The Big Short (2015)

Four denizens in the world of high-finance predict the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s, and decide to take on the big banks for their greed and lack of foresight.

Director:

Adam McKay

Writers:

Charles Randolph (screenplay), Adam McKay (screenplay)

Stars:

Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling

Won 1 Oscar. Another 31 wins & 70 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Gosling	...	Jared Vennett
Rudy Eisenzopf	...	Lewis Ranieri
Casey Groves	...	Fund Manager
Charlie Talbert	...	Lewis Bond Trader #1
Harold Gervais	...	Lewis Bond Trader #2
Maria Frangos	...	Exotic Dancer
Christian Bale	...	Michael Burry
Hunter Burke	...	Analyst
Bernard Hocke	...	Coach
Shauna Rappold	...	Michael Burry's Mom
Brandon Stacy	...	Michael Burry's Dad
Aiden Flowers	...	Young Michael Burry
Peter Epstein	...	Paul Baum
Anthony Marble	...	Therapy Businessman #1
Silas Cooper	...	Therapy Businessman #2

Storyline

Three separate but parallel stories of the U.S mortgage housing crisis of 2005 are told. Michael Burry, an eccentric ex-physician turned one-eyed Scion Capital hedge fund manager, has traded traditional office attire for shorts, bare feet and a Supercuts haircut. He believes that the US housing market is built on a bubble that will burst within the next few years. Autonomy within the company allows Burry to do largely as he pleases, so Burry proceeds to bet against the housing market with the banks, who are more than happy to accept his proposal for something that has never happened in American history. The banks believe that Burry is a crackpot and therefore are confident in that they will win the deal. Jared Vennett with Deutschebank gets wind of what Burry is doing and, as an investor believes he too can cash in on Burry's beliefs. An errant telephone call to FrontPoint Partners gets this information into the hands of Mark Baum, an idealist who is fed up with the corruption in the ...

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Plot Keywords:

bank | fraud | banking | finance | mortgage | 

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Taglines:

This is a true story

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language and some sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 December 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Big Short: Le casse du siècle

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$705,527 (USA) (11 December 2015)

Gross:

$70,154,926 (USA) (25 March 2016)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Plan B Entertainment, Regency Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The second collaboration between John Magaro and Finn Wittrock, who both portrayed WWII soldiers in 2014's "Unbroken." Interestingly, Magaro and Wittrock share a considerable amount of screen-time with Brad Pitt, whose spouse, Angelina Jolie, is the director of "Unbroken."

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Goofs

In a scene where the graphic states that it is "January 11th", people are seen walking around New York City dressed in only suits and dresses (no jackets, hats, or cold weather gear). Later, on the same day, someone is seen crossing the street wearing only shorts and a tee shirt. However, the weather in NYC during January 2007 was unseasonably warm, in fact reaching a record-breaking all-time high of 72 on January 7th.

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Quotes

Jared Vennett: [pulling blocks from a Jenga tower] As, zero. Bs, zero. Double Bs, zero. Trible Bs, zero...
[the tower topples]
Jared Vennett: And then that happens.
Mark Baum: What is that?
Jared Vennett: That's America's housing market.
[Baum's team stares in utter shock]
Jared Vennett: Thank you.
Analyst: Fuckin' A, Jared.
Jared Vennett: Shut your fuckin' mouth.

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Connections

Featured in Conan: Ed Helms/Noel Fielding/Purity Ring (2016)

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Soundtracks

Bring on the Day
Written by Kevin J. Edelman (as Kevin Edelman), Vaughan Penn, and David Rhyne
Performed by Vaughan Penn
Courtesy of Meepers Music Records
By arrangement with PEN Music Group, Inc.

User Reviews

Right on the Money and on the Fraud

'The Big Short' is a winner. Based on Michael Lewis book of the same title, it tells the sorry story of the fraud and deceit practiced on the American people, nay, on the world by Wall Streets finance capitalism. We know the culprits: Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Lehman Bros., Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Wachovia, Crdit Suisse, UBS and on and on who invented financial instruments such as CDO, credit swaps and other fancy unintelligible names, based on mortgages, with the connivance of the credit agencies--Dow Jone, Standard and Poors and Fitch. 'The Big Short' with a light seriousness is a crash course on the duplicity of Wall Street investment bankers who earned large fees on junk bonds with triple A ratings; who bundled junk to palm off on an unsuspecting public looking for big gains by pandering to the snake oil exilir of getting rich quickly; and who feed on the niavety of the broad American have-nots with the dream of owning a home of their own. And so with some humor but much sadness are we lead through the byways of four different groups of bankers who saw the hoax for what it was and its impending implosion that would bring down the deck of cards of capitalism. And the took out bets on the market, by buying short. And they won big time! But the banks are still around, and the ratepayers footed the bailout, but at what cost! And we see this in the turmoil of the Republican party: for the discontent abroad in the US has thrown more than 25 percent of the population into poverty, loss of jobs, home, into heavy debt and no future for their children. And these banks have not reformed their ways...now they've come up with the same of gimmicks with a fancy name--something like beneficial financial tranche--as the play the same old mug's game. And like the Bourbons, t The cast is stellar--especially Christian Bale and Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling as well as the minor players. And like the Bourbons, in the words of Talleyrand, 'they learned nothing and forgot nothing', but the contempt they have for all of us. And to make the case stronger, the fools on the Supreme Court have strengthened the hands of big money and the oligopoly and the fat cats of Wall Street and the coupon clippers and the devil take the rest of us!