Ledger Pop Journal - Celebrity News & Sports

Denzel Washington's Nov. 2 release "American Gangster" may be gritty and violent, but it's still "a romanticized world," says costar Armand Assante. "Every gangster film in Hollywood is a romanticization," adds Assante, who definitely is the man to know. He earned an Emmy for his turn as mobster John Gotti in HBO's "Gotti" telefilm, besides which, he says, "I have a library of (gangster) roles that's probably unprecedented.

Denzel Washington's "Gangster" Romanticized, Says Armand Assante

In my homework on these people, they were quite vicious, and I've seen my fair share of it. I've met characters who have been in and out of that world, and most of them were either serving time, did time or are out of time in more ways than one. And, certainly, the ramifications and repercussions of leading that life leave a pretty dark shadow on your soul, so I can't say anything but that Hollywood does indeed romanticize everything about that world. If you do the homework and study the journalism, it's rarely depicted the way it truly is, which is more out of a horror movie."

In "American Gangster" -- about notorious Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas (Washington), who smuggled heroin into the country in the coffins of soldiers killed in Vietnam -- Assante plays "a composite role of what the Mafia would have been in the seventies. I'm the dark force underpinning his enterprise that forces him into cooperating with the mob."

Assante says he got over his reluctance to play yet another mobster when "American Gangster" director Ridley Scott called personally to invite him to join the project. "I worked with Ridley back in 1991 and '92 on '1492: Conquest of Paradise.' I had pneumonia through that whole thing, and he was so gracious to me. I just think the world of him as a person. And Denzel was amazing to work with. … This will far-and-away be one of his biggest films."

THAT'S AMORE!: Steve Guttenberg's having a grand time in Italy -- where he's taken his parents for their 50th wedding anniversary. "Isn't it great?" he asks via cell from Bernini's Square in Rome. "This is a magical, magical time for them -- and for me, being their son. I'm so happy. It gives you confidence that people do stay in love. My father proposed to my mother again, and I think she is going to say yes." In fact, the romantic sweep through Venice, Florence and various Italian beauty spots is Guttenberg's mother, Ann's, first trip to Europe. His father, Stan, was there as an Army Ranger.

Things are pretty eccellente for the actor on the home front, too. He plays Jessica Simpson's agent in the forthcoming big screen "Major Movie Star," drawing inspiration from his own agent, Chuck Binder, for the part -- including the Binder-like exclamation, "I LOVE iiiiiiiit!" And he plays another Hollywood type in the Oct. 18 episode of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" with Chris Noth. "My character is a celebrity director who has a celebrity wife, and there are problems. They think he might have murdered someone." Adds Steve, "Sometimes murder can be fun."

AS HE SEES IT: Comedian Jim Norton takes on racial issues in his HBO "Monster Rain" special, airing this Saturday (Oct. 13). "I just thought people used Don Imus as a focal point to take out their racial frustrations," says Norton, referring to the radio personality fired earlier this year for making disparaging remarks against the Rutgers University women's basketball team. "What he did was not a Michael Richards kind of rant. (Imus) was expressing himself in humor, perhaps tastelessly. I would never want black comics silenced for teasing white people, ever."

Adds Norton, whose special gets its DVD release Tuesday (Oct. 16), "I love the fact that rappers came out against Imus. People like to have their own free speech, and we always find reasons why other people shouldn't have theirs. We're all a bunch of phonies, and that's not a racial thing. … It's whites, blacks, Asians … "

ON THE PATH: Selena Gomez, whose Disney Channel "The Wizards of Waverly Place" series debuts tonight (Oct. 12), is keeping up a near frantic pace with promotions for the series launch and her return to "Hannah Montana" -- as Hannah's pop-star rival Michaela -- next week. She also has dance rehearsals, vocal training and prep for "Another Cinderella Story." She'll soon be flying up to Canada to start shooting the follow-up to Hilary Duff's "Cinderella Story" -- though there's no overlap in story or characters from that 2004 feature, and this movie will be a DVD release. Then, the 15-year-old up-and-comer will return to Los Angeles to begin work on the next season of "Wizards of Waverly Place." The comedy, about a family of seemingly normal teens who are actually in wizard training, has already shot 21 episodes for season one.

Gomez, who sings the theme song, is also being groomed for pop stardom. "I'm nervous and excited," says Selena, who came to Los Angeles and shot her first, unsuccessful, pilot at age 12. "When this show was picked up, I was so ecstatic, I couldn't breathe."

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.