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21 is a 2008 American heistdrama film directed by Robert Luketic and starring Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts, Aaron Yoo, and Kieu Chinh. The film is inspired by the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team as told in Bringing Down the House, the best-selling book by Ben Mezrich. Despite its largely mixed reviews and controversy over the film's casting choices, 21 was a box office success, and was the number one film in the United States and Canada during its first and second weekends of release.

Casino (1995) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Earn 125 points on every ticket you buy. Rack up 500 points and you'll score a $5 reward for more movies. Release Calendar DVD & Blu-ray Releases Top Rated Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office. Casino Royale (2006) Full Cast & Crew.

Plot[edit]

Ben, a mathematics major at MIT, is accepted into Harvard Medical School but cannot afford the $300,000 tuition. He applies for the prestigious Robinson Scholarship which would cover the entire cost. However, despite having an MCAT score of 44 and high grades, he faces fierce competition, and is told by the director that the scholarship will only go to whichever student dazzles him. Back at MIT, a professor, Micky Rosa challenges Ben with the Monty Hall Problem which he solves successfully. After looking at Ben's 97% score on his latest non-linear equations test, Micky invites Ben to join his blackjack team, which consists of fellow students Choi, Fisher, Jill, and Kianna. Using card counting and covert signalling, they are able to increase their probability of winning while at casinos, leading them to earn substantial profits. Over many weekends, the team is flown to Las Vegas and Ben comes to enjoy his luxurious lifestyle as a so-called big player. The team is impressed by Ben's skill, but Fisher becomes jealous and fights him while drunk, leading Micky to expel him. Meanwhile, the head of security, Cole Williams, has been monitoring the team and begins to turn his attention to Ben.

Ben's devotion to blackjack causes him to neglect his role in an engineering competition, which estranges him from his friends. During the next trip to Las Vegas, he is emotionally distracted and fails to walk away from the table when signaled, causing him to lose his earnings of $200,000. Micky is angered and quits the team, demanding that Ben must repay $200,000. Ben and three of the students decide that they will continue to play blackjack without Micky, but they are caught by Williams, whom Micky tipped off. Williams beats up Ben and warns him not to return.

Ben learns that he is ineligible for graduation because his course taught by an associate of Micky's is marked as incomplete (with Micky's influence, the professor initially gives Ben a passing grade throughout the year without him having to work or even show up to class). Furthermore, his winnings are stolen from his dormitory room. Suspecting Micky, Ben confers with the other blackjack students, and they persuade Micky to make a final trip to Las Vegas before the casinos install biometric software. The team puts on disguises and returns to Planet Hollywood, winning $640,000 before they are spotted by Williams. Micky flees with the bag of chips, jumping into a limousine, but realizes it was a setup when he discovers that the chips are fake. It is revealed that Ben and Williams made a deal to lure Micky to Las Vegas so that Williams may capture and beat him, because Williams has past grievances against him. Williams proceeds to hold Micky hostage and subject him to beatings. In exchange, Williams allows Ben to play for one more night in Las Vegas, enjoying immunity from capture. However, as Ben is leaving with his earnings, Williams betrays him and takes the bag of chips at gunpoint. Ben protests, and Williams explains that he needs retirement funds, whereas intelligent people like Ben will always find a way to succeed. However, Ben's long-time friends (with whom he has reconciled) Miles and Cam also turn out to be quite good at card-counting while working with Choi and Kianna during Micky's capture and as such, the now 6-man team make a lot of money despite Williams's robbery of Ben and Micky's chips. The film ends with Ben recounting the entire tale to the dazzled and dumbfounded scholarship director.

Cast[edit]

• Jim Sturgess as Ben Campbell
• Kate Bosworth as Jill
• Kevin Spacey as Micky Rosa
• Aaron Yoo as Choi
• Liza Lapira as Kianna
• Jacob Pitts as Fisher
• Laurence Fishburne as Cole Williams
• Jack McGee as Terry
• Josh Gad as Miles
• Sam Golzari as Cam
• Helen Carey as Ellen Campbell
• Jack Gilpin as Bob Phillips

Production[edit]

The filming of 21 began in March 2007. Principal filming of the Las Vegas scenes took place at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, the Red Rock Casino, and the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. Filming also took place at Harvard Medical School, Chinatown, in Cambridge, and the Christian Science Center in Boston, Massachusetts. As Massachusetts Institute of Technology did not allow filming on campus, the MIT school and dorm interiors, the gymnasium, and the alumni reception were all shot at Boston University.

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 36% of 169 critics gave the film a positive review, for an average rating of 5.17/10. The site's critical consensus reads: '21 could have been a fascinating study had it not supplanted the true story on which it is based with mundane melodrama.'^[1]Metacritic gave the film an average score of 48 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating 'mixed or average reviews'.^[2] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of 'B+' on an A+ to F scale.^[3]

Box office[edit]

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $24,105,943 in 2,648 theaters in the United States and Canada, averaging $9,103 per venue and ranking first at the box office.^[4] The film was also the number one film in its second weekend of release, losing 36% of its audience, grossing $15,337,418, expanding to 2,653 theaters, and averaging $5,781 per venue. The film dropped to third place in its third weekend, losing 32% of its audience, grossing $10,470,173, expanding to 2,736 theaters, and averaging $3,827 per venue. By the fourth weekend it fell to sixth place, losing 47% of its audience, grossing $5,520,362 expanding to 2,903 theaters, and averaging $1,902 per venue.

By the end of its theatrical run, the film grossed a total of $157,802,470 worldwide—$81,159,365 in the United States and Canada and $76,643,105 in other territories, against a budget estimated at $35 million.^[5]

Casting controversy[edit]

A race-based controversy arose over the decision to make the majority of the characters white Americans, even though the main players in the book Bringing Down the House, upon which the film 21 is based, were mainly Asian-Americans.^[6] The lead role was given to London-born Jim Sturgess, who required a dialect coach to speak with an American accent.^[7]

Jeff Ma, who was the real-life inspiration for the character Ben Campbell and served as a consultant on the film, was attacked as being a 'race traitor' on several blogs for not insisting that his character be Asian-American. In response, Ma said, 'I'm not sure they understand how little control I had in the movie-making process; I didn't get to cast it.'^[8] Ma said that the controversy was 'overblown' and that the important aspect is that a talented actor would portray him.^[9] Ma, who is Chinese American, told USA Today, 'I would have been a lot more insulted if they had chosen someone who was Japanese or Korean, just to have an Asian playing me.'^[10]

Nick Rogers of The Enterprise wrote, 'The real-life students mostly were Asian-Americans, but 21whitewashes its cast and disappointingly lumps its only Asian-American actors (Aaron Yoo and Liza Lapira) into one-note designations as the team's kleptomaniac and a slot-playing 'loser.'^[11]

The Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) reported on their web site: 'After the 'white-washing' issue was raised on Entertainment Weekly's web site, [21] producer Dana Brunetti wrote: 'Believe me, I would have LOVED to cast Asians in the lead roles, but the truth is, we didn't have access to any bankable Asian-American actors that we wanted.'^[12]

Home media[edit]

21 was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Region 1 on July 21, 2008.^[13]

Reaction from casinos[edit]

In pre-production, the producers and the book's original writers predicted that the Vegas casinos would be unhelpful, as a film that told viewers the basics of card counting might hurt their bottom line. A featurette included with the DVD completely and accurately describes the 'Hi-Lo' system used by the MIT Blackjack Club and by Rosa's team in the film.

In fact, the writers were surprised when told by the producers that MGM Studios would finance the film, though all 'MGM' casinos (including one used by the real MIT Blackjack Team) are owned by MGM Resorts International and are no longer related to MGM Studios. In reality, as another DVD featurette reveals, the casinos (including MGM Resorts) saw the film as an attention-getter; people who saw it would be encouraged to go to Vegas and play: some just for fun and some attempting to count cards but failing to learn or memorize the entire strategy or making too many mistakes. The film withheld critical strategy details (such as the conversion from the 'running count' to a 'true count'), and most beginning card counters underestimate the number and value of the mistakes they make.

Soundtrack[edit]

The soundtrack was released at the same time as the film.^[14]

1. The Rolling Stones—'You Can't Always Get What You Want' (Remixed by Soulwax) (6:07)
2. MGMT—'Time to Pretend' (Super Clean Version) (4:20)
3. LCD Soundsystem—'Big Ideas' (5:41)
4. D. Sardy featuring Liela Moss—'Giant' (3:42)
5. Amon Tobin—'Always' (3:38)
6. Peter Bjorn and John—'Young Folks' (4:37)
7. Shook One —'Soul Position' (4:16)
8. Get Shakes—'Sister Self Doubt' (4:22)
9. The Aliens—'I Am The Unknown' (5:27)
10. Rihanna—'Shut Up and Drive' (3:34)
11. Knivez Out—'Alright' (3:31)
12. Domino—'Tropical Moonlight' (3:28)
13. Unkle—'Hold My Hand' (4:58)
14. Mark Ronson featuring Kasabian—'L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)' (3:32)
15. Broadcast—'Tender Buttons' (2:51)

Other tracks

• Although it is not included in the soundtrack, Moby's 'Slippin' Away' (Axwell Vocal Remix) plays in the scene when Ben is passing through airport security.
• The song 'Everybody Get Dangerous' by Weezer was also featured in the film, but not included on the soundtrack since it was not yet released. It would later be released on Weezer's 2008 record, The Red Album. It is played on a distant radio when the team is in a poker club.
• The songs 'I Want You to Want Me' by Cheap Trick and 'Music is Happiness' by The Octopus Project were also featured in the film but not on the soundtrack album.
• The song 'Magnificent' by Estelle (feat. Kardinal Offishall) was also featured in the film but not on the soundtrack album. It's played approximately 58 minutes in, after the Weezer song, in the scene where Ben buys Jill a beer. It's subtle, and has a reggae beat.
• In the promotional trailers, 'Break on Through (To the Other Side)' by The Doors was used.
• During the restaurant scene where the team explains to Ben how they work, 'Home' by Great Northern can be heard playing in the background.
• The song 'Again with the Subtitles' by Texas artist Yppah is another uncredited song in the film.
• The track played as the team makes off at the end of the film is 'Rito a Los Angeles' by Giuseppe De Luca, which features part of the main riff of 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'. This track is also used in Ocean's Twelve, the first sequel to the caper film Ocean's Eleven, about actually robbing casinos in Vegas.
• My Mathematical Mind by Spoon was featured in the trailers.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'21 Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes'. Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 22 November 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
2. ^'21 (2008): Reviews'. Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
3. ^'Find CinemaScore'(Type '21**' in the search box). CinemaScore. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
4. ^'21 (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results'. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
5. ^'21 (2008)'. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
6. ^'Real MIT Blackjack Team - 21 Movie True Story'. chasingthefrog.com. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
7. ^Janusonis, Michael. 'Movies: 21 star Jim Sturgess got a crash course in card counting'. projo.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
8. ^Justin Berton (2008-03-27). 'Hollywood deals Jeff Ma a good hand with '21''. San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 29 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
9. ^Berry, Jillian A. (March 14, 2008). 'INTERVIEW MIT, Vegas, Hollywood'. The Tech. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
10. ^Bowles, Scott (2008-03-26). 'New film '21' counts on the real deal for inspiration'. USA Today. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
11. ^Nick Rogers (2008-03-26). 'When the stakes are high, '21' folds'. The Enterprise. Archived from the original on 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
12. ^'CONTROVERSY STILL SURROUNDS DVD RELEASE OF MOVIE '21''. manaa.org. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
13. ^'21 (Single-Disc Edition) (2008)'. Amazon.com. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
14. ^ ^abBrown, Marisa. '21 [Original Soundtrack]'. AllMusic. Retrieved 2008-04-02.

External links[edit]

• 21 on IMDb
• 21 at Rotten Tomatoes
• 21 at Metacritic
• 21 at Box Office Mojo
• 21 at AllMovie
• Photos of the filming of 21 near the campus of MIT: 123456
• Official world wide release dates with links to different national sites

“Casino”, a 1995 film by Martin Scorsese about the rise and fall of the mafia’s stranglehold on Las Vegas starring Robert DeNiro and Sharon Stone, recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of its release in November of 1995. “Casino” is one of the best films ever made about Las Vegas and the first 45 minutes of the film is a both an homage to Sin City and vintage Scorsese.

“Casino” is often referred to “Goodfellas in Vegas” and there’s certainly an element of truth to that assessment. Like every one of Scorsese’s films, he’s telling multiple stories at once while making a social commentary about American greed and violence.

• Release: November 1995
• Produced by: Barbara De Fina
• Written by: Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese
• Directed by: Martin Scorsese
• Distributed by: Universal Pictures

On the surface, “Casino” is a gangster flick set in Vegas, but it’s also about a tragic love story that inevitably leads to the downfall of a gambling empire. “Casino” is both a love letter and cautionary tale about the mafia’s involvement in Las Vegas before corporations took over in the 1980s and turned it into adult Disneyworld.

Scorsese made “Casino” with a budget between $40 million and $50 million, and it earned $116 million at the box office.

Casino: Based on a True Story

Scorsese’s film is directly inspired and based on “Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas”, a non-fiction written by Nicholas Pileggi, which focuses on the mafia as silent partners in Las Vegas casinos in the 1970s and early 1980s. Pileggi tells the story about a Chicago bookmaker named Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, who was tapped by mafia bosses to run the Stardust Casino in Las Vegas. Lefty’s childhood friend, Anthony Spilotro, is also sent to Vegas to watch Lefty’s back and provide security for the Stardust. In Sin City, Spilotro and his crew quickly rise to power as Las Vegas’ most-notorious crime figure.

Scorsese and Pileggi co-authored the screenplay for “Casino”, but changed the names of all the main figures involved. Lefty Rosenthal becomes Ace Rothstein in the film, while Tony Spilotro becomes Nicky Santoro.

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Casino: Ace Go to Vegas

“Casino” starts in 1973. The teamsters union, which has deep connections to the Chicago mafia, loans $62.7 million to real estate developer Philip Green (Kevin Pollack) to open a new casino in Las Vegas called the Tangiers.

The Italian mafia bosses send a Jewish bookmaker and gambler, Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert DeNiro), to manage the Tangiers. After running into problems as a sports bettor and bookie. Ace is thrilled to operate in Las Vegas were gambling and bookmaking is legalized.

“I was given paradise on Earth,” said Ace in a voiceover. “Las Vegas washes away your sins, like a morality car wash.”

Ace micromanages the Tangiers, which becomes highly profitable. Meanwhile, the mafia secretly takes their cut by skimming profits from the count room.

“In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they lose. In the end, we get it all.”

While gamblers flock to Las Vegas, criminals and cheaters are also drawn to Sin City for a quick score.

“Since the players are trying to beat the casinos, the dealers are watching the players,” said Ace. “The boxmen are watching the dealers. The floormen are watching the boxmen. The pit bosses are watching the floormen. The shift bosses are watching the pit bosses. The casino manager is watching the shift bosses. I’m watching the casino manager, and the eye in the sky is watching them all.”

When Ace catches a cheater, the security enacts swift and violent “cheaters’ justice” in the back room to deter future cheaters.

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Nicky and Ginger

The mob also sends enforcer Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) to keep an eye on Ace and the casino. Most importantly, Santoro ensures the mob can “skim” the profits without any impediments. He’s also a deterrent if any other mobsters from other cities try to cheat or muscle their way in on the Tangiers.

As Nicky succinctly put it, “There’s a lots of holes in the desert, and lot of problems buried in those holes.”

Nicky expands his empire in the shadows of Las Vegas in criminal activities ranging from loansharking to high-end robberies.

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At the heart of casino is a tragic love story between two star-crossed lovers. Ace falls in love with a high-class prostitute and hustler named Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone).

“Ginger had the hustlers’ code,” explained Ace. “She knew how to take care of people. And that’s what Vegas is all about. It’s kick-back city.”

Ginger admitted that she’d never truly love Ace, he thinks otherwise and proceeds with the nuptials. Ginger loves the lavish lifestyle with money, clothes, jewelry, and drugs.

“For a girl like Ginger, love cost a lot of money,” added Ace.

The more that Ace tried to domesticate Ginger, the further they grew apart.

Ginger’s ex-boyfriend/pimp Lester (James Woods) is a low-rent golf hustler from LA that weaves in and out of Ginger’s life, mostly when he’s broke and needs money. When Ginger unsuccessfully tries to run away with Lester, she eventually drifts towards Nicky to protect her.

Ace finally gives up on Ginger after she robbed his “kidnapping” money, or a stash of over $1 million in a safe deposit box at a bank in Los Angeles.

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The Fall, Goodbye Vegas

As the 1970s bleed into the 1980s, cocaine abuse accelerates the lunacy. Ginger grows more uncontrollable. Nicky’s criminals ways get sloppier, which draws more attention from both authorities and the press.

Ace loses his edge as well due to his increasing martial problems. He also runs into issues with local state officials and they deny him a gaming license. Ace hits the airwaves to express his grievances. The blitz of press irked the bosses back home. They were also growing increasingly concerned about Nicky’s cowboy antics. When the monthly “skim” from the Tangiers is reduced from $700,000 at its peak to just a few thousand dollars, the bosses decide it’s time to liquidate their problems.

Nicky and his brother are inevitable whacked in a cornfield somewhere between Vegas and Kansas City.

The mafia also attempt to kill Ace by blowing up his car. However, he catches a lucky break and survives the bombing. Ace realizes his luck in Vegas — in love, life, and with gambling — has run out. He “retires” from the gaming business and relocates to San Diego where he returns to handicapping horse races and betting on sports.

Casino ends with bittersweet soliloquy from Ace over a montage of the modern-day Las Vegas run by beancounters and corporations.

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Casino: 120 Characters and 7,000 Extras

Scorsese likes to cast actors he worked with on previous projects, so it wasn’t a shock to see both Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro return to the screen together.

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Scorsese included many old-school Vegas entertainers in “Casino”, including comedian Don Rickles in a straight role as casino manager Billy Sherbert.

Performers such as Frankie Avalon and Jerry Vale appear in “Casino” as himself. Long-time Las Vegas mayor, and former mob lawyer, Oscar Goodman also makes a cameo. Dick Smothers from the Smothers Brothers fame plays a crooked state senator.

• Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein (Robert DeNiro)
• Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci)
• Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone)
• Billy Sherbert (Don Rickles)
• Philip Green (Kevin Pollack)
• Lester Diamond (James Woods)
• Andy Stone (Alan King)
• Frank Marino (Frank Vincent)
• Senator (Dick Smothers)
• Remo Gaggi (Pasquale Cajano)
• Oscar Goodman (as Himself)
• Frankie Avalon (as Himself)
• Jerry Vale (as Himself)

“Casino” earned multiple nominations at the Academy Awards. Sharon Stone earned an Oscars nomination for best actress, but she lost out to Susan Sarandon (“Dead Man Walking”). However, Stone won the Golden Globe for her portrayal of Ginger McKenna. Cinephiles often highlight Stone in “Casino” as her greatest on-screen performance.

Scorsese was snubbed at the Oscars, but he earned a nomination for best directing at the Golden Globes.

The costume and wardrobe budget for this film exceeded $1 million.

Casino Easter Eggs and Did You Know?

Scorsese often casts his parents in his films. Catherine Scorsese is most known from her cameos in “Goodfellas” as Joe Pesci’s mother. In “Casino”, she plays Piscano’s mother. It’s her final film role before she passed away in 1997.

The legendary Saul Bass created the opening credits for “Casino”, in addition to “Goodfellas”.

The fictional Tangiers Casino is based on the Stardust Casino, where Lefty Rosenthal managed in the 1970s.

Exteriors for the Tangiers were filmed outside the old Las Vegas Hilton and the Flamingo. Interiors of the Tangiers were filmed inside the Riviera Casino between 2am and 10am. Scorsese cast real dealers, pit bosses, and floor managers to create an air of authenticity to the gambling scenes.

The famous money count scene was filmed on a soundstage in Hollywood. Nevada gaming laws would not allow a film crew inside a real counting room.

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Sharon Stone won the role of Ginger, but Scorsese considered other actresses including Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, Melanie Griffith, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Rene Russo.

Scorsese knew that the ratings committee would flag the gratuitous usage of the f-bomb (over 420 times) and other violent scenes. He included the “head in the vice” scene and intended to sacrifice it to the MPAA in order to keep the rest of his film intact, but it surprisingly did not get flagged. The vice scene is a true story that appeared in Pileggi’s book when Tony Spilotro tortured someone using a vice to extract information.

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