Filmmaker Nick Cassavetes will soon get to work on "Bombing Harvey," a fact-based tale of a Hungarian scientist who tried to plant a bomb in a Lake Tahoe casino in an effort to retrieve the $3,000,000 he lost at the gaming tables.
Says Variety: "Nick Cassavetes is attached to write and direct "Bombing Harvey," a fact-based drama about a millionaire who tried to cover his gambling losses by planting a bomb and extorting $3 million from a Lake Tahoe casino.
The 1980 incident ended when authorities detonated the device and destroyed Harvey’s Resort Hotel. The bomber was John Birges, a Hungarian scientist who came to the U.S. and became a major landscape contractor in California. Birges was caught after being turned in by his son, John Birges Jr. The senior Birges had lost $3 million at the casino and was attempting to get the money back.
Birges Jr., who is participating in the film, helped his father get hundreds of sticks of dynamite to build the bomb but ultimately called the FBI after discovering his father had enlisted his younger brother in a plan to bomb Bank of America, which was foreclosing on the family ranch. Birges Jr. served 18 months for initially lying about the crime."
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Nick Cassavetes’ previous films include "John Q," "The Notebook," and the upcoming "Alpha Dog."
