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Empire State is a 2013 American crime drama film centered on two childhood friends who rob an armored car repository and the NYPD officer who stands in their way. Directed by Dito Montiel and starring Liam Hemsworth, Emma Roberts and Dwayne Johnson, the film was released straight to DVD and Blu-ray on September 3, 2013. It is based on a true story.

Plot

Chris Potamitis lives with his parents and younger sister in the Bronx in the early 1980s. His immigrant father is fired from his job after 10 years of cleaning a shady Greek social club. Chris fails to get into the police academy because of a previous marijuana conviction. He gets a low-paying job as a security guard with the Empire Armored Car Company, where security is extremely poor, morale is equally bad, and no reliable records are kept of money collected or stored. His partner is killed during a robbery, but the company gives the dead man s family only $5,000 in compensation rather than the $50,000 they are entitled to. After Chris is demoted to the position of night watchman, he steals one of the money bags he is guarding and gives some of the cash to his partner s widow.

Chris makes the mistake of showing the money to his loud-mouthed best friend Eddie and telling him about the company s worse-than-lax security. Eddie shares this information with Spiro, a gangster he wants to impress, and Spiro stages a robbery that is foiled by James Ransome, a veteran detective in the New York Police Department who has been tipped off. A gun battle ensues in which two of the robbers are killed. Then, on December 12, 1982, Eddie breaks into the company through the roof in the middle of the night, and he hectors a weak-willed Chris into opening the vault. Eddie knocks out Chris and steals $11 million in cash, the single largest cash robbery in U.S. history, exceeding the $5.8 million Lufthansa heist in December 1978. Eddie gives $3 million of the loot to Chris.

The FBI goes after the Five Families of organized crime, but Ransome decides that Chris, Eddie, and their associates need to be investigated. Eddie and his gangster friend Michael attempt to exchange $8 million of the loot for Colombian drugs, but the deal goes bad and Michael and the Colombians shoot it out. Meanwhile, Spiro demands that Chris turn over the money to him. Ransome arrests Eddie and asks where Chris and the rest of the money are, but Eddie says nothing and is released. Chris tells his friend Nancy that the money is hidden in a statue that he and Eddie had given to his mother. Eddie confronts Chris with a gun and demands that he hand over the money, but Chris father shoots and wounds Eddie just before the police arrive and arrest all three men. Chris and Eddie are released from federal prison on October 10, 1991, but the money is never recovered.

Cast

  • Liam Hemsworth as Chris Potamitis
  • Emma Roberts as Nancy Michaelides
  • Dwayne Johnson as Detective James Ransome
  • Michael Angarano as Eddie
  • Nikki Reed as Lizzette
  • Paul Ben-Victor as Tommy Potamitis
  • Jerry Ferrara as Jimmy The Greek
  • Greg Vrotsos as Mike Dimitriu
  • Michael Rispoli as Tony Cappolitti
  • Wayne Pére as Williams
  • Craig Leydecker as Chilewski
  • Shenae Grimes as Eleni
  • Sharon Angela as Dina Potamitis
  • Chris Diamantopoulos as Spiro Stavrakis
  • Lucky Johnson as Phil Johnson
  • James Ransone as Agent Nugent
  • Gia Mantegna as Vicky Potamitis

Production

Shooting took place in New Orleans in 2012.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to Empire State was released on September 3, 2013.

Release

Empire State premiered at the Gasparilla International Film Festival on March 19, 2013. It grossed $187,500 in Croatia, Mexico, and Thailand. Lionsgate Home Entertainment released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in the US on September 3, 2013, and it grossed $4 million.

Reception

John Ferguson of the Radio Times rated it 2/5 stars and wrote that the film features committed performances but can not decide whether it is a gritty drama or flashy heist film.

Empire State is a 2013 American crime drama film centered on two childhood friends who rob an armored car repository and the NYPD officer who stands in their way. Directed by Dito Montiel and starring Liam Hemsworth, Emma Roberts and Dwayne Johnson, the film was released straight to DVD and Blu-ray on September 3, 2013. It is based on a true story.

Plot

Chris Potamitis lives with his parents and younger sister in the Bronx in the early 1980s. His immigrant father is fired from his job after 10 years of cleaning a shady Greek social club. Chris fails to get into the police academy because of a previous marijuana conviction. He gets a low-paying job as a security guard with the Empire Armored Car Company, where security is extremely poor, morale is equally bad, and no reliable records are kept of money collected or stored. His partner is killed during a robbery, but the company gives the dead man s family only $5,000 in compensation rather than the $50,000 they are entitled to. After Chris is demoted to the position of night watchman, he steals one of the money bags he is guarding and gives some of the cash to his partner s widow.

Chris makes the mistake of showing the money to his loud-mouthed best friend Eddie and telling him about the company s worse-than-lax security. Eddie shares this information with Spiro, a gangster he wants to impress, and Spiro stages a robbery that is foiled by James Ransome, a veteran detective in the New York Police Department who has been tipped off. A gun battle ensues in which two of the robbers are killed. Then, on December 12, 1982, Eddie breaks into the company through the roof in the middle of the night, and he hectors a weak-willed Chris into opening the vault. Eddie knocks out Chris and steals $11 million in cash, the single largest cash robbery in U.S. history, exceeding the $5.8 million Lufthansa heist in December 1978. Eddie gives $3 million of the loot to Chris.

The FBI goes after the Five Families of organized crime, but Ransome decides that Chris, Eddie, and their associates need to be investigated. Eddie and his gangster friend Michael attempt to exchange $8 million of the loot for Colombian drugs, but the deal goes bad and Michael and the Colombians shoot it out. Meanwhile, Spiro demands that Chris turn over the money to him. Ransome arrests Eddie and asks where Chris and the rest of the money are, but Eddie says nothing and is released. Chris tells his friend Nancy that the money is hidden in a statue that he and Eddie had given to his mother. Eddie confronts Chris with a gun and demands that he hand over the money, but Chris father shoots and wounds Eddie just before the police arrive and arrest all three men. Chris and Eddie are released from federal prison on October 10, 1991, but the money is never recovered.

Cast

  • Liam Hemsworth as Chris Potamitis
  • Emma Roberts as Nancy Michaelides
  • Dwayne Johnson as Detective James Ransome
  • Michael Angarano as Eddie
  • Nikki Reed as Lizzette
  • Paul Ben-Victor as Tommy Potamitis
  • Jerry Ferrara as Jimmy The Greek
  • Greg Vrotsos as Mike Dimitriu
  • Michael Rispoli as Tony Cappolitti
  • Wayne Pére as Williams
  • Craig Leydecker as Chilewski
  • Shenae Grimes as Eleni
  • Sharon Angela as Dina Potamitis
  • Chris Diamantopoulos as Spiro Stavrakis
  • Lucky Johnson as Phil Johnson
  • James Ransone as Agent Nugent
  • Gia Mantegna as Vicky Potamitis

Production

Shooting took place in New Orleans in 2012.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to Empire State was released on September 3, 2013.

Release

Empire State premiered at the Gasparilla International Film Festival on March 19, 2013. It grossed $187,500 in Croatia, Mexico, and Thailand. Lionsgate Home Entertainment released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in the US on September 3, 2013, and it grossed $4 million.

Reception

John Ferguson of the Radio Times rated it 2/5 stars and wrote that the film features committed performances but can not decide whether it is a gritty drama or flashy heist film.

Year 2013
ReleaseDate 2013-08-30
RuntimeMins 94
RuntimeStr 1h 34min
Plot Two childhood friends plan to rob an armored-car depository, but an NYPD officer stands in their way.
Awards Awards, 1 nomination
Directors Dito Montiel
Writers Adam Mazer
Stars Liam Hemsworth, Michael Angarano, Dwayne Johnson
Produced by Brandt Andersen,Ryan S. Black,Martin Blencowe,Michael Blencowe,Barry Brooker,Arthur Chang,Remington Chase,Dama Claire,Randall Emmett,Michael P. Flannigan,Ryan Fox,Ted Fox,George Furla,Gus Furla,Jason Gandhi,Brett Granstaff,Brandon Grimes,Sandy Kyrkostas,Theo Kyrkostas,Corey Large,Stepan Martirosyan,Phillip Noorani,Vance Owen,Nicola Pearcey,Chris Potamitis,Jeff Rice,Kevin Robl,Elisa Salinas,William B. Steakley,Mark Stewart,Stan Wertlieb
Music by David Wittman
Cinematography by Dana Gonzales
Film Editing by Jake Pushinsky
Casting By Allison Estrin,Paul Schnee
Production Design by Ethan Tobman
Art Direction by Javiera Varas
Set Decoration by Selina van den Brink
Costume Design by Abby O Sullivan
Makeup Department Daina Daigle,Bailey Domke,Adam Gaeta,Elvis Jones,Courtney Lether,James MacKinnon,Yolanda Mercadel,Lucy O Reilly,Remi Savva,Rachel Solow
Production Management Charlie Dibe,Michael P. Flannigan,Beau J. Genot,Tracey Landon,Michael J. Urann
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Urs Hirschbiegel,Robert Lopez,Kevin Lum
Art Department Zackary Aymani,Adrianne Breaux,Michael Calabrese,Michael P. Cantrell,Chris Craine,Paulo DeFreitas Jr.,Eileen Dennehy,Walter Dickerson,Guy Guidry,Michelle C. Harmon,Alexa Kinigopoulos,Ceilidh Knight,Ernest J. Levron III,Jordan Lightner,Cynthia Nibler,Ren Persac,Christine Rings,Roman Turovsky,Keith Wall,Bill Walters,Cary Whittaker,Ember Soberman
Sound Department Steven Avila,David Barber,Jeff Blehr,Bryan Dembinski,Gonzalo Espinoza,Sean Gray,David Kitchens,Peter D. Lago,B.J. Lehn,Guillermo Pena-Tapia,Ben Zarai
Special Effects by Scott Dwyer,David K. Nami
Visual Effects by Damian Drago,John Ross
Stunts Ted Barba,Justin Gant,Walter Garcia,Lex D. Geddings,Carl Anthony Nespoli,Daniel Norris,Tanoai Reed,Ned Yousef,Nito Larioza,Michael Ortiz,Greg Rementer,Taryn Terrell
Camera and Electrical Department Patrick Barnes,Chris Cavanaugh,Alex Clark,Bill Daimant,Brandon Dauzat,Steve Dietl,Micah Eisenmann,Joe Engelbrecht,Kevin Fannon,Brigitte Faucheaux,Brouke Franklin,Kevin Gazdik,Dana Gonzales,Renaldo Jackson,Tommy Kerwick Jr.,Steven Krul,Justin LeBlanc,Bryce Marshall,Michael Marzovilla,Jon McGinty,Ian O Neill,Keith Pokorski,Brett Roedel,Colin Scherr,Bret Slife,Derek Smith,Zach Smithers,Mark Toups,Remi Tournois,Allan Westbrook,Jeremy Wren,Casey Zimmerman
Casting Department Justin Coulter,Rich Delia,Michael Fredlund,Tracy Kilpatrick,Adam Richards,Jamie Jacobson
Costume and Wardrobe Department Frank Avanzo,Hannah Bollich,Shareen Chehade,Kizzie Autumn Martin,Lauren Nicotera,Gina Ruiz,Laura Michele Shrewsbury,Katelyn Tyree,Britany Viguerie
Editorial Department Stacey England,David B. Hall,Taylor Mahony,Sebastian Perez-Burchard,Anthony Smedile
Location Management Andrew James Clemons,Mark Curley,Charlie French,Damon Michael Gordon,John Jabaley,Andre Le,Brian Fountain Murray,Ron Uribe
Music Department Mike Burns,Micki Stern
Script and Continuity Department Jean-Paul Chreky,Jennifer J. Collins
Transportation Department Kirk Baptiste,Mark L. Basler,Don Breaux,Emanuel Brown,Kandace Claborn,Steven Docherty,David Frisch,Ron Guichard,Javier Jimenez,Barry Kerns,Danny Mortenson,Ian Overson,Raymond Slack,Andrea J. Songy,José Tejada,William Varnado,Shawn A. Wise,Chaz Smith
Additional Crew Robert Abramoff,Will Addison,Conrad Allan,Brooke Arata,Giuseppe Ardizzone,James M. Arnold,Arusha Baker,Justin Begnaud,Benjamin Blankenship,Brett Bodin,Mike Burns,Morey Butler,Fulvia Cassarino,Remington Chase,Jarred Coates,Wendi Coates,Maguy R. Cohen,Jesse Corti,Grant Cramer,Jennifer Culicchia,Alex D Lerma,Angel De La Vina,Sid Deleon,Zack Earl Edwards,Nick Fistanic,Michael P. Flannigan,Samuel Foster,Matthew Gowan,Shane Grady,Justin Groetsch,Natalie Haft,Andrea Hall,Abigail Hansen,Angus Harrison,Jerome Hawkins,Tru Hawkins,Deuce Cheryl Hedrick,Matthew P. Higgins,Jessica Housley,Momo Hsiao,Ali Hubbard,Marabina Jaimes,Karyn Jarmer,Jay Johnson,Meg Alsfeld Kaul,Joseph Keideth,Jerry Lambert,Drew Langhart,Sean Lynn,Jason Makman,Misty McClure,Courtney Millman,Dito Montiel,James Nimmers,Jay Osterman,Bradley Randall,Daniel Rbibo,Drew Ritson,Scott Robinson,Javier Rojas,Kelly Safrit,Francine Segal,Anthony Skordi,Greg Snodgrass,Karen Strassman,Timothy C. Sullivan,Darion Taylor,Justin Trimm,Tre Tureaud,Jessica Welch,Maurier Winston,Madisun Leigh
Thanks Austin Bedell,Richard Blencowe,Trevor Engelson,Rayshawn Franklin,Russel Giacontere,Matthew Gowan,Justin Groetsch,Erin Haindle,Justin Holecek,Craig Kestel,Ceilidh Knight,Danielle Kraus,Alex Lanaux,Chris Lighty,David Manpearl,Ben Matheny,Courtney Millman,John Parsons,Katie Marie Peters,Bradley Randall,Griffin Roberts,Graham Taylor,Emma Nevile Webb
Genres Action, Crime, Thriller
Companies Grindstone Entertainment Group, Kind Hearts Entertainment, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films (EFO Films)
Countries USA
Languages English, Greek
ContentRating R
ImDbRating 5.2
ImDbRatingVotes 21760
Keywords ends with real life footage,fbi federal bureau of investigation,timeframe 1980s,security,detective
Year 2013
ReleaseDate 2013-08-30
RuntimeMins 94
RuntimeStr 1h 34min
Plot Two childhood friends plan to rob an armored-car depository, but an NYPD officer stands in their way.
Awards Awards, 1 nomination
Directors Dito Montiel
Writers Adam Mazer
Stars Liam Hemsworth, Michael Angarano, Dwayne Johnson
Produced by Brandt Andersen,Ryan S. Black,Martin Blencowe,Michael Blencowe,Barry Brooker,Arthur Chang,Remington Chase,Dama Claire,Randall Emmett,Michael P. Flannigan,Ryan Fox,Ted Fox,George Furla,Gus Furla,Jason Gandhi,Brett Granstaff,Brandon Grimes,Sandy Kyrkostas,Theo Kyrkostas,Corey Large,Stepan Martirosyan,Phillip Noorani,Vance Owen,Nicola Pearcey,Chris Potamitis,Jeff Rice,Kevin Robl,Elisa Salinas,William B. Steakley,Mark Stewart,Stan Wertlieb
Music by David Wittman
Cinematography by Dana Gonzales
Film Editing by Jake Pushinsky
Casting By Allison Estrin,Paul Schnee
Production Design by Ethan Tobman
Art Direction by Javiera Varas
Set Decoration by Selina van den Brink
Costume Design by Abby O Sullivan
Makeup Department Daina Daigle,Bailey Domke,Adam Gaeta,Elvis Jones,Courtney Lether,James MacKinnon,Yolanda Mercadel,Lucy O Reilly,Remi Savva,Rachel Solow
Production Management Charlie Dibe,Michael P. Flannigan,Beau J. Genot,Tracey Landon,Michael J. Urann
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Urs Hirschbiegel,Robert Lopez,Kevin Lum
Art Department Zackary Aymani,Adrianne Breaux,Michael Calabrese,Michael P. Cantrell,Chris Craine,Paulo DeFreitas Jr.,Eileen Dennehy,Walter Dickerson,Guy Guidry,Michelle C. Harmon,Alexa Kinigopoulos,Ceilidh Knight,Ernest J. Levron III,Jordan Lightner,Cynthia Nibler,Ren Persac,Christine Rings,Roman Turovsky,Keith Wall,Bill Walters,Cary Whittaker,Ember Soberman
Sound Department Steven Avila,David Barber,Jeff Blehr,Bryan Dembinski,Gonzalo Espinoza,Sean Gray,David Kitchens,Peter D. Lago,B.J. Lehn,Guillermo Pena-Tapia,Ben Zarai
Special Effects by Scott Dwyer,David K. Nami
Visual Effects by Damian Drago,John Ross
Stunts Ted Barba,Justin Gant,Walter Garcia,Lex D. Geddings,Carl Anthony Nespoli,Daniel Norris,Tanoai Reed,Ned Yousef,Nito Larioza,Michael Ortiz,Greg Rementer,Taryn Terrell
Camera and Electrical Department Patrick Barnes,Chris Cavanaugh,Alex Clark,Bill Daimant,Brandon Dauzat,Steve Dietl,Micah Eisenmann,Joe Engelbrecht,Kevin Fannon,Brigitte Faucheaux,Brouke Franklin,Kevin Gazdik,Dana Gonzales,Renaldo Jackson,Tommy Kerwick Jr.,Steven Krul,Justin LeBlanc,Bryce Marshall,Michael Marzovilla,Jon McGinty,Ian O Neill,Keith Pokorski,Brett Roedel,Colin Scherr,Bret Slife,Derek Smith,Zach Smithers,Mark Toups,Remi Tournois,Allan Westbrook,Jeremy Wren,Casey Zimmerman
Casting Department Justin Coulter,Rich Delia,Michael Fredlund,Tracy Kilpatrick,Adam Richards,Jamie Jacobson
Costume and Wardrobe Department Frank Avanzo,Hannah Bollich,Shareen Chehade,Kizzie Autumn Martin,Lauren Nicotera,Gina Ruiz,Laura Michele Shrewsbury,Katelyn Tyree,Britany Viguerie
Editorial Department Stacey England,David B. Hall,Taylor Mahony,Sebastian Perez-Burchard,Anthony Smedile
Location Management Andrew James Clemons,Mark Curley,Charlie French,Damon Michael Gordon,John Jabaley,Andre Le,Brian Fountain Murray,Ron Uribe
Music Department Mike Burns,Micki Stern
Script and Continuity Department Jean-Paul Chreky,Jennifer J. Collins
Transportation Department Kirk Baptiste,Mark L. Basler,Don Breaux,Emanuel Brown,Kandace Claborn,Steven Docherty,David Frisch,Ron Guichard,Javier Jimenez,Barry Kerns,Danny Mortenson,Ian Overson,Raymond Slack,Andrea J. Songy,José Tejada,William Varnado,Shawn A. Wise,Chaz Smith
Additional Crew Robert Abramoff,Will Addison,Conrad Allan,Brooke Arata,Giuseppe Ardizzone,James M. Arnold,Arusha Baker,Justin Begnaud,Benjamin Blankenship,Brett Bodin,Mike Burns,Morey Butler,Fulvia Cassarino,Remington Chase,Jarred Coates,Wendi Coates,Maguy R. Cohen,Jesse Corti,Grant Cramer,Jennifer Culicchia,Alex D Lerma,Angel De La Vina,Sid Deleon,Zack Earl Edwards,Nick Fistanic,Michael P. Flannigan,Samuel Foster,Matthew Gowan,Shane Grady,Justin Groetsch,Natalie Haft,Andrea Hall,Abigail Hansen,Angus Harrison,Jerome Hawkins,Tru Hawkins,Deuce Cheryl Hedrick,Matthew P. Higgins,Jessica Housley,Momo Hsiao,Ali Hubbard,Marabina Jaimes,Karyn Jarmer,Jay Johnson,Meg Alsfeld Kaul,Joseph Keideth,Jerry Lambert,Drew Langhart,Sean Lynn,Jason Makman,Misty McClure,Courtney Millman,Dito Montiel,James Nimmers,Jay Osterman,Bradley Randall,Daniel Rbibo,Drew Ritson,Scott Robinson,Javier Rojas,Kelly Safrit,Francine Segal,Anthony Skordi,Greg Snodgrass,Karen Strassman,Timothy C. Sullivan,Darion Taylor,Justin Trimm,Tre Tureaud,Jessica Welch,Maurier Winston,Madisun Leigh
Thanks Austin Bedell,Richard Blencowe,Trevor Engelson,Rayshawn Franklin,Russel Giacontere,Matthew Gowan,Justin Groetsch,Erin Haindle,Justin Holecek,Craig Kestel,Ceilidh Knight,Danielle Kraus,Alex Lanaux,Chris Lighty,David Manpearl,Ben Matheny,Courtney Millman,John Parsons,Katie Marie Peters,Bradley Randall,Griffin Roberts,Graham Taylor,Emma Nevile Webb
Genres Action, Crime, Thriller
Companies Grindstone Entertainment Group, Kind Hearts Entertainment, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films (EFO Films)
Countries USA
Languages English, Greek
ContentRating R
ImDbRating 5.2
ImDbRatingVotes 21760
Keywords ends with real life footage,fbi federal bureau of investigation,timeframe 1980s,security,detective