Ocean’s 11 in one of the most popular films from the 21st century. It tells the story of Danny Ocean, a man who wants to pull off the biggest casino heist in history. He gathers an 11 man team including Frank Catton, Linus Caldwell and and Rusty Ryan. What’s their target, you ask? The Bellagio, the MGM Grand and the Mirage. All the casinos are owned by arch-nemesis Terry Benedict. Their plan – to steal $150 million from each casino at the same time. Insane!
Well, Luckynuggetcasino.com has decided to take a look at 10 pieces of trivia that will blow your mind. You might think you know everything about Ocean’s 11, but, you know, you probably don’t! Enjoy!
Mark Wahlberg was originally cast as Linus Caldwell
It was Matt Damon who would go on to play Linus Caldwell in the end, but did you know that Mark Wahlberg was approached beforehand. We’re not sure, but he was also starring in The Planet of the Apes the same year Ocean’s 11 was released. It could be possible that Wahlberg’s schedule was too jam packed that year, otherwise, we might have had the turbulent actor as part of Danny Ocean’s set-up. Who knows?!
Damon, Pitt and Clooney were actually pretty big gamblers
Apparently, as rumours go, Clooney, Pitt and Damon were pretty big poker fans and could often be found gambling on set and in their trailers. According to Clooney it was Damon who won the most. Damon disagrees though, and claims it was in-fact Pitt who was the best in the business. Well, we know one thing, Damon definitely got his poker practice from starting in Rounders. So who knows, maybe he was as good as Clooney claims!
Brad Pitt got a little to close to Mike Myers
He wore his wig. Brad Pitt wore the exact same wig when dressing up as the doctor that Mike Myers wore for the first Austin Powers movie, which was – get this – filmed in 1997. That means Brad Pitt basically wore a four year old wig – disgusting. It would have definitely smelled somewhat musky, we reckon. That’s a pretty iconic wig though, and let’s be honest, it’s probably really quite valuable.
An insane amount of extras were used for one scene
You know that pretty epic boxing scene featuring Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko? You remember it? Of course you do, it’s a pretty epic scene. Well, did you know that over 2,000 extras were drafted in as extras for that one scene? Imagine being offered the opportunity to watch two of the greatest boxers fight live AND starring in one of the best films of the decade. You’ve got to admit, that’s pretty epic. We’re not going to tell you who won, though. That would ruin the film for you.
Brad Pitt ate an awful lot of seafood
Yeah, Brad Pitt must have had pretty bad breath after Ocean’s 11. Apparently, the actor had to each 40 shrimps while filming that scene where Rusty is waiting for Tess. It had to be shot so many times that by the end of it Pitt had digested a ridiculous amount of shrimp. Maybe, just maybe, Pitt loved shrimp so much that he made mistakes on purpose over and over again. At least there wasn’t a long kissing scene, because Julia Roberts might have died from smelly breath syndrome. No more shrimp for you Brad!
Bruce Wayne nearly nabbed the leading role
Sure, whilst Ocean’s 11 has three pretty big roles, Danny Ocean – played by Clooney – is the starring role in the film. It’s his gang, the film is named after him and he is most definitely the smartest bloke in the team. Well, imagine that Bruce Wayne, with his more macho attitude took the leading role instead. Clooney is suave, whilst Wayne is more, well, a tough guy. Yeah, maybe Wayne would have played a good Danny Ocean – but he wouldn’t have been THE Danny Ocean that we’ve grown to love over the last 3 films. So yeah, stick to Die Hard! Grrr helicopters and guns!
Ocean’s 11 could have been filmed very differently
Suprsingly, director Steven Soderbergh was fiercely putting forward the idea that Ocean’s 11 should have been filmed in black and white. We’ve probably all seen Schindler’s List, right? You’ve all got to admit it does look pretty cool! Schindler’s list was a serious drama though, and it matched the sombre themes of the film. Stylistically, a black and white look to Ocean’s 11 just wouldn’t have looked right. Anybody can see that, and yeah, we’re pretty happy it didn’t go ahead. We think it’d lose a lot of the intensity that this masterpiece had if it was filmed in monochrome. Lucky for us, it never happened.
This film has earlier origins than you’d first believe
For some this is an obvious piece of trivia, but for others, well, they’re not as clued up. Ocean’s 11 is actually based on a film from the 1960s under the same name. It stars none other that the legendary Frank Sinatra as, well, you’d probably guess, Danny Ocean. Better yet, it even stars James Dean and, get this, Sammy Davis Jr. We’re not talking about regular old actors here, no, we’re talking about some of the biggest names in the business, ever. So yeah, if you’ve never watched this amazing film before here’s a trailer. Enjoy!
So, yeah, that’s pretty much everything you need to know about Ocean’s 11. If you already knew some of the obscure pieces of trivia, well, you’re probably the master of Ocean’s 11. Let us know in the comments section below if you think Lucky Nugget Casino has missed anything out! We probably haven’t though!.
