FAQ

Newly released from prison, Danny Ocean (George Clooney) has already planned his next heist to steal $150 million from three of the most profitable gambling casinos in Las Vegas—the Bellagio, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand—all owned by entrepreneur Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the man who "stole" the affections of Danny's wife Tess (Julia Roberts). Aided by his old friend Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), a card dealer who teaches movie stars how to play cards, they assemble a team of nine other professionals to help carry out the heist, set to take place during a popular boxing match when people are most likely to be distracted.

Ocean's Eleven is a loose adaptation of a 1960 movie also titled Frankie und seine Spießgesellen (1960), which was based on a screenplay written by American screenwriters Harry Brown and Charles Lederer, which in turn was based on a story idea by American screenwriters George Clayton Johnson and Jack Golden Russell. Brown and Lederer's script was adapted for this movie by American screenwriter Ted Griffin. It was followed by two sequels, Ocean's Twelve (2004) (2004) and Ocean's 13 (2007) (2007).

Besides ex-con Danny Ocean, the 11 include card dealer Rusty Ryan, financier Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), professional card dealer Frank Catton (Bernie Mac), the Malloy brothers Virgil (Casey Affleck) and Turk (Scott Caan) to drive and care for the vehicles, electronics expert Livingston Dell (Eddie Jemison), pyrotechnician Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle), pickpocket Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), Chinese acrobat "The Amazing Yen" (Shaobo Qin), and retired con artist Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner) to play the role of Lyman Zerga, an international weapons dealer staying at the hotel complex.

Rusty, early in the film when the heist is being planned, says, "I'd say of the top of my head you're gonna need a Boesky, a Jim Brown, Two Jethros, a Leon Spinks, a Miss Daisy and the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever." Director Stephen Soderbergh, in an interview with TV Guide, explained: First of all, [screenwriter] Ted Griffin and I completely made the terms up. We felt we had to come up with some funny, Damon Runyon-esque turns of phrase that weren't arbitrary we did sit down and think them out. So, Carl Reiner is the Boesky, as in Ivan, the powerful, rich magnate, inside kind of guy. Jim Brown is the confrontation Bernie Mac has with Matt Damon the "don't mess with me or you're in for it" moment. The two Jethros are Casey Affleck and Scott Caan, the idea being "we're going to need gear heads, car fanatics...some people who are total hillbilly under-the-hood guys." A Leon Spinks is the disruption of the boxing match: A sporting event with some controversy to it that's what Leon Spinks means to me. The Miss Daisy association is driving; that was the SWAT van, a ruse involving transportation. The Ella Fitzgerald is the tape of the fake vault, which they're going to play back and have [Andy Garcia's character] Benedict think it's live. "Is it live, or is it Memorex?"

He was asking for a glass of whisky and a shot of whisky. Whether he meant the shot for Tess or simply a chaser for himself is unclear.

This excerpt has been taken from an interview with Don Cheadle for the movie Hotel for Dogs: KW: I've noticed that you sometimes appear uncredited in movies, like in Ocean's 11 and Rush Hour 2. Why is that?

DC: For different reasons. I did Rush Hour 2 just as kind of a laugh, so I didn't really need a credit. To me, it was fine if people recognized me. And if they didn't, that was fine, too. With Ocean's, there was some stuff that happened behind the scenes that I didn't like how it went down, so I just said, "Take my name off it."

Other news articles have said that Cheadle removed his name as a protest after contentious negotiations over his salary and credit in the film.

Everyone seems to love a good heist movie. Following is a list of films recommended by viewers who have enjoyed Ocean's Eleven. In some films, the heist is successful; in others, things don't work out quite so well. Some films are dramas and some are comedies, but all will keep you on the edge of your seat. The films are listed from earliest to most recent. Recommended heist films from the 1950s and '60s include: Asphalt-Dschungel (1950) (1950), Einmal Millionär sein (1951) (1951), Rififi (1955) (1955), Die Rechnung ging nicht auf (1956) (1956), Diebe haben's schwer (1958) (1958), Die Herren Einbrecher geben sich die Ehre (1960) (1960), Die Heiratsmaschine (1961) (1961), Topkapi (1964) (1964), Goldfinger (1964) (1964), Das Mädchen aus der Cherry-Bar (1966) (1966), Thomas Crown ist nicht zu fassen (1968) (1968) [remake: Die Thomas Crown Affäre (1999) (1999)], and Charlie staubt Millionen ab (1969) (1969) [remake The Italian Job - Jagd auf Millionen (2003) (2003)]. Recommended heist films from the 1970s, '80s and '90s include: Stoßtrupp Gold (1970) (1970), The Getaway - Ihre Chance ist gleich null (1972) (1972) [remake Getaway (1994) (1994)], Der Clou (1973) (1973)), Hundstage (1975) (1975), Der große Eisenbahnraub (1978) (1978), Ein Fisch namens Wanda (1988) (1988), Sieben Diebe (1960) (1989), Reservoir Dogs - Wilde Hunde (1992) (1992), Killing Zoe (1993) (1993), Running Time (1997) (1997), and Verlockende Falle (1999) (1999). Recommended heist films from the 2000s include: Heist - Der letzte Coup (2001) (2001), Tricks (2003) (2003), Stander (2003) (2003), and Inside Man (2006) (2006).