Ask Me About My Award Winning Poker Themed Screenplay "vegas Knights".

[Vegas Knights 54]

...Do you think Vegas Knights has any qualities lacking in some of the more recent poker movies? What are they?...

 

Yes, it has many elements movies such a “Deal” and “Lucky You” lacked.

 

1) Vegas Knights shows the energy and excitement of Vegas that is almost non-existent in Lucky You and Deal. If you’re going to make a movie set in the most exciting city in the world, show some of that city!! "Lucky You", set in Vegas, had in one segment its lead character traveling to Arizona to follow his girlfriend??? What does going to Arizona have to do with Vegas culture and poker? “Deal” I believe was shot in Louisiana and I can’t remember any outside shots of Vegas in it. Once again what does that have to do with Vegas. Some of the scenes in Vegas Knights will have to be shot in Vegas and surrounding areas– period. You “will” get a feeling for the essence of Vegas (a city I lived in for 9 years) in this film. I saw the original Oceans 11 film recently and it was great because it was shot in Vegas and it just had a Vegas feel about it. So did the remake of Oceans 11. Both films were a success.

 

2) In my script you get to know a lot about the characters before they even play poker. I believe—as did the experienced film reviewer who did the script analysis—that mainstream audiences will care about some of the characters in this script. Did you care about the bland poker pro Huck in “Lucky You”? Did you care about the young kid in “Deal”. I remember almost nothing about that kid other than he was good at internet poker.

 

3) Vegas Knights goes deeper into poker and professional gambling than those other movies. Yet it does so in a way that even non-gamblers can understand and be intrigued by.

 

4) Vegas Knights takes a look at some social issues like the economy, addictions, family life etc. (I realize some in Hollywood feel most Americans are dumb and don’t have the attention span for this stuff, but I disagree.) This has been a bad year for the Hollywood box office. Maybe it’s time to incorporate a little more about social content in the movies. That said, this social element only makes up about 10% of the script.

 

5) Even though there is no crime in this script, and the main characters (except for the antagonist ) are basically good guys, Vegas Knights shows a little more of the seedy side of poker/gambling than Lucky You and Deal. Some might say this could hurt poker. I disagree for three reasons.

 

a) The script and its characters show more of the good side of poker than its negative side. It even has a positive segment about the history of the game. Also, people realize there are negative aspects to most everything, whether it’s cheating by college sports recruiters, or athletes taking steroids. Neither of these seedy things really hurt the popularity of the games.

 

b) Mainstream America is often curious and intrigued by the seedy side of things. That’s why figure skating absolutely exploded 10 times what it was after the Tonya Harding incident. Figure skating was all over TV every week for years after that incident, whereas before you might have been lucky to see it on Wide World of Sports once every 6 months.

 

c) People expect things in Vegas to be a little risque/naughty, it’s part of the allure and attraction that makes Vegas an interesting diversion to their mundane lives. I believe this risque element was definitely missing from “Lucky You”. This might be part of the reason film critic Leonard Maltin called the movie “amazingly dull” in his Movie Review book. He did like the card scenes however, just not the story behind the cards.

 

6) Vegas Knights will be a much more visually exciting film than those other movies.

 

So, yes, without a doubt my script is very different than “Lucky You”, and “Deal”. And I believe this big difference is the reason “Vegas Knights” has won 3 honors.

[bigcoled 1]

Quit having conversations with yourself...

Post #4

[Vegas Knights 54]

....Do you think that any poker celebrities would enjoy Vegas Knights?...

 

Yes, but maybe not all because I didn’t write this movie for poker celebrities, I wrote it for mainstream America. Many poker pros liked the poker in ” Lucky You”, but it did not do well. Film critic Leonard Maltin said in his book "Leonard Maltin's 2013 Movie Guide" that Lucky You "gets everything right when it comes to the game... but fails to ignite an interesting story for its characters".

 

I would rather have Middle America like this script than have all poker celebrities like it. The goal of a dramatic script is not to represent a particular arena 100% accurately, the goal is to make an entertaining successful movie. In fact a script that was 100% accurate on poker and gambling might be less entertaining than one that is only 90% accurate. I heard someone say many mob movies try to be about what people think the mob is like rather than the way it really is. Another example is James Bond movies. Do you they portray the life of spies 100% accurately– of course not. In fact, you don’t want spies to look like Sean Connery , Daniel Craig, or Angelena Jolie, because they stand out like a sore thumb. You want them to be as bland and as unnoticeable as possible

 

I’d rather have a movie that portrays poker and gambling 90% accurately and be a success, than one that portrays it 100% accurately and is mediocre or a bomb.

 

...Are there any roles for {poker celebrities} in your movie?...

 

Yes, as stated before, there will be a decent amount of scenes at the WSOP (or some other big tournament). There would be many opportunities for cameos by poker pros in these scenes. As it is written now there would be cameos for Doyle Brunson and Phil Ivey. There is also one short scene where Mike Matusow has 45 words of dialogue. Of course if these people didn’t want to do it, other pros like Daniel, Phil Hellmuth, and Tony G might want to.

[Sweet 0]

the Tonya Harding incident.

 

win

 

Mike Matusow has 45 words of dialogue.

 

epic win

[BigPokerFan 1]

Vegas Knights,

 

Thank you so much for answering so many of my questions. It means a lot to me. I have many reactions to your words as well as follow up questions. I will have at least one more reaction/follow up post by Monday. But first, let me say that I am shocked, truly astonished, that nobody has purchased the rights to your two time award winning screenplay, Vegas Knights, at the impossibly low price of $75,000. Particularly, when there are so many sucesful poker players who stand to gain by its production. I really think, nay demand, that Daniel Negranu come to this thread and explain how he can let this script go unsold right under his nose like this.

[QED 4]

Another example is James Bond movies. Do you they portray the life of British spies 100% accurately– of course not. In fact, you don’t want spies to look like Sean Connery , Daniel Craig, or Angelena Jolie, because they stand out like a sore thumb. You want them to be as bland and as unnoticeable as possible

 

whoah now hold up there.

 

Which film did "Angelena Jolie" play Bond in? I must have missed that one.

[KingJames 11]

Can't wait for Skyfall to premier here in the states. Did you see it yet, QED, or other Brits/Euros?

[ChnaWht 0]

Vk, my man, how should I remit the payment of 75k (certainly a bargain when one considers how much '21' made)? After talking to some friends in Hollywood they assured me that purchasing an award winning screenplay that was hawked on an Internet poker forum (w/price included no less) would most definitely be a +ev decision. After all, who uses agents in Hollywood anymore anyways?

[Vegas Knights 54]

whoah now hold up there.

 

Which film did "Angelena Jolie" play Bond in? I must have missed that one.

 

I mentioned James Bond Films. Then I spoke in more general terms when I said, " In fact, you don’t want spies to look like Sean Connery , Daniel Craig, or Angelena Jolie, because they stand out like a sore thumb". Angelena played a spy in the film "SALT", which I have seen.

[Vegas Knights 54]

Vk, my man, how should I remit the payment of 75k (certainly a bargain when one considers how much '21' made)? After talking to some friends in Hollywood they assured me that purchasing an award winning screenplay that was hawked on an Internet poker forum (w/price included no less) would most definitely be a +ev decision. After all, who uses agents in Hollywood anymore anyways?

 

It is very difficult for new writers to get an agent, especially if you don't live in California. I sent out queries to agencies, but usually get back a form letter or no response.. I have not sent out any queries to agents since the script has won the second honor but I might do that when I get more time. I would prefer to have an agent, but one is not required to sell a script. I do have an entertainment attorney, however.

 

At this point, it is probably going to take a very wealthy poker enthusiast like an Andy Beal or Guy Laliberté to make this happen. If anyone knows them or someone similar, maybe send them a copy of post 76.

[runthemover 39]

El G, you're not cutting me out of this are you?

 

here's how it goes down. murder in SF since monk airs at 9:00pm. about 20 minutes into the episode the trail leads them to Santa Barbara. Monk and Natalie obviously head out there. Natalie and hot chick from psych butt heads since Sean will obviously flirt with Natalie. Gus and Monk hit it off. Eventually they go back to SF where Lassie and Durger? whatever his name is..well they manage to out weird each other. bam.edit: gus wasn't really asleep. his jamba juice was drugged by sean

[Vegas Knights 54]

On 10/25/2012 at 11:22 AM, BigPokerFan said:

Many recent poker/Vegas/gaming themed screenplays were written by people who have only lived in California or New York, do you see this as a problem?

It is not so much a problem as it is a disadvantage. I lived in Vegas for many years and also worked around the tourist industry during those years. Obviously this gives me an advantage in trying to capture the essence of Vegas over someone who just visited the city a few times. I go into more detail about this in post #76.

 

On 10/25/2012 at 11:22 AM, BigPokerFan said:

How has your background informed your knowledge of poker or Las Vegas?

 

Lived in Vegas 9 years.

 

Played live poker in Vegas 7 of those years.

 

Actually took a stab at playing full time for several months.

 

Worked in the tourist industry about 8 years.

 

Have attended the WSOP at both the Rio and the Horseshoe.

 

Have read at least 25 books on poker, gambling, Vegas, and Vegas history.

____

 

*** For more of the discussion, here is a link to the new thread:: http://www.fullconta...owtopic=146863

 

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