how can it be called 'Smokin ACES'???

If I may.

Smokin' Aces was originally written by Joe Carnahan and nobody else but Joe Carnahan, as well as directed. This film, however, has five different writers down in credit. Now, put this all together, and what we have here is actually a spec script for another film.

Remember Under Siege 2? The subtext for it was called Dark Horizons. Why? Because the original screenplay of the film was called Dark Horizons. It had absolutely nothing to even do with the first movie. Then, while casting, Steven Seagal got the lead part, and the producers just decided to make it into an Under Siege sequel just because. Speed 2 ended up using the story from a Die Hard screenplay, Die Hard 3 used something from a Lethal Weapon screenplay, and God only knows where they got the idea for Lethal Weapon 4. Saw 2 was also an original screenplay before becoming the unholy sacrifice for the beginning of needless Saw sequels.

Point being, this film was originally just a spec script written by two unknown writers. Pesce and Abrams want to make another lackluster sequel after Lost Boys 2, they work with Carnahan to make a Smokin' Aces 2 and pick up this turkey to fill the plot, adding or changing character names in order to suit the original's world.

Sad part is, film studios do this all the time. They find an original screenplay and adapt it as a vehicle sequel for another movie. And it's probably the best way of becoming a screenwriter today. Sad.

If con is the opposite of pro, wouldn't congress be the opposite of progress?