Earlier this month, we saw the first trailer for Gangster Squad, showing off all kinds of coolness as a group of incorruptible cops in 1949 Los Angeles form a covert group to battle the corrosive influence of Mickey Cohen, a Brooklyn-born criminal who brought East Coast-style organized crime to sunny LA. 

In order to remind you that Gangster Squad is a movie that includes some good looking people in some good looking outfits, as well as Sean Penn shooting a tommy gun, Warner Bros has released four new images from the film.

Warner Bros has released the first theatrical trailer for Gangster Squad, and if the ensemble wasn't on your "Movies I'm Damn Well Seeing As Soon As I Can" list, then it will be shortly.

The story kicks of 1949, as Brooklyn-born gangster Mickey Cohen brings an East Coast-style organization to crime in the sunny City of Angels and corrodes the police through corruption and intimidation.  Sergeant John O'Mara and Detective Jerry Wooters are tasked with forming a covert group of incorruptible cops to dismantle Cohen's empire by any means necessary.

Despite becoming a huge deal playing the thoroughly stoned comedic character Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Sean Penn definitely hasn't been known for comedy in the three decades since then.  As both an actor and a director, he's more associated with dramatic fare and general method-style seriousness, but Penn's currently in negotiations to join the comedy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

Warner Bros has released the first official still from Gangster Squad, giving a good look at Sean Penn as Mickey Cohen and Josh Brolin as John O'Mara, the cop determined to take him down.  Despite what the title might make you think, Gangster Squad isn't about a squad of gangsters so much as it's about a team of police officers who form a secret task force to root out corruption and the rise of East Coast-style organized criminality in early 1950's Los Angeles.  We've previously seen plenty of set photos with Brolin, Penn, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone, but this is the first image sanctioned by the Brothers Warner, and to accompany it, director Ruben Fleischer shared some new details on the story and characters.

He did some skull-crushing in Drive, Ryan Gosling and no doubt still retains his crown as the undisputed "Hey Girl" King of Cuddles, but new photos from the set of the currently-filming period crime saga Gangster Squad demonstrate a keen ability to wield an automatic weapon, as well.  Based on his attire in these and previous peeks at the set, it seems possible that Gosling signed on to this film based entirely on the wardrobe.  It also could've been the presence of actors like Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and Nick Nolte.  Nah, definitely the snappy, 1940's style costumes.

Warner Bros has shown a lot of confidence in Gangster Squad since it was a recently completed screenplay by former LAPD cop Will Beall still referred to as Tales From the Gangster Squad.  The film tells the true life story of a cover cop squad formed in 1949 to combat the corruptive influence of Brooklyn-born mafia boss Mickey Cohen as he spread his influence across sunny Los Angeles. 

As the project acquired a director and a pretty damned stunning cast, the studio's confidence must have increased correspondingly, and now Warner Bros has given Gangster Squad a release date that demonstrates what could be Oscar hopes.

Q: Who or what could possibly upstage Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in a contest of raw adorability?  A: An English Bulldog, obviously.  New unofficial photos from the Los Angeles set of Gangster Squad reveal our first look at Stone in costume for the period crime saga, along with Gosling rocking a nice hat and a setting-appropriate cigarette.  Both of these examples of human beauty, last seen together in Crazy, Stupid, Love. are overshadowed by the presence of a bulldog who I suspect is having a great day.

Gangster Squad began filming on location in L.A. about two weeks ago, and set photos from last week showed Gosling and his fellow lead Josh Brolin dressed up as the leaders of the eponymous group, a secret band of dedicated cops looking to send Brooklyn-born crime boss Mickey Cohen to the slammer, or at least back to the East Coast. 

Just over a week ago, production officially began on Gangster Squad, the Warner Bros drama that charts the true-life story of the LAPD's battles with criminal boss Mickey Cohen and his cohorts during the 1940's, as East Coast-style thuggery and corruption became increasingly common in Los Angeles.  The first unofficial photos from the set have arrived today, and given the pedigree of the cast and the location shooting, it's surprising that it took more than a week.

These photos don't reveal anything of the set itself, but they do show Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling in their thoroughly period-era costumes.  The actors play John O'Mara and Jerry Wooters, two cops who secretly form the eponymous group of dedicated cops to bust Mickey Cohen's ass.  Sean Penn plays Cohen, and I'm very curious to see just how much he'll resemble the actual Brooklyn-born gangster.

Today in the historic areas around City Hall in Downtown Los Angeles the temperature was around 93 degrees.  That's probably bad news for the cast of Gangster Squad, as the 1940's crime saga officially began production on location today, and the shoot no doubt involves plenty of layered wool costumes to properly capture the look of that era.

That cast includes, and prepare yourself for this, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, Michael Pena, and Sean Penn as L.A. gangster Mickey Cohen.  Under the watchful idea of music video veteran and Zombieland helmer Ruben Fleischer, the high-profile Warner Bros picture has commenced principal photography, and will shoot many in the actual spots where the real-life battle between the LAPD and Cohen went down.

Director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) appeared at Comic-Con International 2011 on Friday along with actors Aziz Ansari (Park and Reacreation), Nick Swardson (Blades of Glory), and Michael Pena (Crash) to discuss their new film 30 Minutes or Less to a packed crowd in Hall H. 

IAR had a chance to speak with director Ruben Fleischer, as well as actor Michael Pena after the panel on Friday about their next collaboration together, the upcoming crime drama The Gangster Squad starring Ryan Gosling (Drive), Sean Penn (Milk), and Josh Brolin (Jonah Hex).