Pacino first heard about the character Carlito Brigante in a YMCA gym in New York City in 1973. Pacino was working out for his movie "Serpico" when he met New York state supreme court Judge Edwin Torres (the author who was writing the novels "Carlito's Way" and "After Hours"). When the novels were completed Pacino read them and liked them, especially the character of Carlito. Inspiration for the novels came from Torres' background, things that were most familiar to him: the East Harlem barrio where he was born and raised in an atmosphere of gangs, drugs and poverty. In 1989, Pacino faced a $6 million lawsuit from producer Elliott Kastner. Kastner claimed Pacino had gone back on an agreement to star in his version of a Carlito movie with Marlon Brando as criminal lawyer David Kleinfeld. The suit was dropped and the project was abandoned.