Hollywood has been a premium source of entertainment for decades now, with the American movie industry globally revered for its diversity and the different genres it offers. Arguably, the most intriguing genres in recent years have been gambling movies.
Gambling-themed movies have produced some of the industry’s most glamorous, flashy, and highest rated films till date. It remains one of the most popular genres among fans, with movies like Ocean’s Eleven and The Hangover trilogy still being highly rated.
The team at CasinoSites has made an infographic which shows that gambling movies have some of the highest ratings in the industry, with Atlantic City having a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, and Casino Royale having a high score of 95%.
Being very much in vogue, here are a few facts about popular gambling movies you may not have known.
Ocean’s Eleven
Ocean’s Eleven is a 2001 remake of a 1960 film of the same name. The film was directed by Steven Soderbergh and featured a cast including Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, and Julia Roberts.
It debuted on December 7th, 2001 and gained $450 million at the box office alone. The plot follows an ex-convict, Danny Ocean (played by Clooney) who arranges a heist to rob some of Vegas’ biggest casinos. The film was a huge success and has gone on to have two sequels, Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen.
Interesting Facts
- George Clooney wasn’t part of the film initially. The Die Hard star Bruce Willis was set to play the role of Danny Ocean but had to cancel due to scheduling conflicts with other projects.
- The cast had to generally accept a pay cut due to the high profile nature of the film’s cast and budgeting finances. Due to the A-list status of a majority of the cast’s members, they had to collectively accept a reduced salary to appear on the film together.
- As part of the on-set preparation, the cast would collectively gamble during breaks and off-day, with George Clooney famously losing 25 consecutive hands at blackjack.
- The film’s director Steven Soderbergh initially planned to shoot the film in black and white like the original version. Production company Warner Bros would only approve his idea if he significantly reduced timing costs, which ultimately changed his mind.
- While most modern movies heavily rely on CGI, Ocean’s Eleven hired 2,000 extras to fill out the stadium while filming a boxing scene.
Casino Royale
Casino Royale is a 2006 spy film and the third live-action installment of Ian Fleming’s novel of the same name. The Martin Campbell-directed film was the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent ‘James Bond,’ and also starred Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, and Judi Dench.
The film premiered on November 14th, 2006, and followed a youthful, less experienced James Bond on his quest to bankrupt a terrorist at a high-stakes poker game. The film earned nearly $600 million worldwide, becoming the highest grossing James Bond film ever.
Interesting Facts
- Daniel Craig is the first actor to play James Bond born after the original James Bond film was released in 1962. He is also the first Bond actor not to have been cast by Albert Broccoli.
- Daniel Craig almost didn’t become Bond as he had rejected the role a year before due to the standard formula the franchise had adopted, but changed his mind after reading the movie’s script.
- The parkour chase scene at the start of the film took the cast and crew an estimated six weeks to film.
- All scenes set in Uganda were actually filmed in a studio in London, where most of the movie was filmed, with some scenes also filmed in Prague.
- The three-piece suit worn by Bond during the film is a navy version of the one worn by Sean Connery in the 1964 Bond film, Gold Finger.
