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Ocean's Eleven - The Remake (1 Viewer)

Yay or Nay?

  • Yay

    Votes: 60 90.9%
  • Nay

    Votes: 5 7.6%
  • Fullback Fro

    Votes: 1 1.5%

  • Total voters
    66
Julia Roberts actually looks pretty damn good in this. Not usually a fan.
One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when she walks down the staircase in slo-mo, Linus is gazing at her in awe, and Rusty has a slightly different reaction realizing Tess is on the premises.
Not only does Rusty's expression change, but the shrimp cocktail he's holding morphs from being in a glass, to on a plate, and back to a glass in mere seconds.

 
The casinos all gave the cast and crew more or less free reign of when and where they could shoot in the casinos. The exception, of course, were the money vaults and any behind-the-scenes corridors and things like that. Those were shot on a soundstage. It was a particularly big deal that Caesar's Palace allowed them to film a scene depicting a robber being shot directly in front of their place (during the flashback scenes of previous Vegas heists at the beginning). Steven Soderbergh credited this entirely to Jerry Weintraub's Vegas connections.

Carl Reiner accepted his role just five days before the first scene with his character was scheduled to be shot. Alan Arkin was supposed to play Saul but had to drop out at the last minute.

cast.jpg
The entire poker game with the up-and-coming stars at the beginning of the film was pretty much ad-libbed. The stars, by the way, were Topher Grace from That '70s Show, Holly Marie Combs from Charmed, Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek, Shane West from Once and Again and Barry Watson from 7th Heaven. They've all done other movies and shows since, obviously, but these were their big hits at the time.

Brad Pitt is wearing a very large ring shown prominently in the scene where Rusty cons the young stars. He later mentioned that it was given to him by his wife and making sure it was caught on camera was his little to wink to her. At the time, his wife was Jennifer Aniston.

Matt Damon was such an adept pickpocket that the part near the beginning where he steals the wallet from a man on the el actually had to be slowed down so viewers could catch what he was doing.

Shaobo had never acted before. He didn't speak much English but was very adept at understanding when his lines were and had a natural knack for timing (according to Steven Soderbergh).

julia.jpg
In the scene where Tess first comes down the stairs at the Bellagio while Linus and Rusty discuss her, you'll notice Brad Pitt is eating shrimp cocktail. Actually, he's eating something in nearly every scene he's in, which I'll get to in a second. It was Brad who decided that Rusty should be eating shrimp cocktail, and Steven Soderbergh warned him that the scene might have to be shot several times. Brad had no problem with that and ended up consuming about 40 shrimp.

Rusty Ryan is always eating because, basically, Brad Pitt thought it would be funny and appropriate - since these guys are always on the go in the movie, he thought that they would probably be eating on the go as well. It became a running joke to pick out and incorporate food for each of his scenes.

The directors, set designers and writers all purposely stayed away from obvious Rat Pack and Sinatra references. They wanted the movie to stand on its own and didn't want to make the characters complete cliches.

The movie's whole premise - that casinos have to keep enough money in their vaults to cover every chip currently in play on the floor - is a lie. In reality, casinos try very hard to keep the amount of extra cash in their vaults down to a minimum.

It's commonly believed that Ben Affleck has a little cameo somewhere in the movie - after all, his best friend and brother were two of the Eleven. Although he did come to set, he is never actually in the movie. Director Steven Soderbergh and Producer Jerry Weintraub have cameos, though. Soderbergh is part of the group that bombs the vault at the beginning and Weintraub talks with Saul before Saul goes to talk with Terry Benedict.

clooney.jpg
The cast all liked to gamble when they had some time off from shooting. Brad Pitt and Matt Damon both reported that Clooney was the worst, largely just due to luck - he never had decent cards. Don Cheadle said he tried to steer clear of the gambling entirely.

This tidbit is lifted directly from TV Guide, but it's too interesting to not include: When Rusty runs through the list of scams the group is going to have to pull, the names he gives them aren't just random. The quote: "Off the top of my head, I'd say you're looking at a Boeski, a Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethros and a Leon Spinks, not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever."

And the explanation from Steven Soderbergh:

"First of all, [screenwriter] Ted Griffin and I completely made the terms up. We felt we had to come up with some funny, Damon Runyon-esque turns of phrase that weren't arbitrary we did sit down and think them out. So, Carl Reiner is the Boesky, as in Ivan, the powerful, rich magnate, inside kind of guy. Jim Brown is the confrontation Bernie Mac has with Matt Damon the 'don't mess with me or you're in for it' moment. The two Jethros are Casey Affleck and Scott Caan, the idea being 'we're going to need gear heads, car fanatics...some people who are total hillbilly under-the-hood guys.' A Leon Spinks is the disruption of the boxing match: A sporting event with some controversy to it that's what Leon Spinks means to me. The Miss Daisy association is driving; that was the SWAT van, a ruse involving transportation. The Ella Fitzgerald is the tape of the fake vault, which they're going to play back and have [Andy Garcia's character] Benedict think it's live. 'Is it live, or is it Memorex?'"
There are at least a couple of points in the movie where Steven Soderbergh didn't want to meticulously arrange 11 actors, so he gave them the freedom to go where they wanted within the shot and do what they thought their characters would do. The first is when Danny Ocean is explaining the whole scam to them - Soderbergh told the actors to just position themselves wherever they wanted to in the room. The second is at the end when they are all standing in front of the Bellagio reveling in their accomplishment. He told them all to wander away from the fountain as they felt it was appropriate and gave them no timeframe or order to work with.

affleck.jpg
Ocean's lost three actors to The Royal Tenenbaums. Danny Glover was supposed to play Bernie Mac's part but dropped out to be in the Wes Anderson movie; Luke and Owen Wilson were going to play the Scott Caan and Casey Affleck parts until they ditched for the same reason.

Warren Beatty, Ralph Fiennes and Michael Douglas were all considered for the part of Terry Benedict. Ewan McGregor was considered for Basher, Don Cheadle's character. Mark Wahlberg was originally supposed to play Linus, Matt Damon's role.

When Brad Pitt plays the doctor that come to the rescue of 'Lymon Zerga,' he's wearing a wig that Mike Myers used to rehearse for Austin Powers. Brad was so unrecognizable when he put the wig and the glasses on, he wandered around the casino for a good 20 minutes just enjoying his anonymity.

Julia Roberts only spent two weeks on set.

Speaking of Julia, watch for her name in the credits. Her credit reads, "And introducing Julia Roberts as Tess."

Don Cheadle was originally not listed in the credits. When asked why, he said that some things went down on the set behind the scenes that he didn't like, so he told the producers to just take his name off. But it must not have been too bad - he appeared in both Ocean's Twelve andOcean's Thirteen.

 
The entire poker game with the up-and-coming stars at the beginning of the film was pretty much ad-libbed. The stars, by the way, were Topher Grace from That '70s Show, Holly Marie Combs from Charmed, Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek, Shane West from Once and Again and Barry Watson from 7th Heaven. They've all done other movies and shows since, obviously, but these were their big hits at the time.
Great scene made greater when they leave the club. Topher Grace gets mobbed by fans for autographs and photos. George Clooney and Brad Pitt walk right through the crowd without a hassle.
 
When Brad Pitt plays the doctor that come to the rescue of 'Lymon Zerga,' he's wearing a wig that Mike Myers used to rehearse for Austin Powers. Brad was so unrecognizable when he put the wig and the glasses on, he wandered around the casino for a good 20 minutes just enjoying his anonymity.
OK that's pretty awesome.
 
Andy Garcia didn't have he gravitas or star power to play the heavy. It needed to be Nicholson, Hoffman or deniro. Maybe Duvall but hard to see him as a casino boss.

That's my only qualm with the movie.

 
Andy Garcia didn't have he gravitas or star power to play the heavy. It needed to be Nicholson, Hoffman or deniro. Maybe Duvall but hard to see him as a casino boss.

That's my only qualm with the movie.
I thought he did fine. Not to mention that Tess would not have been attracted to any of those geezers.

 
Andy Garcia didn't have he gravitas or star power to play the heavy. It needed to be Nicholson, Hoffman or deniro. Maybe Duvall but hard to see him as a casino boss.

That's my only qualm with the movie.
I thought he did fine. Not to mention that Tess would not have been attracted to any of those geezers.
You never had any sense, any sense at all, that their plan was not going to work. That I guess dovetails into the Garcia casting about my issue with the movie. You have 11 actors then Julia then Terry Benedict to devote screen time to. The Terry character needs to have a maximum impact in minimal time, you need to feel that weight. Look at Nicholson in A Few Good Men. Garcia, at that point in his life, was not the guy to deliver that impact, for me.

 
Garcia's subtle delivery is what sold it for me. A deniro or Hoffman would have been too over the top. Too much of a caricature. He delivered it perfectly.

Also Oceans Thirteen on Spike right now.

 
Interesting idea for a spin-off, which one cast member would you replace, and with who?

I liked Don Cheadle in this and about everything, but reading that Ewan McGregor almost did the role, I'd be on board with that.

 
Never caught the subtle Corleone line by Danny in 13.

"What I want, whats most important to me..."

 
The casinos all gave the cast and crew more or less free reign of when and where they could shoot in the casinos. The exception, of course, were the money vaults and any behind-the-scenes corridors and things like that. Those were shot on a soundstage. It was a particularly big deal that Caesar's Palace allowed them to film a scene depicting a robber being shot directly in front of their place (during the flashback scenes of previous Vegas heists at the beginning). Steven Soderbergh credited this entirely to Jerry Weintraub's Vegas connections.

Carl Reiner accepted his role just five days before the first scene with his character was scheduled to be shot. Alan Arkin was supposed to play Saul but had to drop out at the last minute.

cast.jpg
The entire poker game with the up-and-coming stars at the beginning of the film was pretty much ad-libbed. The stars, by the way, were Topher Grace from That '70s Show, Holly Marie Combs from Charmed, Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek, Shane West from Once and Again and Barry Watson from 7th Heaven. They've all done other movies and shows since, obviously, but these were their big hits at the time.

Brad Pitt is wearing a very large ring shown prominently in the scene where Rusty cons the young stars. He later mentioned that it was given to him by his wife and making sure it was caught on camera was his little to wink to her. At the time, his wife was Jennifer Aniston.

Matt Damon was such an adept pickpocket that the part near the beginning where he steals the wallet from a man on the el actually had to be slowed down so viewers could catch what he was doing.

Shaobo had never acted before. He didn't speak much English but was very adept at understanding when his lines were and had a natural knack for timing (according to Steven Soderbergh).

julia.jpg
In the scene where Tess first comes down the stairs at the Bellagio while Linus and Rusty discuss her, you'll notice Brad Pitt is eating shrimp cocktail. Actually, he's eating something in nearly every scene he's in, which I'll get to in a second. It was Brad who decided that Rusty should be eating shrimp cocktail, and Steven Soderbergh warned him that the scene might have to be shot several times. Brad had no problem with that and ended up consuming about 40 shrimp.

Rusty Ryan is always eating because, basically, Brad Pitt thought it would be funny and appropriate - since these guys are always on the go in the movie, he thought that they would probably be eating on the go as well. It became a running joke to pick out and incorporate food for each of his scenes.

The directors, set designers and writers all purposely stayed away from obvious Rat Pack and Sinatra references. They wanted the movie to stand on its own and didn't want to make the characters complete cliches.

The movie's whole premise - that casinos have to keep enough money in their vaults to cover every chip currently in play on the floor - is a lie. In reality, casinos try very hard to keep the amount of extra cash in their vaults down to a minimum.

It's commonly believed that Ben Affleck has a little cameo somewhere in the movie - after all, his best friend and brother were two of the Eleven. Although he did come to set, he is never actually in the movie. Director Steven Soderbergh and Producer Jerry Weintraub have cameos, though. Soderbergh is part of the group that bombs the vault at the beginning and Weintraub talks with Saul before Saul goes to talk with Terry Benedict.

clooney.jpg
The cast all liked to gamble when they had some time off from shooting. Brad Pitt and Matt Damon both reported that Clooney was the worst, largely just due to luck - he never had decent cards. Don Cheadle said he tried to steer clear of the gambling entirely.

This tidbit is lifted directly from TV Guide, but it's too interesting to not include: When Rusty runs through the list of scams the group is going to have to pull, the names he gives them aren't just random. The quote: "Off the top of my head, I'd say you're looking at a Boeski, a Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethros and a Leon Spinks, not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever."

And the explanation from Steven Soderbergh:

"First of all, [screenwriter] Ted Griffin and I completely made the terms up. We felt we had to come up with some funny, Damon Runyon-esque turns of phrase that weren't arbitrary we did sit down and think them out. So, Carl Reiner is the Boesky, as in Ivan, the powerful, rich magnate, inside kind of guy. Jim Brown is the confrontation Bernie Mac has with Matt Damon the 'don't mess with me or you're in for it' moment. The two Jethros are Casey Affleck and Scott Caan, the idea being 'we're going to need gear heads, car fanatics...some people who are total hillbilly under-the-hood guys.' A Leon Spinks is the disruption of the boxing match: A sporting event with some controversy to it that's what Leon Spinks means to me. The Miss Daisy association is driving; that was the SWAT van, a ruse involving transportation. The Ella Fitzgerald is the tape of the fake vault, which they're going to play back and have [Andy Garcia's character] Benedict think it's live. 'Is it live, or is it Memorex?'"
There are at least a couple of points in the movie where Steven Soderbergh didn't want to meticulously arrange 11 actors, so he gave them the freedom to go where they wanted within the shot and do what they thought their characters would do. The first is when Danny Ocean is explaining the whole scam to them - Soderbergh told the actors to just position themselves wherever they wanted to in the room. The second is at the end when they are all standing in front of the Bellagio reveling in their accomplishment. He told them all to wander away from the fountain as they felt it was appropriate and gave them no timeframe or order to work with.

affleck.jpg
Ocean's lost three actors to The Royal Tenenbaums. Danny Glover was supposed to play Bernie Mac's part but dropped out to be in the Wes Anderson movie; Luke and Owen Wilson were going to play the Scott Caan and Casey Affleck parts until they ditched for the same reason.

Warren Beatty, Ralph Fiennes and Michael Douglas were all considered for the part of Terry Benedict. Ewan McGregor was considered for Basher, Don Cheadle's character. Mark Wahlberg was originally supposed to play Linus, Matt Damon's role.

When Brad Pitt plays the doctor that come to the rescue of 'Lymon Zerga,' he's wearing a wig that Mike Myers used to rehearse for Austin Powers. Brad was so unrecognizable when he put the wig and the glasses on, he wandered around the casino for a good 20 minutes just enjoying his anonymity.

Julia Roberts only spent two weeks on set.

Speaking of Julia, watch for her name in the credits. Her credit reads, "And introducing Julia Roberts as Tess."

Don Cheadle was originally not listed in the credits. When asked why, he said that some things went down on the set behind the scenes that he didn't like, so he told the producers to just take his name off. But it must not have been too bad - he appeared in both Ocean's Twelve andOcean's Thirteen.
Wow, Beatty and Douglas would have been great Terry benedict's as well.... damn beatty might have really been awesome! I'll even throw out another oddball choice, but don't know if I could see him with Tess.... Steve Martin.

Great nuggets here! While I wish we had seen the Wilson's, I"m can't imagine anyone but Bernie Mac so 1 for 2 on the tennenbaums c blocking

 
Interesting idea for a spin-off, which one cast member would you replace, and with who?

I liked Don Cheadle in this and about everything, but reading that Ewan McGregor almost did the role, I'd be on board with that.
She was the biggest star of the the time, and I don't have a readily available replacement, but I didn't LOVE Julia Roberts in the role.

 
Interesting idea for a spin-off, which one cast member would you replace, and with who?

I liked Don Cheadle in this and about everything, but reading that Ewan McGregor almost did the role, I'd be on board with that.
She was the biggest star of the the time, and I don't have a readily available replacement, but I didn't LOVE Julia Roberts in the role.
C. Zeta-Jones maybe?

 
Why does Brad Pitt eat in every scene? Seems forced.
IIRC, the motivation was Rusty was always on the run and kept weird hours from pulling cons, so he wasn't the type to sit down and eat regular meals and insead whenever he could.
The problem is a chiseled, buff, and lean Brad Pitt does not seem like he eats nacho chips and looks ridiculous trying to eat them. I would have preferred they just put fruit or other things in his hand to eat that were believable.

It does not take away from the enjoyment of the movie, just one of those "No way in hell" type things.

 
Why does Brad Pitt eat in every scene? Seems forced.
IIRC, the motivation was Rusty was always on the run and kept weird hours from pulling cons, so he wasn't the type to sit down and eat regular meals and insead whenever he could.
The problem is a chiseled, buff, and lean Brad Pitt does not seem like he eats nacho chips and looks ridiculous trying to eat them. I would have preferred they just put fruit or other things in his hand to eat that were believable. It does not take away from the enjoyment of the movie, just one of those "No way in hell" type things.
You people are nuts
 
Why does Brad Pitt eat in every scene? Seems forced.
IIRC, the motivation was Rusty was always on the run and kept weird hours from pulling cons, so he wasn't the type to sit down and eat regular meals and insead whenever he could.
The problem is a chiseled, buff, and lean Brad Pitt does not seem like he eats nacho chips and looks ridiculous trying to eat them. I would have preferred they just put fruit or other things in his hand to eat that were believable. It does not take away from the enjoyment of the movie, just one of those "No way in hell" type things.
You people are nuts
 
Why couldn't Benedict kiss Tess in his own hotel? It's not like they were on the gaming floor being unprofessional.

 
Nice. Don't care what critics say, I like these movies. I think, aside from Julia Roberts, I'm the only one that likes Ocean's Twelve.

But can anyone explain it to me?

 
I love the whole genre. Love all three of the movies. Loved Leverage. Shows about cons are just interesting to me.

I think Nicholson, Hoffman, Deniro would have been poor choices. Agree with Insein... Andy Garcia's subdued nature made him far more threatening and intimidating in my mind. Al Pacino got Oceans 13 and thought he was easily the least intimidating opponent. Garcia's cold, almost reptilian portrayal made it very believable when Oceans 12 started out with him showing up on people's doorsteps that he would go to great lengths to find them. Garcia's portrayal made it feel inevitable that was going to happen eventually. Someone going huge with the role I don't think would have left me feeling that way.

 
Why couldn't Benedict kiss Tess in his own hotel? It's not like they were on the gaming floor being unprofessional.
The scene set up the line she echoed back to him when she left. The way it was executed showed how he cared more about him and his image than her.

(Oh no! Not a kiss! Can't let the surveillance folks think I have a soft side.)

 

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