Fresh faced distributors Metropolitan Inc. have picked up the U.S. theatrical rights to the upcoming drama “Casino Jack.” Not to be confused with the documentary “Casino Jack & The United States Of Money” by Alex Gibney about the exact same subject and also being released this year, this film, directed by George Hickenlooper stars “Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff, the high-powered Washington D.C. lobbyist convicted in 2006 of defrauding American Indian casinos and now behind bars.”
The subject certainly is ripe and interesting, but we have reservations given that Hickenlooper’s last stab at a real life story was the utterly wretched “Factory Girl.” The supporting cast surrounding Spacey doesn’t fill us with confidence either as Kelly Preston, Jon Lovitz and Barry Pepper being the only major names. Also, the fact that the film has ended up at an upstart distributor rather than any of the other indie heavyweights doesn’t exactly fill us with confidence. But hey, we’d love to be surprised.
According to Metropolitan’s website the film is slated for an October 1st release, which jives with their plans to give the film an awards season push. Whether or not the film deserves it remains to be seen.
Jon Lovitz is so good.