#97. YOU DON’T KNOW JACK
Director: Barry Levinson
Writer(s): Adam Mazer (Breach)
Producers: Scott Ferguson (HBO’s Temple Grandin)
Distributor: HBO Films
The Gist: Scripted by Adam Mazer, this is loosely based on Neal Nicol and Harry Wylie’s book “Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s Life and the Battle to Legalize Euthanasia,” the HBO film follows Kevorkian’s (Pacino) rise as he builds his infamous Mercy Machine and sets out to perform assisted suicides while waging an epic legal battles defending a patient’s right to die…(more)
Cast: Al Pacino, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman and Danny Huston.
Why is it on the list?: I’m down for Pacino as Dr. Death and Levinson might be more miss than hit as of late, but I’m more curious in seeing what kind of media storm this can brew, what kind of talk can come from this and if there’ll be lots of of ink spilled? If the biopic goes against the grain and actually takes a position just like the aptitudes of this maverick doctor, then we might be in for something worth watching on the tube.
Release Date/Status?: I’m cheating here by including this among the top 100 (I fudge the rules twice more on the list) since it’s technically not a theatrial release – but a Tribeca launch-pad and eventual summer television airing could occur. TBA.
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