Demasiado Grande Para Falhar (2011)

Chronicles the financial meltdown of 2008 and centers on Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Director:

Curtis Hanson

Writers:

Peter Gould, Andrew Ross Sorkin (book)

Stars:

James Woods, John Heard, William Hurt

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 28 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Woods	...	Richard Fuld
John Heard	...	Joe Gregory
William Hurt	...	Henry Paulson
Erin Dilly	...	Christal West
Amy Carlson	...	Erin Callan
Topher Grace	...	Jim Wilkinson
Ayad Akhtar	...	Neel Kashkari
Cynthia Nixon	...	Michele Davis
Kathy Baker	...	Wendy Paulson
Edward Asner	...	Warren Buffett
Paul Giamatti	...	Ben Bernanke
Beau Baxter	...	Skip McGee
Ben Livingston	...	Investment Banker
Erin Burnett	...	Herself
Chance Kelly	...	Bart McDade

Storyline

A close look behind the scenes, between late March and mid-October, 2008: we follow Richard Fuld's benighted attempt to save Lehman Brothers; conversations among Hank Paulson (the Secretary of the Treasury), Ben Bernanke (chair of the Federal Reserve), and Tim Geithner (president of the New York Fed) as they seek a private solution for Lehman's; and, back-channel negotiations among Paulson, Warren Buffet, investment bankers, a British regulator, and members of Congress as almost all work to save the U.S. economy. By the end, with the no-strings bailout arranged, modest confidence restored on Wall Street, and a meltdown averted, Paulson wonders if banks will lend.

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Plot Keywords:

financial | global economic crisis of 2008 | year 2008 | financial system | economic crisis | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 May 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Demasiado Grande Para Falhar

Filming Locations:

JC Studios, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Deuce Three Productions, HBO Films, Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

TITLE DROP: Mentioned by Hank Paulson character while lecturing his aide ("Here's your too big to fail").

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Goofs

A poster for Toy Story 3 is seen in Times Square. This movie takes place in 2008 and Toy Story 3 wasn't released until 2010.

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Quotes

Michele Davis: They almost bring down the US economy as we know but we can't put restrictions on how they spend the $125 billion we're giving them because... they might not take it!
[the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Public Affairs upon hearing that the 9 bank CEOs may refuse to take free money from the federal government if they had to be held accountable for how they spent it]

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Connections

Features CNN Election Center (2008)

User Reviews

Where is the real story?

I liked this movie when I first saw it. Entertaining, great performances, and what I thought was a great explanation of the 2008 economic crisis. Then I watched the documentary "Inside Job" and learned the truth. Hank Paulson was not a hero. He started the house on fire to collect his money (deregulation) and then had to scramble to put it out when he realized he was going to burn with it. This movie makes him look like a hero for putting it out. By the way he collected a nice chunk of change by selling his stock with Goldman Sachs to become the Treasury Secretary (mandatory)before the crash. And don't get me wrong, he didn't do it all alone and in no way his he solely responsible, and i'm glad him and Geitner succeeded in keeping our world from falling apart, but this movie rings way too false after you watch the real story in "Inside Job". I won't speculate on Mr. Sorkins (writer) motives, but he and his co-writer are way off on telling the true story of what happened. I still appreciate the performances and direction, but it's like watching a lie now. Sorry, please watch Inside Job narrated by Matt Damon by the way, and see what you think!