Lucky Numbers

Lucky Numbers
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Nora Ephron
Produced by	Sean Daniel Nora Ephron Jonathan D. Krane Andrew Lazar Jody Hedien
Written by	Adam Resnick
Starring	John Travolta Lisa Kudrow Tim Roth Ed O'Neill Michael Rapaport Bill Pullman
Music by	George Fenton
Cinematography	John Lindley
Edited by	Barry Malkin
Production company	StudioCanal
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	October 27, 2000 (2000-10-27)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United States France
Language	English
Budget	$63 million
Box office	$10,890,222

Lucky Numbers is a 2000 comedy film directed by Nora Ephron. The screenplay by Adam Resnick was inspired by the 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal. It is the only film Ephron directed without also writing the screenplay.

In 1988 Russ Richards (John Travolta), the weatherman for a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania television station, is revered as a local celebrity by his viewers, and fame affords him such perks as a reserved parking spot and his own booth at Denny's, where an omelet bears his name. His eternally optimistic demeanor conceals the fact his snowmobile dealership is on the verge of bankruptcy due to an unusually warm winter.

His friend Gig (Tim Roth), a shady strip club owner, suggests an insurance scam will free Russ of his financial problems, but when the scheme fails to pay off, Russ finds himself even deeper in debt and the target of a hitman named Dale (Michael Rapaport). Gig then proposes Russ rig the Pennsylvania Lottery with the help of his amoral girlfriend Crystal Latroy (Lisa Kudrow), a ditzy model who pulls and announces the winning numbers on television, and her oddball cousin Walter (Michael Moore), who will pose as the owner of the lucky ticket.

Their plan works, but before the $6.4 million jackpot can be claimed, everything begins to unravel. First, Walter gets greedy, refuses to hand the winning ticket over to his cousin and Crystal's physical confrontation triggers Walter's ultimately fatal asthma attack. Sleazy station manager Dick Simmons (Ed O'Neill), who also is sleeping with Crystal, tries to blackmail her and Russ when he discovers what they have done, and others who have uncovered what appears to be the worst kept secret in town demand their share as well. Mayhem and murder ensue, prompting lazy detectives Lakewood (Bill Pullman) and Chambers (Daryl Mitchell) to initiate an investigation they hope will not be too taxing.