"You Don't Know Jack" Movie Review
71Jack Kevorkian, "Dr. Death"
"You Don't Know Jack"
"You Don't Know Jack," HBO's new movie about Jack Kevorkian, premiered this week. Al Pacino did a terrific job as Jack Kevorkian. His portrayal of Kevorkian was sympathetic but not one-sided. The cast included Susan Sarandon as Janet Good a local Hemlock Society woman. Danny Huston as Kevorkian's lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger, and John Goodman as Kevorkian's druggist friend and volunteer assistant. Brenda Vaccaro plays Marge Janus, Kevorkian's sister who is a euthanasia advocate who encourages and assists Jack. The movie evokes sympathy for Kevorkian while presenting both sides of the assisted suicide issue.
4-29-10 MetroTimes--"You Don't Know Jack" Reviewed by Jack Lessenberry, (also a character in the movie)
- "Knowing Jack," by Jack Lessenberry
"The Jack Lessenberry in the film is not really me at all, but a blend of several journalists and a metaphor for all of them. Since the actor playing me (James Urbaniak) was younger and thinner than I am, with glossy black hair, I won't complain."
NY Times Review "You Don't Know Jack"
- "You Don't Know Jack" Review
Al Pacino taps into the underside of Jack Kevorkian, Dr. Death, in an HBO film.
4-22-10 Detroit Free Press--Al Pacino Nails Dr. Kevorkian in New HBO Movie Premiered this Week
- Al Pacino "Becomes" Jack Kevorkian In Barry Levinson HBO Movie
And what was meeting Kevorkian like? "He's quite a character," says Levinson, who won an Oscar for "Rain Man" in 1988.
10-15-09 HBO Shooting Movie in Detroit on Dr. Death
- HBO\'s Kevorkian movie shooting in Detroit - UPI.com
Scenes for an HBO movie about assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian are being shot in the Detroit area, witnesses said.
Danny Huston Plays Kevorkian's Lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger
- HBO Filiming Movie On Dr. Death in Detroit
When Geoffrey Fieger was asked about the guy who's playing him in the upcoming HBO movie about Jack Kevorkian, he had this to say: "Who's Danny Huston?" But the famed attorney was only kidding. When "You Don't Know Jack" came to metro
Jack Kevorkian on CBS
Mitch Albom Interviews "Dr. Death"
Jack Kevorkian, "Dr. Death," was recently paroled after serving eight years of a 10-25-year sentence for 2nd degree murder for a fatally injecting a terminally ill individual who wished to end his life. Kevorkian claims to have assisted 130 people to end their lives. Kevorkian is a pathologist and a native of Pontiac, Michigan, who alienated many but had supporters as well in his crusade in the 1990s for assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.
Kevorkian was interviewed recently by Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press. Here's a link to Albom's interview: Unfortunately, The Detroit Free Press kills links to its articles and op-eds after a week or so. Therefor, the link to Mitch Albom's interview with the good doctor is as dead as one of Kevorkian's patients, if that's the right word.
Neil Cavuto interview with Jack Kevorkian
Jack Kevorkian, "Dr. Death"
6-4-11NYTimes--Jack Kevorkian Dies at 83
- Dr. Jack Kevorkian Dies at 83 - Backed Assisted Suicide - NYTimes.com
A medical pathologist, Dr. Kevorkian challenged social taboos about disease and dying and helped dozens of terminally ill patients end their lives.
6-8-11MetroTimes--"The Meaining of Dr. K" by Jack Lessenberry
- The meaning of Dr. K. - Columns - Detroit Metro Times
Yet that doesn't mean he didn't have an impact. Washington and Oregon have legalized limited forms of physician-assisted death. Doctors are more sensitive to pain management issues than they were before Dr. Death came on the scene. Awareness of and
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I'm with you on that one!
I also agree. If i was terminally ill, had made pece with all of my demons and my family knew that I loved them, I too would rather end my life while my outer body was still graceful. If you dont stand for something you will fall for anything.
i think trying to prolong life, bring more suffering and pain to the dying than helping person to ease in their last moments.
Jack K agrees with you. I do too.
There's a scene in HBO's "You Don't Know Jack" where Jack Kevorkian is asked by attorney Geoffrey Fieger if he wants decaffeinated coffee.
"Decaf's for cowards," says Kevorkian (or rather, Al Pacino) to Fieger (Danny Huston).
Director Barry Levinson says the small but evocative moment in the script was inspired by a remark Kevorkian made during meetings before production started.
• Photos: 'You Don't Know Jack'
And what was meeting Kevorkian like? "He's quite a character," says Levinson, who won an Oscar for "Rain Man" in 1988.
That's an understatement. "You Don't Know Jack" follows the dramatic events of the 1990s, when Kevorkian -- the quirky, stubborn, outspoken crusader known as Dr. Death -- helped 130 people end their lives and became a controversial figure in the debate over physician-assisted suicide.
"You Don't Know Jack"
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"You Don't Know Jack" HBO's new movie about Jack Kevorkian premiered this week. Al Pacino did a terrific job as Jack Kevorkian. His portrayal of Kevorkian was sympathetic but not one-sided. The cast included Susan Sarandon as Janet Good a local euthansia advocate, Danny Huston as Kevorkian's lawyer, Jeffrey Fieger, and John Goodman as Kevorkian's friend. The evokes sympathy for Kevorkian while presenting both sides of the assisted death issue.
Would love to see this but don't get HBO; I wonder if it is online, on hulu or something.
Thanks for your comment. I imagine it will become available somewhere. I found the movie quite interesting. Jack is no dummy. Some time before the last Congressional election as I was leaving the Royal Oak post office I was accosted by a beautiful young woman, as I recall in a tight sweater, who asked me if I would sign a petition. I returned her smile and accepted the clipboard to which was affixed a nominating petition for Jack Kevorkian. As I signed I looked over the woman's shoulder and there was Jack himself. I shook his hand and told him I was a fan of his and wished him well in his campaign. He is a character not unlike the famous cryo preservationist in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, whose name escapes me.
thanks for drawing my attention to this.
Jack Kevorkian dead at 83.
"Jack Lessenberry, a prominent Michigan journalist who covered Dr. Kevorkian’s one-man campaign, wrote in The Detroit Metro Times: “Jack Kevorkian, faults and all, was a major force for good in this society. He forced us to pay attention to one of the biggest elephants in society’s living room: the fact that today vast numbers of people are alive who would rather be dead, who have lives not worth living.”
Mike360 3 years ago
Dr. Kevorkian is a hero. When our pets are too ill to go on, we get vets to end their suffering. Why can't people have the same option?