George Hickenlooper, who directed Kevin Spacey in Casino Jack, the upcoming film about lobbyist Jack Abramoff, was found dead over the weekend.  He was 47.  Hickenlooper had been in Denver, where his cousin John is the mayor (as well as the Democratic candidate for governor), to promote the film festival premiere of his movie.

In a statement Saturday, Denver mayor and Colorado Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper says his cousin died of apparent natural causes. Police say he was found dead Saturday morning. [AP]

Really, dude?  Natural causes at 47?  Jesus, I’m glad you’re not running for surgeon general.

He died in his sleep of a heart attack, said his father, George Hickenlooper Jr., a St. Louis playwright.  “It was a complete shock,” his father said. “I don’t think he was aware of any health problems.”

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Kevin Spacey recently visited a federal, pound-me-in-the-ass prison (assemble your own joke!) in Maryland to meet with “disgraced lobbyist*” Jack Abramoff as research for a possible film about Abramoff. You may remember Abramoff as the guy who thought it’d be a good idea to show up to his trial looking like the villain in a Jimmy Cagney movie, except fatter.

Spacey and director George Hickenlooper (Factory Girl) met with Abramoff Friday afternoon to discuss plans for a film called Casino Jack or Bagman, based loosely on Abramoff’s career in Washington.  Abramoff, 50, began serving a six-year sentence in November 2006 for conspiracy, honest-services fraud and tax evasion in the purchase of casino boats in Florida, and was given four years last September for mail fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion. His projected release date is Dec. 1, 2011, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.

I’ve always found Casino Jacks to be radically overpriced, but I digress – you haven’t gotten to the best quote of the piece yet:

Abramoff is no stranger to Hollywood. He and his brother Robert produced the 1989 Dolph Lundgren action movie Red Scorpion and its sequel, Red Scorpion 2. [USA Today]

Red Scorpion, by the way, was a film partially financed by the propaganda wing of South Africa’s apartheid government, which was basically a ripoff of Commando starring Dolph Lundgren in short shorts.  Kevin Spacey called it “an under-appreciated classic.”
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