curious cause I didn't see the movie over the weekend.
Posted by buffybot
Nov 5, 2007 12:38 PM
Denzel plays Frank Lucas in the movie American Gangster. Cuba Gooding Jr. does play Leroy Barnes, but it's a very small part; he's only on screen for 5 minutes max.
Posted by jvo002
Nov 5, 2007 12:58 PM
Forest has been phenomenal in everything he's done lately, especially in The Shield--which I got to tell him when I met him a few weeks ago at a local Democratic BBQ. He was there representing Obama. Very nice and soft-spoken in person--at least he was in a political arena when he was there as a candidate's proxy.

In any case, I'm excited to see this project, and the other one he's just agreed to do w/FX. Forest on cable is an awesome thing.
Posted by Calamity Jane
Nov 5, 2007 5:18 PM
I love that, "albeit at some expense to his Harlem neighborhood." Gee, ya think? Why does Hollywood insist on lionizing such thugs? Call it the "Soprano Effect."
Posted by Liz985
Nov 6, 2007 4:03 PM
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