Ocean’s Eight becomes the 1300th film to grace the pages of otsoNY. The heist comedy film that was shot in New York was released to cinema audiences earlier this year and received mixed reviews. It was directed by Gary Ross and written by Ross and Olivia Milch. The film is both a continuation and a spin-off from Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's trilogy and features an ensemble cast, including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, and Awkwafina. The film follows a group of women led by Debbie Ocean, the sister of Danny Ocean, who plan a sophisticated heist of the annual Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Ocean's Eight Film Poster

After the release of Ocean's Thirteen, Steven Soderbergh stated that there would not be an Ocean's Fourteen, noting that George Clooney wanted "to go out strong" with the third film. In December 2008, Soderbergh again said that a fourth film in the franchise was unlikely, this time citing the recent death of Bernie Mac, who had appeared in the earlier films. However, a female focused spin-off starring Sandra Bullock was in development as of October 2015. Helena Bonham Carter, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, and Elizabeth Banks were later announced to star in the film, though Banks' presence turned out to be a rumour that did not materialize.

In August 2016, Bullock, Blanchett, Bonham Carter and Kaling were confirmed to star, with Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Awkwafina, and Sarah Paulson closing deals to fill the cast. During production on the film, Dakota Fanning and Damian Lewis were spotted on set, with Lewis's casting being confirmed in December 2016 and Fanning confirming her casting in March 2017. However, Lewis does not appear in the finished film. On November 11, 2016, Richard Robichaux was also cast in the film. That same month, Matt Damon stated he would appear in the film, reprising his role from the Ocean's Trilogy, however, his scene was not included in the finished film. In January 2017, James Corden joined the cast as an insurance broker who begins to grow suspicious of the group. That same month, it was revealed Anna Wintour, Alexander Wang, Zac Posen, Derek Blasberg, Lauren Santo Domingo, Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Katie Holmes, Olivia Munn, Hailey Baldwin and Zayn Malik were announced to cameo in the film.

The film starts with the release from prison for Debbie Ocean, younger sister of the late Danny Ocean, who then meets with her former partner-in-crime Lou to convince her to join a heist that she planned while serving her sentence. Debbie and Lou assemble the rest of their team: Rose Weil, a disgraced fashion designer who is deeply in debt with the IRS; Amita, a jewelry maker and friend of Debbie's who is eager to move out of her mother's house and start her own life; Nine Ball, a computer hacker; Constance, a street hustler and pickpocket; and Tammy, a profiteer and another friend of Debbie's who has been secretly selling stolen goods out of her family's suburban home.

Film: Ocean's Eight

Debbie plans to steal the Toussaint, a $150 million Cartier necklace, from the Met Gala in three-and-a-half weeks, and use Met Gala co-host Daphne Kluger, a famous actress known for her long neck, as an unwitting mule who will wear the necklace into the gala. The team manipulates Daphne into choosing Weil as her stylist, and Weil and Amita go to Cartier to convince them to let Daphne wear the Toussaint. They also surreptitiously digitally scan the necklace in order to manufacture a cubic zirconia duplicate. Debbie seeks out Claude Becker, an art dealer who ratted her out to the police when they were discovered for art fraud, which led to her arrest and imprisonment. Debbie manipulates Daphne to invite Becker as her date to the gala. Lou realizes that Debbie is out for revenge on Becker, but Debbie reassures her that everything will be fine.

Film: Ocean's Eight

Weil discovers a flaw in the plan: The Toussaint can only be unclasped using a special magnet carried by the bodyguards hired by Cartier. Nine Ball enlists her younger sister, Veronica, to build a similar magnet in time for the gala. As the gala begins, Daphne consumes soup that Lou spiked, causing her to vomit in the restroom, where Constance takes the necklace. When the necklace is discovered to be missing, the museum is evacuated and searched; Tammy "finds" the duplicate necklace in order to end the search before Amita, who has retrieved the real necklace and is disassembling it, is discovered in the kitchen restroom. Amita retools the Toussaint into several pieces of jewelry, and gives them to Constance to slip to the members of the team. Debbie plants one of the parts of the necklace on Becker.

Film: Ocean's Eight

Soon after the gala the necklace is returned to Cartier and identified as a fake. John Frazier, an insurance fraud investigator, arrives to investigate. Frazier, who has a history with the Ocean family, notices Debbie's presence at the gala and suspects her involvement in the heist, although he is unable to find any evidence against her. Debbie assures Frazier that she does not know where the necklace is, but she may know where part of it is. Daphne is revealed to have been in on the plan, tipped off by Weil's bad acting, and Debbie and Lou invited her in to keep her from turning them in. Daphne visits Becker for a romantic evening, and she finds the diamonds planted on him by Debbie during the gala. She sends a picture to Frazier so that he can obtain an arrest warrant, and Becker is arrested for stealing the necklace. To further frame Becker, Debbie hires actresses disguised as elderly socialites to sell pieces of the necklace and deposit the money into an account in Becker's name.

Film: Ocean's Eight

As the eight celebrate their victory, Daphne asks Debbie and Lou how all the shares could be paid from the lesser amount made from the sale of separate parts of the necklace. Lou reveals that while the gala was being evacuated, Lou and "The Amazing" Yen were stealing some of the Royal jewels on display during the Gala, which makes their cuts higher than expected. Each member of the team goes her separate way with her money: Amita goes to Paris with a man she met on Tinder; Weil pays off her debts and opens her own store; Constance buys a spacious loft in the city and becomes a YouTuber; Tammy expands her business in selling stolen goods; Nine Ball opens a pool bar; Daphne becomes a director; Lou goes on a cross-country road trip; and Debbie returns to Danny's grave to raise a toast to him with a martini in his honour.

Film: Ocean's Eight

Film locations include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cartier Boutique and the Bergdorf Goodman department store on 5th Avenue, The Plaza Hotel, Veselka at 144 on 2nd Avenue, Cheim & Read Art Gallery on West 25th Street and the classic TWA Terminal at JFK International Airport, which has appeared in “Live and Let Die” and “Catch Me If You Can”.

Sandra Bullock

Actress: Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock, who was born July 26, 1964 is an American actress, producer, and philanthropist. After making her acting debut with a minor role in the thriller Hangmen (1987), she received early attention for her performance in the sci-fi action film Demolition Man (1993). Her breakthrough came in the action thriller Speed (1994). A line of successful films followed throughout the 1990s, including While You Were Sleeping (1995), The Net (1995), A Time to Kill (1996), and Hope Floats (1998).

Actress: Sandra Bullock

Bullock achieved further success in the following decades in Miss Congeniality (2000), Two Weeks Notice (2002), Crash (2004), The Proposal (2009), The Heat (2013), and Ocean's 8 (2018). She was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama for playing Leigh Anne Tuohy in the biographical drama The Blind Side (2009), and was nominated in the same categories for her performance in the thriller Gravity (2013). Bullock's greatest commercial success is the animated comedy Minions (2015), which grossed over US$1 billion at the box office. In 2007, she was one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses, and in 2015, she ranked as the highest-paid actress. She was also named "Most Beautiful Woman" by People magazine in 2015. In addition to her acting career, Bullock is the founder of the production company Fortis Films. She has produced some of the films in which she starred, including Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005) and All About Steve (2009). She was an executive producer of the ABC sitcom George Lopez (2002–07), and made several appearances during its run.

Actress: Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock has appeared in 8 New York-based movies: Hangmen, 28 Days, Miss Congeniality 1 and 2, Two Weeks Notice, which was one of the first films added to otsoNY in 2009, and of which there is a planned revisit of the film to add new screen grabs and additional film locations, The Proposal, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and in 2018, the heist comedy Ocean’s 8.