The movie that helped spark the poker boom is returning to fire a second barrel. Miramax Films announced this week that it will be teaming up with the Weinstein Company to produce “Rounders 2,” a sequel to the cult favorite that was released more than a decade ago.
According to IMDB, “Rounders 2” is currently in development and scheduled to hit theaters in 2012. The cast and crew have not been announced, but Matt Damon (who played Mike McDermott in the first film) and Ed Norton (Lester “Worm” Murphy) have supposedly signed on for the project, as has original director John Dahl. It’s unknown whether John Malkovich (Teddy KGB) or John Turturro (Joey Knish) will return for the sequel, leaving fans to speculate where the story will take the lead characters this time around.
Miramax broke the exciting news in press release on Thursday: “Miramax and the Weinstein Company today announced an agreement to create sequels to some of Miramax’s best-known properties and to partner on potential new television shows and special edition home entertainment products. The first films to be produced under the agreement will be sequels to ‘Bad Santa,’ ‘Rounders,’ and ‘Shakespeare in Love.’” The list of potential projects listed later in the press release included “Bridget Jones’ Diary,” “Cop Land,” “From Dusk Till Dawn,” “Swingers.” “Clerks,” “Shall We Dance,” and “The Amityville Horror.”
The Weinstein Company was formed in 2005 when Harvey and Bob Weinstein, the original founders of Miramax, left the company. Since leaving the Miramax studio, the Weinstein Group has produced critically acclaimed films like “Inglorious Basterds,” “Nine,” and “The Reader.” Before the Weinsteins departed, Miramax developed award-winning films such as “Pulp Fiction” and “Chicago.” Miramax opened in 1969 and was acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 1993. Disney then sold the studio to Filmyard Holdings LLC earlier this year.
“We are very close to these films and the new management of Miramax also feels that we are in the best position to create sequels that are at once worthy and compelling in their own right,” Harvey and Bob Weinstein commented in a joint statement Thursday.
The news of the “Rounders 2” production status is very promising for poker fans, who have seen some dismal poker movies released over the past decade. “Lucky You,” starring Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, and several poker pros including Sam Farha, Daniel Negreanu, and Barry Greenstein, was a major flop at the box office in 2006 and wasn’t received well by the poker community. “The Grand” hit theaters in 2007 and was given similar disapproval. The film, an improvisational comedy set at a poker tournament, starred poker enthusiasts Cheryl Hines, Ray Romano, and Jason Alexander, but was bashed by critics.
There was also a scene in the most recent James Bond film (“Casino Royale”) that left poker players cringing. Daniel Craig (who played Bond in the film) slow-rolled three players with a straight flush for a $115 million pot – not exactly the way to win over viewers who regularly play the game.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily as updates on this story unfold.
One slight disagreement…the poker scene(s) in Casino Royale were GOLD!!!
What’s wrong with The Grand? Critics bashed it because it was too full of inside jokes for the poker world, but who cares what they think? Every poker player or fan of TV poker should be quoting that movie.
Hey TCFML,
I completely agree with you. I thought “The Grand” was very well done and funny. Perhaps because some of the characters and jokes cut a little close to home in some accounts was the reason it didn’t do so well!
LOL, this is old news. I broke this story months ago. Miramax confirms it? No shit? I guess the writers/stars/director all saying they are on board for a second wasn’t “legit” enough?
I think Miramax confirming it was a pretty big step. Looking forward to seeing it come out!
IMDANUTS SON
I hope in this movie they really emphasize the effect of the poker boom after chris moneymaker. Before Chris Moneymaker, you could literally be a lot better then your opponent, and patience almost always prevailed. Poker indeed was considered a skill game that you could base around conservative play. Now, everyone knows how to play and everyone is good. The “loose” style is now the way to be proclaimed as unpredictable and how you gain respect at the table. I know personally I wont go up against a player who plays big pots and a lot of hands because you simply cannot read a player like that. Not just that, but what made Rounders so great, like The Legend of Bagger Vance, or A Gentleman’s Game, all these movies could relate to other scenarios in life. All of these movies related a game to actual lessons of life. I hope in Rounders 2 there are trials and tribulations that happen on the poker table but have great underlying messages with real life trials and tribulations. I could see Mike being a lawyer, and having to represent the state over organized russian crime headed by KGB, and with that have an underlying story that is based around a poker table. There are so many ways they can take Rounders 2 and I hope they dont just go with the cliche come from behind WSOP storyline. Its overplayed, and simply not what Rounders is really about. I would love to be a part of this project because I feel I have so many great ideas for this movie. Someone get at me!!
This will make my year.