NEW YORK, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Director Ridley Scott said he thinks former Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas -- the subject of his new film "American Gangster" -- is a sociopath.
Lucas made a fortune selling heroin, some of which was shipped into the United States in the body bags of dead U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War.
"He's not a normal person," Scott told reporters in New York recently. "I'd say, 'Any regrets?' He'd say, 'What about?' I'd say, 'OK, any remorse?' He'd say, 'What about?' I'd say, 'Were you ever afraid?' He'd say: 'When? For what reason?'"
Scott said Lucas seems to think the problems his drugs caused should be blamed on the people who took them.
Asked if he would categorize Lucas as a sociopath, Scott said: "Yeah. I think that is the best word for him and everything that entails.
"'Sociopath' is not a pleasant description at all. It sounds cosmetic but if you actually distill it, it’s pretty lethal."
Scott said he had Lucas' permission to make the movie, adding: "Do you think Frank didn't want this movie made? Oh, yes, he did."
So, did Lucas, now 75, ever visit the set?
"Every day," Scott recalled.
