JOE CARNAHAN - CARNAHAN SURPRISED AT SMOKIN' ACES SEQUEL REQUEST

Filmmaker JOE CARNAHAN is amazed his box-office flop Smokin' Aces became so successful as a rental DVD movie bosses now want to shoot a prequel. Crime drama Smokin' Aces slipped in and out of cinemas almost unnoticed upon its release last year (06) - despite a cast including Ben Affleck and Andy Garcia - but became a hugely popular rental. However, although he will be involved with the film, Carnahan won't be directing the follow-up. He writes on his website: "Universal wants to move ahead with a direct-to-video prequel of Smokin' and asked me if I wanted to Godfather the thing and make sure we did a really cool story. "The DVD numbers Smokin' Aces has done are astounding and they want to strike while the iron is hot. Whatever reluctance I have is alleviated by the fact that we can really do this balls out, hardcore prequel and not be constrained by ratings or any other puritanical MPAA bulls**t. That I love. "I won't be directing. I will probably help break story - something lean and mean and nasty."