21 (2008)

Director:

Robert Luketic

Writers (WGA):

Peter Steinfeld (screenplay) and
Allan Loeb (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

28 March 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Inspired by the true story of five students who changed the game forever.

Plot:

"21" is the fact-based story about six MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings.

Plot Keywords:

Gambling | Strip Club | Student | Profanity | Double Cross

Awards:

1 win

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Jim Sturgess	...	Ben Campbell
Kevin Spacey	...	Prof. Micky Rosa
Kate Bosworth	...	Jill Taylor
Aaron Yoo	...	Choi
Liza Lapira	...	Kianna
Jacob Pitts	...	Jimmy Fisher
Laurence Fishburne	...	Cole Williams
Jack McGee	...	Terry
Josh Gad	...	Miles Connoly
Sam Golzari	...	Cam
Helen Carey	...	Ellen Campbell
Jack Gilpin	...	Bob Phillips
Donna Lows	...	Planet Hollywood Dealer #1
Butch Williams	...	Planet Hollywood Dealer #2
Jeffrey Ma	...	Planet Hollywood Dealer Jeff
Frank Patton	...	Planet Hollywood Floor Manager
Steven Richard Vezina	...	Red Rock Dealer #1
Chaska T. Werner	...	Red Rock Dealer #2
Kyle Morris	...	Red Rock Dealer #3 (as Kyle D. Morris)
Frank DeAngelo	...	Red Rock Host
Marcus Weiss	...	Red Rock Valet
Anthony DiMaria	...	Hard Rock Doorman
Christopher Michael Holley	...	Philosophical Gambler (as Christopher Holley)
Scott Clark Beringer	...	Big Shot (as Scott Beringer)
Terasa Livingstone	...	Russian's Girlfriend
Jeffrey J. Dashnaw	...	Russian Mafioso (as Jeff Dashnaw)
Colin Angle	...	Professor Hanes
Supriya Chakrabarti	...	Professor
Bradley Thoennes	...	Warren
Alice Lo	...	Chinese Woman #2
Sally Livingstone	...	Chemistry Review Girl
Henry Houh	...	Chinatown Dealer
Frank Chen	...	Chinatown Host
Spencer Garrett	...	Stemple
Celeste Oliva	...	Airport Screener
Tom McGowan	...	Husband
Ruby Hondros	...	Wife
Christian Mello	...	Drunk Dude #1
Gregory Seymore	...	Drunk Dude #2
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jessi Shuttleworth	...	Friend
Christopher Tranchina	...	Flight Attendent
Kris Williams	...	Friend of Jill
Seba Johnson	...	Airport Attendant (uncredited)
Lyralen Kaye	...	College Mom (uncredited)
Ernell Manabat	...	Red Rock Doorman (uncredited)
Alexandra McDougall	...	Student (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Luketic

Writing credits (WGA)
Peter Steinfeld		(screenplay) and
Allan Loeb		(screenplay)
Ben Mezrich		(book "Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions")

Produced by
William S. Beasley	....	executive producer
Dana Brunetti	....	producer
Michael De Luca	....	producer
Ryan Kavanaugh	....	executive producer
Brett Ratner	....	executive producer
Kevin Spacey	....	producer

Original Music by
David Sardy

Cinematography by
Russell Carpenter		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Elliot Graham

Casting by
Lauren Grey		(as Lauren Gray)
Francine Maisler

Production Design by
Missy Stewart

Art Direction by
James F. Truesdale		(as James Truesdale)

Set Decoration by
Tracey A. Doyle

Costume Design by
Luca Mosca

Makeup Department
Marleen Alter	....	makeup artist
Kelly Belmont	....	assistant makeup artist
Gloria Pasqua Casny	....	key hair stylist: Las Vegas
Elizabeth Cecchini	....	key hair stylist
Lucia Mace	....	hair department head
Susan Romero	....	makeup artist
Trish Seeney	....	key makeup artist
Sherryn Smith	....	additional makeup artist

Production Management
Sharyn Shimada-Huggins	....	production supervisor
Bryan Thomas	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Eric Chapman	....	second second assistant director
Sonja Christoph	....	dga trainee
Mark S. Constance	....	second second assistant director
John M. Morse	....	second assistant director
Justin Muller	....	first assistant director
Scott Rorie	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Bobby Anderson	....	picture car coordinator
Eric Bryant	....	graphic designer
James Champoux	....	set dresser
Jonathan Champoux	....	carpenter
Danica Chipman	....	set buyer
Melissa Cooperman	....	assistant props
Mick Cukurs	....	set designer
Noah Dubreuil	....	on-set dresser
Sean Duhame	....	graphic artist
Elizabeth Fisher	....	art department intern
Jennifer Gerbino	....	assistant property master
David Gulick	....	property master
Jane Gulick	....	assistant property master
Joseph Kearney	....	construction coordinator
Cameron Keiber	....	assistant props
Morgan Kling	....	set dresser
George Lee	....	set designer
John 'Butch' McCarthy	....	key greens
Janine Moore	....	art department coordinator
Gloria Murphy	....	assistant property master
Lisa Nagid	....	assistant property master
Katrina Parsons	....	construction auditor
Colby E. Peterson	....	art production assistant
Scott T. Pina	....	gang boss
Paul Richards	....	leadman
Ricky Riggs	....	charge scenic
Mark Rodriguez	....	set dresser: Las Vegas
Timothy Rowcroft	....	set dresser
Christopher Sawtelle	....	constructor
Meaghan E. Stone	....	props
Theodore Suchecki	....	general foreman
Chris Sullivan	....	art department assistant
Casey Van Maanen	....	set dresser
Christina Ann Wilson	....	art director: Las Vegas (as Christina Wilson)

Sound Department
Gary C. Bourgeois	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michael J. Broomberg	....	foley artist
Brian Copenhagen	....	boom operator
Laura R. Harris	....	dialogue editor (as Laura Harris Atkinson)
Gary A. Hecker	....	supervising foley artist
Howard London	....	adr mixer
Bob Newlan	....	dialogue editor
Greg Orloff	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric Thomas	....	sound utility
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Michael D. Wilhoit	....	supervising sound editor
Wade Wilson	....	sound effects editor
Scott Wolf	....	sound designer
Peter Gleaves	....	adr mixer (uncredited)
Fred Peck III	....	sound mix technician (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Skip Burrows	....	special effects specialist
Jeremy Dominick	....	special effects
Scott Dwyer	....	special effects technician
Matt Kutcher	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Chris Bankoff	....	lead compositor: Sway Studio
Brent M. Bowen	....	digital compositor
Daniel Buck	....	digital artist: Sway Studio
John Cairns	....	digital compositor: Gray Matter FX
Harry Eisenstein	....	digital compositor
Myung Kim	....	compositor
Colin Liggett	....	lead compositor
Margaux Mackay	....	visual effects supervising producer
Gray Marshall	....	visual effects supervisor
Rob Meyers	....	digital artist: Sway Studio
Christopher Nichols	....	visual effects supervisor: Sway Studio
Madhava Reddy	....	digital intermediate
Greg Tsadilas	....	visual effects: Sway Studio

Stunts
Richard Bucher	....	stunt double
Freddie Hice	....	stunt coordinator
Casey O'Neill	....	stunt double (stunt double)
Jason Rodriguez	....	stunts
Scott Workman	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Frank Arant	....	best boy electric
Will Arnot	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Will Arnot	....	steadicam operator
Scott Barnes	....	moving light programmer
Kirk Bloom	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera, Las Vegas
Erik L. Brown	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Alex M. Cacciarelli	....	motion control video assist
Tony Campenni	....	dolly grip
Rick Cardillo	....	rigging electrician
Mark J. Casey	....	rigging electric best boy
Scott D. Davis	....	rigging gaffer
David E. Diano	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Michael DiIeso	....	key rigging grip
Joshua Dreyfus	....	set electrician
Dru Dunnaway	....	rigging electrician
Eric Goddard	....	rigging grip
Dan Hutchinson	....	rigging electrician
John R. Kaplan	....	grip
Michael Kowalczyk	....	camera production assistant
JD Leedham	....	additional rigging grip
Len Levine	....	gaffer
Lance Mayer	....	libra head technician
Starrs McBurney	....	second assistant camera
James R. Mitchell	....	generator operator
Michael Peterson	....	electrician
Andres L. Porras	....	camera operator
David Puopolo	....	grip
Patrick Quinn	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Lance Rieck	....	remote camera technician
Jorge Sánchez	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera, Las Vegas
Bryce Shields	....	video assist
Philip Sloan	....	key grip
Eric Swanek	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Travis Trudell	....	rigging electric
Paul Wilkowsky	....	best boy grip
Fred Young	....	electrician

Casting Department
Michele Berumen	....	casting assistant
Matt Bouldry	....	casting assistant
Deanna Brigidi	....	casting associate
Elizabeth Chodar	....	casting assistant
Billy Dowd	....	extras casting
Peter Dudgeon	....	casting assistant
Marisa Kushner	....	extras casting assistant
Ariana Natale	....	extras casting intern
Carolyn Pickman	....	location casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Johanna Argan	....	costumer: Kevin Spacey
Caroline Errington	....	costume supervisor
Molly Grundman	....	key costumer
Parrish Kennington	....	set costumer
Vanessa Knoll	....	set costumer
Sara Mills-Broffman	....	costume buyer
Kaite Phillips	....	wardrobe assistant
Andrew Poleszak	....	assistant costume designer
Barbara Dalton Rotundo	....	costume production assistant
Taryn Walsh	....	key costumer

Editorial Department
Zahida Bacchus	....	digital intermediate producer
Douglas A. Degrazzio	....	digital imaging technician
Mike DeGrazzio	....	digital imaging technician
Liza D. Espinas	....	first assistant editor (as Liza Espinas-Regnier)
Mark Hartzell	....	assistant editor
Stephen Nakamura	....	digital film colorist
Reza Amidi	....	digital conforming and opticals (uncredited)
John Hirota	....	digital intermediate editor (uncredited)
Jim Passon	....	color timer (uncredited)

Music Department
Carlton Kaller	....	music editor
Jason Ruder	....	music editor
David Sardy	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Howard Bachrach	....	transportation captain
Bob Carnes	....	transportation captain
Steven Docherty	....	transportation dispatcher
William O'Brien Sr.	....	transportation coordinator
William O'Brien	....	transportation coordinator
Dan Romero	....	transportation coordinator
Michael Sean Ryan	....	transportation co-captain
Roger Wooge	....	transportation

Other crew
Chris Avanzo	....	additional craft service
Shannon Ayers	....	production assistant
Billy Benner	....	accounting clerk
William Benner III	....	accounting clerk
Justin Bergonzoni	....	production assistant
Ian Campbell	....	assistant: Mr. Brunetti
Julie Carideo	....	production coordinator: Las Vegas
Robin Citrin	....	location manager
Emily Davis	....	key second assistant accountant
William DeCoff	....	stand-in: Jack McGee
Joe Deingenis	....	additional craft service
Ramses Del Hierro Ericstam	....	production assistant
Kenneth Donaldson	....	additional set production assistant
Brian 'Dunny' Dunn	....	production assistant
Mark Fitzgerald	....	assistant location manager
Anne C. Ford	....	production accountant
Ethan Fox	....	assistant craft service
Kenny Gallagher	....	first assistant accountant
Justin George	....	production secretary: Las Vegas
George Goodwin	....	second assistant accountant
Charles Harrington	....	location manager
Brendan Harvey	....	production assistant
Marc W. Havener	....	set production assistant
John Healey	....	production assistant
Marie Healy	....	key assistant location manager: Las Vegas
Drew Holt	....	production assistant
Paula Jack	....	dialect coach: pre-production
Michael Judge	....	location scout
Robert Konowalow	....	production assistant
Kristin Koziarski	....	production assistant
Shari LaFranchi Blakney	....	production coordinator
Elizabeth MacSwan	....	set production assistant
Donovan K. Martin	....	production assistant
Jack McCullough	....	set medic
Holly McGreevy	....	key second assistant accountant: Boston
Isaac Mejía	....	key set production assistant
Katie Murphy	....	travel coordinator
Cory C. Myler	....	assistant production coordinator: Las Vegas
J.P. Ouellette	....	staff set production assistant
Dave Ozug	....	location assistant
Paul Pawlowski	....	post-production accountant
Christopher Plummer	....	location production assistant (as Chris Plummer)
Luke Poling	....	assistant production coordinator
Alan D. Purwin	....	aerial coordinator
Bobby Ravanshenas	....	second assistant to director
Kim Ronstadt	....	payroll accountant
Gary Sauer	....	dolly pusher
Mike Sime	....	video and computer playback operator
Keleigh Slaight	....	production coordinator: Studio
Tracy Spiegel	....	key craft service
Cami Stratton	....	second assistant accountant
Cid Swank	....	unit publicist
John Trujillo	....	layout board
Bernadette Valer	....	production assistant
Mimi Watstein	....	production assistant
Mark Zecca	....	pre-production secretary
Harvey Blanc	....	stand-in: Kevin Spacey (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Michael De Luca Productions
• Relativity Media
• Trigger Street Productions

Distributors

• Buena Vista Sony Pictures Releasing (BVSPR) (2008) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2008) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)

Special Effects

• Proof (pre-visualization)

Other Companies

• Chapman / Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes
• Chapman / Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Columbia Records  soundtrack
• Pfaff Protective Group  security
• Technicolor Digital Intermediates  digital intermediate
• Wildfire Studios  ADR recording facility

Also Known As:

21 - The Movie (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence, and sexual content including partial nudity.

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-13 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43290) | Sweden:11 | Canada:14A (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | New Zealand:M | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia) | Germany:12 | Australia:M | Iceland:12 | Italy:T | Poland:15 | South Korea:15 | Ireland:12A | UK:12A | Brazil:14 | Greece:K-13 | South Africa:13V | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Michael De Luca Productions

Trivia:

The movie was used as a luxury prize for the contestants on the Big Brother 9 in the US. They played a competition involving blackjack, and the winners got to see a special advance screening of the movie. One contestant won a trip to Las Vegas worth $21,000, which included a three night stay at the same hotel the actors from the movie stayed in.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the opening credits, while Ben is riding his bike on the road, you see the same orange PT cruiser go past twice.

Quotes:

Micky Rosa: The only thing worse than a loser is someone who won't admit he played badly.

Movie Connections:

References Heavy Metal (1981)

Soundtrack:

Young Folks

Nothing new, but it's worth the watch

21 is definitely the major film for the spring time, it has young hot actors, including an incredible academy award winner, Kevin Spacey, and another great actor who's head looks like it grew quite a bit bigger, Lawarence Fishburne. So it has all the key ingredients for a good movie, a decent plot, over all a good combination of actors, and looks like a well put together movie. So I saw it this weekend and I have to say that I was a little disappointed, I think this movie was more for the teenagers, with the actors and the rating, I think it should've been more adult. It was a typical rise and fall story with cliché'd characters. Kevin Spacey, seriously my favorite actor, he's always a dead on hit with every role he takes on, but he seemed to just sleep his way through the film and didn't really care about it. He and new and hot up-comer, Jim Sturgess were not a bad couple on screen, but were not strong enough to hold the story into something original.

Basically we have Ben Campbell who needs $300,000 for Harvard Med. School, he's extremely gifted with numbers, so when his professor, Micky Rosa notices his gifts, he invites Ben with a group of his other students to go to Vegas and play 21. But there is a way to beat the game apparently, by counting cards. Ben promises up and down that it is just for school, but of course when he gets so hot, he takes it way further and ends up making a huge mistake and gets caught with some nasty security guards you don't wanna mess with.

Now 21 has decent enough acting, the movie itself is decent, I didn't mind at all watching it. For the most part, it's the young group of students that keep the movie interesting and keeps your attention. My main problems are for example about the characters Ben and Jill hooking up, I seriously doubt that would happen for real, but for the movie, they want these two hotties to get together at least for the teenage audience's sake. Also supposedly the group says they have to stay on the down low in Vegas so they don't get caught, yet they go around Vegas buying all these new clothes, clubbing, drinking, etc. 21 is worth the watch, but to be honest, if you're reading this, wait for the rental, it's just a regular rise and fall story.

6/10