Poolhall Junkies (2002)

Director:

Mars Callahan

Writers:

Mars Callahan (written by) and
Chris Corso (written by)

Release Date:

21 March 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

It's your shot. Take it.

Plot:

A talented pool hustler who has stayed out of the game for years, must go back to his old ways when his little brother gets involved with his enemy, the very man who held him back from greatness.

Plot Keywords:

Pool | Pool Hustler | Pool Hall | Pool Game | Party

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Chazz Palminteri	...	Joe
Rick Schroder	...	Brad
Rod Steiger	...	Nick
Michael Rosenbaum	...	Danny
Mars Callahan	...	Johnny
Alison Eastwood	...	Tara
Phillip Glasser	...	Max
Anson Mount	...	Chris
Glenn Plummer	...	Chico
Richard Portnow	...	Toupee Jay
Ernie Reyes Jr.	...	Tang
Peter Mark Richman	...	Phillip
Christopher Walken	...	Mike
Mike Massey	...	Louis
Orien Richman	...	Brett
Shannon Engemann	...	Beth
Peter Dobson	...	Cory
Kristina Santoro	...	Scarlet
Michelle Ainge	...	Party Girl
Jerry North	...	Red
Bojesse Christopher	...	Noah
Nathan Stevens	...	Kid
Mick E. Jones	...	Rags
Billy Lamb	...	Bill
John-Paul Salisbury	...	Moose
Chato	...	Spaniard
Stephen Book	...	Laurence
Michael Aronin	...	Jack Caine
Gino Dentie	...	Merv
Robert Scott McCloud	...	Teenager
Dimitrius Deslis	...	Greek
Chris Corso	...	Houseman
Lissa Pallo	...	Female Pro
Harry Lee	...	Band Member
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Gerrish	...	Big Guy (uncredited)
Michael C. Jones	...	Extra (uncredited)
Scott Nankivel	...	Bobby (uncredited)
Brian A. Schwartz	...	Brian (uncredited)
Gavin Sheehan	...	Pool Shark (uncredited)
Steve Short	...	Boston Shorty (uncredited)
Charlie Terrell	...	Guitar Player In Club Band (uncredited)
Greg Wayne	...	Pool Shark (uncredited)

Directed by
Mars Callahan

Writing credits
Mars Callahan		(written by) and
Chris Corso		(written by)

Produced by
Karen Beninati	....	producer
Paul Brooks	....	executive producer
Carol Gillson	....	co-executive producer
John J. Hermansen	....	associate producer
David Kronemeyer	....	producer
Nancy Lanham	....	co-producer
Vincent Newman	....	producer
Scott Niemeyer	....	co-executive producer
Joey Nittolo	....	co-executive producer
David Peters	....	producer
Tucker Tooley	....	producer
Norm Waitt	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Richard Glasser

Cinematography by
Robert Morris

Film Editing by
James E. Tooley		(as James Tooley)

Casting by
Roe Baker
Jeff Johnson
Catrine McGregor

Production Design by
Robert La Liberte

Art Direction by
Nicole Lee

Costume Design by
Kristin Persson

Makeup Department
Jasmine Bailey	....	key hair stylist
Jasmine Bailey	....	key makeup artist
Nick Barfuss	....	assistant hair stylist
Nick Barfuss	....	assistant makeup artist
Todd Kleitsch	....	makeup artist: Mr. Palminteri

Production Management
Linda L. Miller	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Billy Bates	....	second unit director
John J. Hermansen	....	first assistant director
R. Scott Loughran	....	additional second assistant director
Catherine A. McCabe	....	second second assistant director
David Mendoza	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Brian Baade	....	property master

Sound Department
Aaron Alexander	....	assistant sound editor
Michael Anthony	....	assistant sound editor
Christian August	....	foley artist
Andrew Casciato	....	sound effects editor
Andrew Casciato	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steven Erickson	....	adr editor
Steven Erickson	....	dialogue editor
Peter Geoco	....	sound
Michael Hamm	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Gerald Hartley	....	sound mixer
Jeremy Hoenack	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jeremy Hoenack	....	supervising sound editor
Kate Jesse	....	boom operator
Dakota Lucas	....	assistant sound editor
Paul H. Maritsas	....	sound mixer (as Paul Maritsas)
Maria Ricatta	....	sound coordinator
Noah Southall	....	adr engineer
Noah Southall	....	sound effects editor
Nathan Stock	....	boom operator
Alejandro Alvarenga	....	sound post-production coordinator (uncredited)
Christopher Coffelt	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Sean Hewitt	....	optical printer operator
Rita Schrag	....	optical printing supervisor
Jim Stewart	....	optical designer

Stunts
Billy Bates	....	stunt coordinator
Chuck Borden	....	stunt double: Chazz Palminteri
Peter Epstein	....	stunts
Ben Jensen	....	stunt double: Rick Schroder
Todd Warren	....	stunt double: Michael Rosenbaum

Camera and Electrical Department
Barbara Abbott	....	assistant camera
Alex Boynton	....	lighting technician
Mike Browning	....	best boy electric
Rachel Chabries	....	first assistant second camera
Thomas A. Cox	....	lighting technician
David Erickson	....	first assistant camera
Samuel Fischer	....	chief lighting technician
Brady Hallongren	....	camera supervisor
Dennis Kurumada	....	additional Steadicam operator
Darren McLaughlin	....	grip
Don Muirhead	....	Steadicam operator
Charles 'Chip' Sargent	....	grip
Andrew Scrivner	....	best boy grip
Jack Stewart	....	second assistant camera
Tracey-Lee Taylor	....	still photographer
Alex Torres	....	key grip
Louis Williams	....	grip
Michael Worthen	....	additional first assistant camera
Tomoaki Yamamoto	....	camera loader
Travis Zariwny	....	additional first assistant camera
David Mun	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
David Nguyen	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Leigh French	....	voice casting
Carla Woodmansee	....	extras casting
Yong Yun	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Judy Evers	....	costume supervisor
Juli Harrison	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Scott Niemeyer	....	post-production executive
J.R. Post	....	negative cutter
Carol Stutz	....	assistant editor
Chuck Winston	....	color timer

Music Department
Ilene 'RC' Arciaga	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Jeff Murray	....	transportation coordinator
Dana Swartout	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Michael Barnes	....	financial legal services
Diane Beam	....	set production assistant
Jonilyn Bisset	....	first assistant accountant
Shawn Chou	....	assistant to director
Chris Doss	....	executive in charge of finance
James Ent	....	caterer
Terry Gaertner	....	production coordinator
Lenny Gall	....	office production assistant
Nick Groce	....	office production assistant
Brady Hallongren	....	title supervisor
Jessica Jordan	....	script supervisor
Heather Joyce	....	distribution coordinator
Rodd Mann	....	assistant location manager
David Mastron	....	post-production accountant
Douglas 'Tree' Nelson	....	craft service
Kristina Santoro	....	location manager
Seve Spracklen	....	production accountant
Darcy Stilson	....	craft service assistant
Vincent Tolman	....	set production assistant
Ladd Vance	....	production executive: Nittolo Entertainment
Tanya Vidal	....	post-production accountant
Spanky Dustin Ward	....	production assistant
Yong Yun	....	office production assistant

Thanks
Janine Giaime	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Gold Circle Films
• Cutting Edge Entertainment
• Newman/Tooley Films

Distributors

• Gold Circle Films (2002) (worldwide) (all media)
• Samuel Goldwyn Films (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Equinox Films (2003) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2005) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Entertainment in Video (2003) (UK) (video)
• Europa Filmes (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (2004) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Media Cooperation One (MC-One) (2005) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Sound Trax Studios  post-production sound services
• Stewart Motion Picture Services  titles and opticals

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:MA | UK:15 | USA:R | Germany:12 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Company:

Gold Circle Films

Trivia:

In real life Mars Callahan is an accomplished pool player who met co-writer Chris Corso in a pool hall where each was trying to hustle the other. After a bitterly contested game (neither will tell who actually won) the two became best friends. Swapping war stories about their mutual experiences playing pool, the two decided to write a script based on their experiences and observations. Two weeks later the script was completed, but it would take another ten years to get it to the big screen.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Nick is talking to Johnny after Tara kicks Johnny out of the apartment, one shot of Nick is flipped. This is obvious by the New York Yankees symbol on his hat and his jacket.

Quotes:

Johnny Doyle: Whoa. What are you doing?
Brad: I'm taking my shot.
Johnny Doyle: No. See, I just paid five-thousand dollars for your shot. Now it's my shot.

Movie Connections:

References Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Soundtrack:

New York Nights

worth watching and excellent if you play too

Christopher Walken happens to be one of my favourites, and it was a nice surprise to see him in this film - but even without his charismatic acting, it would surely have been worth the time. Excellent showing of the game at it's brilliant best, it is also pretty funny, mostly believable (even tho a couple of times the hustling was made a bit too easy) and has more depth than Color of Money or the old one which had Minnesota Fats in it.. forgot the name of that one.

I'd double rate this film 9-10 for pool players, 7-9 for others.

Oh and the guy playing the hustler is a nice find, hope to see him in some other new films too.