August (2008, Dir. Austin Chick)

FILM: August
YEAR: 2008
DIRECTOR: Austin Chick
PINBALL MODEL(S): High Roller Casino (2001, Stern)
GAME LOCATION: Bar/Tavern
NOTES: Going beyond the familiar visual presence of a "pinball table at the pub," production designers occasionally take care in aligning the theme of the pin model to the central theme of the film itself.  This movie—which deals with the the uncertain and fleeting nature of success within the internet startup industry—finds an ideal thematic parallel in this casino-themed pin.  If pinball and gambling are matters governed more by chance than by control, then the appearance of this particular pin can be read as a passive, non-verbal manifestation of the film's attitudes toward the nature of the startup industry.