wall street Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Oliver Stone's sequel to his classic '80s tale of slick, money-hungry stockbrokers, Wall Street, is racking up quite the cast. Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps already has Shia LaBeouf, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella, Michael Douglas, and arthouse It Girl Carey Mulligan (An Education) signed up for a 21st century take on greed on whether or not it's good (answer: probs not). But the big rumor all summer has been that Josh Brolin will take over the role of the villain after Javier Bardem turned down the role.

Well, as our buddies over at the esteemed website The Playlist point out, in this weekend's New York Times Oliver Stone casually confirms the rumors that Josh Brolin will indeed be playing the villain, and Charlie Sheen will be popping up in a cameo as his character from the original, Bud Fox.

Now that the real Wall Street and its counterparts around the world have felt the collective shudder of the past year's financial implosion, Stone is hoping to show some hope for redemption for Gekko.

"In his first run at Wall Street, Mr. Stone produced characters and a portrayal that lived longer than he ever expected and with unintended consequences. But he never would have made a second version if it didn't appear that the system, and high finance, had finally been brought to its knees.

'We wouldn't have done this movie in 2006,' he said. "'Things were too loose. I didn't want to glorify pigs.'"

Above: A scene from Michael Moore's new untitled documentary

These days it seems like everyone wants to take a bite out of the vampire universe and suck that sucker till its bone dry. While filmmaker Michael Moore isn't exactly moving on to the world of fiction, he tells USA Today -- who premiered the first image from his upcoming untitled film (see above) -- that his new movie takes the whole vampire mythology in a new (and topical) direction. Moore says, "The movie is not going to be an economics lesson; it's going to be more like a vampire movie. Instead of the main characters feasting on the blood of their victims, they feast on the money. And they never seem to get enough of it."

Moore, of course, is talking about those greedy Wall Street men and women whose bad choices and investments helped shove this country into a recession that so far has cost thousands of jobs and forced some of the most hard-working Americans to give up their homes because they can no longer afford the mortgages. While Moore admits that his films will always be a little bit funny regardless of the topic, this time he claims moviegoers might leave the theater asking ushers for "pitchforks and torches." Hmmm ... does the man really eat that much? (Insert smiley face with a wink)

The Untitled Michael Moore Film (which I think he should call Why Are People So F**king Greedy?) will hit theaters on October 2nd.

Now we're talking! Javier Bardem will bring Anton Chigurh, his character from No Country for Old Men, roaring back to life in the sequel to Oliver Stone's Wall Street. The hired assassin with the funny haircut will stalk financial company executives, using a fire extinguisher to put the fear of God into those heartless suits who stole America's money and refuse to give an accounting for their actions.

Unfortunately -- at least to my way of thinking -- that's not quite how the Wall Street sequel will play out, but it's not that far from the truth, either. Instead of playing a bad guy who sets things straight, Bardem will, in fact, play "a stock-shorting worldwide hedge fund manager," according to Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood Daily. He is the villain of the piece, held responsible for the suicide of the hero's mentor.

UPDATE: Nikki Finke clarifies today (via Fox) that Bardem is not onboard ... yet ... though that's who they want for the role.

Gordon Gekko has been planning his comeback since 2007, when word hit that the man was getting out of jail and getting a new Wall Street movie called Money Never Sleeps, with Michael Douglas returning to his role. At that time Oliver Stone, the co-writer and director of the original, was not being swayed by Douglas' begging, and had given a big fat NO to the idea. When the movie was fast-tracked last October, he still wasn't interested, and that wasn't really surprising ... but something seems to have changed.

MSNBC reports that not only is Douglas reprising his role, but that 20th Century Fox spokesman Gregg Brilliant says that Stone is on-board. He went on to say: "We need to keep the story line under wraps, but it's literally ripped from today's headlines. It's going to be very big and very cool." Apparently, big and cool enough to lure back Mr. Stone. In addition to Stone, Entertainment Weekly tells us Shia LaBeouf is in negotiations to play a young stock trader in the film.

Does the filmmaker's inclusion help your interest in the film? What about LaBeouf? I must say, for me, it's not so much the fact that Stone's involved, but the why -- is he simply getting a sweet paycheck, or was he lured in by a story we'd actually want to see? Could this be a sequel project that's actually worthy? It'd be a nice change.

Making unnecessary sequels and cashing in on current events are two of Hollywood's favorite things. So when an opportunity arises to do both at the same time, you better believe they're going to do it! Hence the long-rumored sequel to 1987's Wall Street, which Variety reports is being fast-tracked to capitalize on the stock market's new relevance in ordinary people's lives.

The sequel will focus on Gordon Gekko, the slick-haired, suspender-wearing corporate-raiding devil played by Michael Douglas in the original, newly released from prison as the sequel begins. Variety says 20th Century Fox intends for Douglas to star, though he hasn't signed on yet. But why wouldn't he? The last time he played this part, he got an Oscar for it, and it's not like he's super-busy making super-awesome movies these days. The sequel reportedly doesn't involve the Charlie Sheen character at all, which is probably just as well. The other one and a half men would get lonely without him.

The screenplay is being written by Allan Loeb, who wrote 21 and who also happens to be a licensed stock broker. He knows his greed and his card-counting and his shady gambling practices -- he sounds like a good fit. A director hasn't been assigned, but it's safe to assume it won't be Oliver Stone again.

Does any of this sound like a good idea to you? Yes, people are talking about Wall Street (the financial market, not the movie) again -- but they're talking about how much they hate it, and how angry they are at those greedy bastards for contributing to the economy's current screwed-up condition. The sequel is going to be a tough sale if it tries to make Gekko's "greed is good" mantra seem appealing or exciting again. On the other hand, if Gekko is humbled and chastened now, will he still be interesting? What direction do you think the Wall Street sequel should go?

The world changed on September 11, but Austin Chick's second film, August, focuses on the moments right beforehand. Starring Josh Hartnett as a young start-up entrepreneur deluded by power trips, the movie moves along with a subtle pace, letting the natural drama emerge from a situation about to veer out of the control with the crash of the stock market. Chick's first feature, XX/XY, explored a three-way relationship; August, which opens in New York on Friday, explores the relationship between money and power during a key time in American history. Supporting performances from Rip Torn and David Bowie elevate the movie, while Howard A. Rodman's script keeps its conceits in check. Chick spoke with Cinematical about envisioning August's themes and working with his talented cast.

Cinematical: The film uses a very specific setting -- August 2001 -- immediately before 9/11. What interested you about that time?

Austin Chick: It captures a moment on the eve of change. If Howard (Rodman) and I were to move it to any other time, we would probably move it further back. The market really started crashing about eighteen months prior to when the movie is set. But I feel like there was still a certain amount of momentum in New York up until 9/11, this sense that things were going to turn around. The market had completely crashed, but there was still this crazy sense of decadence. All that really changed with 9/11.

Twenty years have passed since 1987's Wall Street taught America that "Greed is good." The film won Michael Douglas a Best Actor Academy Award for his blistering performance as Gordon Gekko, a high-powered corporate raider. I re-watched Wall Street recently. It is definitely a product of the 1980's (ginormous cell phones, etc.) but still holds up, and has spawned a lot of imitators, like the very good Boiler Room. And now a sequel is on the way -- 20th Century Fox has just sealed a deal to bring the character of Gekko back to the big screen. At the end of Wall Street, Gordon Gekko had been busted with the help of his protege, played by Charlie Sheen. His fate was left up in the air, but the sequel confirms that he went to jail. The new film will take off with Gekko out of jail and "resuming his machinations on a global scale in the hedge-fund era." The title will be Money Never Sleeps -- which is one of Gekko's mottos.

Douglas is returning to the role and as for Gekko, he says "I don't think he's much different. He's just had more time to think about what to do." The new film's writer, Stephen Schiff (The Deep End of the Ocean, True Crime), says Gekko will be restyled and might just have an influence on big business fashion all over again -- "If you weren't wearing suspenders before Wall Street, you were certainly wearing them after." (I hate to contradict the man, but I've never worn suspenders in my life). Master of machismo Oliver Stone co-wrote and directed the original Wall Street, but will not be back for the sequel, despite having been begged for months by Douglas and Schiff. Schiff doesn't think Bud Fox, Charlie Sheen's character, will return either, and that surely rules out Martin Sheen as well. Remember that scene in Hot Shots! Part Deux where Martin and Charlie Sheen pass each other on the river, point, and yell "I loved you in Wall Street!" That was hilarious.

Good news , especially if you're a producer or director like Joel Silver or Ivan Reitman whose movies have grossed billions of dollars at the box office. According to a recent New York Times article, you now have a new way to finance your films -- Wall Street.

Wall Street investment groups like Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan are looking to get into bed with high-profile, and high-profit, Hollywood producers and directors. It's pretty obvious why this kind of deal is good for producers and directors. More creative control over their projects, a much bigger share in the profits from DVD sales and ownership of their films make this pretty much a no-brainer for creatives looking to get out from under the thumb of the studio system.

But what's the upside for the Wall Street crowd besides lunches at the Grill and Spago or the "glamor" of it all? Well, according to the article, the investors are in it for a reason that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone -- money. Plus, in return for the money they will also be trying to curb the free-spending ways of filmmakers and protect their investment by not funding things like development, which can eat up quite a bit of cash. So, Wall Street gets to invest in movies, with the potential for billions in profit, and still has a safety net in case something goes wrong. Seems like pretty smart business to me.

And what about the glamor of it all? Ivan Reitman's producing partner Tom Pollock put it this way in the article: "I don't think any of them are in it for the glamor. They kept talking about their next big deal, which was recreational vehicles."