Freakonomics (2010)

Popularity:

Up 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Directors:

Heidi Ewing
Alex Gibney
(more)

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

24 October 2013 (Germany)

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 | Human Nature | Experiment | Sumo Wrestling | Cheating

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Ransone
Tempestt Bledsoe	...	Herself (archive footage)
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
Lian Amado	...	High School Girl (as Lian Toni Amado)
Rahmel Long	...	Courtroom Audience
Alisha Nagarsheth	...	Student
Zoe Sloane	...	Blake
Dan Chen	...	Bruce-Cubicle Worker
Sarah Croce	...	Yoga Instructor
Kahiry Bess	...	Deshawn
John D. Rockefeller	...	Himself
Mala Wright	...	Courtroom Audience
Jalani McNair	...	Loser Lane
Akebono	...	Himself
Jade Viggiano	...	High School Girl
Barry Eisler	...	Himself
Konishiki	...	Himself
Amancaya Aguilar	...	Mercedes
Ngozi Jane Anyanwu	...	Uneek
Stephen Dubner	...	Himself - Co-Author
Laura Wattenberg	...	Herself
Hassan Brown	...	Deshawn's Dad
Peter Zerneck	...	All American Dad / Marmaduke
Veronica Heffron	...	Courtroom Audience
Steven Levitt	...	Himself - Author
Mike MacAllister	...	Himself
Blaire Whitney	...	High School Girl
Adesuwa Addy Iyare	...	Temptress' Mom
Nicholas Tong	...	Dwight-Cubicle Worker
Kelli Chaves	...	High School Girl
J. Avery Shoates	...	Young Temptress
Emily Shaw	...	Stripper
Danielle Sabrina	...	High School Girl
Kellie Gerardi	...	Lexus
Andrew Greiche	...	Jake
Maya Cain	...	Baby Temptress
Shae Weber	...	All American Daughter / Alabama
James Leibow	...	Himself
Carl Alleyne	...	Temptress' Mom's Boyfriend
Richard Kohn	...	Judge Ignatius Lyons
Christina Duran	...	All American Mom / Tallulah
Sendhil Mullainathan	...	Himself (as Dr. Sendhil Mullainathan)
Ron Douglas	...	Robert Lane
Loren Cagno	...	High School Girl
Erin Renee Taylor	...	High School Girl
Tara Hall	...	High School Girl
Loshona	...	Uneqqee
Jameesha Blackburn	...	Uneque
Emma Meyers	...	Angela-Cubicle Worker
Alyssa Wheeldon	...	High School Girl
Tyler J. Gilmore	...	Kevin-Cubicle Worker
Mark Getman	...	Murray
Cheyenne Bascoe	...	Temptress
Nikoli	...	Winner Lane
Hector Palacios	...	Courtroom Audience
Mark Dorsey	...	Jake's Dad
Kristina Hovey	...	Stripper
Almudin Ally	...	Courtroom Audience
Lori Richardson	...	Deshawn's Mom
Paul Matulef	...	Courtroom Audience
Peggy Davern	...	Courtroom Audience
Roland Fryer	...	Himself
Keenan Pollack	...	All American Infant / Gidget
Terence B. Exodus	...	Courtroom Audience
Leslie Marx	...	Courtroom Audience
Francie Scanlon	...	Courtroom Audience
Nicholas Bulba	...	All American Son / Rufus
Richard Kohn	...	Judge Ignatius Lyons
Ashley Bryan	...	Jake's Mom
Adam Kaufman	...	Angry Deli Owner
Lisa Sobin	...	High School Girl
Davida Kelly	...	Bobbi
Mark Fernandes	...	Courtroom Audience
Michael Worthington	...	Baliff
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
Craig Atkinson	....	producer
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		(as 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
Ferne Pearlstein
Rob VanAlkemade

Film Editing by
Douglas Blush
Tova Goodman
Sloane Klevin
Luis Lopez
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
Clay Tweel	....	visual effects (as J. Clay Tweel)
Chris Wiseman	....	conforming hd editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Jillian Arnold	....	first assistant camera: introductoin and transitional segments
Craig Atkinson	....	additional cinematogrpher
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
Rob Burgos	....	colorist (segment: Can a Ninth Grader Be Bribed to Succeed?)
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
Clay Tweel	....	assistant editor (as J. Clay Tweel)

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
Kordula Hildebrandt	....	public relations: Hildebrandt Film
Rolando Hudson	....	location manager
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
Christopher St. John	....	researcher
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)
• Kinostar (2013) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Unplugged (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Celsius Entertainment (2009) (non-USA) (all media)
• Film1 Sundance Channel (2015) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Lighthouse Home Entertainment (2014) (Germany) (DVD)
• 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
• Compact Media Group  Collection Account Management
• 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 LawCo  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:

Germany:6 | Japan:G | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #46215)

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:

References "Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater" (1987)

Soundtrack:

Desteapta-Te Romane

Provocative but Poorly Executed

I've read the book, which was indubitably very interesting, even if it some claims seemed a tad far-fetched. The documentary, however, has several problems. Firstly, each chapter of the book can EASILY-- actually, SHOULD-- be a documentary of its own. The data used to back up the claims is fairly poor and weak, which is a shame, because some of the ideas really are interesting to explore. But with so little time devoted to them, they don't seem credible. The problem with this documentary and the book is that it makes no effort to refute any counterarguments-- and there are MANY possible ones. It is incredibly easy to lie with statistics and spin numbers to work for you.

Even in terms of entertainment value, it was mediocre, at best. To be frank, I found Dubner and Levitt's commentary extremely annoying. I felt like they were lecturing first graders. The way information was presented in neat little elementary-school-like "what-we-learned- from-this" packages was another annoyance for me.

The main problem with a documentary that attempts to make an argument is that you have to do it in a way that does not make the viewers feel manipulated, which is very difficult (Michael Moore, for instance, sucks at it). And one such as this does not make a solid case for any of its claims and left me with a huge pile of questions. Even if what they say really is true, I can't buy it, because the evidence is presented in such a slapdash, half-baked kind of way.