Empire (2002)

A successful South Bronx drug dealer turns his back on his roots and gives money to a Wall Street broker to invest for him.

Director:

Franc. Reyes

Writer:

Franc. Reyes

Stars:

John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard, Denise Richards

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Leguizamo	...	Victor Rosa
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Jack
Denise Richards	...	Trish
Vincent Laresca	...	Jimmy
Isabella Rossellini	...	La Colombiana
Sônia Braga	...	Iris (as Sonia Braga)
Delilah Cotto	...	Carmen
Nestor Serrano	...	Rafael Menendez
Anthony 'Treach' Criss	...	Chedda (as Treach)
Rafael Báez	...	Jay
Fat Joe	...	Tito Severe (as Fat Joe 'Joseph Cartagena')
Carlos Leon	...	Hector
Felix Solis	...	Jose
Omar Pastran	...	Jason
Rob B. Campbell	...	Det. O'Brien

Storyline

A big time drug dealer Victor Rosa is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal and a new friend who happens to be a Wall St. stockbroker. Thinking this will be his chance to go out on top, Victor soon finds out that he has been double crossed and his last option is to get revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

money | drug dealer | friend | investment banker | revenge | 

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Taglines:

Two worlds collide.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, drug content and some sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

6 December 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Империя

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,281,415, 8 December 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$17,504,595, 26 January 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arenas Entertainment,Bigel / Mailer Films,Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Franc. Reyes originally wanted John Leguizamo to play Jimmy. John Leguizamo liked the part of Victor so much that he got the director to give him that part. Leguizamo used his star power to help bring bigger names (such as Fat Joe, Isabella Rossellini, Peter Sarsgaard and Denise Richards) to the project.

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Goofs

When Trish falls onto the bed after Victor Rose meets up with her and Jack Whimmer in Miami, there are four bags surrounding her. In the next shot of the bed a few seconds later, there are only three bags, in different positions.

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Quotes

Jack: What do you do?
Victor Rosa: [Admiring Jack's luxurious apartment] Obviously whatever it is I do, I'm not doing enough of it, that's for damn sure!
Jack: Yeah?
Victor Rosa: But basically I'm self-employed.

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Connections

References Scarface (1983)

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Soundtracks

Welcome to My Empire
Written by Franc. Reyes and Tony Aliperti
Performed by India
Courtesy of Sony Discos, Inc.

User Reviews

trying to be hard

Victor Rosa (John Leguizamo) is a drug dealer in the South Bronx. He's made a lot of money with his crew Jimmy, Chedda, and Jay. He calls his area and his product Empire. He gets into a feud with a neighboring rival. His girlfriend Carmen goes to college with Trish (Denise Richards) who introduces them to her Wall Street banker boyfriend Jack (Peter Sarsgaard). Jack offers Victor an investment opportunity which requires him to get a loan from his drug source La Colombiana (Isabella Rossellini).

Leguizamo is trying to be hard and he's trying too hard. The narration tries to be hard-boiled. There is a lot of trying but a lot less succeeding. Writer/director Franc. Reyes is trying to mimic better gangster movies. There are ways to make this work but Reyes doesn't have it at this point.