PokerWorks

Lucky You is now available on DVD, released for international distribution on September 18th. Prior to the nationwide film release of the film in theaters on May 4th, 2007, it was a highly anticipated movie among poker enthusiasts. Warner Bros. had been promoting the film for over a year before its release.

The cast included megastars like Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, and Robert Duvall in leading roles, and the supporting cast boasted of names like Debra Messing and Jean Smart. Impressive was the list of professional poker players who took part in the consulting and filming of the movie - Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harman, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Jason Lester, and Sammy Farha, to name only a select few. And to top it off, Curtis Hanson was the producer and director, a well-respected filmmaker with films like 8 Mile, L.A. Confidential, and Wonder Boys on his resume.

Lucky You centered around the world of high-stakes poker. Huck Cheever, played by Bana, was a player who thrived on risks at the poker tables but avoided the commitment and risk of relationships. But when Billie Offer, Barrymore's character, entered his life, he was confronted by those fears. And Cheever's zest for poker and the opportunity to play in the World Series of Poker main event brought his estranged father, played by Duvall, into his life, along with a new set of emotional challenges to overcome.

Ultimately, the film was released after more than a year of studio delays and received lackluster reviews. The poker community was perhaps the most critical, though most mainstream film critics were not kind in their reviews either. In addition, Warner Bros. chose to release it on the same weekend as Spiderman 3, which turned out to be the nail in the movie's coffin. Lucky You produced opening weekend sales of only $2.5 million as compared to the $148 million of Spiderman 3.

The DVD release of Lucky You might recoup some of the theater losses for the studios that invested a great deal of effort and financing to make the film a realistic and believable recreation of the world of tournament and high-stakes poker in Las Vegas. The DVD includes a number of extra features, including deleted scenes, a look at how the production made efforts to replicate the poker scene, and footage of the recruitment of poker pros for the film as well as down-time on the set when the pros played cash games with the likes of Robert Duvall.

DVD sales and rentals of Lucky You will likely surpass theater ticket sales numbers, given the dedication of the poker community and the curiosity of the non-gaming audiences.

More information about the film and its availability for purchase and/or download can be found at www.LuckyYouMovie.com .

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