NYPD Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) runs a hot nightclub in go-go late '80s Brooklyn; Joseph Grusinsky (Mark Wahlberg) is with the NYPD, working hard to stop the Russian Mafia from flooding the streets with drugs. The two men have nothing in common -- aside from the fact that they're brothers. Writer-director James Gray's We Own the Night takes its title from a slogan the NYPD used in the late '80s to publicize and puff up their anti-drug efforts; the film's partially a family drama, as Bobby and Joseph and their dad, Deputy Chief Bert (Robert Duvall) come to terms with how they connect to each other; its also a run-and-gun action film, as the Russian Mob comes after the Grusinskys and Bobby has to step up to the fight.

James Gray's been working the mean streets since his 1994 debut, Little Odessa; after his prior film with Phoenix and Wahlberg, The Yards, in 2000, Gray hasn't made a movie in seven years. There was a mild bidding war surrounding We Own the Night prior to it's screening as part of the competition slate at Cannes -- Columbia picked it up -- and if anything made paying 11.5 million for the movie seem like a good bet, it has to be the marquee appeal of the big-name cast. And Phoenix and Wahlberg are very good in the film, portraying very different men going through very different transformations. Bobby has a hot girlfriend (Eva Mendes), a cool job and grown-up fun every weekend with booze and drugs and late nights and laughs; when the crooks come gunning for his family, though, fun time is over. Joseph is hard-bitten and full of swagger, but after he's ambushed and very nearly killed, his swaggering cockiness turns inward, darker, more complex.

Rakesh Sharma was filming cars emerge from under Manhattan's Metlife building in 2005 when he was stopped, questioned, allegedly shoved, and then detained by the NYPD for shooting footage of the building. The cops were suspicious of Sharma's motives but, after four hours, the director was released and told that he would need a permit if he wanted to do any further shooting.

When Sharma applied for a permit, however, his application was denied because he lacked the proper insurance. Now, represented by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the director (who has won multiple awards for his documentaries) has filed suit against the city's "police restrictions on taking pictures in public." Among those named in the suit are the city itself and the commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting. Though none of the above agencies can comment on ongoing litigation, it was confirmed by WNYC this morning that filming permits are actually only required  in NYC if the shoot will obstruct car or pedestrian traffic; Sharma was reportedly standing on the sidewalk with a handheld camera.

Needless to say, the results of this suit will have broad implications, political and otherwise. We'll be keeping an eye on it and will report back as things shake out.

Joaquin Phoenix looks set to follow up his critically-acclaimed work in Walk the Line by reuniting with his The Yards director, James Gray. The two will collaborate on We Own the Night, a thriller set during in the 1980s struggle between Russian organized crime and the NYPD. The story, which Gray also wrote, will focus on a night-club manager (played by Phoenix) who struggles to save his cops brother and father, both of whom are being targeted by gang hitmen. (It sounds exciting, but why is a nightclub manager trying to save cops? Can't, I don't know, other cops help them out?) Also in the cast are Robert Duvall (hopefully playing the dad) and Eva Mendes whose role is undefined, though she'll surely spend some time wandering around looking hot.

Interestingly, this movie marks a return of sorts for Gray to the subject matter of his first film (Little Odessa), which was also a crime story involving New York's Russian immigrant community. Though We Own the Night will be only his third film, Gray - who also writes all of his projects - has shown in the past that he's very good with small, emotionally intense stories. He also tends to get very strong performances from his actors, all of which make this latest effort sound awfully promising.

As you may or may not recall, Lillo Brancato is the actor (known mainly for his role as Robert De Niro's son in A Bronx Tale, and a guy who got shot on The Sopranos) who was involved in the shooting of an off-duty NYPD cop (Daniel Enchautegui) during a bungled break-in a few weeks ago. Though Brancato himself was unarmed, the shooting by his accomplice was enough to get him a murder charge of his own.

In an interview with the New York Post, however, the actor-turned-felon has revealed himself to be really, really sorry about the whole thing. Not only did he not know that the other guy was armed, but he also has a heart: "When I saw the picture of [Enchautegui's] father, it brought tears to my eyes because he looked like one of those old-fashioned men — kind of like my father." Brancato even says that he'd apologize to Enchautegui's family, were he given the chance.

Sincere and heartfelt through these sentiments may be, they're just not gonna do this guy any good in court. And, since it involves both a dead cop and a New York actor, the NY tabloids are sure to be a complete frenzy for the full length of the trial - we'll be sure to bring you the highlights.

The upcoming pile of 9/11 movies (not to mention all of the various horses in the Law and Order stables) might be in some trouble if they were planning on involving uniformed cops. It was announced by the Screen Actors Guild yesterday that actors "should not buy or carry police uniforms in New York," even if Oliver Stone told them to. Though the NYPD used to license uniform purchases by actors, the policy has been revised and no longer allows anyone outside of the Department to be uniformed.  Forget Stone – where does this leave Hot Cop Strip-o-Grams?