Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders (2006)

Director:

James D. Scurlock

Writer:

James D. Scurlock (writer)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

The Movie You Can't Afford To Miss

Plot:

When Hurricane Katrina ravaged America's Gulf Coast, it laid bare an uncomfortable reality-America is...

Plot Keywords:

Debt

Cast

Beth Naef	...	Herself
Mike Hudson	...	Himself
Louis C.K.	...	Himself
Catherine Brown
John Brown	...	Himself
Robin Leach	...	Himself
Luke McCabe	...	Himself
Dave Ramsey	...	Himself - Radio Host
Chris Barrett	...	Himself
Elizabeth Warren	...	Herself
Brandie Broersma	...	Herself
Will Broersma	...	Himself
Bud Hibbs	...	Himself
Janne O'Donnell	...	Herself
Mark Mumma	...	Himself
Trisha A. Johnson	...	Herself
Jon Ballew	...	Himself
Kathy Ballew
David Szwak	...	Himself
Jerry Jarzombek	...	Himself
Doris Gohman	...	Herself
Larry A. Schiavi	...	Himself
Bud Stimmler	...	Himself
George T. Bechakas	...	Himself
Robert Johnson	...	Himself
Helena Durst	...	Herself
Chris Winkler	...	Himself
John LaFalce	...	Himself
Brian Lurie	...	Himself
Lynn Slavert	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
George Bush	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jimmy Carter	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Connie Chung	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bill Clinton	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Christopher Dodd	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Louis Freeh	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Alan Greenspan	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Orrin G. Hatch	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Sheila Jackson Lee	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ross Perot	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dan Rather	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Richard Shelby	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Eliot Spitzer	...	Himself (uncredited)
Tom Udall	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Maxine Waters	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
James D. Scurlock

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
James D. Scurlock		writer

Produced by
James D. Scurlock	....	producer
Alexis Spraic	....	associate producer
Lee Thompson	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Benoît Charest		(as Benoit Charest)

Cinematography by
Jon Aaseng		(director of photography) (as Jon Aaron Aaseng)

Film Editing by
Alexis Spraic

Production Management
Lee Thompson	....	production supervisor

Art Department
David Sparrgrove	....	graphic designer

Sound Department
Johnny Massena	....	sound recordist
Joe Milner	....	sound designer
Dane Thomsen	....	sound recordist
Joe Milner	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Joe Milner	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Vincent Lavares	....	data manager (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Bill Beltran	....	on-line editor: high definition

Music Department
Alexandre Castonguay	....	musician: cello
Benoît Charest	....	musician: electric guitar (as Ben Charest)
Marie-Claire Cousineau	....	musician: viola
Yolanda Ferraloro	....	music supervisor
Jean-Guy Grenier	....	musician: pedal steel guitar and acoustic guitar
Robbie Kuster	....	musician: drums
Manuel Marie	....	assistant music sound engineer
Martin Marier	....	assistant to composer
Pierre Messier	....	music sound engineer
Morgan Moore	....	musician: bass
Walter Palmieri	....	musician: acordian
François Pilon	....	musician: violin
John Sadowy	....	musician: piano

Other crew
Tony Chang	....	technical consultant
David Sparrgrove	....	title designer

Thanks
Bob Manning	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Trueworks

Distributors

• Magnolia Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• NetFlix (2007) (USA) (all media)
• Red Envelope Entertainment (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Truly Indie (2007) (USA) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Laser Pacific  audio layback
• Music Rightz  music licensing
• Post Group, The  post-production facilities (as The Postgroup)
• Studios Piccolo  music recorded at

Also Known As:

Maxed Out: Our Credit (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Edmond, Oklahoma, USA

Company:

Trueworks

Movie Connections:

References The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

Soundtrack:

Money (That's What I Want)

Maxed Out - A film whose time has come

Maxed Out is an eye opening documentary that is long, long overdue. Over the last few decades the credit industry has only become bolder and more aggressive. Maxed Out begs the question: Have they gone too far? Seeing this movie will make you think twice about filling out another credit card application.

As one of the characters early on in the film, I was aware of a lot of the dirty tricks and tactics used by creditors, bill collectors, 'professional debt collectors' and the like. I truly thought I knew about the level of greed this film would expose in the credit industry. I was a debt collector for nearly a decade but left the industry because of the many 'slime balls' indigenous to the profession. It takes a certain kind of person to remain in this industry for the long haul.

What I did not know, was the depths at which some creditors would be willing to sink. Even I was appalled at the actions of some of the biggest names in the lending business, and I thought I had seen every dirty trick in the book. Without going into detail as to how Maxed Out reveals the atrocities committed by the credit industry as a whole, I can only say that you will likely leave the theater totally amazed yet possibly disgusted in the aftermath of Maxed Out's revelations. You'll likely be very surprised to see who has their hands deeply submerged in the proverbial cookie jar.

Although the inevitable comparisons between Maxed Out and Super Size Me will be drawn, one must realize that not everybody eats at McDonald's but everyone has debt. Even if it's just your share of the national debt. Everyone is affected by debt.

A lot has changed since my bankruptcy ten years ago. Thanks to a new change in the bankruptcy laws it's virtually impossible to obtain the level of bankruptcy protection today that I relied on in 1996. The public needs to know what's happening before these modern day loan sharks end up trying to take over the world and turning us all into eternal debt slaves. James Scurlock should be applauded for doing this film. This story would have been very easy 'not to do.'

The most unexpected thing about Maxed Out is its breathtaking resolution on the big screen. A lot of the footage shot for Maxed Out looks spectacular thanks to the genius of Jon Aaron Aaseng. It's almost inconceivable that a documentary about America's credit card debt can be this entertaining, this provocative and this easy to watch all at the same time. See it.