Actor, producer Spacey brings filming to BU Castle

One day after the Oscars, Boston University was ready for Hollywood.

Filming on the Charles River campus began yesterday morning for a yet-to-be-titled movie produced by and starring actor Kevin Spacey, according to the film's publicist. Spacey was on the BU campus with the film crew around noon at the Castle on Bay State Road.

The film is based on Ben Mezrich's 2003 book Bringing Down the House, the true story of six Massachusetts Institute of Technology students who learned to count cards in blackjack and won millions of dollars in Las Vegas before casinos caught on to the scheme. The movie is currently referred to as "The Untitled Blackjack Picture," according to the film's publicist, who requested anonymity citing company policy.

Principle photography for the film began Feb. 5 in Las Vegas, and filming in the Boston area is expected to extend into mid-April, the publicist said. More on-campus filming is scheduled during the university's Spring Break recess.

Citing unspecified legal reasons, the publicist did not explain why filming was taking place at BU and not MIT. The film's actual name was also not disclosed. According to the Internet Movie Database, the tentative name of the film is 21.

Actress Kate Bosworth and actor Laurence Fishburne are also cast in the film, the publicist said.

The film is being directed by Robert Luketic, whose previous credits include Legally Blonde and Monster-in-Law.