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*You Don't Know Jack*
You Don't Know Jack
Written by	Adam Mazer
Directed by	Barry Levinson
Starring	Al Pacino; Danny Huston; Susan Sarandon; John Goodman; Brenda Vaccaro
Theme music composer	Marcelo Zarvos
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Scott Ferguson; Lydia Dean; Steve Lee Jones
Cinematography	Eigil Bryld
Editor	Aaron Yanes
Running time	134 minutes
Production company	Bee Holder Productions
Budget	$18 million
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	April 24, 2010

You Don't Know Jack is a 2010 American made-for-television biopic written by Adam Mazer and directed by Barry Levinson. It stars Al Pacino, John Goodman, Danny Huston, Susan Sarandon, and Brenda Vaccaro.

The film dramatizes the efforts of former Oakland County, Michigan, pathologist Jack Kevorkian (Pacino) to help the terminally ill and the profoundly disabled end their lives. The outspoken Kevorkian becomes a polarizing figure and is often referred to as "Dr. Death" in the press. He is assisted by his sister Margo Janus (Vaccaro) as well as his longtime friend and medical technician Neal Nicol (Goodman), and Janet Good (Sarandon), who founded the eastern Michigan chapter of the Hemlock Society.^[3] By accepted accounts, he aided 130 people to die.

Kevorkian is unsuccessfully tried four times, but after taking an unprecedented direct role in the August 1998 death of his final patient, Thomas Youk, he is convicted of second degree murder and is sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison.^[4] He serves over eight years and is released in June 2007.

You Don't Know Jack's screenplay was based largely on the book Between the Dying and the Dead by Neal Nicol and Harry Wylie. The film received numerous award nominations. Al Pacino won Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild awards for his performance as Kevorkian.^[5] It received largely positive reviews and currently has an 83% rating at the aggregate film review website Rotten Tomatoes.^[6]

Plot

Prompted by the plight of David Rivlin, a quadriplegic who litigated to be removed from his respirator so he can die,^[7] the sight of a dying woman in a hospital bed, and the memory of his mother Satenig's death over two decades earlier, Jack Kevorkian builds his first "Mercitron".^[8] out of parts bought at a flea market. He meets with Rivlin and presents his device. Kevorkian explains that through an intravenous line, Rivlin can self-administer first a harmless saline solution, followed by thiopental that will cause him to fall into a coma, and then potassium chloride that will stop his heart, thus causing death. Due to the expense and the difficulty of obtaining the drugs, Kevorkian later develops a less expensive method using tanks of carbon monoxide. Rivlin, however, becomes agitated and Kevorkian is forced to leave. Rivlin is later removed from his respirator and food and water are withheld. In an interview with reporter Jack Lessenberry, Kevorkian denounces what he sees as the cruelty of his unnecessarily painful death, comparing it to the Holocaust. He believes that his "death machine" would've brought about a quicker and easier death, and begins offering his services as a "death counselor". His first patient is Janet Adkins, a 53 -year-old woman from Portland, Oregon who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The disease is in its early stages, but Adkins is increasingly suffering from memory loss and confusion. With Kevorkian's help, she dies on June 4, 1990.^[9] Soon after Kevorkian begins aiding people in earnest.

As Kevorkian's notoriety increases, he provokes polarizing public opinion. His supporters believe he is performing a public service and that the government has no right to interfere with the decisions of competent individuals who want to die. He insists that he gives his patients a means to end their suffering; they alone made the decision and initiated the process. He also claims to have turned down 97 or 98 percent of the people asking for his help. His critics, however, believe he is playing God. Conservative Oakland County prosecutor Richard Thompson considers Kevorkian a murderer, but can't gain a conviction; he attributes his failures to Michigan's weak laws regarding assisted suicide and advocates stronger laws. In 1998, Thompson loses an election to a more liberal assistant prosecutor, David Gorcyca, who has no interest in wasting money (a major criticism of Thompson) prosecuting Jack Kevorkian as long as he only assists in suicides.

However, Thomas Youk's September 16, 1998 death is different. Youk, reputed to be Kevorkian's final patient, is so crippled by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) so he cannot self-administer the drugs. Kevorkian administers it personally. A video of Youk's death is presented as part of Kevorkian's interview with reporter Mike Wallace of the CBS news program 60 Minutes. It leads to him being indicted. Despite the intervention of Youk's widow Melody and his brother Terry, he is convicted of second degree murder. Kevorkian represents himself while in previous cases, he was represented by attorney Geoffrey Fieger. He is sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison.^[10] He wants his case to be heard by the United States Supreme Court so that the issue of assisted suicide can be decided. The Court declined to do so, however. Kevorkian is released in June 2007 after serving over eight years.

Cast

Al Pacino as Jack Kevorkian
Danny Huston as Geoffrey Fieger, Kevorkian's attorney
Susan Sarandon as Janet Good, a right-to-die advocate and patient
Brenda Vaccaro as Margaret "Margo" Janus, Kevorkian's sister and assistant until her death in 1994
John Goodman as Neal Nicol, Kevorkian's longtime friend and medical technician
James Urbaniak as Jack Lessenberry, a reporter
Eric Lange as John Skrzynski, an assistant prosecutor
John Engler as himself (stock footage), Michigan governor from 1991 to 2003
Richard E. Council as Judge David Breck
Sandra Seacat as Janet Adkins, Kevorkian's first patient
Adam Driver as Glen Stetson, a fictitious character who is a paraplegic who tried to immolate himself and is turned down by Kevorkian and Janet Good
Cotter Smith as Dick Thompson, Oakland County prosecutor from 1989 to 1996
David Wilson Barnes as David Gorcyca, Dick Thompson's successor as Oakland County prosecutor. Successfully prosecutes Kevorkian in the death of Thomas Youk

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2010	Artios Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Movie/Mini Series	Ellen Chenoweth	Nominated	^[11]
	Gold Derby TV Awards	TV movie/Mini Actor	Al Pacino	Won	^[12]
	Online Film & Television Association Awards	Best Motion Picture or Miniseries		Nominated	^[13]
		Best Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Al Pacino	Won
		Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	John Goodman	Won
		Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Danny Huston	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Susan Sarandon	Won
		Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Brenda Vaccaro	Nominated
		Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Barry Levinson	Nominated
		Best Writing of a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Adam Mazer	Nominated
		Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Miniseries		Nominated
		Best Cinematography in a Non-Series		Nominated
		Best Music in a Non-Series		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Made for Television Movie	Lydia Dean Pilcher, Steve Lee Jones, Glenn Rigberg, Barry Levinson, Tom Fontana, and Scott Ferguson	Nominated	^[14]
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Al Pacino	Won
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	John Goodman	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	Susan Sarandon	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	Brenda Vaccaro	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special	Barry Levinson	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special	Adam Mazer	Won
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie	Mark Ricker, Amy Fritz, and Rena DeAngelo	Nominated
		Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special	Ellen Chenoweth	Nominated
		Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie	Eigil Bryld	Nominated
		Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special	Rita Ryack and Maria Tortu	Nominated
		Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Movie	Colleen Callaghan, Joe Whitmeyer, and Cydney Cornell	Nominated
		Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or a Movie (Non-Prosthetic)	Dorothy J. Pearl and John Caglione Jr.	Nominated
		Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score)	Marcelo Zarvos	Nominated
		Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie	Aaron Yanes	Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Motion Picture Made for Television		Nominated	^[15]
		Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television	Al Pacino	Won
		Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television	Brenda Vaccaro	Won
	Television Critics Association Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials		Nominated	^[16]
	Women's Image Network Awards	Actress in a Mini-Series / Made for Television Movie	Susan Sarandon	Nominated	^[17]
2011	American Cinema Editors Awards	Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television	Aaron Yanes	Nominated	^[18]
	Costume Designers Guild Awards	Outstanding Made for Television Movie or Miniseries	Rita Ryack	Nominated	^[19]
	Critics' Choice Awards	Best Picture Made for Television		Nominated	^[20]
	Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Miniseries	Barry Levinson	Nominated	^[21]
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Miniseries or Television Film		Nominated	^[22]
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film	Al Pacino	Won	^[22]
	Guild of Music Supervisors Awards	Best Music Supervision for Movie of the Week	Evyen Klean^[a]	Won
	Producers Guild of America Awards	David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television	Scott Ferguson, Steve Lee Jones, Barry Levinson, and Lydia Dean Pilcher	Nominated	^[23]
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries	John Goodman	Nominated	^[24]
			Al Pacino	Won
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries	Susan Sarandon	Nominated
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Long Form – Original	Adam Mazer	Nominated	^[25]