Dolph Lundgren came pretty close the becoming an action mega-star. In the late eighties, hot on the heels of playing Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, he played He-Man in Masters of the Universe, but the film, hampered by a low budget, was a notable flop. For his follow-up, Lundgren would virtually reprise Drago, albeit this time as a hero, in the action extravaganza Red Scorpion. In it, Lundgren plays a Soviet Spetsnaz operative sent to capture a freedom fighter in an African country ruled by the Soviets. Soon, he betrays his Soviet overlords, switching sides to save the people he realizes are only fighting for their freedom. Sound a bit like Rambo? It is, but it’s still a cheesy, fun slice of eighties nostalgia.
In this episode of Reel Action, we chart the movie’s tumultuous production history, with it being financed by the infamous Jack Abramoff and shot under Apartheid rule,...
In this episode of Reel Action, we chart the movie’s tumultuous production history, with it being financed by the infamous Jack Abramoff and shot under Apartheid rule,...
- 1/19/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
It doesn’t take much to get Alex Gibney to describe how sickening it was to view how prescription drug companies were neglecting the safety of patients to make more money with the sale of opioids. “The willful denial, in the service of profit really made me ill,” he tells us in our recent webchat about his newest documentary, “The Crime of the Century” (watch the exclusive video above). The pursuit of profit that Purdue Pharma brought to Gibney’s mind the title of one of his previous documentaries about Jack Abramoff, “Casino Jack and the United States of Money.” “I kept hearing that subtitle in the background here. That says all and then when you see the staggering amount of suffering involved and death, I mean, it really makes your head spin.”
“The Crime of the Century,” which is currently available to stream on HBO Max looks into the...
“The Crime of the Century,” which is currently available to stream on HBO Max looks into the...
- 6/11/2021
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Washington — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a goliath-sized influence machine in the nation’s capital. From its imposing Beaux Arts headquarters a block north of the White House, it has spent $1.5 billion on lobbying over the last two decades — more than any other interest group — to push lawmakers and government bureaucrats to take a more business-friendly tack. And here’s the kicker: The Chamber has done so while revealing almost nothing about who funds it operations and who its most important members are.
Now, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-ri...
Now, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-ri...
- 7/10/2019
- by Andy Kroll
- Rollingstone.com
Here’s a candidate for the day’s weirdest programming announcement: Content company Ignition Creative says it’s producing a reality docuseries about bitcoin regulation, of all subjects. And it will feature Jack Abramoff — the once-powerful lobbyist who was imprisoned for four years after pleading guilty to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials. The series, to be called Capitol Makeover: Bitcoin Brigade, will show Abramoff giving lobbying lessons to…...
- 7/31/2017
- Deadline TV
The WGA is currently on strike against more than 1,000 companies and individuals, according to the guild's year-end Strike/Unfair List. Many of the companies have been out of business for decades; many of the names are familiar, and quite a few are colorful characters. There's Jack Abramoff, who produced the 1988 film Red Scorpion before becoming a famously crooked Washington lobbyist and spending four years in prison for fraud and tax evasion. He may have paid his debt…...
- 12/28/2016
- Deadline TV
The WGA is currently on strike against more than 1,000 companies and individuals, according to the guild's year-end Strike/Unfair List. Many of the companies have been out of business for decades; many of the names are familiar, and quite a few are colorful characters. There's Jack Abramoff, who produced the 1988 film Red Scorpion before becoming a famously crooked Washington lobbyist and spending four years in prison for fraud and tax evasion. He may have paid his debt…...
- 12/28/2016
- Deadline
It almost seems too obvious. From the moment that the production of Devil’s Knot was announced, film lovers the world over noted that it was covering material that had already gone well-trodden by documentaries. And it’s not a case like, say, that time a fiction film and a documentary about the Jack Abramoff scandal came out in the same year. The case of the West Memphis Three has been turned into not one but four docs, and they are anything but low-profile. The movies of the Paradise Lost trilogy are among the best-known, most important documentaries of modern times. And West of Memphis struck at just the right time, just as new developments in the case brought it back into the national spotlight. But that doesn’t mean that a good adaptation of this story couldn’t have been made. In fact, the story of the West Memphis Three is so ripe for Hollywood exploitation...
- 5/9/2014
- by Nonfics.com
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Apparently, even the White House wasn’t enough. Hot off his acclaimed turn as dastardly politician Frank Underwood on the second season of Netflix’s hit drama House of Cards, Kevin Spacey has signed on to play former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in a biopic titled Captain of the Gate.
The biopic, which hails from Sierra/Affinity (Oculus, the upcoming Kill the Messenger), will focus on Churchill’s rise to power as he heroically took a stand against Parliament in order to protect England from Adolf Hitler’s powerful Third Reich. The script was penned by Ben Kaplan, who recently worked on the History Channel’s documentary Reagan. Kaplan also wrote episodes of historical documentary series Vietnam in HD and WWII in HD, both also for the History Channel, but Captain of the Gate will mark his feature debut.
Churchill has understandably been the subject of countless biopics, including...
The biopic, which hails from Sierra/Affinity (Oculus, the upcoming Kill the Messenger), will focus on Churchill’s rise to power as he heroically took a stand against Parliament in order to protect England from Adolf Hitler’s powerful Third Reich. The script was penned by Ben Kaplan, who recently worked on the History Channel’s documentary Reagan. Kaplan also wrote episodes of historical documentary series Vietnam in HD and WWII in HD, both also for the History Channel, but Captain of the Gate will mark his feature debut.
Churchill has understandably been the subject of countless biopics, including...
- 3/25/2014
- by Isaac Feldberg
- We Got This Covered
In this monthly column we spotlight new Blu-ray/DVD releases by interviewing directors about the scenes that stood out most for them while making their movies. This month, we talk to Alex Gibney about his latest documentary, The Armstrong Lie (out February 11). Oscar-winner Alex Gibney has made a career in shedding light on the questionable figures in our society. Whether it is the guys who ran Enron or master lobbyist Jack Abramoff or the polarizing Julian Assange, we turn to Gibney for brutal truths about what makes them tick and the acts that led to their astounding downfalls. But he met his match in Lance Armstrong. The Armstrong Lie was supposed to be a different kind of Gibney movie—one of redemption. As the seven-time Tour de France winner was returning to...
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- 2/12/2014
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Movies.com
In 2009, cyclist Lance Armstrong wanted to prove his naysayers wrong. He came back from retirement, and touted that he’d win the Tour de France in order to prove to the world that his past seven wins were not boosted by any illegal enhancements. As with other chapters of his fascinating life, this comeback provided a great narrative, one made into a nearly-finished documentary project called “The Road Back,” which had director Alex Gibney and his crew following Armstrong around as he hustled for another Tour de France victory. Matt Damon was signed on to do voiceover, and the project was co-produced by Spielberg’s key producer Frank Marshall.
“The Road Back” was then remodeled into The Armstrong Lie when the truth about Armstrong’s doping began to make its way to the surface in 2012, both through teammate testimonies and a few select moments from Armstrong himself. Initially crafting what...
“The Road Back” was then remodeled into The Armstrong Lie when the truth about Armstrong’s doping began to make its way to the surface in 2012, both through teammate testimonies and a few select moments from Armstrong himself. Initially crafting what...
- 11/13/2013
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
In 2009, Alex Gibney followed Lance Armstrong to France to make a film about his triumphant return to professional cycling. It was an act of great naivete, an especially interesting move for a director who has already made more than one film about mendacity. How is it that the man who documented the scandal and corruption around Enron, Jack Abramoff and the Catholic Church was taken in by an athlete? The Armstrong Lie is, in a sense, his way of addressing his own blindness. Gibney wants to understand how so many were fooled by the outright lies of the cyclist for so many years, in spite of the growing mountain of allegations against him. He wants to understand why he himself believed the lies. Read More...
- 11/12/2013
- by Nonfics.com
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
In recognition of the "trick" side of the Halloween tradition, Indiewire's latest curated selections for Hulu's Documentaries page highlights films that expose corruption, lies, and the manipulation of truth. Watch these and other docs now for free!Alex Gibney's "Casino Jack and the United States of Money," focuses on notorious DC conservative lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his central role in the 2006 corruption scandal that implicated powerful members of Congress.Gibney's also contributes another film to the list with his Oscar-nominated "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," exploring the rise and fall of the infamous corporation.Corporate malfeasance is also at the core of Victoria Bruce and Karin Hayes' "We're Not Broke," an investigation into corporate tax shelters and the government collusion that allows profits to trump civil society.Vikram Gandhi's "Kumare" finds the filmmaker taking on the role of a fictional Indian guru to expose the absurdity of blind.
- 10/31/2013
- by Basil Tsiokos
- Indiewire
Here's your daily dose of an indie film in progress; at the end of the week, you'll have the chance to vote for your favorite. In the meantime: Is this a movie you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments. "Of By For" Tweetable Logline: Of By For uncovers the powerful interests that corrode our political system and divide the people. Elevator Pitch: Uncovering the powerful interests that corrode our political system and divide the people, Of ByFor finds that hope for real change still exists – we've just been looking in all the wrong places. Featuring Ron Paul, Dan Rather, Newt Gingrich, Al Sharpton, Ralph Nader, Jack Abramoff and a host of others, the film is a surprisingly honest and incisive exposition of our broken system. Production Team: Director Christopher Kay Producer Chad Monnin Writing & Research Christopher Kay Chad Monnin Aaron Keith Harris Andrew Malone Photography Christopher Kay...
- 10/21/2013
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
Alex Gibney, the Oscar-winning director of Taxi to the Dark Side, is not only the most prolific figure within American documentary but also always seems to tackle solely the most complex, fascinating subjects. In recent years, he has put his focus on jailed lobbyist and con artist Jack Abramoff, disgraced politician Eliot Spitzer, Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, Tea Party funders the Koch brothers, and Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. To this list can be now added fallen sports hero Lance Armstrong, the cancer survivor turned seven-time Tour de France winner who, after years of rumors, […]...
- 9/8/2013
- by Nick Dawson
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Alex Gibney, the Oscar-winning director of Taxi to the Dark Side, is not only the most prolific figure within American documentary but also always seems to tackle solely the most complex, fascinating subjects. In recent years, he has put his focus on jailed lobbyist and con artist Jack Abramoff, disgraced politician Eliot Spitzer, Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, Tea Party funders the Koch brothers, and Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. To this list can be now added fallen sports hero Lance Armstrong, the cancer survivor turned seven-time Tour de France winner who, after years of rumors, […]...
- 9/8/2013
- by Nick Dawson
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
“The megalomaniac differs from the narcissist by the fact that he wishes to be powerful rather than charming, and seeks to be feared rather than loved. To this type belong many lunatics and most of the great men of history.”
Bertrand Russell
Why Is It Always About You? The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism:
1. Shamelessness: Shame is the feeling that lurks beneath all unhealthy narcissism, and the inability to process shame in healthy ways.
2. Magical thinking: Narcissists see themselves as perfect, using distortion and illusion known as magical thinking. They also use projection to dump shame onto others.
3. Arrogance: A narcissist who is feeling deflated may reinflate by diminishing, debasing, or degrading somebody else.
4. Envy: A narcissist may secure a sense of superiority in the face of another person’s ability by using contempt to minimize the other person.
5. Entitlement: Narcissists hold unreasonable expectations of particularly favorable treatment and automatic...
Bertrand Russell
Why Is It Always About You? The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism:
1. Shamelessness: Shame is the feeling that lurks beneath all unhealthy narcissism, and the inability to process shame in healthy ways.
2. Magical thinking: Narcissists see themselves as perfect, using distortion and illusion known as magical thinking. They also use projection to dump shame onto others.
3. Arrogance: A narcissist who is feeling deflated may reinflate by diminishing, debasing, or degrading somebody else.
4. Envy: A narcissist may secure a sense of superiority in the face of another person’s ability by using contempt to minimize the other person.
5. Entitlement: Narcissists hold unreasonable expectations of particularly favorable treatment and automatic...
- 3/18/2013
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
Alex Gibney is ready to take on the Pope in his new documentary, "Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God," which opens this weekend. Gibney, who has taken on hot topics from lobbyist Jack Abramoff to biking champion Lance Armstrong to Enron, digs into a new aspect of the sexual-abuse scandal in which deaf children in Catholic boarding schools were preyed upon by pedophile priests. One of those children, now grown, has sued the Pope. The film raises the tantalizing question of whether private individuals can sue the Vatican, which...
- 11/16/2012
- by Sharon Waxman
- The Wrap
In the early nineties Kevin Spacey rose to prominence in Hollywood. He did so by playing some notable villains, and did a nice line in slimy businessmen. Once he became popular, of course, they made him into a good guy, and he was never quite the same again. Now, however, he has returned to his forte, this time as a slimy lobbyist in George Hickenlooper’s political satire, Casino Jack.
Spacey plays real life political lobbyist Jack Abramoff. With ambitions of being a successful businessman, Abramoff finds himself seduced by the lure of easy money when an opportunity comes his way. He facilitates a new casino built on a Native American reserve, clearing a path through red tape and competition in return for huge commissions. Thanks to Abramoff’s increasing greed and dishonesty, however, his simple plan inevitably starts to crumble as his dodgy dealings begin to catch up with him.
Spacey plays real life political lobbyist Jack Abramoff. With ambitions of being a successful businessman, Abramoff finds himself seduced by the lure of easy money when an opportunity comes his way. He facilitates a new casino built on a Native American reserve, clearing a path through red tape and competition in return for huge commissions. Thanks to Abramoff’s increasing greed and dishonesty, however, his simple plan inevitably starts to crumble as his dodgy dealings begin to catch up with him.
- 7/18/2012
- by Barry Steele
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Last week brought Woody Harrelson’s career-best performance in Rampart to the shelves, Oren Moverman’s brilliant follow-up to the Oscar-nominated The Messenger, and this week sees another great new selection of films getting their DVD/Blu-ray debut, as well as a host of classics getting the Blu-ray treatment.
Prepare for Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Spacey, Cameron Crowe, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the Devil.
My picks of the week:
Baltasar Kormákur’s Contraband & Cameron Crowe’s We Bought A Zoo & George Hickenlooper’s Casino Jack.
And the Blu-ray release of Doug Liman and Jon Favreau’s Swingers.
Contraband Iframe Embed for Youtube
DVD and Blu-ray (inc. UltraViolet Digital Copy)
Contraband has all you could ask for from an action/crime film: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, and a bit of Giovanni Ribisi and Lukas Haas.
The film took just shy of $100m. earlier this year, and if you’re a fan...
Prepare for Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Spacey, Cameron Crowe, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the Devil.
My picks of the week:
Baltasar Kormákur’s Contraband & Cameron Crowe’s We Bought A Zoo & George Hickenlooper’s Casino Jack.
And the Blu-ray release of Doug Liman and Jon Favreau’s Swingers.
Contraband Iframe Embed for Youtube
DVD and Blu-ray (inc. UltraViolet Digital Copy)
Contraband has all you could ask for from an action/crime film: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, and a bit of Giovanni Ribisi and Lukas Haas.
The film took just shy of $100m. earlier this year, and if you’re a fan...
- 7/16/2012
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Jack Abramoff is the new host of a weekly talk show on Xm radio, Premiere Networks announced on Wednesday. "The Jack Abramoff Show" debuted June 24, but it must have been the radio equivalent of a soft opening since Premiere, which syndicates the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, made the announcement this week. Abramoff is one of the most notorious Washington lobbyists in recent memory. He served almost four years in prison for mail fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials. He was the subject of both a...
- 7/11/2012
- by Lucas Shaw
- The Wrap
HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher June 29 edition will see Gavin Newsom, Fareed Zakaria and Amy Goodman as guests. Bill Maher's crackling Friday Night Salon continues its tenth season June 29 (10:00-11:00 p.m. live Et/tape-delayed Pt), exclusively on HBO, with an instant replay at 11:00 p.m. following the live presentation. Allowing Maher to offer his unique perspective on contemporary issues, the show includes an opening monologue, roundtable discussions with panelists, and interviews with in-studio and satellite guests. The roundtable guests this week are radio host Amy Goodman, Lt. Gov. of California Gavin Newsom and journalist Fareed Zakaria; author and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and author Lizz Winstead are interview guests. Bill Maher has been favorite of subscribers since...
- 6/26/2012
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
In December, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) issued a press release that claimed it had lost $58 billion and 373,00 jobs due to online piracy. However, a few weeks ago, Ted Blog questioned those numbers, stating they were off by a whopping $50 billion. "These numbers originated at a think tank called the 'Institute for Policy Innovation' – an organization that Businessweek once profiled in an article called 'Op-Eds for Sale.' In it, an Ipi analyst freely admitted to taking payoffs from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for writing 'op-ed pieces boosting the lobbyist's clients.' The Ipi's president supported this behavior, saying it was neither wrong nor unethical, and dismissing those who apply 'a naïve purity standard' to the business of writing op-eds. This doesn't necessarily mean that MPAA lobbyists paid the Ipi to conjure up these numbers. But whatever their genesis, they're not easy figures to support." In the video above,...
- 3/29/2012
- by Jessie Heyman
- Moviefone
Warrior
The plot and characters of Warrior are so corny and shopworn that the film should really come with a health warning that it's way past its sell-by date.
The direction isn't much better: there's a C-plot involving students that should have you shouting for the editor's blood every time it appears, and even the required sports training montage is badly fumbled. So why is this being feted as one of 2011's best films when it should be counted among the worst? It's the acting. Across the board, the performances here are superb. With fast-rising stars Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton playing the punchy estranged siblings competing in a mixed martial arts tournament, you get two actors committed to delivering the physicality the roles demand as well as being more than capable at making the stale drama seem fresh. Best of all is Nick Nolte as their drunk disappointment of a dad.
The plot and characters of Warrior are so corny and shopworn that the film should really come with a health warning that it's way past its sell-by date.
The direction isn't much better: there's a C-plot involving students that should have you shouting for the editor's blood every time it appears, and even the required sports training montage is badly fumbled. So why is this being feted as one of 2011's best films when it should be counted among the worst? It's the acting. Across the board, the performances here are superb. With fast-rising stars Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton playing the punchy estranged siblings competing in a mixed martial arts tournament, you get two actors committed to delivering the physicality the roles demand as well as being more than capable at making the stale drama seem fresh. Best of all is Nick Nolte as their drunk disappointment of a dad.
- 2/11/2012
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
Ted Streshinsky/Corbis Ken Kesey, October 1966, San Francisco, Calif.
In 1964, author Ken Kesey and an entourage known as the Merry Pranksters lit out from La Honda, Calif., bound for New York, on what would become one of the longest, strangest trips of all time. Armed with 16mm video cameras, musical instruments and copious quantities of LSD, they traveled in a 1939 International Harvester school bus painted day-glow colors and driven by beat generation icon Neal Cassady.
Filmmakers Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood...
In 1964, author Ken Kesey and an entourage known as the Merry Pranksters lit out from La Honda, Calif., bound for New York, on what would become one of the longest, strangest trips of all time. Armed with 16mm video cameras, musical instruments and copious quantities of LSD, they traveled in a 1939 International Harvester school bus painted day-glow colors and driven by beat generation icon Neal Cassady.
Filmmakers Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood...
- 7/29/2011
- by Rachel Dodes
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Chicago – While Alex Gibney’s enraging 2010 documentary “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” brought cinematic immortality to the life of recently imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff, George Hickenlooper’s narrative re-telling transforms the cinema-obsessed criminal into the larger-than-life movie hero of his dreams. I have a sneaking suspicion that Abramoff may love this picture.
Consider the memorable pre-title sequence. Abramoff brushes his teeth in the mirror of a public bathroom, while harboring a stare to rival that of Jake La Motta. It’s not long before he launches into an impassioned and defensive monologue, justifying his outrageous actions while voicing his contempt for the majority of humanity, resigned to living honest yet “mediocre” lives. Like him or not, he is who he is, though the levels of self-deception fueling his self-righteousness are dizzying to say the least.
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0
Since Abramoff’s words are practically indiscernible from those of Scorsese’s mobsters in “GoodFellas,...
Consider the memorable pre-title sequence. Abramoff brushes his teeth in the mirror of a public bathroom, while harboring a stare to rival that of Jake La Motta. It’s not long before he launches into an impassioned and defensive monologue, justifying his outrageous actions while voicing his contempt for the majority of humanity, resigned to living honest yet “mediocre” lives. Like him or not, he is who he is, though the levels of self-deception fueling his self-righteousness are dizzying to say the least.
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0
Since Abramoff’s words are practically indiscernible from those of Scorsese’s mobsters in “GoodFellas,...
- 4/19/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Exclusive: Oscar-winning documentary director Alex Gibney has found his next hot-button film subject. Universal Pictures has just acquired a documentary that Gibney will direct about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The film will be the first project involving Marc Shmuger since he left the chairman post at Universal. Shmuger and Gibney are producing. Whether it’s Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room, Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, or the Jack Abramoff documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money, Gibney usually tells his stories with input from his subjects. Will Assange cooperate? I'm told it's inconclusive. Universal confirmed the deal but wouldn't elaborate. The WikiLeaks docu follows a deal announced yesterday by feature producers who optioned an upcoming book about Assange. There are plenty of those in the works, including a memoir Assange is writing to defray his massive legal fees. The Gibney/Shmuger documentary...
- 1/21/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Jack Abramoff isn't known as a funny guy, and his story -- an infuriating tale of fraud and political corruption -- isn't funny, either. The former high-rolling lobbyist arguably is one of America's most hated public figures, and his scandalous tenure as a Washington power player only deepened the American public's cynicism about politics.
Given Abramoff's notoriety, mining his story for darkly comic gold is risky. And taking this risk has only a modest payoff in Casino Jack, a stylish and busy movie that's sometimes very funny but isn't quite the smart political satire it could have been.
Casino Jack, which first screened in town on Austin Film Festival's closing night in partnership with The Texas Observer, is a reasonably accurate portrayal of Abramoff's money-fueled machinations, in least in the general sense if not in some of the details. The longtime political operative (and onetime film producer who sullied many...
Given Abramoff's notoriety, mining his story for darkly comic gold is risky. And taking this risk has only a modest payoff in Casino Jack, a stylish and busy movie that's sometimes very funny but isn't quite the smart political satire it could have been.
Casino Jack, which first screened in town on Austin Film Festival's closing night in partnership with The Texas Observer, is a reasonably accurate portrayal of Abramoff's money-fueled machinations, in least in the general sense if not in some of the details. The longtime political operative (and onetime film producer who sullied many...
- 1/7/2011
- by Don Clinchy
- Slackerwood
You can’t always go by your first impressions. When the story of uber-lobbyist Jack Abramoff first hit the news, the media seemed to rejoice in having a hiss-able bad guy. The cable news channels loved running the video of his “perp walk” complete with wardrobe by Boris Badenov ( matching black fedora and trench coat ). Early last year we got to know more of the full story with Alex Gibney’s documentary Casino Jack And The United States Of Money. And now the feature drama based on the true story of D.C. corruption has arrived at movie theatres: George Hickenlooper’s Casino Jack with Kevin Spacey in the title role. With this telling we learn much more about the real man behind the scandals ( and late night TV monologue jokes).
The film opens with a tribute to the first few minutes of Raging Bull. Abramoff stares into a mirror...
The film opens with a tribute to the first few minutes of Raging Bull. Abramoff stares into a mirror...
- 1/7/2011
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
When you come across a newsworthy item that strikes your creative fancy and feeds the instinct to turn it into some sort of screenplay is that you are not the only supplicant sipping from this particular muse's font. Jack Abramoff himself would fully appreciate this, both as an unsuccessful Hollywood screenwriter/producer and as a functionally-intellectual piece of human shit. If an idea is good, someone else is probably going to have it, and so you're gonna have to be the first to the finish line with the finished product, or else you're going to be considered derivative and lesser than. A Bug's Life trumped Antz, Dante's Peak edged out Volcano, Capote outcapoted Infamous, Armageddon aerosmithed Deep Impact, Tombstone made Wyatt Earp its huckleberry -- the streets of Hollywood are paved with the corpses of lesser flicks that were released within months of similar tales. Alex Gibney, who has been...
- 12/22/2010
- by Brian Prisco
“Washington is like Hollywood, only without the pretty faces.” This, according to Kevin Spacey’s idealistic, wise-cracking super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff on the two-faced, backstabbing nature of capitol hill.
In 2006, Abramoff, who, by many accounts, was one of the most powerful men in Washington, pled guilty to defrauding four American Indian tribes of tens of millions of dollars, and to illegal dealings with SunCruz Casinos. His indictment led to a widespread corruption investigation that resulted in the convictions of top White House officials, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and Congressional aides, shaking the right-wing establishment to its core. And George Hickenlooper’s “Casino Jack” aims to tell the tale.
Spacey charges into the role full force, attacking the essence and nuances of his character with all the voracity and gusto with which Abramoff himself laid waste to the idea of ethics in politics. After twice winning Hollywood’s most coveted acting award,...
In 2006, Abramoff, who, by many accounts, was one of the most powerful men in Washington, pled guilty to defrauding four American Indian tribes of tens of millions of dollars, and to illegal dealings with SunCruz Casinos. His indictment led to a widespread corruption investigation that resulted in the convictions of top White House officials, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and Congressional aides, shaking the right-wing establishment to its core. And George Hickenlooper’s “Casino Jack” aims to tell the tale.
Spacey charges into the role full force, attacking the essence and nuances of his character with all the voracity and gusto with which Abramoff himself laid waste to the idea of ethics in politics. After twice winning Hollywood’s most coveted acting award,...
- 12/22/2010
- by Eric M. Armstrong
- The Moving Arts Journal
On Tuesday The Washington Post ran a short update on Jack Abramoff, who’s out of federal prison and on probation for the next three years. The article reported that he was leaving his workplace of the past six months, Tov Pizza in Baltimore. I remember my shock months ago upon first learning he’d taken a minimum wage job, but based on the man’s now toxic reputation and his unsavoriness as represented in the late George Hickenlooper’s Casino Jack, I realize I shouldn’t be surprised. Casino Jack stars Kevin Spacey as the man at the heart of 21stcentury America’s most resonant political scandal. He’s everyone’s favorite K Street boogeyman, “super lobbyist” Jack Abramoff. Jack cons his way into amassing an empire composed of restaurants, casinos, and his own private Hebrew “academy” (complete with ice hockey rink and Zamboni machine) - and that’s just for starters.
- 12/17/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Until he was convicted in 2008, Jack Abramoff was a wearer of many hats: Washington lobbyist supreme, bedfellow of right-wing creeps like Tom DeLay and Ralph Reed, bilker of Indian nations, sometime film producer, restaurateur, observant Jew. Within the past year, he also became the star subject of two movies: First the sharp, complex Alex Gibney documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money, and now the more straightforwardly titled Casino Jack, directed by the late George Hickenlooper and starring Kevin Spacey in the title role. If Abramoff fancies himself a charming scamp, he'll be a lot happier with how he's portrayed in the latter movie -- and that's the problem with it.
- 12/16/2010
- Movieline
When reviewing movies that are based on true stories, film critics – myself included – often lament that a documentary on the same subject matter would have been much more interesting. With “Casino Jack,” we can finally prove that statement, since this year’s non-fiction treatment of the Jack Abramoff story, Alex Gibney’s “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” crackles and engages where this docudrama falls flat. Kevin Spacey – whose performance feels like a greatest-hits compendium of every big-screen a-hole Spacey has ever portrayed – stars as Abramoff, a cheeseball Hollywood producer (his biggest credit was the Dolph Lundgren...
- 12/15/2010
- by Alonso Duralde
- Hitfix
Kevin Spacey stars in Ato Pictures' "Casino Jack" which finds release on December 29th. Check out new clips from the film which includes Kevin Spacey, Barry Pepper, Kelly Preston, Jon Lovitz and Rachelle Lefevre. George Hickenlooper ("Factory Girl," "Dogtown") directs "Casino Jack" from the writing by Norman Snider. We have 8 total videos available in the "Casino Jack" group. Inspired by true events that are too over-the-top for even the wildest imaginations to conjure, "Casino Jack" lays bare the wild excesses and escapades of Jack Abramoff. Aided by his business partner Michael Scanlon (Barry Pepper), Jack parlays his clout over some of the world's most powerful men with the goal of creating a personal empire of wealth and influence...
- 12/7/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Alex Gibney just may be the most important documentarian in America, and Casino Jack and the United States of Money certainly doesn’t do anything to diminish that standing. It’s a story so juicy that Kevin Spacey signed on to play the lad role in the narrative film version (entitled, confusingly enough, Casino Jack) as Jack Abramoff, liar, cheater, and all-around bad guy (or, as we call him in America, a lobbyist). It’s difficult to imagine how a narrative film could have been any more intriguing or exciting than Gibney’s treatment here. He’s an expert in the art of pastiche, weaving...
- 11/12/2010
- Pastemagazine.com
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer is another in a growing line of documentary audits of the run-up to New York's annus horribilis, and the second offered by director Alex Gibney this year alone (Casino Jack and the United States of Money, about the Jack Abramoff scandal, was released this spring). If you can turn your mind back to 2008, you'll recall that it was the year New York governor Eliot Spitzer resigned amid a good old-fashioned sex scandal, right before the economy finally collapsed and the country was delivered into a sequel to the Great Depression. No wonder retro's all the rage!
- 11/2/2010
- Movieline
ComingSoon.net has interviewed documentary director Alex Gibney more than a few times going back to his Oscar-nominated doc Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room five years ago, and 2010 has been a particularly busy year with the release of his Jack Abramoff doc Casino Jack and the United States of Money , the HBO film "My Trip to Al-Qaeda" and a segment for the doc anthology Freakonomics . The year culminates with the release of Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer , a look at the former New York Attorney General and Governor who ended his political career in scandal after being caught having dalliances with high-priced escorts. Working again with Peter Elkind, co-writer of the book on which Gibney's "Enron" movie was based, Gibney has assembled...
- 11/1/2010
- Comingsoon.net
Carlsbad - LEGOs…those colorful blocks that snap together so easily. Many view them as a childhood toy, but they’re serious fun among collectors and adult builders. They can vacation at the American LEGOland. They can get those rare pieces at Lego stores across the country in malls. Lego video games featuring Star Wars, Batman and Indiana Jones are all the rage. Keeping up with what’s happening in Lego is about as foreboding a task as your mother keeping up with your LEGOs.
Joe Meno organizes the Lego universe through BrickJournal magazine. The periodical announces upcoming products, events and how-to articles by top buildings. It’s a coffeetable magazine featuring all the Lego pieces your kids lost under the sofa. The pages are addictive even for someone mildly interested in Lego with illustrations that show how the plastic building blocks can snap into amazing works of art. For...
Joe Meno organizes the Lego universe through BrickJournal magazine. The periodical announces upcoming products, events and how-to articles by top buildings. It’s a coffeetable magazine featuring all the Lego pieces your kids lost under the sofa. The pages are addictive even for someone mildly interested in Lego with illustrations that show how the plastic building blocks can snap into amazing works of art. For...
- 9/24/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
The Motion Picture Association of America's Classification and Ratings Administration released ratings for Megamind and The Next Three Days in their weekly ratings bulletin today. Computer-animated superhero comedy Megamind was rated PG for "action and some language." All DreamWorks Animation titles have been rated PG, with the one exception being the G-rated Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Megamind, which features the voices of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey and Jonah Hill, opens Nov. 5 opposite Todd Phillips' Due Date. The Next Three Days earned a PG-13 rating for "violence, drug material, language, some sexuality and thematic elements." This marked director Paul Haggis's first PG-13 movie, following R-rated releases Crash ($54.6 million) and In the Valley of Elah ($6.8 million). The action thriller, which finds Russell Crowe attempting to break his wife (Elizabeth Banks) out of jail, debuts Nov. 19 against Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part One...
- 9/22/2010
- by Ray Subers <mail@boxofficemojo.com>
- Box Office Mojo
Enron. Eliot Spitzer. Jack Abramoff. Guantánamo Bay. Filmmaker Alex Gibney has shredded some massive -- and massively corrupt -- targets in his Oscar-winning documentaries. Yet none were as large, literally speaking, as the sumo wrestlers Gibney takes to task in his portion of Freakonomics, a multipart adaptation of the best-selling nonfiction book. With Freakonomics opening in theaters and Gibney's Casino Jack and the United States of Money hitting DVD shelves, we phoned the director and discussed Kevin Spacey, Lance Armstrong, and the curse that plagues the Chicago Cubs. Q: Your Freakonomics chapter connects sumo wrestlers with teachers to demonstrate why society cheats. A: Right, except I don't do the teachers. [Laughs] I just do the sumo wrestlers, because I found that story, itself, to be really interesting and that's what I wanted to deal with. Plus I had plenty of material to do a segment just dealing with that. Like the book,...
- 9/20/2010
- AMC News Interviews
The first trailer for director George Hickenlooper's (Factory Girl) new movie, Casino Jack (formerly Bagman) is now online. Written by Norman Snider, Casino Jack—not to be confused with Casino Jack and the United States of Money, a 2010 documentary by Alex Gibney— is a docudrama about the rise and fall of powerful Washington, D.C. lobbyist and con man Jack Abramoff, who was convicted of fraud, conspiracy, and tax evasion in 2006 and is currently in prison. It stars Kevin Spacey, Barry Pepper, Jon Lovitz, Conrad Pla, Christian Campbell and Kelly Preston.
Next Showing: Casino Jack opens December 1
Link | Posted 9/18/2010 by BrentJS
Barry Pepper | Kevin Spacey | George Hickenlooper...
Next Showing: Casino Jack opens December 1
Link | Posted 9/18/2010 by BrentJS
Barry Pepper | Kevin Spacey | George Hickenlooper...
- 9/18/2010
- by BrentJS Sprecher
- Reelzchannel.com
Starring Kevin Spacey, Barry Pepper, Kelly Preston and “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” actress, Rachelle Lefevre, comes the new trailer for Casino Jack.
Based on the true story of Jack Abramoff, the American lobbyist and inspired by the documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money, released earlier this year, the trailer looks slick to say the least. Kevin Spacey appears to be ideally cast as capitalist-turned-lobbyist Abramoff, who is currently serving six years in prison following a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy, honest services fraud, and tax evasion in 2006. Check out the trailer below courtesy of Apple and let us know your thoughts:
Two–time Academy Award Winner Kevin Spacey gives the performance of a lifetime in Casino Jack, a riotous new film starring Spacey as a man hell bent on acquiring all that the good life has to offer. He plays in the same game as...
Based on the true story of Jack Abramoff, the American lobbyist and inspired by the documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money, released earlier this year, the trailer looks slick to say the least. Kevin Spacey appears to be ideally cast as capitalist-turned-lobbyist Abramoff, who is currently serving six years in prison following a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy, honest services fraud, and tax evasion in 2006. Check out the trailer below courtesy of Apple and let us know your thoughts:
Two–time Academy Award Winner Kevin Spacey gives the performance of a lifetime in Casino Jack, a riotous new film starring Spacey as a man hell bent on acquiring all that the good life has to offer. He plays in the same game as...
- 9/17/2010
- by Craig Sharp
- FilmShaft.com
Disgraced Washington D.C. businessman and lobbyist Jack Abramoff has already inspired the documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money by Alex Gibney and now there’s a new trailer out for the big screen Kevin Spacey version of the sorry tale.
Originally titled Bagman to avoid confusion, Casino Jack sees Spacey as the business/con man doing deals and defrauding left, right and centre, while spinning in the most exclusive of political circles.
As this is a recent real-life story the trailer doesn’t hold back and there’s seemingly enough flair in George Hickenlooper’s direction and with Barry Pepper and Kelly Preston on hand to lend support Spacey looks like having another winner on his hands.
I know there’s the Lex Luthor connection but there are moments, particularly towards the end of the trailer where Spacey is a dead ringer for Gene Hackman.
The film,...
Originally titled Bagman to avoid confusion, Casino Jack sees Spacey as the business/con man doing deals and defrauding left, right and centre, while spinning in the most exclusive of political circles.
As this is a recent real-life story the trailer doesn’t hold back and there’s seemingly enough flair in George Hickenlooper’s direction and with Barry Pepper and Kelly Preston on hand to lend support Spacey looks like having another winner on his hands.
I know there’s the Lex Luthor connection but there are moments, particularly towards the end of the trailer where Spacey is a dead ringer for Gene Hackman.
The film,...
- 9/17/2010
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
As hot political documentaries go, Alex Gibney's Casino Jack and the United States of Money (not to be confused with George Hickenlooper's competitive, Kevin Spacey-starring Casino Jack) is a lively, action-packed affair, chronicling the career of famed lobbyist Jack Abramoff from hot shot conservative shaker to D.C. megamind and profiteer to a Congressionally excoriated convict and poster boy for economic megalomania. Gibney, a prolific busybody who's made films about Enron, war-on-terror torture practices and Hunter S. Thompson, keeps the movie light and zesty and evidentiary, and if you didn't quite understand what Abramoff did when his name hit the headlines in 2006, here's where you can get it all straight.
- 9/17/2010
- Movieline
Jack Abramoff is something of a contradiction across the pond. Most people see the former lobbyist as a Gordon Gekko type, who charmed people out of parting with money at the highest levels and never quite delivered, while some still see him as a hero. The fact he’s been spending time in prison might tip you off as to which side won out – and now his story is being told in George Hickenlooper’s Casino Jack, in which Kevin Spacey plays Abramoff, and which has just shoved a trailer online over at Apple. Abramoff is such a meaty subject for filmmakers that there’s already a documentary about him – Alex Gibney’s Casino Jack and the United States of Money – and it’s easy to see why. A big-money lobbyist for powerful firms, he uses a smooth personality and style to crank open the wallets of some of the country's wealthiest people,...
- 9/17/2010
- EmpireOnline
"Out of order?! You're out of order!" Casino Jack is the feature film version of the infamous Casino Jack and the United States of Money story (watch the trailer for that doc) that stars the always awesome Kevin Spacey as political lobbyist Jack Abramoff. I'm not sure how fictional this version is compared to the true story, but it looks great. I love the trailer, it's such a perfect introduction to this flick. Spacey has a spark to him that not many other actors have and I love seeing him in this role, even if it is a little over-the-top, but screw it. Plus, I personally love the film versions of stories like this more than documentaries. Watch below! Watch the official trailer for George Hickenlooper's Casino Jack: [flv:http://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/casinojack-spaceymovietrailer.mp4 http://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/casinojack-spaceymovietrailer.jpg 598 248] You can also watch the official trailer for Casino Jack in High Definition on Apple A hot shot Washington DC...
- 9/16/2010
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Chicago – The DVD Round-Up has gone silent for a few weeks on summer vacation but as more and more interesting titles threaten to fall through the cracks, it returns with three art films that are definitely worth a look. Don’t worry. Summer vacation hasn’t made the Round-Up arthouse-only, but it’s nice to comeback a little smarter-looking than when we left.
“Casino Jack and the United States of Money,” “Looking For Eric,” and “Under Still Waters” were all released on September 14th, 2010.
“Casino Jack and the United States of Money”
Photo credit: Magnolia
Synopsis: “The portrait of Washington super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, from his early years as a gung-ho member of the Gop political machine to his final reckoning as a disgraced, imprisoned pariah, confirms the adage that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. A tale of international intrigue involving casinos, spies, sweatshops and mob-style killings, this is a...
“Casino Jack and the United States of Money,” “Looking For Eric,” and “Under Still Waters” were all released on September 14th, 2010.
“Casino Jack and the United States of Money”
Photo credit: Magnolia
Synopsis: “The portrait of Washington super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, from his early years as a gung-ho member of the Gop political machine to his final reckoning as a disgraced, imprisoned pariah, confirms the adage that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. A tale of international intrigue involving casinos, spies, sweatshops and mob-style killings, this is a...
- 9/14/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
About nine months ago I walked into a Sundance screening of a documentary called 'Casino Jack and the United States of Money', which was a very pointed indictment of the numerous crimes committed by "super lobbyist" Jack Abramoff and his crew of greedy cronies. Seeing as things like politics and finance hold next to no interest for me, I wondered if I'd find anything to appreciate in the documentary, but I sure as hell did. Director Alex Gibney was able to make Abramoff's numerous convoluted schemes seem more realistic and accessible than any newspaper story, and I found myself appreciating the director's angry yet colorful approach to this potentially dry material.
And I'm pretty darn glad that I went into that screening, not only because I highly enjoyed Gibney's film, but also because I was able to jump right into George Hickenlooper's 'Casino Jack' with...
And I'm pretty darn glad that I went into that screening, not only because I highly enjoyed Gibney's film, but also because I was able to jump right into George Hickenlooper's 'Casino Jack' with...
- 9/14/2010
- by Scott Weinberg
- Cinematical
A look at what's new on DVD today:
"Afterschool" (2009)
Directed by Antonio Campos
Released by Mpi Home Video
Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, Campos' polarizing debut stars Ezra Miller as a high schooler whose Av club assignment leads him to capture the drug-induced deaths of two of his popular prep school classmates. [Sam Adams' review of the film is here.]
"All Men Are Brothers" (1975) and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms" (1978)
Directed by Chang Cheh and Wu Ma/Chang Cheh
Released by Well Go USA
Well Go USA do long-suffering American kung fu fans a solid and finally release "All Men Are Brothers," the sequel to the Shaw Brothers' epic "Seven Blows of the Dragon" (a.k.a. "Water Margin") featuring David Chiang and Chen Kuan-tai as warriors battling against the tyranny of despots, and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms," which pits Shaw brothers favorites' the Venom Mob against the master that crippled them.
"Afterschool" (2009)
Directed by Antonio Campos
Released by Mpi Home Video
Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, Campos' polarizing debut stars Ezra Miller as a high schooler whose Av club assignment leads him to capture the drug-induced deaths of two of his popular prep school classmates. [Sam Adams' review of the film is here.]
"All Men Are Brothers" (1975) and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms" (1978)
Directed by Chang Cheh and Wu Ma/Chang Cheh
Released by Well Go USA
Well Go USA do long-suffering American kung fu fans a solid and finally release "All Men Are Brothers," the sequel to the Shaw Brothers' epic "Seven Blows of the Dragon" (a.k.a. "Water Margin") featuring David Chiang and Chen Kuan-tai as warriors battling against the tyranny of despots, and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms," which pits Shaw brothers favorites' the Venom Mob against the master that crippled them.
- 9/8/2010
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Soon to premier as a Gala at the Toronto International Film Festival, George Hickenlooper's Casino Jack - previously known as Bagman - stars Kevin Spacey, Barry Pepper (where has he been?), Jon Lovitz and Kelly Preston in the true story of lobbyist-turned-convicted-felon Jack Abramoff. Not to be confused with the Alex Gibeny doc of similar name and same theme (Casino Jack And The United States Of Money) this version plays the story as a thriller. Check the trailer below.
- 8/15/2010
- Screen Anarchy
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