Say you want to make a movie about of the financial crisis of the mid-aughts. It doesn’t sound like the most enticing proposition for blockbuster-driven studios these days, does it? Okay, now attach three hot slices A-list of hunkdom in the lead roles…guess what, your movie gets made!
Variety reports that Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling— who it must be said are also extremely talented on top of their chiseled features— will star in "The Big Short." The film will be an adaptation of "Moneyball" writer Michael Lewis‘ bestseller. Here’s the book synopsis:
The real story of the crash began in bizarre feeder markets where the sun doesn’t shine and the SEC doesn’t dare, or bother, to tread: the bond and real estate derivative markets where geeks invent impenetrable securities to profit from the misery of lower–and middle–class Americans who can’t pay their debts. The smart people who understood what was or might be happening were paralyzed by hope and fear; in any case, they weren’t talking.
The project is set up at Paramount with Pitt’s Plan B producing, and Adam McKay ("Anchorman") writing and directing. The latter might seem like an odd choice until you remember his totally left field credit sequence for "The Other Guys," which featured a ton of non-funny financial world stats soundtracked to Rage Against The Machine. No word yet on when production will begin, but the idea is for the movie to be a "Traffic"-esque sprawling tale with the opportunity for more A-list stars to fill smaller roles.
Until we know more, here’s that aforementioned credit sequence.