Leonardo DiCaprio’s going to kill us all
That's right poker culture, here I come
Okay okay.. maybe not KILL per se… but this dude could spell bad things for poker!!
Word on the interweb is that Leonardo DiCaprio is planning on teaming up with Brian Koppelman and David Levien, who brought us that oh-so-quoteable “Rounders” a few years back. This time around, they’re delving into the poker scene again, this time discussing the “world of Costa-Rica based online casinos”. Now I know some of you just got a bit excited, maybe because you’re a poker movie fan, maybe because you love Leo, and maybe because you just can’t wait to tear it apart, well, I think this movie’s going to be bad for the poker scene in general, or at the very least, do no good.
The problem I see with this movie is threefold, first, this movie isn’t going to do anything to help re-spark people’s interest in poker. The swell of popularity (and therefore easy money) came after Moneymaker’s win at the WSOP. This was lightning in a bottle, and will never be replicated by a movie, no matter how cute the lead is. Secondly, I have a bad feeling about the fact that this movie might just downright be bad. I have no problem with Leo himself, nor with the writers, the problem I see is that the story will be pretty, well…. boring – unless. Unless they go the route of my third problem with this film. When I first read about this upcoming project, I believe (I can’t find the link anymore), it said something like “explore the shady world of online poker”. Now, I’m not one for tin-foil origami hats, but considering the USofA is currently still banning people from depositing into these “shady” sites, this movie could do harm to ever removing that stupid law. If this movie shows how corrupt / underhanded / sketchy / addicting / dangerous these sites are to poor old Joe Americana, well, it doesn’t take much to recognize the power of media over popular opinion.
I hope I’m wrong. Clearly, these writers know poker, and have a great respect for the game. DiCaprio himself is a part-time player. These guys (should) know that the game of poker is a skill game; that it isn’t luck or gambling in the true sense of the world. Online poker sites are legitimate games, and aren’t trying to rig big pots or always reward the bad players to stay online. Here’s hoping we get a Rounders-esque story that does the game justice.
Mark
