WILD CARD
BASED ON THE NOVEL ‘HEAT’ BY WILLIAM GOLDMAN
A FILM BY SIMON WEST
92 MIN / USA / COLOR / 2014 / ENGLISH
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WILD CARD
SHORT SYNOPSIS
Nick Wild (Jason Statham) is a Las Vegas bodyguard with lethal professional skills and a personal gambling problem. When a friend is beaten by a sadistic thug, Nick strikes back, only to find out the thug is the son of a powerful mob boss. Suddenly Nick is plunged into the criminal underworld, chased by enforcers and wanted by the mob. Having raised the stakes, Nick has one last play to change his fortunes…and this time, it’s all or nothing. From two-time Academy® Award-winning writer William Goldman (Best Original Screenplay, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969; Best Adapted Screenplay, All the President’s Men, 1976).
LONG SYNOPSIS
Las Vegas, the days before Christmas, a beaten, battered and bloody girl – whom we’ll soon know as HOLLY (Dominik Garcia-Lorido) – is tossed to the curb and left for dead. She determinedly makes it to the Emergency Room, where all she can mutter is “Nick...”
When we first see NICK (Jason Statham) at a bar, he seems like an intimidating drunk hitting on the unsuspecting DD (Sofia Vergara). DD’s nerdy boyfriend OSGOOD (Max Casella) came to the bar hoping to convince DD to move with him to Atlantic City. The unassuming Osgood likes to say he knows how to fight...and then, shockingly, proves it by giving Nick a beating in the parking lot. Indeed, DD is impressed by Osgood’s heroism, and says yes to him. This is just the way Osgood planned it, showing up the next day to thankfully pay Nick a fee of $500, with whom he set up the ruse to fool DD into moving with him.
The morning after the Osgood “fight” Nick heads into his office where he works for/with PINKY (Jason Alexander). Nick daydreams of far off exotic places — he’s been trying to save up half a million dollars to retire. While at the office he gets a job for that evening to “chaperone” a Boston yuppie, self-made millionaire named KINNICK (Michael Angarano).
That morning Nick retreats to his usual breakfast location where waitress ROXY (Anne Heche) gives him a message that his friend, battered Holly, needs to see him. She was cornered, tortured and raped by DANNY DEMARCO (Milo Ventimiglia) and his men. Holly wants Nick to find them and soften them up so she can go in and get her own form of revenge.
Nick finally gives in and goes to DeMarco’s suite, gaining entry by saying he is a friend of BABY’S (the mobbed up owner of the Golden Nugget and other Vegas hotels). DeMarco’s men toy with him and this pushes Nick over the edge and we get to see him in action. When it’s over, the two battered bodyguards are tied together on the floor, and DeMarco is tied to a chair as Holly comes in. She removes a pair of gardening shears from her purse, and proceeds to pull DeMarco’s pants down and threatens to cut off his “envy of all mankind.” He squeals, especially when she makes a small cut on his “envy of all mankind” to test the sharpness of her shears. Holly puts the shears back in her purse and takes his money, splitting half of it with Nick. Holly’s bags are already packed and she’s heading out of town. Nick tells her he will soon be following suit, but first he wants to take his $25,000 and win enough money so he will never have to come back to Vegas.
Heading back to the casino, Nick starts playing blackjack with his dealer friend CASSANDRA (Hope Davis), and wins $500,000! But, at the bar chatting with Kinnick, Nick comes to the conclusion that maybe all this money isn’t enough. Against Kinnick’s protests, Nick goes back to the blackjack table and goes all in on the first hand! With a 17 showing he hits and just like that he loses it all.
The loss sends Nick directly to the bar. Kinnick confesses he had ulterior motives for hiring Nick. Kinnick is scared to go through life being a coward and wants Nick to teach him how to be brave. In exchange for his help, Kinnick offers to help Nick with his compulsive gambling. Nick, in denial of his addiction, storms out on Kinnick. While stopped at the casino bar, Nick is attacked by a group of DeMarco’s thugs. Again Nick shows his amazing skills in taking a number of them out before Baby’s security guards break up the fight. Nick is escorted to a waiting BABY (Stanley Tucci) who is trying to find out the truth after DeMarco has persuaded him that Nick is responsible for killing DeMarco’s men in their earlier altercation. Nick convinces Baby that it wasn’t him because he never uses a gun and he knows that DeMarco has a cut on his “envy of all mankind” put there by a lady with garden shears. DeMarco, too embarrassed to drop his pants, begins arguing that it is a matter of principle and he won’t take his pants down. Baby immediately starts laughing and lets Nick go. DeMarco leaves in a huff, but not before threatening Nick that he will come after him.
Nick heads to his usual coffee shop where Kinnick is waiting for Nick with a token of his appreciation. Kinnick has gifted Nick a plane ticket and money towards starting a new life away from Vegas. Although humbled by the gesture, Nick informs Kinnick he will not be able to accept the gift, for he is about to be murdered. We now see four DeMarco henchmen sitting in the diner as DeMarco enters through the front door. Kinnick, aware of the impending danger, does something very brave, standing up on a table and belting out a song. He causes a long enough distraction that Nick is able to slide out the kitchen door. Nick takes on DeMarco and his thugs leaving them bloody and dead on the ground. Before heading to his apartment to pack up what little he has, Nick thanks Kinnick for the gift and for being a “true friend.” The last we see of Nick he is driving out of Vegas, finally leaving for good!
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
WILD CARD began eight years ago when producer Steve Chasman was sent a script written by William Goldman that he immediately took interest in. “It was so well written that all the characters were intertwined with each other. There’s not one piece of dialogue from the original material that doesn’t have a specific purpose. And that doesn’t really happen these days when you see movies,” stated Chasman. Based on his 1985 novel ‘Heat’ about a soldier of fortune in Las Vegas, Goldman wanted to bring a fresh perspective to the story while still staying true to his work. To accomplish this, Chasman teamed up with renowned actor Jason Statham to both star in and produce the reboot.
Drawn into the script’s rich dialogue and developed characters, Statham and Chasman dove into the legendary writer’s work. After attempting to tweak and contemporize the project they soon realized that the tone and style that Goldman wrote over forty years ago is what made it so special. “When we got the script I think everyone likes to try and modernize the script in some way. It’s sometimes to the detriment of what is really great already,” said Statham. “They lose the real sort of charm of what was already on the page. It just became like a full circle… in the end we just looked at it and went ‘hang on this is exactly what Goldman wrote in the first place.’”
Chasman and Statham immediately set out to find a director who would be able to bring the action packed thriller to a modern audience while keeping true to their creative vision, finally setting their sights on British director Simon West. Having a proven track record of success in addition to previously working with Jason, West was the perfect fit, being both captivated by Goldman’s original story and excited about the opportunity to add his own elements to the film.
Having the core team assembled, including iconic action director Cory Yuen, the next task was finding actors that would be able to fill the complex and developed roles that Goldman had written. West was confident that they would not only meet, but surpass expectations, “I knew I was going to be able to get great actors in all these different roles. Even if they’ve only got one scene or two scenes everybody has a great moment in the movie so I knew it was going to be a great collection of actors and it would attract great talent.” Once casting was completed, WILD CARD had assembled a roster of all-star talent including Michael Angarano,Milo Ventimiglia, Dominic Garcia-Lorido, Anne Heche, Sofía Vergara, Max Casella,Jason Alexander,Hope Davis and Stanley Tucci.
Built around Statham’s character ‘Nick Wild,’ the film explored and developed the intertwining relationships between the various characters. “The start is with Jason and everyone else is built around the character, Nick. In fact, that’s what the movie is. All the characters are basically there reflecting Nick. We are taken through his journey and everyone around him really goes through that journey with him,” stated Chasman.
DIRECTOR’S BIO
Simon West
Simon West is a British born film director. His films include CON AIR starring Nicholas Cage, THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER starring John Travolta and LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER starring Angelina Jolie. West is the only live action director ever whose first three films all grossed over $100m at the US box office.
West also served as an executive producer on the Oscar nominated BLACK HAWK DOWN. He will be reteaming with BLACK HAWK DOWN writer Ken Nolan to direct THUNDER RUN based on the book “Thunder Run” written by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist David Zucchino.
His television company has produced acclaimed series such as Fox’s “Keen Eddie”, the CBS series “Close To Home”, Fox’s “Human Target” and the NBC series “The Cape”.
West directed the action-packed remake of THE MECHANIC starring Jason Statham and Ben Foster and THE EXPENDABLES 2 starring almost every action star in the movie world. This film grossed over $300m in worldwide box office.
CAST BIOS
Jason Statham (Nick, Producer)
JASON STATHAM,an international star best known for his hard-hitting action films. Statham starred in the Sylvester Stallone penned HOMEFRONT oppositeJames Franco and Kate Bosworth, REDEMPTION, the directorial debut by Steven Knight (EASTERN PROMISES' screenwriter), PARKER (based on Donald Westlake's novel) oppositeJennifer Lopez, and finally surprised fans by appearing at the end of FAST & FURIOUS 6, buildinganticipationfor himjoiningVinDieseland Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the next installment of thismassivefilm franchise.
Born in Sydenham, England, Statham became a member of the British national diving team as one of their top divers, eventually placing 12thin the world. While training at the famed Crystal Palace National Sport Center in London, film crews and photographers pursued him as new talent. He eventually met director Guy Ritchie who cast Statham in his film debut as Bacon in LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS(1998).
Statham teamed up with Ritchie again in SNATCH(2000), starring opposite Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro. Then French film impresario Luc Besson trusted him in the title role of Frank Martin in THE TRANSPORTER(2002); he starred as Handsome Rob in the blockbuster remake of THE ITALIAN JOB(2003); and kept moviegoers’ hearts racing as Chev Chelios, the adrenaline-compromised action hero who powered CRANK (2006).
Statham returned as Frank Martin in TRANSPORTER 2 (2006) and TRANSPORTER 3 (2008) before starring in Roger Donaldson’s THE BANK JOB(2008), the critically acclaimed true story of the 1971 Baker Street bank robbery. He also toplined the action remake DEATH RACE(2008), starring opposite Ian McShane.
Next Statham reprised the role of Chev Chelios in CRANK 2: HIGH VOLTAGE(2009) and teamed up with some of the world’s biggest action stars in Sylvester Stallone’s THE EXPENDABLES(2010). Statham followed up with a remake of THE MECHANIC(2011), which originally starred Charles Bronson as professional hit man Arthur Bishop.
Statham then filled the shoes of detective Tom Brant in the U.K. crimethriller BLITZ(2010), based on the novel by Ken Bruen. He followed that withKILLER ELITE(2011) based on a true story by author Sir Ranulph Fiennes, SAFE(2012), directed by Boaz Yakin and produced by Lawrence Bender, as well as reprised his role as Lee Christmas inTHE EXPENDABLES 2 (2012). Statham also joined the 3rd installment of the worldwide box office hit THEEXPENDABLES, this time joinedby “new-comers” Mel Gibson, AntonioBanderasand Harrison Ford. He also wrapped production this year on hishighly anticipated return tothe Fast franchise as Ian Shaw in FAST & FURIOUS 7.
Statham is currently in Europe filming SPY, the latest comedy collaboration between Director Paul Feig (THE HEAT, BRIDESMAIDS) and Melissa McCarthy (THE HEAT, BRIDESMAIDS).
Statham will appear on the big screen this year in WILD CARD from AcademyAward® winning writer William Goldman (BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID & ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN). Statham starred in and produced WILD CARD alongside an impressive cast, includingStanley Tucci,Michael Angarano,Hope Davis,Milo Ventimiglia, Anne Heche and Sofia Vergara.
Stanley Tucci (Baby)
Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci has appeared in over 50 films and countless television shows. He has appeared in more than a dozen plays, on and off Broadway, and has been behind the camera working as a writer, director, and producer.
Tucci reached his widest audience yet in the role of Caesar Flickerman in THE HUNGER GAMES franchise. A box office sensation and critical success, the third installment of the series, MOCKINGJAY – PART 1, released November, 2014.
In June of 2014, Stanley starred alongside Mark Wahlberg in TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION directed by Michael Bay. Tucci joined the cast of multiple feature films that are scheduled for a 2015 release, including WILD CARD starring Jason Statham and Sofia Vergara, LARRY GAYE: RENEGADE MALE FLIGHT ATTENDANT, and A LITTLE CHAOS directed by Alan Rickman and starring Kate Winslet.
Tucci was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, SAG Award and received a Broadcast Film Critics nomination for his performance in Peter Jackson’s THE LOVELY BONES.
Furthermore,Tucci won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his role in the TV movie WINCHELL. His performance as the fast-talking tattler, who exposed secrets and scandals, left audiences and critics alike singing his praises. WINCHELL, directed by Paul Mazursky, provided Stanley with one of the juiciest roles of his diverse career.
He received a Golden Globe for his role in HBO’s CONSPIRACY. His brilliant portrayal of Lt. Colonel Adolf Eichmann delivered a truly petrifying experience, where he often deceived others with his all but friendly smile.
Tucci is also a writer, director, and producer. He premiered the film BLIND DATE at The Sundance Film Festival – directing, starring, and co-writing this Van Gogh remake. Another directorial endeavor was USA Films’ JOE GOULD’S SECRET, which starred Ian Holm as bohemian writer ‘Joe Gould’ and Tucci as ‘Joseph Mitchell,’ the famed writer for The New Yorker. The film, set in New York’s Greenwich Village in the 1940s, tells the story of the strange meeting and long lasting friendship between Gould and Mitchell, as well as the stories Mitchell wrote about Gould and his life.
BIG NIGHT, Tucci’s first effort as co-director, co-screenwriter, and actor on the same film, earned him numerous accolades, including the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, a recognition of Excellence by the National Board of Review, an Independent Spirit Award, The Critics Prize at the 1996 Deauville Film Festival, and honors from the New York Film Critics and the Boston Society of Film Critics.
His second project, THE IMPOSTERS, a film which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and starred in, was an Official Selection at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and was acquired by Fox Searchlight Pictures later that year. The 1930’s farce starred Tucci and Oliver Platt as a pair of out-of-work actors who find themselves aboard a cruise ship passengered by Steve Buscemi, Alfred Molina, Lili Taylor and Hope Davis.
His work on television includes his appearance as a re-occurring guest star on TNT’s “Bull,” “Equal Justice,” “Wiseguy,” “The Equalizer,” “thirtysomething,” and “The Street.”Tucci received Emmy nominations for his work in “Murder One” and “ER,” and an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for “Monk.”