Everything that former soap opera star Eileen Davidson (ex-Ashley Abbott, The Young and the Restless; ex-Kristin DiMera, Days of our Lives) touches seems to turn to gold, and that goes for her new film 7 Days to Vegas, as well.
The action-comedy film likely wouldn't even be in existence had she not convinced her husband, poker enthusiast Vince Van Patten, to tell his life story in movie format.
The Emmy Award-winning actress shares: "We were doing shots of tequila and Rollerblading in Venice on the Boardwalk -- it was our anniversary -- and we were talking about movies, and I said, 'You should write the story of your home game,' because he's come home with these amazing stories about prop bets... [So I said] you've got to write your story... and, oh yeah, I'd better play your wife or else!"
So, Van Patten got to work with co-writer Steve Alper and penned the script that tells the story of a poker player named Duke (Van Patten) who makes one of the wildest bets of his life: walking all the way to Las Vegas for a million dollars.
Says Van Patten: "I had a big poker game for 20 years in Los Angeles, and it got bigger and bigger until the stakes were gigantic. I met very interesting people, just off-the-wall, bigger-than-life kind of guys, and we would make bets on everything and anything. And this movie is about a bet that I made, the craziest bet that I ever made, that I could walk from LA to Las Vegas in seven days for a large amount of cash. And it's a true story, basically... and it's insane."
Fans of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, the reality show on which Davidson starred from 2014 to 2017, have already seen a sneak peek of 7 Days to Vegas. Cast members from the reality show read a part of the script on camera "with all the girls playing parts in the movie" Davidson shares.
Luckily for anyone who didn't catch the The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills episode, the teaser trailer for 7 Days to Vegas is available for viewing below.
In addition to Van Patten and Davidson, 7 Days to Vegas stars Ross McCall, Paul Walter Hauser, James Van Patten, Willie Garson, Lucas Bryant, Don Stark, John O'Hurley, Chad Lowe, Jennifer Tilly, Danny Pardo, Aron Eisenberg, James Kyson, Joseph Siprut, Christina Vidal, Kara Weinraub, Denise Dubarry, Renee Willett, Tom Alper, and Antonio Esfandiari.
The film is scheduled to make its world debut on Friday, January 11, at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. For more information on the film and the festival, click here.
Davidson has been playing the role of Y&R's Ashley on-again, off-again since 1982. Not long after taking home a Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Lead Actress category for her work on Y&R in 2018, she shocked the daytime community when she announced that she was walking away from the CBS soap opera to spend more time with her family. She last aired in October 2018. The California native is also known for her five roles on Days of our Lives -- Kristen DiMera, Susan Banks, Thomas Banks, Penelope Banks, and Mary Moira -- for which she also won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2014.
UPDATE (September 23, 2019): Good news, Davidson fans! The beloved actress took to Twitter today to share that her film is available for rent and to buy today on iTunes.
?????? https://t.co/t9RkFenaTJ
— Eileen Davidson (@eileen_davidson) September 24, 2019
This article was modified to reflect a change in the movie's title from Walk to Vegas to 7 Days to Vegas.
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