True Romance is a 1993 American romantic crime film written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott. The film stars Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette with an ensemble cast including James Gandolfini, Dennis Hopper, Michael Rapaport, Bronson Pinchot, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, and Christopher Walken. The plot follows an ex-call girl (Arquette) and her husband (Slater) on the run from the Mafia after stealing a shipment of drugs from her former pimp.
George P. Pelecanos is an American author. Many of his 20 books are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writer. On television, he frequently collaborates with David Simon, writing multiple episodes of Simon's HBO series The Wire and Treme, and is also the co-creator of the HBO series The Deuce.
David Judah Simon is an American author, journalist, and television writer and producer best known for his work on The Wire (2002–08). He worked for The Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets (1991), and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood (1997) with Ed Burns. The former book was the basis for the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–99), on which Simon served as a writer and producer. Simon adapted the latter book into the HBO mini-series The Corner (2000).
Carlito's Way: Rise to Power is a 2005 prequel to Brian De Palma's 1993 film Carlito's Way. It is based on the 1975 novel Carlito's Way by Edwin Torres. The previous film was based on the 1979 Torres novel After Hours, but was retitled to avoid it being confused with Martin Scorsese’s 1985 film of the same name. The film was written and directed by Michael Bregman, who produced the first film. His father, Martin Bregman, produced both films. The film was released in limited theaters 20 days prior to being released on DVD.
Hell to Pay is a 2002 crime novel by George Pelecanos. It is set in Washington DC and focuses on private investigator Derek Strange and his partner Terry Quinn. It is the second novel to involve the characters and is preceded by Right as Rain (2001) and followed by Soul Circus (2003) and Hard Revolution (2004).
"Hamsterdam" is the fourth episode of the third season of the HBO original series The Wire. The episode was written by George Pelecanos from a story by David Simon & George Pelecanos and was directed by Ernest Dickerson. It originally aired on October 10, 2004.
"Slapstick" is the ninth episode of the third season of the HBO original series, The Wire. The episode was written by David Simon from a story by David Simon & George Pelecanos and was directed by Alex Zakrzewski. It originally aired on November 21, 2004.
"Middle Ground" is the 11th episode of the third season of the HBO original series, The Wire. The episode was written by George Pelecanos from a story by David Simon & George Pelecanos and was directed by Joe Chappelle. It originally aired on December 12, 2004. The episode was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.
Dennis "Cutty" Wise is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Chad Coleman. Wise is a reformed criminal who sets up a boxing gym for neighborhood children. The name "Dennis Wise" was taken from an actual Baltimore contract killer who is serving a life sentence in prison. The nickname "Cutty" originates from the character serving time in the Maryland State Penitentiary in Jessup, Maryland, which was nicknamed "The Cut."
Randy Wagstaff is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Maestro Harrell. Randy is an enterprising student who is dependent on social services. During season 4, he was an 8th grade pupil at Edward Tilghman Middle School and is friends with Namond Brice, Michael Lee and Duquan "Dukie" Weems. He lived with a foster mother, Miss Anna, who instilled some discipline in his life. He is well known amongst his peers for his imagination and ideas. Randy runs a small business selling snacks and drinks to his peers and neighborhood drug dealers. He shares his last name with drug lieutenant Cheese Wagstaff. Though the relationship was never established on the show, creator David Simon revealed Cheese to be Randy's biological father—which would also make Proposition Joe Randy's granduncle.
On the fictional television drama The Wire, the Stanfield Organization is a criminal organization led by Marlo Stanfield. The Organization is introduced in Season Three of The Wire as a growing and significantly violent drug syndicate. Marlo has established his organization's power in West Baltimore's main streets in the shadow of the dominating Barksdale Organization, which was more concerned with conducting its activities in the Franklin Terrace Towers. The Stanfield Organization violently clashes with the Barksdale crew after the latter is forced to move on from the demolished Franklin Terrace Towers and tries to reclaim the streets the gang once dominated. Marlo's is the only crew in the area not to let itself be absorbed into the feared Barksdale gang, and a violent turf war breaks out. The Stanfield Organization begins as the underdog, but fallout from the strain of the war combined with internal strife among the Barksdale Organization leadership, the organization's ongoing war with stickup man Omar Little and a successful investigation by the Major Crimes Unit manages to destroy the Barksdale Organization at the end of Season Three. By Season Four, Marlo's crew becomes the most powerful drug organization in West Baltimore, and forms an alliance with the New Day Co-Op while ruling its streets through fear. In Season Five, after a period of aggressive expansion which culminates in Marlo seizing control of the Co-Op, a series of arrests and deaths destroy the organization.
"Home Rooms" is the third episode of the fourth season of the HBO original series The Wire. Written by Richard Price from a story by Ed Burns & Richard Price, and directed by Seith Mann, it originally aired on September 24, 2006.
Right as Rain is a 2001 crime novel by George Pelecanos. It is set in Washington DC and focuses on private investigator Derek Strange and his new partner Terry Quinn. It is the first novel to involve the characters and is followed by Hell to Pay (2002), Soul Circus (2003) and Hard Revolution (2004).
The Night Gardener is a 2006 crime novel by George Pelecanos. It is set in Washington, DC and focuses on homicide detective Gus Ramone, and ex-cops Dan "Doc" Holiday and TC Cook as they investigate the possible return of a serial killer.
A Firing Offense is a 1992 crime novel and the debut from author George Pelecanos. It is set in Washington, D.C. and focuses on marketing executive Nick Stefanos as he investigates the disappearance of a colleague. It is the first of several Pelecanos novels to feature the character and the first of a trilogy with Stefanos as the main character. The other books in this series are Nick's Trip and Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go.
Captain Strong is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created as a parody of Popeye.
Hard Revolution is a crime novel written by George Pelecanos and set in Washington, DC.
The Kenyatta series is a four-volume urban fiction series by American author Donald Goines under the pseudonym of Al C. Clark. Goines released the books under a pseudonym on the request of his publisher, who wanted to avoid flooding the market with too many books under Goines's name and potentially undermining sales as well as to differentiate the books from Goines's "grittier" urban fiction novels.
Kenard is a fictional young drug dealer on the HBO drama series The Wire, portrayed by Thuliso Dingwall. Kenard is a younger member of Namond Brice's circle of friends. He is first seen in season 3, where, following a prolonged gunfight at a Barksdale stashhouse, Kenard argues with his friends over which one gets to pretend to be Omar Little while playing in the area and re-enacting the gunfight. He is not shown to be living with a family and is never seen attending school, but instead deals drugs for the Stanfield Organization.
