'Gangster Squad' Sets Theatrical Release Date

2:18 PM PDT 9/28/2011 by Pamela McClintock

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Sean Penn, Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling

The Warner Bros.-Village Roadshow crime drama stars Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin; the studio moves up Zac Efron's "The Lucky One."

Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures will open Ruben Fleischer's Gangster Squad -- starring Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin and Emma Stone -- on Oct. 19, 2012.

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The period crime drama is based on a seven-part Los Angeles Times article written by Paul Lieberman centered on how in the 1940s, amid corruption and chaos, the LAPD created a unit called the Gangster Squad to keep the East Coast mafia out of the city.

Penn plays Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen, who is protected not only by his own paid goons, but also by the police and politicians who are under his control. Only a secret of LAPD outsiders are willing to try to tear Cohens world apart.

Dan Lin and Kevin McCormick are producing, while Jon Silk is co-producing.

The studio also said it is moving up Zac Efron and Taylor Schilling's The Lucky One from Aug. 24, 2012 to April 20, 2012. The pic is based on the Nicholas Sparks' book.