Inside Job (2010)

Takes a closer look at what brought about the 2008 financial meltdown.

Director:

Charles Ferguson

Writers:

Charles Ferguson, Chad Beck (co-writer)

Stars:

Matt Damon, Gylfi Zoega, Andri Snær Magnason

Won 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 27 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Damon	...	Self - Narrator (voice)
Gylfi Zoega	...	Self - Professor of Economics, University of Iceland
Andri Snær Magnason	...	Self - Writer & Filmmaker
Sigridur Benediktsdottir	...	Self - Special Investigative Committee, Icelandic Parliament
Paul Volcker	...	Self - Former Federal Reserve Chairman
Dominique Strauss-Kahn	...	Self - Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
George Soros	...	Self - Chairman, Soros Fund Management
Barney Frank	...	Self - Chairman, Financial Services Committee
David McCormick	...	Self - Under Secretary of the Treasury, Bush Administration
Scott Talbott	...	Self - Chief Lobbyist, Financial Services Roundtable
Andrew Sheng	...	Self - Chief Adviser, China Banking Regulatory Commission
Hsien Loong Lee	...	Self - Prime Minister, Singapore
Christine Lagarde	...	Self - Finance Minister, France
Gillian Tett	...	Self - U.S. Managing Editor, The Financial Times
Nouriel Roubini	...	Self - Professor, NYU Business School

Storyline

'Inside Job' provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia. It was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China.

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Plot Keywords:

money | us dollars | iceland | interview | recession | 

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Taglines:

The film that cost $20,000,000,000,000 to make

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Genres:

Documentary | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some drug and sex-related material

Did You Know?

Trivia

On being interviewed about this film, Henry Rollins likened Charles Ferguson's interviewing technique to "tightening the screws little by little until the interviewee starts to say "Ow.....ow.....ow and then, Stop the camera!"

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Goofs

The first time Dominique Strauss-Khan's name is shown, it is misspelled. 'Dominique' is written 'Dominque', and 'Strauss-Kahn' is written 'Straus-Kahn'.

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Quotes

George Soros: Chuck Prince of Citibank famously said: 'That we have to dance until the music stops.' Actually, the music had stopped already when he said that.

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Alternate Versions

When broadcast in the UK on BBC TV (as part of it's Storyville documentary strand) in December 2011, on-screen dates of the speakers' positions were updated, notably Dominique Strauss-Kahn who resigned from the IMF in May 2011.

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Connections

Featured in 50 Documentaries to See Before You Die: Episode 2 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Big Time
Written by Peter Gabriel
Performed by Peter Gabriel
Courtesy of petergabriel.com

User Reviews

"Inside Job" is a stunning analysis of the greed that caused the Wall Street crash.

Charles Ferguson's "Inside Job" is strong, fair, and rational. The director tries mightily to untangle the complex architecture of the financial meltdown that has cost millions their jobs, their homes, and their savings. If you consider skipping it because it sounds boring, please think again. My blood is still boiling.

Why does this documentary leave us sunk in despair? Because it confirms the certainty that there is no one left we can trust. The fact that much of what brought the economy to its knees was legal, not criminal, signals a financial sector run by ethical nihilists who will pursue every legal loophole to enrich themselves. Human nature, you say? Then bring back the stringent regulation that gave the industry forty years of reasonable corporate success before Reagan era deregulation. The schoolyard bullies need supervision.

America's bubble of private gain and public loss was pierced by the collapse of Lehman Bros. and AIG. Banks merged into "too big to fail" behemoths; safeguards were overturned; regulation of derivatives was banned; This vacuum quickly filled with money laundering, defrauding of customers, cooking the books, and stuffing of the pockets of top officers with money. Larry Summers took 20 million as adviser to a hedge fund. Lehman's CEO took 485 million, the CEO of the failing AIG 315 million. Fired by Merrill, CEO Stan O'Neal departed with a severance bonus of 161 million.

When Mortgages were bundled and sold to the bloated investment banks, lenders no longer cared if they were repaid. Goldman, Lehman, and Merrill were all players. Summers, Bernanke, and Geithner all stood against corrective measures and would play pivotal roles in the Obama administration.

Absent limits on the impulsive risk takers, Wall Street plunged into personal pleasure. There was never enough: penthouses on Park, private jets (six for Lehman alone), vacation homes, art collections, drivers, private elevators, drugs, alcohol, strip bars, and prostitution - one private supplier within spitting distance of the stock exchange counted 10,000 men among her customers..

Three ratings agencies made fortunes bestowing unwarranted ratings right up to two days before Lehman failed, later testifying before congress that these were merely "opinions", not guides for investors. The crowning disgrace is the corruption of the universities. Business school professors consult with companies. Glenn Hubbard, dean of Columbia Business School, takes $250,000 as a board member of Met Life. Larry Summers, back at Harvard, continues to rake in consulting and lecture fees.

The presidents of Harvard and Columbia refused comment. You will appreciate the honesty of Raghuram Rajan who wrote strong warnings and French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, who spoke with disgust of the debacle.

It used to be that respected academics could be counted on to be the conscience of democracy. Now they are reduced to being interchangeable components in the conflict of interest chain that links business/government/university. Credit Charles Ferguson with a superb investigation and give thanks that we still have a free investigative press to wake the sleeping citizenry.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Inside Job

Filming Locations:

China

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$39,649, 10 October 2010

Gross USA:

$4,312,735

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,871,522

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sony Pictures Classics, Representational Pictures, Screen Pass Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1