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Blank Check (film)
Encyclopedia
Blank Check is a 1994 film directed by Rupert Wainwright
, starring Brian Bonsall
, Karen Duffy
, Miguel Ferrer
, Tone Lōc
, Michael Lerner
and James Rebhorn
and released by Walt Disney Pictures
.
) escapes from jail. Soon after his prison break, Quigley enters a warehouse and recovers $1,000,000 he had hidden there sometime before his arrest (although it is unclear exactly how he illegally obtained the money). Quigley, with the help of two assailants, wisecracking Juice (Tone Lōc
) and corrupt bank president Edward Biderman (Michael Lerner
), devises a money laundering
scheme where Quigley will exchange the bills from his hidden "nest egg" (these bills are consecutive and are easily traceable) for nonconsecutive bills in Biderman's bank. Biderman's money has been watermark
ed by the FBI
because of his past in money laundering and can be identified under black light.
The film then cuts to 11 year old Preston Waters (Brian Bonsall
), whose father works as an investor for a living and is very frugal with money—so much so that when he is given a blank check from his grandmother for his birthday, his dad fills it out for only $11.00. Plus, when invited to a friend's birthday party at an amusement park, he only has enough tokens to go on the kiddie rides.
After Quigley visits Biderman in his bank office to discuss his plan (along with threatening Biderman's family if he does not comply with it), Quigley explains that Juice will be stopping by Biderman's office with a check to be cashed for $1,000,000 the next day at 1:00 P.M. After the meeting, Quigley runs over Preston's bicycle while he was riding it in the bank's parking lot. Pressed for time as he sees a police car patrolling the area, Quigley gives the boy a signed blank check and tells him to give it to his dad so they can buy him a new bike. Instead, the boy writes himself a check for $1,000,000 by printing it on his Apple Macintosh Performa 600 computer. Preston goes to the bank the following day and is directed to Biderman's office by a teller (as the teller could not approve a check that size herself). Thinking that Preston is Quigley's assistant, Juice, Biderman cashes Preston's check with money from a safe hidden behind a painting.
As Preston is leaving the bank, the real Juice enters Biderman's office with another check for $1,000,000. Realizing that Biderman mistook Preston for Juice, the trio begins a frantic search for Preston. Meanwhile, Preston embarks on an extreme shopping spree over the course of 6 days, buying a castle
-style house (by outbidding Quigley using the voicebox on his computer over the phone) along with many other expensive items (limousine service, go-kart track, water slide, etc.). He spends $999,675 of the original $1,000,000. Preston covers himself by saying he is making these purchases for a millionaire known only as "Macintosh" (named after Preston's computer) who lives in the castle house.
The entire time, Preston was being investigated by FBI agent Shay Stanley (working undercover as a teller at Biderman's bank and Preston's love interest) for money laundering as the bills Preston was using to make his purchases were Biderman's watermarked bills. At a birthday party Preston throws for Macintosh that forced Preston into debt (it was also Preston's birthday), he is forced into a showdown with Quigley, Juice, and Biderman. After the trio manage to capture Preston and demand to know what happened with the money, he admits Macintosh is a false name, to which Biderman suggests that Quigley can use Preston's purchases and the Macintosh name to give himself a new identity. When the trio is confronted by the FBI at Preston's castle house, Quigley claims to be Macintosh. However, with the FBI knowing that Macintosh had been using the watermarked bills, they arrest Quigley, Juice, and Biderman. After Preston gets home, his family throws him a birthday party. His father apologizes for being so harsh to him when it came to money, and his brothers congratulate him on pulling off the scheme. The movie ends with Preston looking at a picture of Shay, smiling and making a birthday wish.
, San Antonio, and Dallas in Texas
. The castle that Preston buys was filmed at 1415 Wooldridge Drive in Austin. The theme park in the beginning of the movie was Fiesta Texas (now Six Flags Fiesta Texas); several of the theme park's attractions, including The Rattler
, were filmed in this movie.
Rupert Wainwright
Rupert Wainwright is an English film and television director, writer, and actor.Wainwright was born in Cotswolds, UK and started his film career in the 1980s as an actor...
, starring Brian Bonsall
Brian Bonsall
Brian Eric Bonsall is an American former child actor. He is best known for playing the youngest Keaton child, Andy, on the NBC sitcom Family Ties from 1986 through 1989. He is also known for his portrayal of Alexander Rozhenko, the son of Worf, on Star Trek: The Next Generation.- Early life and...
, Karen Duffy
Karen Duffy
Karen Duffy is an American model, television personality, and actress.-Early life:Duffy was born in New York City, the daughter of Carol, a homemaker, and Phil Duffy, a developer. She attended Park Ridge High School in Park Ridge, New Jersey, graduating in 1979...
, Miguel Ferrer
Miguel Ferrer
Miguel José Ferrer is an American actor and voice actor who is often cast as a villain. His notable roles include Bob Morton, a supporting character in RoboCop , the short tempered FBI agent Albert Rosenfield in Twin Peaks, and Dr...
, Tone Lōc
Tone Lōc
Anthony Terrell Smith , better known by his stage name Tone Lōc, is an American rapper and actor.-Early life and career:...
, Michael Lerner
Michael Lerner (actor)
-Life and career:Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York of Romanian Jewish descent, the son of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer. He was raised in Bensonhurst and Red Hook. His brother, Ken Lerner, is also an actor...
and James Rebhorn
James Rebhorn
James Robert Rebhorn is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 television shows, feature films and plays.-Personal life:...
and released by Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
.
Plot
The story begins when convicted bank robber Carl Quigley (Miguel FerrerMiguel Ferrer
Miguel José Ferrer is an American actor and voice actor who is often cast as a villain. His notable roles include Bob Morton, a supporting character in RoboCop , the short tempered FBI agent Albert Rosenfield in Twin Peaks, and Dr...
) escapes from jail. Soon after his prison break, Quigley enters a warehouse and recovers $1,000,000 he had hidden there sometime before his arrest (although it is unclear exactly how he illegally obtained the money). Quigley, with the help of two assailants, wisecracking Juice (Tone Lōc
Tone Lōc
Anthony Terrell Smith , better known by his stage name Tone Lōc, is an American rapper and actor.-Early life and career:...
) and corrupt bank president Edward Biderman (Michael Lerner
Michael Lerner (actor)
-Life and career:Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York of Romanian Jewish descent, the son of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer. He was raised in Bensonhurst and Red Hook. His brother, Ken Lerner, is also an actor...
), devises a money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
scheme where Quigley will exchange the bills from his hidden "nest egg" (these bills are consecutive and are easily traceable) for nonconsecutive bills in Biderman's bank. Biderman's money has been watermark
Watermark
A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light , caused by thickness or density variations in the paper...
ed by the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
because of his past in money laundering and can be identified under black light.
The film then cuts to 11 year old Preston Waters (Brian Bonsall
Brian Bonsall
Brian Eric Bonsall is an American former child actor. He is best known for playing the youngest Keaton child, Andy, on the NBC sitcom Family Ties from 1986 through 1989. He is also known for his portrayal of Alexander Rozhenko, the son of Worf, on Star Trek: The Next Generation.- Early life and...
), whose father works as an investor for a living and is very frugal with money—so much so that when he is given a blank check from his grandmother for his birthday, his dad fills it out for only $11.00. Plus, when invited to a friend's birthday party at an amusement park, he only has enough tokens to go on the kiddie rides.
After Quigley visits Biderman in his bank office to discuss his plan (along with threatening Biderman's family if he does not comply with it), Quigley explains that Juice will be stopping by Biderman's office with a check to be cashed for $1,000,000 the next day at 1:00 P.M. After the meeting, Quigley runs over Preston's bicycle while he was riding it in the bank's parking lot. Pressed for time as he sees a police car patrolling the area, Quigley gives the boy a signed blank check and tells him to give it to his dad so they can buy him a new bike. Instead, the boy writes himself a check for $1,000,000 by printing it on his Apple Macintosh Performa 600 computer. Preston goes to the bank the following day and is directed to Biderman's office by a teller (as the teller could not approve a check that size herself). Thinking that Preston is Quigley's assistant, Juice, Biderman cashes Preston's check with money from a safe hidden behind a painting.
As Preston is leaving the bank, the real Juice enters Biderman's office with another check for $1,000,000. Realizing that Biderman mistook Preston for Juice, the trio begins a frantic search for Preston. Meanwhile, Preston embarks on an extreme shopping spree over the course of 6 days, buying a castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
-style house (by outbidding Quigley using the voicebox on his computer over the phone) along with many other expensive items (limousine service, go-kart track, water slide, etc.). He spends $999,675 of the original $1,000,000. Preston covers himself by saying he is making these purchases for a millionaire known only as "Macintosh" (named after Preston's computer) who lives in the castle house.
The entire time, Preston was being investigated by FBI agent Shay Stanley (working undercover as a teller at Biderman's bank and Preston's love interest) for money laundering as the bills Preston was using to make his purchases were Biderman's watermarked bills. At a birthday party Preston throws for Macintosh that forced Preston into debt (it was also Preston's birthday), he is forced into a showdown with Quigley, Juice, and Biderman. After the trio manage to capture Preston and demand to know what happened with the money, he admits Macintosh is a false name, to which Biderman suggests that Quigley can use Preston's purchases and the Macintosh name to give himself a new identity. When the trio is confronted by the FBI at Preston's castle house, Quigley claims to be Macintosh. However, with the FBI knowing that Macintosh had been using the watermarked bills, they arrest Quigley, Juice, and Biderman. After Preston gets home, his family throws him a birthday party. His father apologizes for being so harsh to him when it came to money, and his brothers congratulate him on pulling off the scheme. The movie ends with Preston looking at a picture of Shay, smiling and making a birthday wish.
Cast
- Brian BonsallBrian BonsallBrian Eric Bonsall is an American former child actor. He is best known for playing the youngest Keaton child, Andy, on the NBC sitcom Family Ties from 1986 through 1989. He is also known for his portrayal of Alexander Rozhenko, the son of Worf, on Star Trek: The Next Generation.- Early life and...
– Preston Waters - Karen DuffyKaren DuffyKaren Duffy is an American model, television personality, and actress.-Early life:Duffy was born in New York City, the daughter of Carol, a homemaker, and Phil Duffy, a developer. She attended Park Ridge High School in Park Ridge, New Jersey, graduating in 1979...
– Shay Stanley - Miguel FerrerMiguel FerrerMiguel José Ferrer is an American actor and voice actor who is often cast as a villain. His notable roles include Bob Morton, a supporting character in RoboCop , the short tempered FBI agent Albert Rosenfield in Twin Peaks, and Dr...
– Carl Quigley - Tone LōcTone LōcAnthony Terrell Smith , better known by his stage name Tone Lōc, is an American rapper and actor.-Early life and career:...
– Juice - Michael LernerMichael Lerner (actor)-Life and career:Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York of Romanian Jewish descent, the son of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer. He was raised in Bensonhurst and Red Hook. His brother, Ken Lerner, is also an actor...
– Edward Biderman - James RebhornJames RebhornJames Robert Rebhorn is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 television shows, feature films and plays.-Personal life:...
– Fred Waters - Jayne AtkinsonJayne AtkinsonJayne Atkinson is an English-born American film, theatre and television actress. She is perhaps best known for the role of Karen Hayes on 24 as well as her Tony Award-nominated roles in The Rainmaker and Enchanted April...
– Sandra Waters - Michael Faustino – Ralph Waters
- Chris DemetralChris DemetralChristopher Peter "Chris" Demetral is a former American actor best known as Jeremy Tupper, the son of newly divorced New York book editor Martin Tupper on the HBO series Dream On...
– Damien Waters - Rick DucommunRick DucommunRichard "Rick" Ducommun is a Canadian actor and comedian, often seen in supporting roles on both television and the silver screen.Ducommun was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan...
– Henry - Maxwell Strachan – Quincy Carmichael
- Debbie AllenDebbie AllenDeborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities...
– Yvonne - Alex Allen Morris – Riggs
Production
The movie was filmed in AustinAustin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, San Antonio, and Dallas in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The castle that Preston buys was filmed at 1415 Wooldridge Drive in Austin. The theme park in the beginning of the movie was Fiesta Texas (now Six Flags Fiesta Texas); several of the theme park's attractions, including The Rattler
Rattler (roller coaster)
The Rattler is a wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, TX.The Rattler is located in the Western-themed Crackaxle Canyon area of Fiesta Texas, sitting next to the Road Runner Express, with which Rattler intertwines...
, were filmed in this movie.