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'Gangster Squad' director Ruben Fleischer on his snappy vision of LA, film noir
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Jan 8, 2013
Listen 16:52
'Gangster Squad' director Ruben Fleischer on his snappy vision of LA, film noir
Director Ruben Fleischer’s biggest work until now was 2009’s Zombieland. But with a star-studded cast that includes Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Nick Nolte, Gangster Squad is poised to do very well at the box office.

Director Ruben Fleischer’s biggest work until now was 2009’s Zombieland. But with a star-studded cast that includes Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Nick Nolte, Gangster Squad is poised to do very well at the box office.

A team of merciless cops go after a mob boss, by any means necessary. It’s the classic film noir premise, and in this time set in a moonlit 1949 Los Angeles. Director Ruben Fleischer’s biggest work until now was 2009’s Zombieland. But with a star-studded cast that includes Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Nick Nolte, "Gangster Squad" is poised to do very well at the box office. Angelenos will recognize many of the locations, with scenes shot in the Tower Theater on Broadway and Clifton’s Cafeteria in Downtown LA and heavy action at the Park Plaza Hotel in Westlake that spills out into MacArthur park.

Full of gunfights and stylized violence, the film’s release date was pushed back and a scene that involved a gunfight in a movie theater was significantly reshot after the after mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado. But come out it will, in theaters this Friday, January 11.

Guest:

Ruben Fleischer, Director, “Gangster Squad”

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Host, AirTalk
Host, All Things Considered, AirTalk Friday
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Producer, AirTalk with Larry Mantle
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