Movie Trivia for 21
Memorable Movie Quotes
Ben Campbell: Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
Ben Campbell: I had a 1590 on my SAT, I got a 44 on my MCAT, and I have a 4.0 GPA from MIT. I thought I had my life mapped out, but then I remembered what my non linear equations professor once told me, always account for variable change… I let down my good friends, but as it turns out, they weren’t too bad at simple math either. I scored the prettiest girl in school. I got beaten down by an old school Vegas thug who was having trouble accepting his retirement, but I worked out a deal with him that got him a nice pension… And I lied to my mother, but I confessed a lie and well, she still loved me… So my senior year of college I joined this team and I learned this new skill. I went to Vegas 17 times to use it. I made hundreds of thousands of dollars counting cards. And then I had it all stolen from me, twice… How’s that for life experience professor? Did I dazzle you? Did I jump off the page?
Micky Rosa: You are only ever as good to me as the money you make!
Micky Rosa: Choi, you made five grand last night. So would you stop stealing 9 cent pens and everything you can get your hands on from the maid’s cart. It’s embarrassing!
Trivia
The movie was used as a luxury prize for the contestants on the Big Brother 9 in the US. They played a competition involving blackjack, and the winners got to see a special advance screening of the movie. One contestant won a trip to Las Vegas worth $21,000, which included a three night stay at the same hotel the actors from the movie stayed in.
Boston University students were used as extras in many of the classroom scenes.
The “2.0.9” robotics competition shown in the movie is based on the actual “6.270” programming competition at M.I.T.
The small statue of a reclining nude, seen on the desk of the Harvard med Professor Bob Phillips during Ben’s Robinson Scholarship interview, is by Venezuelan-born sculptor Maria Gamundi.
The problem Prof. Rosa mentions in class with the three doors is known as the Monty Hall problem.
The printed source code for the robot is from NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey GPS Toolbox.
The main characters upon which the film 21 is based were Asian. Controversially, mostly Caucasian actors were cast. Jim Sturgess required a dialect coach to speak with an American accent.
The sunglasses worn by Laurence Fishburne throughout the movie and at the end by the pool are Randolph Engineering Aviators.
An alternate ending was shot, where Mickey Rose evaded capture from Cole Williams. After retirement, Cole spots Mickey gambling on a boat and the two trade stories about their past.
Goofs
During the opening credits, while Ben is riding his bike on the road, you see the same orange PT cruiser go past twice and the same silver Chrysler 300C go past three times.
The first night the group gambles in Las Vegas they are in the Hard Rock Casino, however the table at which Ben gambles says “Red Rock Casino”. When he switches tables it says “Hard Rock Casino.”
During the chase seen at the end of the movie Kate Bosworth’s character alternates between running in heels and running barefoot.
There are multiple errors in Vegas hotel locations – seeming to be in one hotel when the shot from the window makes it clear they are elsewhere, particularly when visiting a suite said to be at the Hard Rock but clearly the view is from a tall Strip hotel. The Hard Rock Hotel is neither.
In the MIT grading scale for undergraduates, GPA is out of 5.0. On numerous occasions throughout the movie, it is stated that Ben has a 4.0. On the MIT scale, this would be a “B” average.
In the beginning of the film, Ben receives a promotion in his job at the mens wear store, and a raise to $8 an hour. In Massachusetts in 2008 the minimum wage was $8.25 for retail workers.
Box Office Info In USA
Budget $35,000,000
Opening Weekend: $24,105,943
Gross $81,159,365
Filming Locations
Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Boston Convention & Exposition Center – 415 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Boston University – One Sherborn Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Caesars Palace – 3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA
Great Bay Restaurant – 500 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino – 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
McCarran International Airport – 5757 Wayne Newton Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino – 3667 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Playboy Club – 4321 W. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Public Garden – Charles and Beacon Streets, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Red Rock Resort – 11011 W. Charleston Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Riviera Hotel & Casino – 2901 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Summerlin Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Venetian Hotel – 3355 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA