IMDb > "Independent Lens" Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
"Independent Lens: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (#8.22)"
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"Independent Lens" Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)


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Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room: Season 8: Episode 22 -- Corporate audio and videotapes tell the inside story of the scandal involving one company's manipulation of California's energy supply and its, and how its executives wrung a billion dollars out of the resulting crisis.

Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   4,316 votes »
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Director:
Alex Gibney
Writers (WGA):
Bethany McLean (book) and
Peter Elkind (book) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room on IMDbPro.
TV Series:
"Independent Lens" (1999)
Original Air Date:
January 2005 (Season 8, Episode 22)
Genre:
Documentary See more »
Tagline:
It's Just Business
Plot:
Corporate audio and videotapes tell the inside story of the scandal involving one company's manipulation of California's energy supply and its, and how its executives wrung a billion dollars out of the resulting crisis. Full summary » | Add synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
See more »
NewsDesk:
(8 articles)
CBS Par TV, Gibney have good energy
 (From The Hollywood Reporter. 11 May 2006)
Brokeback Wins Best Feature at Independent Spirit Awards
 (From IMDb News. 4 March 2006)
WGA taps 'Enron' for doc nod
 (From The Hollywood Reporter. 2 February 2006)
User Reviews:
In the dictionary next to "hubris".... See more (74 total) »

Cast

 (Episode Cast) (in credits order)

Peter Coyote ... Narrator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Beard ... Himself

Barbara Boxer ... Herself (archive footage)

George W. Bush ... Himself
Jim Chanos ... Himself
Dick Cheney ... Himself

Bill Clinton ... Himself (archive footage)
Carol Coale ... Herself

Gray Davis ... Himself
Reggie Dees II ... Young man the stripper dances in front of (as Reggie Deets II)
Joseph Dunn ... Himself
Max Eberts ... Himself
Peter Elkind ... Himself
Andrew Fastow ... Himself
David Freeman ... Himself
Philip Hilder ... Himself
Al Kaseweter ... Himself
Kenneth Lay ... Himself

Jay Leno ... Himself (archive footage)
Bill Lerach ... Himself
Loretta Lynch ... Herself
Amanda Martin-Brock ... Herself
Bethany McLean ... Herself
Mike Muckleroy ... Himself
James Nutter ... Himself (as Reverend James Nutter)
John Olson ... Himself
Lou L. Pai ... Himself
Kevin Phillips ... Himself

David V. Porter ... "David" a Quoted Enron Trader
Nancy Rapoport ... Herself
Harvey Rosenfield ... Himself
Marla Ruzicka ... Herself (archive footage)

Arnold Schwarzenegger ... Himself (archive footage)

Maria Shriver ... Herself (archive footage)
Jeff Skilling ... Himself
Mimi Swartz ... Herself
Robert Traband ... Himself
Sherron Watkins ... Herself
Henry Waxman ... Himself
Andrew Weissman ... Himself
Colin Whitehead ... Himself
Charles Wickman ... Himself

Michael Lugenbuehl ... J. Clifford Baxter (uncredited)
Create a character page for: ?

Episode Crew
Directed by
Alex Gibney 
 
Writing credits
(WGA)
Bethany McLean (book "The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron") and
Peter Elkind (book "The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron")

Alex Gibney (written by)

Produced by
Mark Cuban .... executive producer
Alex Gibney .... producer
Jason Kliot .... producer
Kate McMahon .... associate producer
Susan Motamed .... producer
Joana Vicente .... executive producer
Todd Wagner .... executive producer
 
Original Music by
Matthew Hauser  (as Matt Hauser)
 
Cinematography by
Maryse Alberti 
 
Film Editing by
Alison Ellwood 
 
Casting by
Carol Grant 
 
Production Management
Kendall McCarthy .... post-production supervisor
Gretchen McGowan .... executive in charge of production
 
Art Department
Sanford Kinney .... additional graphic artist
 
Sound Department
Lee Adkison .... location sound mixer
Felix Andrew .... location sound mixer
Martin Czembor .... sound re-recording mixer
Marlena Grzaslewicz .... dialogue editor
Marlena Grzaslewicz .... supervising sound editor
Steve Osmon .... sound mixer
Mark Roy .... location sound mixer
Steve F.B. Smith .... stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Ira Spiegel .... sound effects editor
Shane Stoneback .... sound recordist
Bill Ward .... location sound mixer
Morgan Worth .... location sound mixer
 
Visual Effects by
Ben Fine .... animation
Ben Fine .... digital artist
Christian Zak .... film recording producer
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Greg Andracke .... additional cinematographer
Jennifer Blinder .... still photographer
Ben Bloodwell .... assistant camera
Don Blust .... additional cinematographer
John Casabom .... assistant camera
Mark Clark .... gaffer
Jon Else .... additional cinematographer
Anton Floquet .... additional cinematographer
Paul Goldhammer .... second electric
Mark Goodwin .... gaffer
Andrew Korner .... second electric
Dain Martin .... still photographer
George Mays .... gaffer
Alan McIntyre Smith .... gaffer (as Alan Smith)
Wyatt McSpadden .... still photographer
Lyle Morgan .... additional cinematographer
Kyle Rooney .... assistant camera
Justin Seyb .... best boy grip
Dan Strauss .... assistant camera
Sherron Watkins .... still photographer
 
Casting Department
Carol Grant .... extras casting
 
Editorial Department
Aljernon Tunsil .... assistant editor
Don Wyllie .... editor: HDTV
David Kuther .... additional editor: HDTV (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Steven DePalo .... composer: additional music
Mariusz Glabinski .... music editor
Chris Jordao .... composer: additional music
John McCullough .... music supervisor
Tracy McKnight .... executive soundtrack producer
Ahrin Mishan .... composer: theme music
Danny Willensky .... musician: saxophone
 
Other crew
Courtney Andrialis .... assistant: Mr. Kilot and Ms. Vicente
Claudio Barrientos .... assistant: Ms. McGowan
Will Battersby .... head of development
Andrew Beard .... production assistant
Elissa Birke .... research coordinator
Julie Burstein .... production intern
Vivian Chan .... production intern
Kristen Daly .... production assistant
Shankar Desai .... production assistant
Richard Dworkin .... transcriptor
Jacqueline Eckhouse .... production counsel (as Jackie Eckhouse)
Susan Elkins .... location
Leigh Evans .... production assistant
John B. Finn .... consultant (as John Finn)
Morgan Gibney .... production intern
Nick Gibney .... production intern
Michael Hastings-Black .... production assistant
Peter Kallish .... titles: HDTV
Michael Margent .... production intern
Robbie Meckna .... production assistant
Noah Myerson .... production intern
Daniella Nied .... production intern
Eric Pilarcik .... location manager: Los Angeles
Emma Pildes .... production intern
Kristina Redick .... office manager
Errol Reichow .... location
Christopher Richardson .... production assistant
Robin Simpson .... pilot: aerial unit
Robert Stein .... counsel: E&O
Shirley Thompson .... on-air promotions
Mike Tristano .... armorer
Fernando Vallejo .... production intern
Ali Wasserstein .... production coordinator
Crystal Whelan .... researcher
 
Thanks
Gboyega Akinola .... acknowledgment: archive footage provided by
Bankole Bello .... acknowledgment: archive footage provided by
Doug Biro .... special thanks
Kathleen Brennan .... special thanks
Jim Jarmusch .... special thanks
Alexandra Milgram .... acknowledgment: archive footage provided by
Victor Orlov .... special thanks
Tom Waits .... special thanks
 

Series Crew
These people are regular crew members. Were they in this episode?
Film Editing by
Brent E. Huffman 
 
Production Design by
Desma Murphy 
 
Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
See more »
MPAA:
Rated R for language and some nudity
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
109 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
UK:15 | Ireland:15A | USA:R | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Germany:o.Al.
Filming Locations:
Houston, Texas, USASee more »
Company:
HDNet FilmsSee more »

Did You Know?

Trivia:
Among the protesters who disrupt the meeting with Jeff Skilling at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club is Marla Ruzicka, who was killed on 16 April 2005 in Iraq by a suicide bomber. She founded CIVIC (Campaign for Innocent Victims of Conflict) which worked to help the victims of the war in Iraq and she was a former Global Exchange activist.See more »
Quotes:
Bethany McLean:Lou Pai left Enron with more money than anyone, because he sold all his stock after he divorced his wife to marry his stripper girlfriend who was having his child.See more »
Movie Connections:
References Body Heat (1981)See more »
Soundtrack:
LovefoolSee more »

FAQ

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User Reviews

   (Review this title)
84 out of 89 people found the following review useful.
In the dictionary next to "hubris"...., 25 April 2005
Author: bitcetc from United States

One powerful theme in "The Smartest Guys in the Room" is expressly articulated and repeated for emphasis: this is the story of people, not arcane financial accounting methods or numbers, and because it is people, it can happen again. Enron is just the manifestation of the evil begotten by hubris, in spectacularly public fashion. It is classic Greek tragedy, and it is one from which its chief protagonists, Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, must not escape.

Yes, it is a movie with a point of view, but this is not a Michael Moore documentary. Director Alex Gibney brilliantly tells the story simply by interviewing people who were participants in the events, showing the time lines of those events, and interweaving an astonishing amount of video and audio footage taped at Enron, by Enron itself. The movie resolved for me the question: "What did they know, and when did they know it?" They knew. They not only knew; they designed the company to be the ultimate shell game, with no pea. The only thing Enron ever had to sell was its stock price. And they did know that was their only product.

As a Houstonian, I admit that I, a supposedly sophisticated business professional, was intimidated by Enron's assertion in its glory days that the reason I didn't understand its business was just that I wasn't smart enough. My friends, managers and lawyers, some from Harvard thenselves, also admit to the same intimidation. It was not that the questions were not being asked; it was just that we were silenced when Enron avowed that they were the smartest guys in the room. They asserted it, and we believed them. Thank good Fortune that one reporter, Bethany McLean, in almost too soft a voice to be credible as a giant killer, kept asking.

I wish this movie might inspire a larger remedy than the one being attempted by the Department of Justice. Why doesn't Harvard deny admission to people like Jeff Skilling, who, when questioned in his entrance interview whether he was smart, replied, "I'm (expletive deleted) smart"? Why isn't some humility and modesty still ranked a virtue? Why do we celebrate the rise of the specialist educated only in his field, and wholly ignorant of the inevitability of the fall of the Greek protagonist who becomes blinded by arrogance, power, greed---- in short, hubris? Why is ethics a specialty study, instead of integral to every field of study? I sat open-mouthed as the tape showed Jeff Skilling seriously selling a new business idea: selling futures in the weather. He parodied himself on tape: he had a new, better idea than the "mark to market" booking which allowed Enron to book future theoretical profits once they had signed a deal; now he would institute "hypothetical to book", booking profits as soon as he had an idea. What, ultimately, was the difference between the parody and the reality? The horror of listening to traders, who sat in a room directly below Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, with staircases between their executive offices and the trading floor, laughing at the misery they were inflicting on California as they extorted profits from that misery, leaves me outraged long after the movie is over. They threatened and may have cost lives with their fraudulent tactics. They admit it on tape, laughing. They knew. It was their business plan. To make Andrew Fastow the scapegoat for what Enron was developing as its business plan before he was ever hired is simply the continuation of the shell game with no pea. Look for the "designated fall guy". They still think they are the smartest guys in the room.

No, I'll never be selected for the jury pool now, but I wouldn't have been anyway. I'll buy the DVD and watch it a few times during the trials and seethe, lest I forget. Excellent movie, the best kind of documentary.

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See more (74 total) »

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