''Finder's Fee'' is a 2001 American film directed by

Jeff Probst Jeff Probst (; born November 4, 1961) is an American reality show host and executive producer. He is best known as the Emmy Award-winning host of the U.S. version of the reality television show ''Survivor'' since 2000. He was also the host of '' ...

from his original

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, ...

Plot

The film takes place over the course of a single evening. Tepper, played by Erik Palladino, finds a wallet on his way home from work. He contacts the owner of the wallet by telephone, and then later discovers that the wallet contains the winning ticket in a $6 million

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree o ...

. Complications arise when Tepper's friends come over for their regular poker night. One of the conditions of the game is that everyone purchase a ticket for the lottery, to be thrown into the pot. The game is played as a freezeout, with the winner collecting all the tickets and any prizes they may be worth. When the owner of the wallet, played by

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

, arrives, he realizes that the winning ticket is in the pot, and stays to play in the game.

Cast

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews from critics. The film holds a 60% fresh rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

with a score of 60% based on reviews from 5 critics.

Awards

''Finder's Fee'' won the Golden Space Needle Award, given to the audience's choice for Best Picture at the 2001

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

. Jeff Probst won the Best Screenplay (Feature Film) at the 2001 Method Fest Independent Film Festival. James Earl Jones won Best Actor in a DVD Premiere Movie at the 2003 DVDX Awards.

References

External links

* * 2001 films 2000s buddy films American buddy drama films American independent films Films about gambling 2001 drama films 2001 directorial debut films 2003 drama films 2003 films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{indie-drama-film-stub