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

Vincent Laresca and Anthony 'Treach' Criss made their film debuts 10 years prior in Juice (1992).

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Goofs

(at arouns 42 mins) There is a wide fish-eye dolly shot and in the lower right corner a grip's shadow, white sneaker, and what looks like a strap come into frame briefly.

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Quotes

Victor Rosa: The way we should be living. My woman deserves it, my kid deserves it, and I deserve it. Fuck everything else.

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Connections

Features Mujer secreta (1999)

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Soundtracks

As I Stand Alone
Written by Franc. Reyes and Carlos Berrios
Performed by Angel Lopez
Courtesy of Sony Discos, Inc.

User Reviews

Violent and exciting movie about drug dealers

The picture talks upon a dealer (John Leguizamo) with a lot of success on south Bronx who loved for his girlfriend (Dalilah Cotto) develops an economic relation with a Wall Street yuppie financier (Peter Saasgard) and his fiancée (Denise Richards).

In the motion picture , shot in 22 days , there are tension , a love story , thriller , emotion , intrigue and a little bit of violence . The movie is fast moving and is enough amusing but happens many events . The pic obtained moderated success and didn't attain the box office that the producers wanted . The suspense movie is correctly narrated but there're some storyline gaps and the twisted plot makes it a few ridiculous . The film is classified ¨R¨ for violence and some sex and isn't apt for little boys , being for + 18 years' viewers . John Leguizano's fine interpretation as a drug dealer who becomes involved dark issues , he is good but plays as Latin stereotypes . Director Franc Reyes originally wanted John Leguizamo to play Jimmy , he liked the part of Victor so much that he got the filmmaker to give him that part . Leguizamo used his star power to help bring bigger names to the project . Dalilah Cotto and Denise Richards are attractive and enjoyable and Peter Saasgard as a hotshot business manager is magnificent . Isabella Rossellini as a Colombian drug lord is miscast and the veteran Sonia Braga hands a role very secondary as the starring's mother . The musical score by also actor Ruben Blades is nice and the movie is rightly directed by Fran Reyes .