''Luckytown'' is a 2000 film starring
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst (; born April 30, 1982) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the short ''Oedipus Wrecks'' directed by Woody Allen in the anthology film ''New York Stories'' (1989). She then gained recognition for her rol ...
,
Vincent Kartheiser,
Luis Guzmán
Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956) is a Puerto Rican actor. His career spans over 40 years and includes a number of films and television series. He has appeared in the Paul Thomas Anderson films ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), ''Magnolia'' (1999) an ...
, and
James Caan
James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...
. The film was written by Brendan Beseth, and produced and directed by
Paul Nicolas
Paul Nicolas (4 November 1899 – 3 March 1959) was a French footballer who played as a striker. He was part of the France national football teams at the 1920, 1924, and 1928 Summer Olympics.
He was also part of the France national football ...
.
Plot
When she turns 18, unhappy Lidda Daniels leaves Southern California to look for Charlie, her father, a professional gambler who abandoned her years before. On her way to
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, she picks up Colonel, a video store clerk who she finds attractive even though they have never spoken.
Cast
*
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst (; born April 30, 1982) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the short ''Oedipus Wrecks'' directed by Woody Allen in the anthology film ''New York Stories'' (1989). She then gained recognition for her rol ...
as Lidda
*
Vincent Kartheiser as Colonel
*
Luis Guzmán
Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956) is a Puerto Rican actor. His career spans over 40 years and includes a number of films and television series. He has appeared in the Paul Thomas Anderson films ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), ''Magnolia'' (1999) an ...
as Jimmy
*
James Caan
James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...
as Charlie
*
Robert Miano
Robert Miano (born September 25, 1942) is an American actor.
Early life
Robert Miano was born in New York City and raised in the Southeast Bronx neighborhood. He is of Italian descent.
At the age of fifteen Robert Miano was discovered by a tale ...
as Tony DeCarlo
*
Jennifer Gareis
Jennifer Gareis (born August 1, 1970) is an American actress and former beauty queen. She is best known for her roles as Grace Turner on ''The Young and the Restless'' (1997–2000, 2002, 2004, 2014) and as Donna Logan on ''The Bold and the Beau ...
as Sugar
* Federico Dordei as Frankie
*
Theresa Russell
Theresa Lynn Russell ( Paup; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress whose career spans over four decades. Her filmography includes over fifty feature films, ranging from mainstream to independent and experimental films.
Born in San Diego, ...
as Stella
Filming
A five-week shoot in Las Vegas began on December 13, 1999.
[ Paul Nicolas, the film's director and producer, said, "We could have shot most of it in ]L.A.
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
, but just by being here, you get a lot of ideas. Just by driving around, you can see what Las Vegas has to offer." Nicolas said about the Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...
and downtown Las Vegas
Downtown Las Vegas (commonly abbreviated as DTLV) is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original townsite, and the Downtown gaming area was the primary gambling district of Las Vegas prior to the St ...
: "seeing the sights, we're trying to write little scenes to incorporate them in the story."[ Approximately 14 local actors, as well as 500 local extras, appeared in the film.]
During the first week of filming, scenes were shot at the Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street (french: Rue Bourbon, es, Calle de Borbón) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars an ...
and Showboat
A showboat, or show boat, was a floating theater that traveled along the waterways of the United States, especially along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, to bring culture and entertainment to the inhabitants of river frontiers. Showboats were a ...
hotel-casinos.[ For the second week, filming moved to a soundstage at Lear Entertainment's new production facility, which was also located in Las Vegas and was still under construction during filming.][ Scenes were to be shot on 3,600- and 8,100-square-foot stages at the facility.][ During the second week of filming, scenes were also shot at the Olympic Gardens ]strip club
A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other Erotic dancing, erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or Bar (establishment), bar style, and can also ...
, and at Geebee's Bar and Grill, located south of the Las Vegas Strip.[
In the third week, filming moved to the closed Rockabilly's Saloon and Dance Hall on ]Boulder Highway
State Route 582 (SR 582) is a major highway in the Las Vegas Valley. The highway is the former route of U.S. Route 93 (US 93) and US 95 (and, historically, US 466) before they were moved to the current freeway alignment shar ...
. For the film, the structure was renovated as a strip club,[ known in the film as Tony's Dollhouse,][ and was reportedly planned to be reopened as a strip club in reality after filming was scheduled to complete there.] Nicolas said "we got inspired by the strip clubs in Vegas -- and we built one."[ Approximately one third of the film was set at Tony's Dollhouse.][ ]James Caan
James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...
, who had previously played a Las Vegas gambler in '' The Gambler'' and ''Honeymoon in Vegas
''Honeymoon in Vegas'' is a 1992 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Andrew Bergman and starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Plot
Private Detective ("Private eye") Jack Singer (Nicolas Cage) swore to hi ...
'', finished filming his scenes in December 1999.[ After a brief New Year's break, filming resumed at Rockabilly's Saloon on January 3, 2000.]
Later that month, scenes were shot at the Roadhouse Casino and McCarran International Airport
Harry Reid International Airport is an international airport in Paradise, Nevada, and is the main government airport for public use in the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada, about south of Downtown Las Vegas. ...
, with additional scenes shot at the Bourbon Street hotel-casino. Filming was scheduled to conclude on January 13, 2000, but was extended and expected to conclude the following week. Final filming locations included the Candlelight Wedding Chapel, the Showboat hotel-casino, the Glass Pool Inn
Glass Pool Inn was a motel located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It initially opened as the Mirage Motel in 1952. An above-ground swimming pool was added in 1955, and included large porthole windows that allowed outsiders to peer ins ...
, and driving shots of the Las Vegas Strip. Production was also expected to return to Geebee's Bar and Grill for pick-up footage.
Release
''Luckytown'' premiered at the Hollywood Film Festival
The Hollywood Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes place in Los Angeles, California, USA.
History
The Hollywood Film Festival was established in 1997 by author and producer Carlos de Abreu and his wife, model Janice Pennington.Pete ...
on August 4, 2000. In the United States, ''Luckytown'' was released on home video on July 17, 2001.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, id=0160495, title=Luckytown
2000 films
2000s crime films
Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley
2000s English-language films