21

Robert Luketic’s 2008 film adapts Ben Mezrich’s 2002 book Bringing Down the House, about MIT students who count cards at Las Vegas blackjack tables. MIT refused its campus, so the school and dorm interiors, the gym and alumni reception went to Boston University: what you take for MIT is not MIT. In Vegas: Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock, Riviera, Red Rock. Jeff Ma, the real Ben of the book, was involved early in the screenplay then drifted away. He is on screen too, as a dealer. All three put the dispute in their own words. Guy Aoki, founding president of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, said Asian American actors rarely get meaty roles and are pushed aside even when a project calls for them, as 21 did. Producer Dana Brunetti answered that he would have loved Asian leads but lacked access to a bankable Asian American actor they wanted, and that had he known how upset the community would be, he would have filmed something else. Ma said he had not looked for an actor of his own ethnicity but for who was cool. A good fit if you watch knowing the gap between film and real team, and look for the real Ben dealing. Not for anyone wanting a faithful record; Ma says the story line changed drastically.