Claim: Inside Man stars Denzel Washington as a leading character.

Inside Man is a 2006 American crime thriller film directed by Spike Lee , written by Russell Gewirtz . The film centers on an elaborate bank heist on Wall Street over a 24-hour period . It stars Denzel Washington as Detective Keith Frazier , the NYPD 's hostage negotiator ; Clive Owen as Dalton Russell , the mastermind who orchestrates the heist ; and Jodie Foster as Madeleine White , a Manhattan power broker who becomes involved at the request of the bank 's founder , Arthur Case -LRB- Christopher Plummer -RRB- , to keep something in his own personal safe deposit box protected from the robbers . Inside Man marks the fourth film collaboration between Washington and Lee .   Gewirtz spent five years developing the film 's premise before working on what became his first original screenplay . After he completed the script in 2002 , Imagine Entertainment purchased it to be made by Universal Studios , with Imagine co-founder Ron Howard attached to direct . After Howard stepped down , his Imagine partner Brian Grazer began looking for a new director to helm the project , and ultimately hired Lee to do so . Principal photography began in June 2005 and concluded in August of that year ; filming took place on location in New York City . Inside Man premiered in New York on March 20 , 2006 before being released in North America on March 24 , 2006 . Upon release , the film received a generally positive critical response and was a commercial success , grossing over $ 184 million worldwide .