Director Zak Penn (
Incident at Loch Ness) is to direct an impromptu style comic feature set around an international poker tournament, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Ben Affleck, David Schwimmer, William H. Macy, Richard Kind and German director Werner Herzog will star. Pic will shoot in February at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.
Penn, whose directing debut
Incident at Loch Ness is rolling out slowly in theaters, has played poker every week since high school. He has drawn cards with each member of his cast except Macy, who starred in the gaming-themed
The Cooler but isn't a gambler.
He will present each cast member with a fully fleshed-out character and then work with them to form the basis for what will be mostly improvised scenes. "The biggest problem the cast and I will face is that we will lose all of our fees playing cards while staying at the hotel," Penn said.
Penn said he'll enlist other card-playing actors to take part in the ensemble.