Celebrity Poker: Eric Bana

Eric Bana says he is a hotshot celebrity poker player. He was once feaured in a poker movie as professional poker player Huck Cheever in "Lucky You" helped him pick up some useful tips. Eric Bana told the USA Today newspaper: "I got pretty good at poker. You can tell when someone is bluffing by how they place the bets more than any mannerisms or tics. It's whether they are confident or not when they're placing them. That's how you can really tell." This poker movie stars Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore and Robert Duvall. Not well received, the movie shows the life of a son and father Las Vegas poker pros who compete in the WSOP main event.

The 38-year-old "Munich" star can relate to his character's competitive streak. Eric Bana said: "I can get pretty competitive when I'm in the moment, yes. But this is a father-son love story. I like the scene where he lets his father win. It goes against the mythology where the father lets the son win."

Eric Bana on spending time with poker pros

“It lifted our game because it’s impossible for it not to rub off. For instance, a scene that might only be a minute onscreen could take us days to shoot, so that’s hours and hours sitting around with these guys, and all you’re doing between takes is talking poker. It definitely elevated my ability to sell my character as someone who knows his way around a poker table.”

Eric Bana meet and played with several poker pros like Jack Binion, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Hoyt Corkins, Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Sam Farha, Maureen Feduniak, Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Phil Hellmuth, Chau Giang, Barry Greenstein, Jennifer Harman, Dan Harrington, John Hennigan, Karina Jett, John Juanda, Jason Lester, Erick Lindgren, Minh Ly, Mike Matusow, Daniel Negreanu, David Oppenheim, Max Pescatori, Matt Savage, Erik Seidel, Huck Seed, Mimi Tran, Cyndy Violette, Marsha Waggoner and Robert Williamson III are all involved in the movie.

About Eric Bana: Eric Bana's career has two distinct periods: his time working in Australia and his latest stint working in Hollywood. While at home Down Under, Eric was known as a comedian, performing stand-up as of 1990, and expanding to sketch comedy work in 1992. The Australian TV series Full Frontal and Eric showed off Bana's skill and then he scored his own program, The Eric Bana Show Live, which only lasted eight episodes.

Eric Bana's feature film debut came in The Castle in 1997, an Australian film where he was relegated to a small supporting role. It was in 2000's Chopper that Eric morphed from a steady comedy actor to a great dramatic thespian. Portraying the notorious Australian killer Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read, Bana gained 30 pounds, shaved his head and transformed himself mentally for the film by interviewing cult figure Read.

Opinions on Eric's efforts in Chopper were universal: he was great. This one appearance led to his Hollywood debut in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down. Bana then took on The Nugget, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, before putting in months of work in Hulk, where he played main character Dr. Bruce Banner.

Though the high-profile Hulk was considered a bomb by audiences and critics, Brd Pitt still remembered Bana's performance in Chopper and recommended the Aussie for the role of Hector in the 2004 blockbuster Troy. With this latest big-budget film under his belt, Bana is locking up performances in Lucky You, set for release in 2005 and co-starring Drew Barrymore and the next Steven Spielberg project, based on the 1972 Munich Olympics Israeli hostage crisis.

His latest movie was Startrek and Time Traveler's Wife – a Chicago librarian suffers from a rare genetic disorder that sends him hurtling through time whenever he is under extreme duress; despite the fact that he vanishes at inordinately frequent and lengthy intervals, he attempts to build a stable future with the beautiful young heiress he loves. Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams star in this dramatic fantasy, which is directed by Robert Schwentke and based on the best-selling book by author Audrey Niffenegger.

Celebrity Poker Player: Nicolas Cage

He’s Sexy! He's Famous! He’s mysterious! His voice, it drives you crazy, you want to hear more, you’ll want to know what he’s betting on. And now... He's a great poker player!



In 2007, An Oscar winner Nicolas Cage has been signed to play legendary poker player Amarillo Slim Preston, in a movie about the gambler's life.


Nicolas Cage is slated for a new role, this one in the gambling world, where Cage would be betting on, and playing out a bit of poker history in his character Amarillo Slim, a professional gambler that was born in Arkansas, and is known as an icon in the poker world.


Amarillo Slim was made famous by both his skills at the poker table, and his reputation with proposition bets. The real life Amarillo Slim, four time World Series of Poker winner, was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1992.



Nicolas Cage, who will play Slim in the movie, also met with the legendary gambler. After meeting Cage at the actor's home in Los Angeles. Amarillo Slim seemed convinced Cage was right for the role. "We hit it off good, we've become buddies,". The film was launched last December 25, 2008 and got poker players allured in the movie.


About Nicolas Cage: Cage's first film role was in his uncle's film Rumble Fish, in 1983. After being taunted by envious cast members who would refer to famous movie lines from his uncle's films, Cage decided to change his last name.


He chose Cage in honor of comic book superhero Luke Cage and the composer John Cage. His first audition as Nicolas Cage was for the movie Valley Girl, in 1983. Most of his financial successes have come from his forays into the action-adventure genre.



In his highest grossing film to date, National Treasure, he played a neurotic historian who goes on a dangerous adventure to find treasure hidden by the Founding Fathers of the United States.


His intense performance, which was helped by the fact that he had just recently broken up with his fiance, Kristen Zang, earned him an Oscar for Best Actor. After his Oscar win, Cage wanted to take on more of a superhero role and starred opposite Sean Connery in the 1996 summer blockbuster The Rock and the Ghost Rider.


The trend of summer blockbusters started at this point with Cage's role in 1997's Con Air and Face/Off, where Cage and John Travola switched identities.

Cage's producing career has seen more success. Shadow of the Vampire, the first film produced by Saturn Films, the company he founded with partner Norm Golightly, was nominated for an Academy Award. He also produced The Life of David Gale, a death penalty-themed thriller with Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet.



Nicolas Cage admitted hes a poker shark: “I am not a demon, I am a lizard, a shark, a heart-seeking panther, I want to be Bob Denver on acid playing the accordion.”

Now, who wants to play poker with him?

Photo Courtesy of: CelebrityWonder | Google


Source: 4FLUSH

Celebrity Poker Player: Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt is well known for many things: his success as an actor, his success in landing Jennifer Aniston as wife, his divorce with said wife, his acquisition of new beau Angelina Jolie, and subsequent adoption of a handful of children with his fellow actor.

So what, you may ask, does Brad Pitt have to do with poker?



A very good question, but you don't have to look far for an answer - just watch Ocean's Eleven and you will be witness to one of the funniest poker games in any movie. And it seems during the making of the film that Mr Clooney and Mr Pitt regularly played strip poker in the comfort of the Bellagio.

Brad also took part in the recent charity poker event at the Rio All Suite Hotel located in Las Vegas together with his co-artists like George Clooney, James Woods, Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Adam Sandler, Jennifer Tilly and lot more.

It was in 'Ocean's Eleven' and its sequels, 'Ocean's Twelve' and 'Ocean's Thirteen,' that we saw Pitt playing poker for the first time. In 'Ocean's Eleven,' the character played by Brad Pitt meets his friend Danny Ocean, portrayed by George Clooney, when Pitt is teaching others how to play poker.

Brad also happens to be a regular poker player, he joined in the Grand Poker Series last June 14, 2009 where he won a 3rd place got home $ 700 dollars.

In the latest news, wickedchadspoker.com that Brad Pitt likes poker more than his adopted kids. One thing we tell our current/first wives over and over again is this: no one should stop kids from playing poker and no kid should stop us from playing poker so if you want to have kids with us then keep this in mind now I'm off to play poker see you on Monday.

Bad Pitt is busy acting and has an exclusive on-set poker lounge at his disposal and he still opts to bring his kids to work. But of course "bringing the kids to work" is merely Hollywoodspeak for "dropping the kids off at the daycare at work to play with everyone elses' adopted kids from third world countries," and in Brad's case, all while you are busy acting and playing poker in your exclusive on-set poker lounge inspired by Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack.

Last year, Brad Pitt and George Clooney are teaming together to play poker, and the winnings all go to charity.

Brad and George flew off to Venice to raise some money for an event called, Not on Our Watch. Where the winnings will help victims both of the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and the cyclone in Myanmar.

So as you can see there is a real good reason to be hanging out with friends and having a grand time and this is something Angelina is very passionate about.

So, it is no wonder that a wide variety of famous celebrities, Hollywood actors, world class super models and notable sportsmen alike, have gladly embraced this game as well.

Celebrity Poker Player: Daniel Craig

Poker is now said to be the fastest growing phenomenon in history, throughout the world. The worldwide poker boom began in the United States following the prestigious World Series of Poker in 2003 in Las Vegas, but as its popularity as America's playground grows exponentially each year, it's now a major draw for celebrities, too.





Like James Bond, a British super spy immortalized by Ian Flemming's novels now the latest actor to wear the mantle of 007, Daniel Craig!

Daniel Craig's first outing is also in the Bond film that has held the most anticipation of them all, and one that is heavily flavored with poker.

Unfortunately, he admitted that he can't even drive a suave spy's manual Aston Martin DB5, hates gun and can't play poker in an integral gambling scene in Casino Royale.

An insider told Britain's The Sun newspaper: "Daniel could not play cards - it was so funny. It is a critical part of the film, where Bond shows how cool a customer he is. But it was frustratingly ridiculous how long it took to teach the cast how to play or behave at a poker table. Everyone at the hotel has been laughing about a Bond who can't play cards.”

However, due Daniel Craig must learn to play poker for the gambling scene of the James Bond movie, Casino Royale. Craig enjoyed learning how to play poker so much, he's taken to poker in his spare time as well.

"We all had to learn the game and to look convincing playing it. And let's just say there were some extra-curricular sessions that went on off-set that were all down to the cast and crew.I think some were playing for their week's wages!" Daniel Craig said.

It's interesting to see how convincingly Daniel Craig manipulates cards according to what the actor said, while filming Casino Royale there are many extra gaming sessions where Daniel and his colleagues had a chance to practice their poker skills.

Daniel Craig has become a poker expert during the filming of gambling scenes in the James Bond movie Casino Royale.

In his following introduction to international audiences as Angelina Jolie's rival and love interest in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in 2001, he honed his acting skills in the United States in Sam Mendes' movie Road to Perdition in 2002, with Tom Hanks and Paul Newman others are “Sylvia” in 2003 and Stephen Spielberg's “Munich” in 2005.

However, this talented actor received the most extensive media exposure thanks to his role as the handsome ans suave secret agent 007 in the recently released Bond flick, “Casino Royale.” and “Quantum of Solace”.




This time Bond is required to participate in a high stakes Texas Hold 'em poker game and must prevent an international terrorist from carrying out his evil schemes. To make his card play seem authentic, Craig had to practice his poker skills for many long hours. Although there was a huge controversy regarding Craig's casting as Bond, the film gained tremendous appreciation from Bond fans and critics alike.

Photo courtesy of http://danielcraigisbond.com/ | http://images.google.com | http://www.thecinemasource.com | http://timesonline.typepad.com

Leonardo DiCaprio Entering Online Casino Movie

Tons of people enjoy playing at the casinos. In fact some people like gambling so much they’re willing to part with their cash or maybe win occasionally in the virtual world without even setting foot in a casino. We also like casino movies like Ocean’s Eleven,Twelve, Thirteen, Rounders and Casino so why wouldn’t they like a film about online casinos?

Don't fret, the answer is here! A new film set in the world of online casino is reportedly that Leonardo DiCaprio lined up for a starring role in an online casino movie. Hollywood Reporter And Entertainment weekly come out with Paramount Pictures that has bought up a pitch about online casino based on Costa Rica, and DiCaprio is attached to star and produce it. Costa Rica-based online casino and poker operators are said to be the main focus of the film, with major production studio Paramount Pictures set to finance the project.

The writer of Rounders and Ocean's Thirteen Brian Koppelman and David Levien, both of whom have had some experience in the gambling world will team up together and Appian Way's Jennifer Davisson Killoran is set to act as the film’s producer. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), the movie “Rounders” marked the first official writing credits for Koppelman and Levien. The duo has also teamed up with DiCaprio to bring “Beat the Reaper” to the big screen. The film, which will be released next year, has the following plot according to IMDB:

“ER doctor Peter Brown’s life is turned upside down when he crosses paths with a mobster who appears to know him from his former life as a hitman.”

“I used to enjoy a little online gambling before it became illegal in the United States. It will be interesting to see this subject in a film. There’s something very strange about people trusting their money to a website that may or may not pay out. ” DiCaprio stated.

The online casino movie does not have a working title yet, nor do we have any more details on the script, except that it will be about the world of the online casinos based in the Central American nation.

I'm curious to see what kind of story they can come up with that's set in the world of online poker world. It's definitely not as exciting as real poker, but you can lose a lot of money just the same. I would argue (and I've heard this elsewhere, too) that Rounders was one of the movies that helped make Texas Hold'em as popular as it is today, so it makes sense that we'd see more poker movies from these guys (now that it's so big). I've got high hopes for this, especially with DiCaprio on-board, and will be looking forward to seeing who they find to direct as well.

At this time the information about this movie remains few and far between and we don't even know if the online casinos will be shown in favorable light or not. Regardless, if the online casino movie ends up on the big screens, it will be a great deal of free advertisement for the online gambling industry. Stay with Celebrity Poker Players Blog for the further developments related to the DiCaprio movie about the Coast Rica online casinos.

Photo courtesy of http://www.leonardodicaprio.com