Pacino, Goodman & Sarandon in JACK KEVORKIAN bio pic

by Eli Reyes

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John Goodman and Susan Sarandon are reuniting for You Don't Know Jack, HBO Film's biopic of Jack Kevorkian. The pair recently played husband and wife in last year's Speed Racer, and will co-star opposite Al Pacino as Kevorkian.

THR also reports that Rain Man director Barry Levinson will helm the film about Kevorkian. If you're too young to remember, or if you spent most of your time in a cave(Batman, I'm looking at you)...

...Kevorkian, known as Dr. Death, assisted in more than 130 suicides. After willingly sending a videotape of himself euthanizing a terminally ill man to "60 Minutes," he was convicted in 1999 of second-degree murder and spent eight years in prison before getting paroled in 2007.


For years he was the butt of every punch line. You couldn't watch SNL, Leno or Letterman without some kind of parody. But his story is pretty fascinating, no matter what your stance is.

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Writer Adam Mazer penned the script for You Don't Know Jack, which is loosely based on the book "Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian's Life and the Battle to Legalize Euthanasia," written by Neal Nicol and Harry Wylie. The film follows Kevorkian's rise as he builds his infamous Mercy Machine and sets out to perform assisted suicides while waging an epic legal battles defending a patient's right to die.

Goodman will play Nicolm who's been a long time friend and co-worker of Kevorkian since 1961, and a steadfast supporter of the right to die. "Nicol's medical training as a corpsman and laboratory technician enabled him to assist Kevorkian on many occasions, while his laboratory supply company often provided materials for Kevorkian's efforts."

Sarandon taking on the role of  Janet Good, "an activist with the Hemlock Society who becomes one of Jack's staunchest supporters, working side by side with him to make humane suicide available to the terminally ill and suffering. After she is herself diagnosed with terminal cancer, she avails herself of Kevorkian's services, choosing her own time to die, surrounded by her friends and loved ones."

This is a damn, solid cast. Even though Pacino is a legend, can you think of the last thing you enjoyed him in? And he doesn't exactly resemble Kevorkian. Are ready for You Don't Know Jack?

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