Own the rights?
Both "The Last Casino" and "21" are based on the book "Bringing Down the House" written by Ben Mezrich in 2002. In 2003 the book was optioned for a movie by Kevin Spacey. The producers of "The Last Casino" made their version of "Bringing Down the House" in 2004 and the movie went straight to TV in Canada. While this was happening the Ben Mezrich/Kevin Spacey authorized project for the movie version of the book was held up in studio red-tape until 2006, the movie was finally filmed in 2007 and release in 2008. The producers of "21" did not copy "The Last Casino", both simply took their idea from "Bringing Down the House".
r73731
