Here are the secrets of how this unlikely caper came together.ġ. It spawned the biggest hit of director Steven Soderbergh's career, a three-film franchise, and a new Rat Pack of sorts that crowned George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon as Hollywood's new aristocracy. But the 2001 ' Ocean's 11,' released 15 years ago this week (on December 7, 2001), proved way more lucrative than the actual heist would have. Indeed, the original Rat Pack romp was so slight that news regarding its remake was met with a collective shrug. Back in 1960, when Peter Lawford pitched him the Vegas heist script for the original ' Ocean's 11,' Frank Sinatra reportedly joked, 'Forget the movie, let's pull the job.'
