News

Wednesday, 30 March 2011 01:06

There is a new big name movie in the making that centres on the world of online gambling and will star Bruce Willis and Justine Timberlake.

The new movie, which is based on the memoirs of Beth Raymer, entitled "Lay the Favorite" is set to begin filming in April and has so far managed to capture some big names to play the leading roles, including Bruce Willis, Justin Timberlake and Rebecca Hall. While there have been several big movies featuring gambling, this is one of the first with a big name cast to focus on the online side of gambling.

The movie will be directed by Steven Frears and is likely to have the title "Lay the Favorite, Take the Dog" keeping part of the title of Raymer's published memoirs. The general theme of the movie will be as a comedy drama that is centred on a cocktail waitress in her thirties who gets involved with a small group of geeky guys in their fifties who believe they have discovered how to work the Las Vegas sportsbook system to their advantage and make a killing.

Bruce Willis will be cast in the character of Dink Heimowitz, who is an ex-bookmaker from New York who mentors Raymer, played by Rebecca Hall, in sports gambling. Long island bookmaker, Rosie who will be played by Timberlake, runs a huge operation that Raymer once work for.

The movie is set to be ready for release in 2012 and will join the growing throng of gambling themed movies that go right back to classics such as the 1970s hit movie "The Sting" starring Paul Newman to modern day blockbusters such as the James Bond remake of Casino Royale that featured that famous casino baccarat game. Other popular gambling movies include "21" in which Kevin Spacey portrayed the MIT mastermind behind the famous multi million dollar casino blackjack scam of the 1990s, the British sports book themed movie "Lock, Stock and Two Smokin' Barrels" and Robert DeNiro's portrayal of tough Chicago bookie Sam "Ace" Rothstein in the 1995 movie, "Casino".

In the new Frears movie, it is almost certain that Catherine Zeta-Jones will be cast in the role of Heimowitz's wife, Tulip. The movie will appeal to a wide audience but will have special appeal for those who enjoy gambling online and also like to dream of one day beating the system.