Stone in Gangster Squad

MANILA, Philippines - Hollywood It-Girl Emma Stone plays a wannabe actress-turned-moll in Warner Bros.’ epic action-thriller Gangster Squad.

Stone instantly fell for the story when she read the screenplay. “It had such a romantic and smoky and nostalgic feel, with a lot of intense action and suspense,” she says. “I immediately felt that I knew what it must have been like to be a part of that place and time.”

Set in Los Angeles, 1949, Gangster Squad revolves around ruthless Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) who runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and — if he has his way — every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop…except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) and Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.

Stone was drawn to the role and eager to work with director Ruben Fleischer again, having starred in his film Zombieland. Stone says, “We sat down and talked about the story and the character, and I said, ‘Of course, let’s do this together.’ I love Ruben, he’s so enthusiastic and his shots are so beautiful.”

 Opening in theaters on Jan. 30, Gangster Squad is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.