Sean Penn, Josh Brolin in talks for new gangster film
Sean Penn
Last time Sean Penn and Josh Brolin shared screen time in ‘Milk’ Sean won an Oscar. Now they and Ryan Gosling have teamed up to tell the story of one of west coast’s most infamous gangsters; Mickey Cohen.
While not as famous as Al Capone, Cohen was just as dangerous. Born in Brooklyn in 1913 he was selling bootleg alcohol by age nine, became a boxer in his teens, then got into illegal alcohol sales again in the mid-1930s. He also helped create the Sunset Hotel in Las Vegas – one of the most infamous mob joints in town.
Warners now have the task of trying to portray this colorful life in a movie, and that could be tough; Called ‘Gangster Squad’ the film will be directed by Ruben Fleischer, best known for ‘Zombieland.’ Sean will play Cohen, while Ryan and Josh are in talks to play two LAPD cops assigned to finding a reason to put him in jail.
Sean was initially unsure about taking the role as he’s also in talks to co-star with Christin Bale in ‘The Last Photograph’ – a contemporary drama about two men who visit the war zones of Afghanistan after seeing a picture. But that’s not due to start shooting until Spring 2012 so things could still work out.
According to the few people who survived long enough to form an opinion Cohen was a charismatic figure who loved the good life and beautiful girls. But beneath his 200+ custom-made suits lurked an unfeeling sociopath whose mood could turn dark on a dime. So Sean’s clearly in for a challenge.
Shooting is booked for sometime in the fall and the movie is due for release in 2013. Personally, the idea of Sean inhabiting a role as unerringly dark and bipolar as this guy is more than attractive. I think this could mean a new Oscar, how about you?…
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