by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Holy Toledo, sometimes an insider Hollywood story is so good, you see how the game is played.
Jessica Chastain in MOLLY'S GAME
So once upon a Batman, and a few-movies-ago Spiderman, the caped one and the web slinger became poker fanatics, like super fanatics, in a snake-pit-named Hollywood club’s back room, a club once owned by a Pirate.
True story, plus there’s an ex-Olympic skier with the same name as a character from James Joyce’s opus “Ulysses” who ran the tables, the whole game. But in a short decade the card mania went awry, as doomed as an Irish-made ocean liner, whose lead also flipped his chips there as the face-card bash spread from LA to NYC to the FBI.
Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba in MOLLY'S GAME
MOLLY’S GAME is based on the Joycean real-life Molly Bloom’s 2014 book “Molly's Game: High Stakes, Hollywood's Elite, Hotshot Bankers, My Life in the World of Underground Poker,” from HarperCollins.
Her memoir begins circa 2004 and spans almost a decade of decadence. Lawless screen siren Jessica Chastain is die-cast as the ‘Poker Princess’ who found her mettle dealing with all the superheroes’ undesirable antics. Red is on fire in this one, shall we say.
Aaron Sorkin’s movie mostly deals with Bloom’s fight for survival with the Feds on gambling and likely racketeering charges, but Chastain also has to find an air hole in a superego’s off-screen realm where every A-Lister is vying for all the oxygen in a room where huge money stakes makes everyone a lot uglier in a hurry. As in "bark like a seal," ugly.
Ultimately Batman and versions-ago Spiderman end up in high-profile divorces while their wronged spouses, one a movie star, the other a studio mogul’s daughter, end up vindicated. Wait, scratch that, will end up vindicated as MOLLY’S GAME is released by STX Films on Nov. 22. So tempting to say *payback is a bitch,* but you get the drift.
Jessica Chastain and Chris O'Dowd in MOLLY'S GAME
Again this gambit/movie comes from the deft hand of writer/director Aaron Sorkin, who literally can make a piece of paper into a smash hit. Sorkin has so many credits, though THE SOCIAL NETWORK rings a bell to most people. Amy Pascal, ex-SONY hack now indie purveyor, lays down her aces as a producer; Idris Elba also comes into play here as memorable onscreen; with Kevin Costner taking a break from his own helming ways to add a hell of a sweet cameo. Michael Cera is the pivot point, a clue to Hollywood’s real elite players mentioned above.
You gotta see this story to believe it. Bridesmaid's Chris O'Dowd rounds out a great cast here that includes Graham Greene, Joe Keery and Rachel Skarsten.
Make Your Bets This Will Be Something of a Royal Flush
MOLLY's GAME will open first at TIFF, Sept. 7-17, mark it down,dude!
Playing Pick-Up STX, Or Close to the Bone On Official Notes?
MOLLY’S GAME is based on the true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe. In Theaters November 22, 2017 Cast: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Chris O'Dowd, Michael Cera, Joe Keery, Rachel Skarsten, Graham Greene and Brian d'Arcy James Director: Aaron Sorkin Writer: Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. Based on the memoir by Molly Bloom Producers: Stuart M. Besser, Mark Gordon, Leopoldo Gout, Matt Jackson, Lauren Lohman, Lyn Lucibello and Amy Pascal
Movie's Social 411:
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MOLLY'S GAME fans out this loaded hand on November 22, 2017.
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