The Cooler (2003)

Director:

Wayne Kramer

Writers (WGA):

Frank Hannah (written by) &
Wayne Kramer (written by)

Release Date:

27 February 2004 (Turkey)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

When your life depends on losing... the last thing you need is lady luck.

Plot:

In an old school Las Vegas casino, its top gambling jinx breaks his curse when he falls in love, much to his boss' consternation.

Plot Keywords:

Luck | Casino | Bad Luck | Cooler | Waitress

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

William H. Macy	...	Bernie Lootz
Alec Baldwin	...	Shelly Kaplow
Maria Bello	...	Natalie Belisario
Shawn Hatosy	...	Mikey
Ron Livingston	...	Larry Sokolov
Paul Sorvino	...	Buddy Stafford
Estella Warren	...	Charlene
Arthur J. Nascarella	...	Nicky Fingers Bonnatto
Joey Fatone	...	Johnny Cappella
M.C. Gainey	...	Highway Officer (as MC Gainey)
Ellen Greene	...	Doris
Don Scribner	...	Lou
Tony Longo	...	Tony
Richard Israel	...	Marty Goldfarb
Timothy Landfield	...	The Player
T.J. Gioia	...	Bulldog
Jewel Shepard	...	Hooker
Gordon Michaels	...	Mr. Pinkerton
Doc Watson	...	Morrie
Dan Lemieux	...	Suburbanite
Larry Elliott	...	Floor Manager
Joe Conti	...	Pit Boss
Chris Platt	...	Dealer
Norbert Ganska	...	Stickman #1
Mitch Samboceti	...	Player
Andrew Simbeck	...	Stickman #2
Danny Grossen	...	Stickman #3
Jeff Hill	...	Stickman #4
Monet Beaman	...	Stickman #5
Charlie Carr	...	Boxman
Kanie Kastroll	...	Croupier
Bryon Baker	...	Stickman #6
John Kozeluh	...	Man (as John T. Kozeluh)
Cherilyn Hayres	...	Woman
James McCarthy	...	Televangelist
Frank Hannah	...	Dealer #2
Monica White	...	Johnny Capella's Girl
Heather McHenry	...	Johnny Capella's Girl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Portia Dawson	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Stephen Halbert	...	Carnie (uncredited)
Michelle Lopez	...	Lady Craps Player 'Cooled' by Bernie (uncredited)
Herb Santos Jr.	...	ER Doctor (uncredited)

Directed by
Wayne Kramer

Writing credits (WGA)
Frank Hannah		(written by) &
Wayne Kramer		(written by)

Produced by
Andrew Busey	....	associate producer
Alessandro Camon	....	executive producer
Bryan Furst	....	co-producer
Sean Furst	....	producer
Robert Gryphon	....	executive producer
Joe Madden	....	executive producer
Chris Miller	....	post-production producer: VisionWorks
Brett Morrison	....	executive producer
Michael A. Pierce	....	producer (as Michael Pierce)
Edward R. Pressman	....	executive producer
Elliot Lewis Rosenblatt	....	co-producer
John Schmidt	....	executive producer (as John R. Schmidt)
Mark Williams	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Mark Isham

Cinematography by
Jim Whitaker		(director of photography) (as James Whitaker)

Film Editing by
Arthur Coburn

Casting by
Sig De Miguel
Amanda Mackey Johnson
Cathy Sandrich		(as Cathy Sandrich Gelfond)
Wendy Weidman

Production Design by
Toby Corbett

Set Decoration by
Alice Baker

Costume Design by
Kristin M. Burke

Makeup Department
Heather Cummings	....	assistant makeup artist
Daniel Curet	....	key hair stylist
Andy Harmon	....	assistant makeup artist
Jason Rail	....	co-key hair stylist
Carol Strong	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Shauna Miller	....	unit production manager (as Shauna Miller Schain)
Tony Murphy	....	post-production manager: Visionbox Media Group
Diana Tauder	....	post-production supervisor: VisionWorks

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard L. Fox	....	first assistant director
Heather Grierson	....	second assistant director
Casey Mako	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Michael Clements	....	set dresser
E.C. Duffy	....	carpenter
Kahele Dunn	....	props assistant
Will Durham	....	assistant art director
Erin Fite	....	set dresser
Terry Hargis	....	leadperson
Wayne Kramer	....	storyboard artist
Jamie Maheu	....	property master
Bryan Matulay	....	assistant property master (as Bryan Daniel Matulay)
David Richards	....	carpenter
Steven J. Vana	....	on-set dresser (as Steve J. Vana)
Travis Zariwny	....	set dresser (as Travis Zariwany)
Lynn Pollard	....	lead painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Tom Burns	....	sound re-recordist
Steve Copley	....	foley recordist
Stephen Halbert	....	sound mixer
Scott Hecker	....	supervising sound editor
Jairo Hernandez	....	boom operator (as Jairo Hernandez Jr.)
Javier M. Hernández	....	boom operator (as Javier M. Hernandez)
Tateum Kohut	....	sound re-recording mixer
Howard London	....	adr mixer
Anna Malkin	....	foley assistant
Eric A. Norris	....	sound effects supervisor (as Eric Norris)
Brad North	....	foley editor (as Bradley North)
John Sievert	....	foley artist
Jon Taylor	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Weisberg	....	adr mixer
Byron Wilson	....	supervising sound editor

Visual Effects by
Michael Adkisson	....	visual effects supervisor: Title House Digital (as Mike 'Mookie' Adkisson)
Jose Avitia	....	optical effects producer: Title House Digital (as Jose 'Spike' Avitia)
Blake Busby	....	title designer: Title House Digital
Derry Frost	....	head of production: Amalgamated Pixels
Julie Landholt	....	title designer: Title House Digital (as J. Kathryn Landholt)
David Fred Masselink	....	I/O coordinator: Title House Digital (as Fred Masselink)
Kevin McVey	....	I/O manager: Title House Digital
Andrew Midgley	....	visual effects producer: Title House Digital
Gary Miller	....	animation camera: Title House Digital
Michael Morreale	....	executive producer: Amalgamated Pixels
Merysa Nicholas	....	lead composite artist: Title House Digital (as Merysa Nichols)
Vincent Nuñez	....	digital artist: Title House Digital
Jeremy Oddo	....	senior animator: Amalgamated Pixels
Phillip Palousek	....	visual effects coordinator: Amalgamated Pixels
Dave Piedra	....	digital artist: Title House Digital
Adam Stern	....	digital artist: Title House Digital

Stunts
Robin Lynn Bonaccorsi	....	utility stunts (as Robin Bonaccorsi)
Casey Easlick	....	utility stunts
Dan Lemieux	....	utility stunts (as Dan Le Mieux)
Noon Orsatti	....	stunt coordinator
Robin Lynn Bonaccorsi	....	stunt double: Maria Bello (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Douglas Arnold	....	electrician (as Douglas A. Arnold)
David Blundell	....	electrician
Josh Caine	....	loader
Jeff Caples	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Andy Coe	....	grip
Andy Coe	....	key grip: second unit
Lauren Glen	....	camera production assistant
Dylan Goss	....	aerial photographer
Richard Hendricks	....	best boy grip
Colin Hudson	....	Steadicam operator
Colin Hudson	....	camera operator
Kevin Hutchins	....	utility grip
Reed Koppen	....	first assistant camera (as E. Reed Koppen)
Shawn Lacy	....	key grip
Adam Neace	....	utility grip
Gaylen Nebeker	....	video playback operator
Loren Nebeker	....	video playback operator
Robert Novellino	....	grip (as Bob Novellino)
Guy Pfiershy	....	additional electric
Patrick Reddish	....	gaffer: second unit
Chris Reiter	....	best boy electric
Jim Sheldon	....	still photographer
Johnathan Sizemore	....	electrician (as Jonathan Sizemore)
Robert Stone	....	electrician (as Rob Stone)
Craig Sullivan	....	grip
Todd Taylor	....	dolly grip (as J. Todd Taylor)
Nicole Hirsch Whitaker	....	director of photography: second unit (as Nicole Hirsch-Whitaker)
Sarah Wheat Whittaker	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Quinn Yancey	....	second assistant camera
Robert SummerStone	....	electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Anita Louise Brown	....	set costumer
Molly Grundman	....	key costumer
Heidi Higginbotham	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
David Bilow	....	apprentice editor
Stephen R. Sheridan	....	color timer (as Steve Sheridan)
Derek Vaughn	....	assistant editor
Jonathan Miller	....	post-production services (uncredited)

Music Department
Pepper Adams	....	musician: baritone saxophone solo
Thomas A. Carlson	....	music consultant (as Tom Carlson)
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor
Peter Erskine	....	musician: drum solo
Billy Gottlieb	....	music supervisor
Mark Isham	....	musician: trumpet solo
Jettared	....	performers: "As I Walk"
Stephen Krause	....	music recordist
Jason La Rocca	....	assistant music recordist (as Jason LaRocca)
John Leftwich	....	musician: bass solo
Flo Mo-Tee	....	musician: fender rhodes solo (as Flo Mo-T)
Sid Page	....	musician: violin solo (as Sid Paige)
Rich Ruttenberg	....	musician: piano solo
Bob Sheppard	....	musician: alto saxophone solo
Bob Sheppard	....	musician: soprano saxophone solo
Florian Tessloff	....	music preparation
Tracy McKnight	....	executive soundtrack producer (uncredited)
Florian Tessloff	....	assistant music editor (uncredited)
Florian Tessloff	....	music assistant: additional arrangements (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Brent Baccambuso	....	driver
John Bowen	....	driver
Scott Doleto	....	driver
James R. Guillory	....	driver (as James Guillory)
David Lee	....	driver
Larry Lynch	....	transportation captain
Ronald Owens	....	driver
David Perelle	....	driver
Lloyd Stinson	....	driver (as Lloyd Stinsen)
Richard Webb	....	driver (as Rick Webb)

Other crew
Nick Agorastos	....	set medic
Kirk Baily	....	adr loop group
Kathleen Becker	....	catering
Suzanne Bingham	....	script supervisor: second unit
Greg Bosler	....	arranger: "Luck Be a Lady"
Ryan Cooke	....	production coordinator
Linda O. Cook	....	adr loop group (as Linda Overlin Cook)
Wendy Cutler	....	adr loop group (as Wendy E. Cutler)
Philip Eichner	....	hotel liaison
Jeff Fuller	....	key set production assistant (as Jeff 'Bones' Fuller)
Mike A. Gayten	....	craft service assistant
Jackie Gonneau	....	adr loop group
Hayley Green	....	assistant: Mr. Manulis, Visionbox Media Group
Lauren Grey	....	assistant: Mr. Pressman
Malcolm Groome	....	adr loop group
Matthew Hill	....	set medic
Alexander Kukulus	....	set medic
Ivy K. Lukas	....	assistant: Mr. Baldwin
John Bard Manulis	....	chief executive officer: Visionbox Media Group (as John Manulis)
Henry Marx	....	producer: "Luck Be a Lady"
Micah May	....	production assistant (as Micah M. May)
Jim McCarthy	....	post-production accountant (as James McCarthy)
Jim McCarthy	....	production accountant (as James McCarthy)
Mike Miner	....	production assistant (as Michael Miner)
Randall Montgomery	....	adr loop group
Tina Panella	....	adr loop group
Udo Pfeiffer	....	assistant to director
Shauna Phelan	....	assistant: Mr. Furst
Rebecca Poulos	....	script supervisor
Kristina Santoro	....	production assistant
Dean Scofield	....	adr loop group
Richard Sloane	....	production assistant
Robin Adair Sparks	....	set medic
Rick S. Sulier	....	assistant accountant (as Rick Sulier)
John A. Suzio	....	craft service
Jayce Templeton	....	animal wrangler
Jeff Turner	....	assistant production coordinator
Georgia Vestakis	....	assistant: Mr. Pierce
Douglas Walls	....	production assistant
Tim Wilson	....	location manager
Cathy Yermilov-Miller	....	post-production caterer
Lulu Zezza	....	managing producer: Visionbox Media Group
Greg Bernstein	....	legal services (uncredited)
Frank Hannah	....	advisor: gambling (uncredited)
Brendan MacDevette	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Tom Schaus	....	helicopter pilot (uncredited)

Thanks
Harry Abrams	....	special thanks
Levy Antal	....	special thanks
Greg Bernstein	....	special thanks
Richard Branca	....	special thanks
Jim Carter	....	special thanks
Jim Cashman	....	special thanks
Larry Collins	....	special thanks
Leanne Coronel	....	special thanks
Warren Dewey	....	special thanks
Timothy Dougall	....	special thanks
Jerome Duboz	....	special thanks
Craig Furst	....	special thanks
Howard Furst	....	special thanks
Portia Furst	....	special thanks
Suzanne Furst	....	special thanks
Janine Giaime	....	special thanks
Kenny Goodman	....	special thanks
Larry Goodman	....	special thanks
Shailly Guleri	....	special thanks
Tim Guleri	....	special thanks
Kevin Hearst	....	special thanks
Bob Hoffman	....	special thanks
Jon Huddle	....	special thanks
Chris Jenkins	....	special thanks
Leah Antonio Ketchum	....	special thanks (as Leah Antonio Ketcham)
Lori Killam	....	special thanks (as Lori Killiam)
Ethan Kramer	....	special thanks
Jodi Kramer	....	special thanks
Mary Loughan	....	special thanks
Rob Loughan	....	special thanks
John Lynch	....	special thanks
Kelly Lynch	....	special thanks (as Kellie Lynch)
Kira Makagon	....	special thanks
Heather Parker	....	special thanks
Randy Paul	....	special thanks
Nick Pollack	....	special thanks: Sony Pictures wardrobe
Shaun Redick	....	special thanks
Michael Roban	....	special thanks
Richard Roll	....	special thanks (as Rich Roll)
Rena Ronson	....	special thanks
Jim Roudebush	....	special thanks (as Jim Roudabush)
Cindy Ryder	....	special thanks
Chris Schmidt	....	special thanks
Karen Sebok	....	special thanks
Ann Setty-Rosevear	....	special thanks
Marcello Sozio	....	special thanks
Peter Sternlicht	....	special thanks
Anthony Teneriello	....	special thanks
Bret Tyler	....	special thanks
Steve Van Anda	....	special thanks
Ally Visram	....	special thanks
Amin Visram	....	special thanks
Mark Williams	....	special thanks
Beverly Wood	....	special thanks
Tracy Zahoryin	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• ContentFilm (presents)
• Pierce/Williams Entertainment (as Pierce-Williams)
• Furst Films
• Gryphon Films (in association with)
• Dog Pond Productions (in association with)
• Visionbox Pictures (produced in association with)
• Zero Gravity Management

Distributors

• 1More Film (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Alamode Film (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films AB (2004) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Ekaterinburg Art (EA) (2004) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Lions Gate Films (2003) (USA) (theatrical) (North America) (as A Lions Gate Entertainment Company)
• Tartan Films (2004) (UK) (theatrical)
• Telexcel (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• ContentFilm International (2003) (worldwide) (all media) (sales agency)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (2004) (Brazil) (all media)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Media Cooperation One (MC-One) (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Monopole-Pathé (2004) (Switzerland) (all media)
• Palisades-Tartan Acquisitions (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• With Cinema (Korea)

Special Effects

• Amalgamated Pixels (visual effects)
• Title House Digital (titles and opticals)

Other Companies

• Artfab  set construction (as Artlab, Sacramento, California)
• Carl's Blue Printing  special thanks
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies (uncredited)
• Commotion Records  soundtrack (uncredited)
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color timing (as Deluxe)
• Executive Cutting Service  negative cutting (as Executive Cutting)
• Golden Phoenix Hotel, Reno, Nevada  special thanks
• Hart Murmurs  loop group
• Image Sound and Control  special thanks
• Jeremy Walker + Associates  publicity (as Jeremy Walker & Associates)
• Mackey/Sandrich Casting  casting (uncredited)
• Nev-Cal Communications  special thanks
• Nevada Casting  additional casting
• Nevada Casting  extras casting
• Nick and Nora  special thanks
• Panavision  special thanks (as Panavision, Woodland Hills, California)
• Pentagon Studios  special thanks
• Pivotal Post  Avid editing equipment provided by (uncredited)
• Redman Movies and Stories  grip and lighting equipment
• Sony Pictures Studios Burt Lancaster Theatre  sound re-recorded at
• Sony Pictures Studios Post Production Facilities  dailies telecine transfers
• Sony Pictures Studios  special thanks (as Sony Pictures, Wardrobe)
• Sundance Helicopters  helicopter rental
• VisionWorks  post-production picture services
• VisionWorks  post-production sound services
• Wet Dog Studios  music recorded at (as Wetdog Studios)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, violence, language and some drug use. (edited version)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:18A | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:16 | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R (edited for re-rating) | Canada:A (Ontario) | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Singapore:R(A)

Filming Locations:

Landmark Hotel - Convention Center Drive and Paradise Road, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

ContentFilm

Trivia:

Johnny Capella dedicates a song to Brianna. Joey Fatone, who plays Johnny Capella, has a daughter named Brianna.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Shelly confronts Natalie in the hotel room he throws two armfuls of clothes (on hangers) on the bed. The next shot shows only a suitcase with neatly folder clothes in it on the bed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Casino employee: Where's Bernie, they're killing us. Yeah, we need him right away.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Anatomy of a Scene: The Cooler" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Tomorrow

A good little low-key film whose weaknesses in the writing are covered up by great delivery from all involved

Bernie Lootz is a 'cooler' – a man whose very presence on a casino floor turns peoples' luck to cr*p and stops any winning streak dead in its tracks.

As such he is a very valuable asset to casino boss Shelly Kaplow, himself having enough problems of his own trying to stop his old school casino being revamped to the point of losing it's sense of class. However, with Bernie looking to leave, Shelly is eager to make him stay – not helped by waitress Natalie falling in love with Bernie and turning his jinx into universal good fortune. With the casino dropping a million plus in one day, Shelly takes action to protect what is his.

As with many viewers I suspect, I was attracted to this film by the cast and the fact that it received a few nods from the Oscars (despite being showy enough to win). The plot is based on the old casino idea of coolers being those who bring bad luck to the tables but it very much needs you to buy into the idea of luck to really enjoy this fable of lady luck – unless you get into it, it'll feel rather forced and silly at times. However the film helped me to overcome this by being very lowkey and downbeat – very much like Bernie himself the film is dog eared and lovable, not a great thing but one that is easy to get into. The film uses Las Vegas really well and it is the Las Vegas I believe in – downbeat, cruel and plastic, it is much better than the fun, breezy and slick Vegas that we are sold in CSI or in Oceans 11. The mix of romance, comedy and violence works very well – at points it was very touching, at others quite funny and then others unrelentingly brutal and downbeat. It isn't perfect of course and the writing is where the problems lie; the story did rely on the audience buying into it and at times the dialogue comes very close to corn (but just misses). The only time I felt really let down by it was the ending, which, although fitting with the spirit of the film, missed a great chance to be dark, depressing and beautiful all at the same time.

Despite the odd weakness in the material, these are almost totally covered by a superb collection of performances. Macy may be aware of typecasting but so what if he keeps getting roles like this, probably one of his best performances since Fargo. He is typically the little man who we cannot help but root for and Macy does well never to let Bernie become pathetic to the point that he loses the audience. Bello also does pretty well and even convincingly falls for Bernie even though the film offers her very little opportunity to show a real development of love there. She is pretty but not to the point where she is an unconvincing waitress and her dashed hopes are well worn by her. However the one performance that dominated the film was Baldwin who does very well in delivering a role that could easily have become caricature. At turns he is amusing, brutal, friendly and tragic and Baldwin does almost all of these with minor touches – at one point I was impressed by how well he controlled his face (eyes in particular) to convince me that here was a man who was totally lost. A great performance and one that definitely deserved his Oscar nod. Support is just as good from several well known faces; Sorvino is given little more than a cameo but the one scene he shares with Baldwin is fantastic and, unlike some of his other roles, I never saw Paulie once – his Buddy was too tragic for that ghost to linger here. Hatosy is OK even if his part of the story is not as good as the others and Nascarella will be a well known face to many due to many roles in films for Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese and a few other big films.

Overall this is not a perfect film and it needs you to really buy into its fantasy world to really enjoy it but it works well and turned out to be an enjoyable, low key and atmospheric little love story that was never brilliant at any one thing but managed to be touching, brutal, funny and, ultimately, quite satisfying even if my darker side wanted an ending with more punch.