Hollywood Popular Artists

by Hannah Soo Park

It's time to move on from the classic gangster flicks we've come to know and love. Because if there's one message we took away from the new "Gangster Squad" featurette, it's that the movie will be our generation's defining gangster film.

The video, which hit the web yesterday (via Apple), features a few never-before-seen scenes from the film, with the same gunplay and fedoras we've already seen in previous trailers. But what truly makes it fresh are the behind-the-scenes clips of cast and crew interviews, and on-set action footage.

Director Ruben Fleischer and a few members of the film's all-star cast, including Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie and Giovanni Ribisi, discuss their hopes that the period crime drama will join the ranks of "The Godfather," "The Untouchables," and other iconic gangster masterpieces. "It's taking gangster films to the next level," says Ribisi in an interview snippet. They make some pretty bold statements here, but judging from the impressive cuts we've seen so far, we're not ready to rule their claims out just yet.

Set in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 1950s, "Gangster Squad" follows real-life mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) as he evades the Los Angeles Police Department task force that's out to get him. The movie also stars Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Mireille Enos, Michael Patrick and Michael Peña.

The movie's original summer 2012 release was pushed back following the Aurora shootings. A scene which involved mobsters opening fire on an audience in Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard was reshot.

"Gangster Squad" opens on January 11, 2013.