Casino Jack

From movie buffs and film students to anyone who enjoys true-crime stories or is interested in U.S. politics, this companion to a critically acclaimed biopic offers a rare glimpse into the creative process of cinema. A mix of Reservoir Dogs, Goodfellas, and Oliver Stones W, George Hickenlooper's Casino Jack explores the complex figure at the center of the biggest scandal to hit Washington after WatergateJack Abramoff, a political operative who worked the back alleys of Republican administrations around the globe from Nicaragua to Angola. The screenplay begins with Abramoffs arrest by the FBI in Los Angeles in 2005 and the Mafia-style murder of the Florida casino owner Gus Boulis, then goes back in time to George Bushs inauguration in 2000, which Abramoff celebrates with the powerful House Leader, Tom DeLay. From there Abramoff proceeds to gain a multimillion-dollar fortune lobbying on behalf of dodgy Asian sweatshop owners and gullible Indian casino proprietorsall the while wining and dining the big players in Washington. This illustrated companion to the film features the complete screenplay in script form, a foreword by the films writer Norman Snider, an introduction and photo diary by the films director George Hickenlooper, 10 storyboards, an afterword by film critic F. X. Feeney, and more than 50 film stills interspersed throughout the text.