Luckytown

When she turns 18, unhappy Lidda Daniels leaves Southern California to look for Charlie, her father, a professional gambler who abandoned her years before. On her way to Las Vegas, she picks up Colonel, a video store clerk who she finds attractive even though they have never spoken.

• Kirsten Dunst as Lidda
• Vincent Kartheiser as Colonel
• Luis Guzmán as Jimmy
• James Caan as Charlie
• Robert Miano as Tony DeCarlo
• Jennifer Gareis as Sugar
• Federico Dordei as Frankie
• Theresa Russell as Stella

A five-week shoot in Las Vegas began on December 13, 1999.[1] Paul Nicolas, the film's director and producer, said, "We could have shot most of it in L.A., but just by being here, you get a lot of ideas. Just by driving around, you can see what Las Vegas has to offer." Nicolas said about the Las Vegas Strip and downtown Las Vegas: "seeing the sights, we're trying to write little scenes to incorporate them in the story."[2] Approximately 14 local actors, as well as 500 local extras, appeared in the film.[3]

During the first week of filming, scenes were shot at the Bourbon Street and Showboat hotel-casinos.[3] For the second week, filming moved to a soundstage at Lear Entertainment's new production facility, which was also located in Las Vegas and was still under construction during filming.[1][3] Scenes were to be shot on 3,600- and 8,100-square-foot stages at the facility.[1] During the second week of filming, scenes were also shot at the Olympic Gardens strip club, and at Geebee's Bar and Grill, located south of the Las Vegas Strip.[4]

In the third week, filming moved to the closed Rockabilly's Saloon and Dance Hall on Boulder Highway. For the film, the structure was renovated as a strip club,[4] known in the film as Tony's Dollhouse,[2] and was reportedly planned to be reopened as a strip club in reality after filming was scheduled to complete there.[4] Nicolas said "we got inspired by the strip clubs in Vegas -- and we built one."[2] Approximately one third of the film was set at Tony's Dollhouse.[2] James Caan, who had previously played a Las Vegas gambler in The Gambler and Honeymoon in Vegas,[1] finished filming his scenes in December 1999.[5] After a brief New Year's break, filming resumed at Rockabilly's Saloon on January 3, 2000.[2]

Later that month, scenes were shot at the Roadhouse Casino and McCarran International Airport, with additional scenes shot at the Bourbon Street hotel-casino.[6] Filming was scheduled to conclude on January 13, 2000, but was extended and expected to conclude the following week. Final filming locations included the Candlelight Wedding Chapel, the Showboat hotel-casino, the Glass Pool Inn, and driving shots of the Las Vegas Strip. Production was also expected to return to Geebee's Bar and Grill for pick-up footage.[5]

Luckytown premiered at the Hollywood Film Festival on August 4, 2000. In the United States, Luckytown was released on home video on July 17, 2001.[7]

• Luckytown at IMDb