Gil Cates Jr. believes that people may hesitate before playing the lottery numbers featured in his new dark comedy “Lucky,” which played at this year's Phoenix Film Festival.
After all, the woman who plays them in the film is murdered the night of the drawing by Colin Hanks' Ben, a serial killer who then claims the $36 million prize for himself. That is when his lifelong crush Lucy, played by Ari Graynor, finally shows some interest in him. Little does she know what she is getting into with Ben's secret hobby.
It is a funny movie but it is also strangely sweet. As Cates Jr. explains, “Lucky” is not your typical romantic comedy nor a murder mystery. Rather, it is a dark comedy with heart – not the easiest project to get made in a sea of more universally appealing motion pictures.
“At the end of the day, it's a love story between two people looking for something – even if they do not realize what it is until very late in the game,” adds Cates Jr., noting that both Ben and Lucy are striving for their own individual goals. “And what they each do to get there is not what they might have thought they would do.”
The director says that "Lucky" has been a personal passion project for a number of years. His friend and writing partner Kent Sublette, a staff writer on “Saturday Night Live,” originally came up with the concept and Cates Jr. decided to run with the idea.
Yet, it still took some time to finish “Lucky.” In fact, Cates Jr. has worked on several other projects in the time it took this one to get from inception to completion. Among the other entries on the Cates Jr.'s filmography are the Burt Reynolds/Brett Harrison poker flick “Deal” and Matt LeBlanc's short-lived “Friends” spinoff “Joey.”
“Ultimately, I'd like to be doing commercial movies that both do well financial and have heart,” explains Cates. Jr., noting “Jerry Maguire” as a good example of a movie that comfortably fit the best of both worlds. “But 'Lucky' is the closest to what I want to be doing from everything that I have done so far.”
And why wouldn't it be? The director notes that having Hanks and Graynor in “Lucky's” leads and adding Anne Margret and Jeffry Tambor in supporting roles was like “completing the dream-come-true unit.”
“Colin was great,” Cates Jr. continues. “He's such a good actor - and a smart actor. I didn't want to cast somebody who seemed like an obvious choice to play a serial killer. Everyone in this movie was slightly cast against type. Colin, to me, is such a naturally likeable person that I thought this was an interesting role to see him in.”
But Cates Jr. admits that Graynor is “Lucky's” break-out star. He sincerely believes that the actress, who has appeared in “Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist,” “Youth in Revolt” and "Whip It,” will finally earn some much-deserved attention from moviegoers thanks to her outstandingly off-the-wall performance in this project.
As for Cates Jr., he will soon start casting his next film “Drunk Dial,” a ticking-clock comedy the director likens to “Superbad,” “Easy A” and “The Hangover” about a high school student who “gets hammered and makes three really inappropriate phone calls to his boss, his principal and the girl he loves. He and his two friends then spend the night trying to erase the resulting voicemail messages.
But, for now, Cates Jr. Is busy taking “Lucky” to a handful of film festivals. Aside from just generating buzz, the practice has paid off by earning the movie a distribution deal through Phase 4 Films, which intends to release it July 15 in select theaters and via video on demand.
Oh, and if anyone cares to take the risk, those potential winning lottery numbers are 5-7-20-31-36-16. But do not say Cates Jr. did not warn you.
Listen to Joseph J. Airdo's “Movie Maverick” segment every Friday morning during “The Daily Blender with Jeffry O'Brien,” 6-9 a.m. weekdays on NBC 1260 AM and 96.1 FM.
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