Casino Jack
Casino Jack (known in certain territories as Bagman) is a 2010 comedy-drama thriller film directed by George Hickenlooper and starring Kevin Spacey. The film focuses on the career of Washington, D.C. lobbyist and businessman Jack Abramoff, who was involved in a massive corruption scandal that led to his conviction as well as the conviction of two White House officials, Rep. Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and congressional staffers. Abramoff was convicted of fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion in 2006, and of trading expensive gifts, meals and vacations for political favors. Abramoff served three and a half  years of a six-year sentence in federal prison, and was then assigned to a halfway house. He was released on December 3, 2010. Spacey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his portrayal of Abramoff, eventually losing to Paul Giamatti for his role in "Barney's Version". Plot. A hot shot Washington DC lobbyist and his protégé go down hard as their schemes to peddle influence lead to corruption and murder. Production. Filming took place in June 2009 in various locations across Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, including McMaster University and downtown  Hamilton. The film was scheduled for release in December 2010 and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. This was Hickenlooper's final film. He died on October 29, 2010, seven weeks before its scheduled December 17, 2010, national opening. Reception. "Casino Jack" received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 39%, based on 97 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Kevin Spacey turns in one of his stronger performances, but "Casino Jack" is a disappointingly uneven fictionalized account of a fascinating true story." On Metacritic, the  film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, stating that ""Casino Jack" is so forthright, it is stunning."