Smokin
Aces,
whichstars Chicago rapper Common, hits stores on DVD today (Apr. 17) with an ecological-friendly
twist. The
DVD is one of the first released by Universal to use all-recycled material for
its packaging, in an attempt to help protect the environment.The
movie centers around a comedian-turned informant named Buddy "Aces"
Israel (played by Jeremy Piven), who decides to turn states evidence against the
mob. Before
he enters into protective custody, he heads to the casino’s of Lake Tahoe, drawing
teams of assassins seeking the $1 million dollar bounty on his head.In
addition to being ecological friendly, the HD DVD contains cutting edge technology
and features a Google Earth tie-in, which allows viewers to show the exact location
of each assassin during the film. Smokin
Aces was also recently turned into downloadable comic book online, with a
new 7th chapter added today. "Universal
asked about doing an online comic for Smokin Aces and putting it on the
website as a promotional tool," Director Joe Carnahan said. "They also
told me they would be doing a traditional printing, just like a regular comic
book. I flipped. No I f**king flipped and told them I’d do them one better – I
wanted to write all the stories." The
Smokin Aces comic book series are prequels, which gives readers and viewers
an understanding as to why each character is hunting for Buddy "Aces"
Israel. Smokin
Aces stars Common as "Sir Ivy" and is the rapper’s first major theatrical
role. The
movie also stars Ben Affleck, Alicia Keys, Ray Liotta, For
more information or to view the online comic book: http://www.smokinaces.net