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Pacino Goes On Mercy Killing Spree

By Brian Prisco | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (11)

large_090911-al-pacino-as-jack-kevorkian.jpg

Below is the trailer for the new Dr. Jack Kevorkian biopic set to air on HBO. Al Pacino stars as the white-haired “doctor o’ death” who stirred a national uproar when he created the Mercitron — a device that helped patients commit assisted suicide. I kept waiting for Billy Mays to start hawking it on late night, but alas, it would never come to be.

Barry Levinson directed the pic, and it’s got kind of a killer supporting cast: Susan Sarandon, Brenda Vaccaro, Danny Huston, John Goodman, and James “Dr. Venture” Urbaniak. The trailer itself has a serious Wes Anderson vibe, though it could just be the seventies-title graphics.

I can’t remember the last good Pacino film. I mean, he’s been in plenty of mediocre shit as of late. I’m pretty sure the last time Pacino impressed me was when he played Roy Cohn in HBO’s Angels in America. And Levinson’s gotta be up for a record. Every two or three years, he just drops an absolute bomb — a hardboiled egg and broccoli fart in a funeral home — at the box office. Seriously: What Just Happened, Man of the Year, Envy, Bandits.

But I’m feeling pretty fucking good about the prospects of the film. HBO kills with their made for TV films, especially anything with mild political rhetoric about it. And with the casting of Urbaniak as Jack Lessenberry, the Michigan journalist who was right in the thick of things with Kevorkian, and Danny Huston’s ridiculous wig, I’m feeling like Levinson’s gonna land strong with this one. And if it does suck, we need to consider euthanizing the prick.









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Comments

What Just Happened was De Niro, but otherwise, spot on in observation.

Posted by: Dave at March 25, 2010 11:56 AM

Wait, I'm an idiot. I retract my last post...

Posted by: Dave at March 25, 2010 11:57 AM

Was it really called the "Mercitron"? How could I have missed that. Pacino better be good in this. I have never really forgiven him for Scent of a Woman.

Posted by: PaddyDog at March 25, 2010 1:19 PM

I really liked him in Insomnia but I may be the only person who enjoys that movie.

And what the godfuck...Pacino is going to play King Lear?

Posted by: DeistBrawler at March 25, 2010 2:44 PM

That list of bombs makes me sad, 'cause I love what Levinson did with 'Liberty Heights.'

Posted by: zyzzyva at March 25, 2010 5:35 PM

1. I don't care what the fuck he does as long as he never plays
Napolean and Mr. Julien's brilliant and previously-optioned script
gets a chance to finally see the light of day.

2. He was really good as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. He was,
in fact, pretty much the only good thing in it. Interesting sidebar
on both that and the Lear production: The director, Michael Radford,
gives himself a co-screenwriting credit with Shakespeare on both movies.

But I'm not bitter.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at March 25, 2010 5:41 PM

Wait, what? Pacino as Lear??

*deep breath*

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*gasp*

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

*passes out*

Posted by: livience at March 25, 2010 5:52 PM

I'll watch. It's Pacino and I have no choice. He's on my list of fave crazies:

Al Pacino
Denzel Washington
Gary Oldman
Christopher Walken
John Malkovich

Those are just my top five.

Posted by: greer at March 25, 2010 6:18 PM

I'm sorry, I didn't get past the mention of Kervorkian because my brain went back to 5th grade when we used to sing (to the tune of Puff the magic dragon): "Jack the magic doctor has a suicide machine/ just put the mask on your face and you'll be turning green!" Oh grade school songs. That's a comment diversion we need to have someday. Anybody remember the clorox one?

Posted by: dr. pisaster at March 25, 2010 7:03 PM

Its got a touch of Fargo from the trailer.

It's just a damn shame none of the old masters can age gracefully. I went back and watched Insomnia not too long ago, and it seems to me more a case of Chris Nolan elevating a mediocre movie. People need to go learn from Paul Newman, who's last notable live action role is beating the crap out of a wussy future James Bond, and taking a machine gun in the face from Tom Hanks, standing like a god damn man.

Also, Mercitron sounds like a Decepticon who transforms from a creaky robot into a Yugo before driving full speed into a bridge abutment.

Posted by: D-Day at March 25, 2010 11:27 PM

Modern Al Pacino is so bloody awful, he has even ruined Old School Al Pacino for me. I can hardly watch a movie with him in it, because the rage boils up and I want to throw a bottle at the television.

Posted by: Clarence Boddicker at March 27, 2010 11:24 AM