Casino Jack
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGeorge Hickenlooper
Written byNorman Snider
Produced byGary Howsam
Bill Marks
George Zakk
StarringKevin Spacey
Barry Pepper
Rachelle Lefevre
Kelly Preston
Jon Lovitz
Maury Chaykin
CinematographyAdam Swica
Edited byWilliam Steinkamp
Music byJonathan Goldsmith
Production
companies
Hannibal Pictures
Rollercoaster Entertainment
Distributed byEntertainment One[1]
Release dates
  • September 16, 2010 (2010-09-16) (TIFF)
  • January 28, 2011 (2011-01-28) (Canada)
Running time
103 minutes[2]
CountryCanada[3]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12.5 million[4]
Box office$1.2 million[4]

Casino Jack (released in certain territories as Bagman) is a 2010 biographical crime drama directed by George Hickenlooper and starring Kevin Spacey. The film focuses on the career of Washington, D.C., lobbyist and businessman Jack Abramoff, who was involved in a massive corruption scandal that led to his conviction as well as the conviction of two White House officials, Rep. Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and congressional staffers. Abramoff was convicted of fraud, conspiracy, and tax evasion in 2006,[5] and of trading expensive gifts, meals and vacations for political favors.[6][7] Abramoff served three and a half years of a six-year sentence in federal prison, and was then assigned to a halfway house. He was released on December 3, 2010.

Spacey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his portrayal of Abramoff, eventually losing to Paul Giamatti for his role in Barney's Version.[8]

Plot

A hot shot Washington DC lobbyist and his protégé go down hard as their schemes to peddle influence lead to corruption and murder.

Cast

Production

Principal photography took place in June 2009 in various locations across Hamilton, Ontario, including McMaster University and downtown Hamilton. The film was scheduled for release in December 2010 and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.[9]

This was Hickenlooper's final film, as he died on October 29, 2010, seven weeks before its release.[10]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 39% of 97 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Kevin Spacey turns in one of his stronger performances, but Casino Jack is a disappointingly uneven fictionalized account of a fascinating true story."[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[12]

Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, stating that "Casino Jack is so forthright, it is stunning."[13]

References

  1. ↑ Punter, Jennie (September 9, 2010). "ATO nabs 'Casino Jack' in U.S." Variety. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Casino Jack (15)". British Board of Film Classification. April 17, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  3. ↑ Rechtshaffen, Michael (October 14, 2010). "Casino Jack". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Casino Jack (2010)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  5. ↑ Forsythe, Michael; Salant, Jonathan D. (January 3, 2006). "Abramoff Pleads Guilty, Will Help in Corruption Probe". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2013.
  6. ↑ "US lobbyist jailed for corruption". BBC News. September 4, 2008. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  7. ↑ Wilber, Del Quentin; Johnson, Carrie (September 5, 2008). "Abramoff Gets Reduced Sentence of Four Years in Prison". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  8. ↑ Kevin Spacey Archived August 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Evans, Ian (2010). "Casino Jack premiere photos - 35th Toronto International Film Festival". DigitalHit.com. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  10. ↑ Durand, Elizabeth (November 1, 2010). "Spacey Speaks About Sudden Death of 'Casino Jack' Director George Hickenlooper". MTV News. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Casino Jack". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Casino Jack". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  13. ↑ Ebert, Roger (December 29, 2010). "The one-armed bandit of D.C. lobbyists". Chicago Sun-Times – via RogerEbert.com.
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