Russell Crowe Adds Director Job to Starring Role in Poker Face

Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe has added the director’s job to his starring role in the poker-based movie Poker Face, with filming of the psychological thriller moving from Miami to Sydney amid tight Covid-19 controls.

The movie centres around Crowe’s character, Jake, a tech billionaire who plots to exact revenge on a group of childhood friends.

The master game player and strategist has a love/hate relationship with those he considered friends during his childhood, and invites them to his Miami estate for a “friendly” home game, but has in mind an elaborate scheme to settle some old scores.

That plan is upset by the appearance of “a dangerous home invader whose previous jobs have all ended in murder and arson,” according to the plot-line released earlier this year on Deadline.
The cast also includes Liam Hemsworth (brother of Chris, who plays Thor in the Marvel franchise) with Elsa Pataky of The Fast and the Furious franchise reportedly playing a glamorous croupier.

Wu-Tang Clan frontman RZA, a long-time friend of Crowe’s and better-known for his love of chess than poker, also has a role.

The Gladiator star is best-known for his roles in front of the camera, with his latest big-screen appearance in Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder set to hit cinemas early next year.

That movie also stars Natalie Portman, one of several actors who have relocated to Australia’s movie-industry hub amid the global pandemic.

According to Variety magazine, it was Crowe who pushed Poker Face producer, Arclight Films, “to switch the setting from Miami to Sydney where the film could showcase the city’s impressive landmarks.”

That will apparently include “a car chase that plays out across the city,” with other filming taking place on location and at the city’s Fox Studios.

Poker Face will be Crowe’s second feature-length directing role, having previously taken the helm of The Water Diviner in 2014.

Consulting the experts

How big a role poker will play in the movie is yet to be seen, and there is also no word yet on who the poker consultant will be.

The last big thriller to involve poker in the plot was Casino Royale back in 2007, which had British player Tom Sanbrook teaching the actors how to play and put on a poker face.

The consultant role on Molly’s Game, the blockbuster tale of Molly Bloom’s highstakes underground poker games involving A-list celebrities, went to Josh Leichner. Curiously enough, and unknown to director Aaaron Sorkin at the time, Leichner had been running underground games and tournaments in Toronto for years.

There is another big poker movie in the works this year: Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter, the tale of an ex-con blackjack player who seeks redemption while playing the World Series of Poker.

The Martin Scorcese-produced movie had well-known commentator Joe Stapleton as consultant, and stars Oscar Isaac, Willem Dafoe and Tiffany Haddish and Tye Sheridan.