Casino Jack from Gibney and Hickenlooper?

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It was on my radar and then suddenly the little blip on the screen disappeared. Originally Casino Jack, a documentary film on Jack Abramoff and directed by Alex Gibney was “a few months away from completion” and already acquired by Magnolia Films. How odd is it that Production Weekly announces that George Hickenlooper is making an indie drama going by the same title and which would feature Kevin Spacey as businessman/con man Abramoff and Hayden Christensen would play Michael Scanlon, Abramof’s co-conspirator.

My guess is that the documentary film, which would be Gibney’s first since his Oscar win will be going by its (better) original title of “Burning Down the House”. The doc goes into the murky world of political lobbying, featuring Abramoff who was sent to prison after being convicted on a series of criminal felony counts relating to his lobbying activities.

Here is a reminder on “the bombshell”.

Eric Lavallée
Eric Lavalléehttps://www.ericlavallee.com
Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist, and critic at IONCINEMA.com, established in 2000. A regular at Sundance, Cannes, and Venice, Eric holds a BFA in film studies from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013, he served on the narrative competition jury at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson’s "This Teacher" (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). He is a Golden Globes Voter, member of the ICS (International Cinephile Society) and AQCC (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma).

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