A lesson in hubris to all you up-and-coming drug peddlers: Notorious Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas, who was famously portrayed by Denzel Washington in the movie American Gangster, has a new autobiography out this week, spanning his life from head of a $1 million-a-day heroin empire to DEA informant to non-profit worker. He also reveals the article of clothing he believes directly led to his downfall: a $100,000 floor-length chinchilla coat. more ›

A Connecticut man was caught at JFK Airport with $500,000 worth of cocaine stuffed in chocolate truffles and pistachio shells. Robert Lopera, a seemingly unemployed US citizen, flew into JFK from Medellin, Colombia, (best known because of Vincent Chase's notorious vanity project) on May 11th. Customs and Border Protection agents became suspicious when two bags full of "the chocolates and pistachios were unusually heavy," and discovered 15 pounds of cocaine inside—more specifically, balls of cocaine covered in delicious chocolate, and nut-sized cocaine cubes within the pistachio shells. more ›

• Perhaps the big surprise (besides Juno getting nominated for Best Director and Best Picture) was Ruby Dee for her work in American Gangster (its only other nomination was for art direction)

Last November American Gangster went head-to-head with Bee Movie at the box office, but now the film faces an off-screen battle. The NY Sun reports that Former DEA agents are suing NBC Universal for being falsely depicted on-screen. more ›

In November, Charlie Rose sat down with rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z. The musician is originally from Brooklyn and late in the interview Rose queries about the expected success of the Nets once they move to Kings County. Jay-Z is very enthusiastic about the potential of the team and the virtues of the borough, as he prefaces every statement about Brooklyn with the words "we" and "ours." It is unintentionally comedic then when Rose immediately follows up with the question "And where do you live now?" The answer is a terse "In Manhattan, uh." The exchange begins around 48 minutes and 45 seconds into the interview and a quick transcript is available at the Atlantic Yards Report site here. It reminded us of the first time that we heard that director Spike Lee had moved to the Upper East Side. more ›

Early this morning Hayden Panettiere and other Hollywood elite looked ready to hit the town for a night out even though it was 5:30am. They were announcing this year's Golden Globe nominees, often a good sign for who will be nominated for that other gold statue. All in all New York-based shows and movies fared well as the envelopes were opened sheets of paper were read from. 30 Rock (Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical... more ›

The holiday-time movie releases are starting to pile up with their usual feverish frequency. Some have Christmas themes, like the widely reviled Vince Vaughn vehicle Fred Claus that’s already roadkill on the lost highway of cinema history; others, like Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, are timed to make an impression as close to Academy Award-voting season as possible. Here are some of the biggest gorillas set to dominate New York’s screens in the next six... more ›

Two movies set in New York are coming out today, and both are getting a lot of press, promo and opined upon. more ›

Move over, remake of The Warriors: Variety (subscription required) reports that Denzel Washington will star in the Tony Scott-directed remake:

Washington will take on the role of Zachary "Z" Garber, which was played by Walter Matthau in the original 1974 Joseph Sargent-helmed film. The story, based on a novel by John Godey, also spawned a 1998 TV movie starring Edward James Olmos. more ›

New York city's streets are a favorite location for filmmakers. Anyone who's ever turned the corner in their neighborhood only to be confronted by a giant trailer or cherry picker rig, knows this. Even as it gets colder, there's still lots of movie being filmed in the city. For instance, the last week or so 2nd Avenue in the East Village has been home to one of the many local film or TV productions. more ›