Rounders Sequel 'Going To Be Instantaneous'

There reportedly was a major development this week in the film industry that could actually lead to the production of a sequel to the poker cult classic Rounders. The Weinstein brothers who sold Miramax — the production company they founded along with its library of titles that included Rounders — to Disney have struck a deal with their former firm that will explore opportunities for new projects, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Though, perhaps poker fans should not get their hopes up. A similar deal between the two firms was announced in December 2010 and the plans that surfaced then for a Rounders 2 didn’t amount to anything. Instead, poker players and fans and other gambling types were tortured with the online poker film Runner, Runner from 20th Century Fox.

There is a reason to be more optimistic this time, however. Thanks to the most recent business arrangement, film producer Harvey Weinstein has actually directly talked about Rounders, even mentioning some details of what the plot of a follow-up to the poker film could look like.

“I’ve discussed making Rounders 2 with Matt Damon and I would say that’s going to be instantaneous,” Weinstein said, according to Deadline.com". “The guys [writers David Levien and Brian Koppelman] have a great idea, a way to make it more international where you start the card game in Paris, that’s all I want to say. There might be a certain beautiful Parisian actress involved in it, and then we’re off to the racetrack and Vegas with Matty and Edward Norton, and a new super villain to replace John Malkovich.”

Those statements sound a whole lot better than what he said in the summer of 2011 when asked about a Rounders sequel: “I never make sequels but it’s something I’d like to revisit,” Weinstein said. He added that the film performed poorly at the box office.

Rounders writer Brian Koppelman, who also penned Runner, Runner, has also expressed excitement about a follow-up. He even has a script worked out already.

As part of the deal that could result in a Rounders sequel, Weinstein Co. will handle domestic distribution of movies made under the agreement, and Miramax will handle international sales of the titles, according to the Los Angeles Times.

When Miramax and Weinstein Co. announced their deal in December 2010, Weinstein mentioned that he was looking forward to “extending our partnership in the years ahead.” In that light, the deal that was announced this week was more or less expected. It’s the comments Weinstein made directly about Rounders 2 that are newsworthy.

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