21 is a 2008 drama film from Columbia Pictures. It stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, and Laurence Fishburne. The film is based on the best-selling book by Ben Mezrich, Bringing Down the House. The film is scheduled for release on March 28, 2008.

Columbia Pictures’ high stakes action adventure 21 is inspired by the true story of the very brightest young minds in the country – and how they took Vegas for millions.

Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is a shy, brilliant M.I.T. student who – needing to pay school tuition – finds the answers in the cards. He is recruited to join a group of the school’s most gifted students that heads to Vegas every weekend armed with fake identities and the know-how to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor. With unorthodox math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) leading the way, they’ve cracked the code.

By counting cards and employing an intricate system of signals, the team can beat the casinos big time. Seduced by the money, the Vegas lifestyle, and by his smart and sexy teammate, Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), Ben begins to push the limits.

Though counting cards isn’t illegal, the stakes are high, and the challenge becomes not only keeping the numbers straight, but staying one step ahead of the casinos’ menacing enforcer: Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne). The trailer suggests that Rosa is not unknown to Cole Williams.

Casting of Caucasian/Asian: Although most of the central characters in Bringing Down the House were Asian-Americans in real life, studio executives have cast mostly white actors to portray them in the film. Ben Mezrich, author of Bringing Down the House, has noted a “stereotypical” casting process on the part of Hollywood.

Asian Week called the casting a “whitewash,” pointing out that if it was African Americans replaced by Caucasians, there would be more vocal protest. Best Week Ever mocked the casting by stating “I have no trouble watching Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth instead of some zany Asian people Asianing up the screen with their unwatchable, completely unrelatable Asianness.”

Trivia: The scenes in the MIT bar were actually filmed across the Charles River at the Boston University Pub. MIT would not allow filming on campus. Filming also took place at the Christian Science Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

This is the third film in which Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth have starred together. The first was Beyond the Sea, which Spacey directed, and the second was Superman Returns. The pair will again star together in the Superman Returns sequel Superman: The Man of Steel. This is also the second film that Kate Bosworth and Robert Luketic have made together, the first being Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!.

Cast:

  • Jim Sturgess as Ben Campbell, the protagonist, an MIT student incredibly good with numbers, who becomes a member of the blackjack team.
  • Kevin Spacey as Mickey Rosa, the founder of the blackjack team.
  • Kate Bosworth as Jill Taylor
  • Laurence Fishburne as Cole Williams, a casino security agent who becomes determined to take down the team.
  • Aaron Yoo as Choi, an Asian-American MIT student who becomes a member of the blackjack team.
  • Liza Lapira as Kianna
  • Jacob Pitts as Fisher
  • Josh Gad as Miles Connoly
  • Roger Dillingham, Jr. as Head Bouncer

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