Freakonomics (2010)

Directors:

Heidi Ewing
Alex Gibney
(more)

Writers (WGA):

Peter Bull (written by) (segment) &
Alex Gibney (written by) (segment) ...
(more)

Release Date:

3 December 2010 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Six Rogue Filmmakers Explore The Hidden Side Of Everything

Plot:

A collection of documentaries that explores the hidden side of human nature through the use of the science of economics.

Plot Keywords:

Economics | Cheating | Sumo Wrestling | Experiment | Human Nature

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Ransone
Tempestt Bledsoe	...	Herself
Morgan Spurlock	...	Himself - Narrator
Melvin Van Peebles	...	Himself - Narrator (segment "It's Not Always A Wonderful Life")
Bill Gates	...	Himself
Greg Crowe	...	Johnny the Mechanic
Zoe Sloane	...	Blake
Alisha Nagarsheth	...	Student
Sammuel Soifer	...	Jake
Konishiki	...	Himself
John D. Rockefeller	...	Himself
Kahiry Bess	...	Deshawn
Carl Alleyne	...	Boyfriend
Jade Viggiano	...	High School Girl
Jalani McNair	...	Loser
Akebono	...	Himself
Barry Eisler	...	Himself
Andrew Greiche	...	Jake
Steven Levitt	...	Himself - Author
Kellie Gerardi	...	Lexus
Stephen Dubner	...	Himself - Co-Author
Richard Kohn	...	Judge Ignatius Lyons
Roland Fryer	...	Himself
Adesuwa Addy Iyare	...	Temptress Mother
Hassan Brown	...	Father
Kelli Chaves	...	High School Girl
James Leibow	...	Himself
Amancaya Aguilar	...	Mercedes
Tyler J. Gilmore	...	Kevin
Alyssa Wheeldon	...	High School Girl
Peter Zerneck	...	All American Dad
Lori Richardson	...	Deshawn's Mother
Mike MacAllister	...	Himself
Cheyenne Bascoe	...	Temptress
Sendhil Mullainathan	...	Himself (as Dr. Sendhil Mullainathan)
Richard Kohn	...	Judge Ignatius Lyons
Christina Duran	...	All American Mom
Laura Wattenberg	...	Herself - Baby Name Expert
Bill Clinton	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dan Rather	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Heidi Ewing
Alex Gibney
Seth Gordon
Rachel Grady
Eugene Jarecki
Morgan Spurlock

Writing credits (WGA)
Peter Bull		(written by) (segment "Pure Corruption") &
Alex Gibney		(written by) (segment "Pure Corruption")
Jeremy Chilnick		(written by) (segment "A Roshanda by Any Other Name") &
Morgan Spurlock		(written by) (segment "A Roshanda by Any Other Name")
Eugene Jarecki		(written by) (segment "It's Not Always a Wonderful Life")
Heidi Ewing		(written by) (segment "Can a Ninth Grader Be Bribed to Succeed?") &
Rachel Grady		(written by) (segment "Can a Ninth Grader Be Bribed to Succeed?")
Seth Gordon		(written by) (intro and transitional segments)
Steven Levitt		(book) (as Steven D. Levitt) and
Stephen Dubner		(book) (as Stephen J. Dubner)

Produced by
Peter Bull	....	segment producer
Hilary Carr	....	co-producer
Peter Cerbin	....	co-producer
Rafi Chaudry	....	co-producer
Joanna Chejade-Bloom	....	co-segment producer
Jeremy Chilnick	....	segment producer
Paul Fiore	....	executive producer
Kathleen Fournier	....	segment producer
Alex Gibney	....	segment producer
Christina Gonzalez	....	line producer
Seth Gordon	....	executive producer
Alexandra Johnes	....	segment producer
Sloane Klevin	....	co-producer
Erika Knowles	....	associate producer
Damon Martin	....	executive producer
Dan O'Meara	....	producer
Jay Rifkin	....	executive producer
Michael Roban	....	executive producer
Mary Rohlich	....	segment producer
Chris Romano	....	producer
Melinda Shopsin	....	co-producer
Michiko Toyama	....	associate producer
Chad Troutwine	....	producer

Original Music by
Paul Brill
Craig Deleon
Michael Furjanic
Human
Mike MacAllister
Peter Nashel
Jon Spurney
Michael Wandmacher

Cinematography by
Junji Aoki
Derek Hallquist
Tony Hardmon
Darren Lew
Daniel Marracino
Rob VanAlkemade

Film Editing by
Douglas Blush
Tova Goodman
Sloane Klevin
Nelson Ryland
Michael Taylor

Art Direction by
Joe Posner

Makeup Department
Nicole Khitrik	....	makeup artist
Mindi Levinson	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Alexandra Johnes	....	post-production supervisor
Shirel Kozak	....	production manager

Sound Department
Peter Buccellato	....	sound recordist
Travis Call	....	audio post coordinator
Bill Chesley	....	sound designer
Rusty Dunn	....	sound effects editor
Brian Fish	....	sound mixer
Matt Geldof	....	sound recordist
Steve Giammaria	....	assistant re-recording mixer
Steve Giammaria	....	sound editor
Lewis Goldstein	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Hocs	....	sound recordist
Christopher Koch	....	sound re-recording mixer
Shuji Kosaki	....	sound recordist
Cate Montana	....	dialogue editor
Ryan M. Price	....	voiceover recordist
Alex Riordan	....	production sound mixer: Chicago
Tom Ryan	....	adr recordist
Matt Vogel	....	sound mixer
Tony Volante	....	sound re-recording mixer
Elmo Weber	....	sound re-recording mixer

Visual Effects by
Marie Deleon	....	di producer
Billy Gabor	....	DI colorist
Marci Ichimura	....	visual effects lead
Lewis Kofsky	....	visual effects and animation producer
Jess Mireau	....	motion graphics
Brian Oakes	....	motion graphics producer
Mark Rubbo	....	visual effects
J. Clay Tweel	....	visual effects
Chris Wiseman	....	conforming hd editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Jillian Arnold	....	first assistant camera: introductoin and transitional segments
Ben Bloodwell	....	additional cinematography
Hisashi Kikuchi	....	assistant camera
Ronan Killeen	....	second camera
Philip J. Martinez	....	additional Steadicam operator
William O'Marra	....	second camera
Antonio Rossi	....	additional cinematography

Animation Department
Matthew Foglia	....	3D animation supervisor

Editorial Department
Simon Barker	....	supervising editor
Dan Bowhers	....	technical assistance
Marc Brown	....	film output: digital intermediate
Daniel DiMauro	....	assistant editor
Andrew Doga	....	assistant editor
Paul Frost	....	supervising editor
Dan Hacker	....	assistant editor
Jeff Hedberg	....	technical assistance
Benjamin Murray	....	on-line editor
Ben Sozanski	....	first assistant editor
J. Clay Tweel	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Susie Bench	....	orchestrator
Paul Brill	....	composer: additional music
Michael Wandmacher	....	orchestrator: introduction and transitional segments

Other crew
Audra Arnaudon	....	production coordinator
Erin Barnett	....	assistant to director
Sam Black	....	researcher
Caitlin Bray	....	assistant to director
Sarah Carleton	....	assistant to executive producer
Philip Dann	....	location manager
Jacqueline Eckhouse	....	production counsel
Eline Gordts	....	intern
Amna Hafiz	....	intern
Emmy Suzuki Harris	....	interpreter
Emmy Suzuki Harris	....	production coordinator
Rolando Hudson	....	location manager
Christopher St John	....	researcher
Brian Nils Johnson	....	production assistant
Susan Johnson	....	researcher
Barbara Karen	....	production accountant
Nate McCallister	....	intern
Nicholas Nummerdor	....	production assistant
Dana O'Keefe	....	sales agent
Nicholas Ray	....	intern
Daniel Schloss	....	production assistant
Sara Schweizer	....	production assistant
Siobhan Shields	....	production assistant
Robert Stein	....	legal services
Yukari Watanabe	....	interpreter
Henriette Wollmann	....	legal consultant: international sales
Zachary Skipp	....	intern (uncredited)

Thanks
Robert Edwards	....	thanks
Edward Eglin	....	special thanks
Aidan Ferreria	....	special thanks
Christine Ferreria	....	special thanks
Brian Galvin	....	special thanks
Nova Jacobs	....	special thanks
Helen Kay	....	thanks
Jeremy Rabb	....	special thanks
Daniel A. West	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Chad Troutwine Films
• Cold Fusion Media Group
• Green Film Company
• Human Worldwide
• Jigsaw Productions
• Loki Films (co-production)

Distributors

• Eurozoom (2012) (France) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Pictures (2010) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Unplugged (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Celsius Entertainment (2009) (non-USA) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2008) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Magnolia Pictures (2010) (USA) (all media)
• Mega Star Video Distribution (2012) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Mega Star Video Distribution (2012) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Mongrel Media (2011) (Canada) (DVD)
• Paco Pictures (2011) (Italy) (all media)

Other Companies

• C5  post-production sound services (final editorial & mix)
• Carousel Media Company, The  digital cinema mastering
• Carousel Media Company, The  international deliverables
• Company 3  additional post-production
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Duotone Audio Group Ltd.  music composed by
• Gallagher Entertainment  insurance
• Glue Editing and Design  additional post-production
• Indiepay  payroll provided by
• Sloss Eckhouse Brennan Law  production counsel
• Sound Lounge  additional post-production
• Union, NY, Town of  post-production facilities
• Visual Sound  post-production facilities (english closed caption/ spanish subtitling provider)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for elements of violence, sexuality/nudity, drugs, and brief strong language

Runtime:

93 min | USA:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #46215) | Singapore:NC-16 | Japan:G

Company:

Chad Troutwine Films

Quotes:

Himself - Author:The closest thing to a worldview, I would say, in "Freakonomics," is that incentives matter. Not just financial incentives, but social incentives and moral incentives.

Movie Connections:

Features It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Soundtrack:

Desteapta-Te Romane

The Wikisummaries of the book is much better

I read the book enough years ago to have forgotten a big part of it, yet I still saw that the movie omitted major topics, while dragging a lot on others (sumo and the experiment of bribing the 9th graders).

In general, the movie could have mentioned more convincing data and statistics, instead of dwelling on obscure bits. For example, the parenting chapter was massively abridged. The book talks about 10 factors that actually make a difference, like parents having lots of book in their home. The chapter on why drug dealers still live with their moms was omitted, and so was the chapter on Ku Klux Klan.

And here's an actually *useful* bit of information, as opposed to my opinions about this movie: You're much better off spending 5 minutes reading the summary of the book from Wikisummaries.org (short URL - http://bit.ly/haT4i2).