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 Australian director ROBERT LUKETIC (Legally Blonde, Monster-In-Law) has shifted his gaze from recent romantic comedies to 21, a new film starring Kevin Spacey based on true events surrounding college kids scamming some of Las Vegas’ biggest casinos. GRETCHEN MOLINA sat in on this exclusive media interview given by the director.
This is new genre for you. Was that daunting?
No, I wanted that challenge. It’s bizarre the way it came back to me. Also, everyone was taking a gamble because I’m the guy who does movies about wedding dresses with Jane Fonda, right? You don’t equate me with a real-life drama set in Vegas. But I came to it with an open mind.
How faithful is the film to the events that inspired it?
This is a movie that’s inspired by a true story concerning a group of card-counters – mathematicians, computer scientists from M.I.T. To do what they did requires brilliant minds. To take Vegas like they did, you need to be supremely gifted. They form a card-counting group and set up a very complex system of body language incorporated with a basic strategy.
How successful were they with that system?
They were very successful in doing this and made a lot of money. Card counting is not illegal but the casinos don’t like it. So you run the risk of having your legs broken out in the desert somewhere. That’s the risk these guys ran. Ultimately, it’s their greed that makes it all come down. Imagine being a college kid that inherits the keys to Vegas. Because they were such high rollers, they were getting the strippers and going to the clubs, the whole lot.
How is Kevin Spacey’s character, Mickey Rosa, involved?
Kevin’s character is the puppet master. In his position as lecturer at M.I.T., he’s able to cherry-pick all these brilliant minds. In each class, he sees which kids have a gift with numbers. The biggest genius of them all is a kid called Ben Campbell, played by Jim Sturgess (Across The Universe), a nice English kid. Jim is one of the most talented, fully prepared actors out there.
What was it like making a film in Vegas?
There were weeks that went by when I never saw daylight and we were actually staying in the casinos we were shooting in. I’d wake up at five in the morning and the place would still be full of people gambling. It was 200 crew members living like vampires. By the time we finished shooting, it would be dark again. Some people coped with it by going out partying all night
Did you meet some of the original students who took on the casinos?
Some of the original students were advisers. In the movie, we worked more with composite characters. But the actors would hang out with these guys. I keep telling people ‘this is not a biography.’ But you are seeing the real system they worked. It’s not a crime but you see the real cheat, the real scam.
You’re originally from Australia. Do you enjoy living in LA?
I’m a Sydney boy but I love it in LA. I love my home here, I love my dogs. I’ve found my own world here. I don’t do the Hollywood thing too often though. I’m like an outsider. I work at my job and then live the way I want to live.
21 opens in cinemas Thursday May 15, rated M. www.sonypictures.com/movies/21
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