In a new book about the infamous 'Molly's Game' poker games he co-founded with Tobey Maguire, Houston Curtis says that the 'Spider-Man' star used famous pals like Leo Di Caprio as bait to lure in.
- A documentary focusing on why one of America's oldest games has had a renaissance in the past few years and why, for so many, poker is the way to chase the American Dream. Director: Douglas Tirola Stars: Karen Abbott, Peter Alson, Nick Brancato, Humberto Brenes Votes: 431 10.
- The film follows Bloom (Chastain), who becomes the target of an FBI investigation after the underground poker empire she runs for Hollywood celebrities, athletes, business tycoons, and the Russian mob is exposed. Principal photography began in November 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
When screenwriter and The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin was looking to make his film directorial debut, he couldn't have picked a better story than that of former professional skier turned poker ring organizer Molly Bloom. In her 2014 memoir Molly's Game, Bloom delivered a scintillating story of how she went from giving up on her Olympic dreams, to being a waitress, and then to running one of the most lucrative underground gambling operations in the country. When Sorkin adapted her book for his 2017 film of the same name, he kept the narrative fairly faithful to the life of Bloom (played by Jessica Chastain in the film).
Even though the movie didn't stray too far from Bloom's own experiences, that doesn't mean it didn't alter or leave out a few key details. When adapting a book to film, there's always going to be things that get changed, and in the case of Bloom's celebrity filled poker games, a few of those details were written about in much more scandalous detail in her memoir. Let's take a look at what Molly's Game left out in the transition from real life to blockbuster movie.
The real story behind the end of Molly Bloom's skiing career
At the beginning of Molly's Game, we see Bloom getting ready to ski in the trials for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. In a voiceover, Bloom says that she currently ranks third in her event in North America, despite the fact that at age 12 she suffered a severe back injury that almost ended her career. Then, she straps on her skis, takes off down the mountain, hits a twig just big enough to dislodge one of her boots, and has an epic crash landing that ends her sports career.
This is a spectacular and tense opening to the film, but it embellished the real story of the end of Molly Bloom's skiing career. Bloom did recover from a serious back injury, and went on to join the US Ski Team and place third nationally. She even had a nasty fall on an Olympic qualifying run in 1998 — but according to Tiebreaker, that fall was just one circumstance of many that led her to give up on her Olympic hopes. While it certainly makes for a more dramatic opening to portray her career ending in one terrifying accident, as with most athletes, it was more of a culmination of injuries and other factors that caused her to hang up her skis.
The identity of Player X
When Bloom eventually sets herself up as the organizer of underground poker games in Los Angeles, she attracts a number of high-powered Hollywood professionals. In the film, one regular, identified only as Player X (Michael Cera), becomes an integral part of her game. However, the unidentified power player quickly proves himself to be untrustworthy and cruel to his fellow players, often relishing more in their bitter defeats than his own wins. Eventually, he betrays Bloom by moving her game to another location and encouraging her other regulars to abandon her.
The details of Player X's petty actions are fairly accurate to Bloom's memoir, except for one detail: the film never reveals the identity of who exactly Player X is. In the book Molly's Game, it's never a secret that this nefarious gambler is none other than Spider-Man actor Tobey Maguire. Although Bloom kept the identities of many of her regulars a secret, by the time she wrote Molly's Game, Maguire had already been publicly identified as a member of Bloom's underground poker circuit thanks to a lawsuit.
Although Maguire's bad behavior made him one of the most notable figures in Bloom's memoir, he wasn't the only celeb to get mentioned by name in the book, but not the film.
The other celebrities that joined Molly's Game
Poker Film Izle
A litany of celebrity encounters may have provided a certain amount of entertainment to Molly's Game, but that was clearly not the focus of Sorkin's film. One major thing that he decided to leave out were the many famous faces that posted up at the table while Bloom was running the show.
In addition to Leonardo DiCaprio, Maguire convinced Ben Affleck to stop by for a few hands. He may have regretted it almost instantly, as Bloom reported that he was joined at the table by notorious poker player and serial celebrity dater Rick Salomon. After Salomon asked Affleck a rather personal question about his ex Jennifer Lopez's backside, the table allegedly went silent before the actor responded: 'It was nice,' he said, and pushed into a huge pot.'
When she began running games in New York City, another one of J-Lo's exes, baseball player Alex Rodriguez, joined the game. 'Men, no matter what age, ilk, or net worth, idolize a professional athlete,' Bloom wrote. 'As they recognized him, they turned into excitable little boys.'
As Bloom explained in an interview with Vice, these celebrity players weren't just frivolous thrills for her. Having people like DiCaprio and Rodriguez at her games drew players willing to make big buy ins just to sit next to their favorite celebs. 'People want to sit at a table with them, be close to them,' she said, 'and this was a big draw to the game.'
Poker has been captured on film numerous times, and with good reason: more than a slot machine or some other form of gambling, it's fun to watch and embodies the risky, winner takes all mindset quite well. The best of these movies keep audiences at the edge of their seats, letting them know just exactly what's at stake for their characters. Gambling is already full of drama, with people feeling desperate and irrationally praying for hope. Sure, we can watch people be careful and tip toe slowly around danger, but where's the fun in that? Poker as a game embodies all that's intoxicating about gambling, as well as its sophistication. The following are some of our most favorite poker movies of all time.
California Split
One of Robert Altman's most underrated gems, this film from 1974 featuring the one and only Elliot Gould – fondly known these days as Monica's dad on Friends – as Charlie, who has a pretty bad addiction. The movie is mostly a lot of guys hanging out, playing poker at length, and Altman allows us to take a time to get to know these weird characters and the dangerous wackos that populate this strange underworld. A wonderful comedy drama that ends on a particularly bittersweet note, Charlie's character is one for the ages, and with which any lover of poker will identify with – even if they don't share his addiction. The poker scenes are really great in this film, and the audience is right there with the characters when they win big, go on a bacchanalian binge, and then prepare themselves for some serious setbacks.
The Cincinnati Kid
A delightful film from 1965, it was a bit ignored upon release but has since cultivated a devoted cult following. As opposed to The Hustler, another iconic film from that era that focuses on pool, this one zones in on poker. Steve McQueen stars as the smooth 'the Kid,' a player who seems to have everyone eating out of the palm of his hand, until he learns a pretty tough lesson. The experts at Beasts of Poker are huge fans, and will tell you that the poker scenes are bonafide works of art in this film. The Cincinnati Kid has never lost its relevance, and remains a marvel. Besides, it features McQueen at his absolute pinnacle, and sets the stage for the remainder of his equally iconic roles in the 1970s.
Poker Films On Netflix
Poker Film Armenian
Rounders
It feels as though this is one Matt Damon vehicle that got lost in the shuffle in the aftermath of Good Will Hunting – Rounders premiered in 1998 – it still has a sizable cult following, especially amongst poker aficionados. A law student, Damon, is caught in a high stakes world of poker, and finds that be bit off far more than he could chew when he crosses paths with a gangster. This film is renowned for its depiction of gambling addiction, and the taught writing behind the indelible poker scenes. Also, there are tons of cameos from some of your favorite actors, including John Malkovich, Edward Norton, and John Turtorro gleefully chewing the scenery.
Molly's Game
Based on the memoir of former poker champion Molly Bloom, this is one of the best films on the game to ever be produced, released in 2017. The film chart's Molly's journey, who decides to switch careers in the aftermath of an accident, becoming seduced by the world of underground poker. It's one of the few films ever made to feature a female protagonist making her way through the poker world, and it's also one of the more accomplished films. The audience is drawn into Molly's orbit as she becomes more and more embedded in the risky – and lucrative – underground ecosystem of high stakes games. Even those who resent Aaron Sorking being, well Aaron Sorking, find a great deal to enjoy in this expertly crafted movie.
Lucky You
Eric Bana plays a poker player who seeks to balance his love affair with a complicated relationship with his dad, also a famed poker player, played by Robert Duvall. This light film from 2007 is a lot of fun, and the fairly simple story takes on a complicated dimension under some careful direction.
In a new book about the infamous 'Molly's Game' poker games he co-founded with Tobey Maguire, Houston Curtis says that the 'Spider-Man' star used famous pals like Leo Di Caprio as bait to lure in.
- A documentary focusing on why one of America's oldest games has had a renaissance in the past few years and why, for so many, poker is the way to chase the American Dream. Director: Douglas Tirola Stars: Karen Abbott, Peter Alson, Nick Brancato, Humberto Brenes Votes: 431 10.
- The film follows Bloom (Chastain), who becomes the target of an FBI investigation after the underground poker empire she runs for Hollywood celebrities, athletes, business tycoons, and the Russian mob is exposed. Principal photography began in November 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
When screenwriter and The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin was looking to make his film directorial debut, he couldn't have picked a better story than that of former professional skier turned poker ring organizer Molly Bloom. In her 2014 memoir Molly's Game, Bloom delivered a scintillating story of how she went from giving up on her Olympic dreams, to being a waitress, and then to running one of the most lucrative underground gambling operations in the country. When Sorkin adapted her book for his 2017 film of the same name, he kept the narrative fairly faithful to the life of Bloom (played by Jessica Chastain in the film).
Even though the movie didn't stray too far from Bloom's own experiences, that doesn't mean it didn't alter or leave out a few key details. When adapting a book to film, there's always going to be things that get changed, and in the case of Bloom's celebrity filled poker games, a few of those details were written about in much more scandalous detail in her memoir. Let's take a look at what Molly's Game left out in the transition from real life to blockbuster movie.
The real story behind the end of Molly Bloom's skiing career
At the beginning of Molly's Game, we see Bloom getting ready to ski in the trials for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. In a voiceover, Bloom says that she currently ranks third in her event in North America, despite the fact that at age 12 she suffered a severe back injury that almost ended her career. Then, she straps on her skis, takes off down the mountain, hits a twig just big enough to dislodge one of her boots, and has an epic crash landing that ends her sports career.
This is a spectacular and tense opening to the film, but it embellished the real story of the end of Molly Bloom's skiing career. Bloom did recover from a serious back injury, and went on to join the US Ski Team and place third nationally. She even had a nasty fall on an Olympic qualifying run in 1998 — but according to Tiebreaker, that fall was just one circumstance of many that led her to give up on her Olympic hopes. While it certainly makes for a more dramatic opening to portray her career ending in one terrifying accident, as with most athletes, it was more of a culmination of injuries and other factors that caused her to hang up her skis.
The identity of Player X
When Bloom eventually sets herself up as the organizer of underground poker games in Los Angeles, she attracts a number of high-powered Hollywood professionals. In the film, one regular, identified only as Player X (Michael Cera), becomes an integral part of her game. However, the unidentified power player quickly proves himself to be untrustworthy and cruel to his fellow players, often relishing more in their bitter defeats than his own wins. Eventually, he betrays Bloom by moving her game to another location and encouraging her other regulars to abandon her.
The details of Player X's petty actions are fairly accurate to Bloom's memoir, except for one detail: the film never reveals the identity of who exactly Player X is. In the book Molly's Game, it's never a secret that this nefarious gambler is none other than Spider-Man actor Tobey Maguire. Although Bloom kept the identities of many of her regulars a secret, by the time she wrote Molly's Game, Maguire had already been publicly identified as a member of Bloom's underground poker circuit thanks to a lawsuit.
Although Maguire's bad behavior made him one of the most notable figures in Bloom's memoir, he wasn't the only celeb to get mentioned by name in the book, but not the film.
The other celebrities that joined Molly's Game
Poker Film Izle
A litany of celebrity encounters may have provided a certain amount of entertainment to Molly's Game, but that was clearly not the focus of Sorkin's film. One major thing that he decided to leave out were the many famous faces that posted up at the table while Bloom was running the show.
In addition to Leonardo DiCaprio, Maguire convinced Ben Affleck to stop by for a few hands. He may have regretted it almost instantly, as Bloom reported that he was joined at the table by notorious poker player and serial celebrity dater Rick Salomon. After Salomon asked Affleck a rather personal question about his ex Jennifer Lopez's backside, the table allegedly went silent before the actor responded: 'It was nice,' he said, and pushed into a huge pot.'
When she began running games in New York City, another one of J-Lo's exes, baseball player Alex Rodriguez, joined the game. 'Men, no matter what age, ilk, or net worth, idolize a professional athlete,' Bloom wrote. 'As they recognized him, they turned into excitable little boys.'
As Bloom explained in an interview with Vice, these celebrity players weren't just frivolous thrills for her. Having people like DiCaprio and Rodriguez at her games drew players willing to make big buy ins just to sit next to their favorite celebs. 'People want to sit at a table with them, be close to them,' she said, 'and this was a big draw to the game.'
Poker has been captured on film numerous times, and with good reason: more than a slot machine or some other form of gambling, it's fun to watch and embodies the risky, winner takes all mindset quite well. The best of these movies keep audiences at the edge of their seats, letting them know just exactly what's at stake for their characters. Gambling is already full of drama, with people feeling desperate and irrationally praying for hope. Sure, we can watch people be careful and tip toe slowly around danger, but where's the fun in that? Poker as a game embodies all that's intoxicating about gambling, as well as its sophistication. The following are some of our most favorite poker movies of all time.
California Split
One of Robert Altman's most underrated gems, this film from 1974 featuring the one and only Elliot Gould – fondly known these days as Monica's dad on Friends – as Charlie, who has a pretty bad addiction. The movie is mostly a lot of guys hanging out, playing poker at length, and Altman allows us to take a time to get to know these weird characters and the dangerous wackos that populate this strange underworld. A wonderful comedy drama that ends on a particularly bittersweet note, Charlie's character is one for the ages, and with which any lover of poker will identify with – even if they don't share his addiction. The poker scenes are really great in this film, and the audience is right there with the characters when they win big, go on a bacchanalian binge, and then prepare themselves for some serious setbacks.
The Cincinnati Kid
A delightful film from 1965, it was a bit ignored upon release but has since cultivated a devoted cult following. As opposed to The Hustler, another iconic film from that era that focuses on pool, this one zones in on poker. Steve McQueen stars as the smooth 'the Kid,' a player who seems to have everyone eating out of the palm of his hand, until he learns a pretty tough lesson. The experts at Beasts of Poker are huge fans, and will tell you that the poker scenes are bonafide works of art in this film. The Cincinnati Kid has never lost its relevance, and remains a marvel. Besides, it features McQueen at his absolute pinnacle, and sets the stage for the remainder of his equally iconic roles in the 1970s.
Poker Films On Netflix
Poker Film Armenian
Rounders
It feels as though this is one Matt Damon vehicle that got lost in the shuffle in the aftermath of Good Will Hunting – Rounders premiered in 1998 – it still has a sizable cult following, especially amongst poker aficionados. A law student, Damon, is caught in a high stakes world of poker, and finds that be bit off far more than he could chew when he crosses paths with a gangster. This film is renowned for its depiction of gambling addiction, and the taught writing behind the indelible poker scenes. Also, there are tons of cameos from some of your favorite actors, including John Malkovich, Edward Norton, and John Turtorro gleefully chewing the scenery.
Molly's Game
Based on the memoir of former poker champion Molly Bloom, this is one of the best films on the game to ever be produced, released in 2017. The film chart's Molly's journey, who decides to switch careers in the aftermath of an accident, becoming seduced by the world of underground poker. It's one of the few films ever made to feature a female protagonist making her way through the poker world, and it's also one of the more accomplished films. The audience is drawn into Molly's orbit as she becomes more and more embedded in the risky – and lucrative – underground ecosystem of high stakes games. Even those who resent Aaron Sorking being, well Aaron Sorking, find a great deal to enjoy in this expertly crafted movie.
Lucky You
Eric Bana plays a poker player who seeks to balance his love affair with a complicated relationship with his dad, also a famed poker player, played by Robert Duvall. This light film from 2007 is a lot of fun, and the fairly simple story takes on a complicated dimension under some careful direction.
Poker Film 2017
Every poker lover knows all the books and diligently follows the made for TV specials and airings of the World Series devoted to the game. If you want to be a real aficionado, then you should definitely give these films a watch, and relish the creative ways in which they capture this most fascinating of gambling games.
Poker Film Romanesc Online
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