Next year sees the release of a highly anticipated crime thriller called Guns, Girls and Gambling. Director Michael
Winnick, of Shadow Puppets (2007) and Deuces (2001) brings together some of Hollywood’s most famous faces in the form of Gary Oldman, Christian Slater and Sam Trammell in this poker based movie.
The plot is about a group of individuals, from Elvis impersonators to a frat boy, whose paths become entangled when they are involved in a chase for an American Indian artifact that was stolen in a high stakes poker game. The movie is currently in the post-production stage of filming but it looks like a potential box office smash.
gambling has become a very popular subject in Hollywood over recent years and this movie only accentuates that popularity. Movies such as Croupier (1998), and the more recent Hollywood smash hit 21 (2008) have brought gambling and poker to the fore of the public’s conscious by focusing on the intensity and excitement that the games offer. The nail biting pause as we wait to see if the ball ends up on red or black. The drama as the river card is turned to reveal whose hand wins. The stress of not knowing if the dealer will hits or breaks.
Rounders (1998) has shown how effective poker can be used to create atmosphere and passion in a movie. Matt Damon was superb as Mike McDermott as a reformed gambler who has to return to his compulsion of gambling to help out a friend in trouble. The backing cast that included Edward Norton and John Turturro really showed that Hollywood has faith in a poker movie to be successful and with films like Casino (1995) and The Hangover (2009) using casinos, gambling and poker to add exhilaration and anticipation to the movie; poker is a proven winning formula in movie making.
The imminent release of Guns, Girls and Gambling is a just reason to celebrate because rarely, if at all, does a movie on poker fail to deliver the high expectations it often carries. This is definitely a movie to get excited about, especially if you love your poker.
