George Hickenlooper, who abruptly died at 47 in Denver on Saturday morning as he was preparing for a film festival screening of his new film “Casino Jack,” had a career that spanned genres. He made acclaimed documentaries, including the “Apocalypse Now” chronicle “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse” and “The Mayor of the Sunset Strip.” His short films include “Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade,” which was expanded into Billy Bob Thornton’s Oscar-winning feature “Sling Blade.” And he made narrative features, among them his tale of model and Andy Warhol protégé Edie Sedgwick, “Factory Girl.”
“Casino Jack,” is part satire, part broad comedy and part drama; it follows Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff (Kevin Spacey) through a world of power, privilege and over-the-top spending, until Abramoff was sent to prison in 2006 on fraud and corruption charges that rocked Washington’s corridors of power.