When legendary films get remade or have a sequel created, the launch is often awaited with a sense of dread and anticipation. The buzz concerning the 2nd “Wall Street” film has just such that air. The new film, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” has been talked about endlessly. The first movie somewhat coincided with current events when it was released. The movie about corporate greed in the 1980s came out just after the stock exchange crash in that decade. The real estate crash of 2008 is the inspiration for the brand new movie, as Douglas returns to his Oscar winning role as Gekko. There is a common thread in both movies. Unbridled greed and unethical dealings in the realm of high finance leading to disaster.
The new ‘Wall Street’
The sequel to the original film takes place within the instant wake of the housing crash of 2008. What is assumed is that notorious corporate raider Gordon Gekko is just being released from prison, as a result of events from the first film. The iconic role earned Michael Douglas an Oscar. It seems his new job is as a lecturer, as he gives talks to business students. The fiancé of Gekko’s daughter in the film, played by LeBeouf, works at an investment bank and looks to bring down a corrupt hedge fund manager. It is partly a story of sabotage of the wicked. Nevertheless, the film, nicknamed but not really titled “Wall Street 2,” is also a story of redemption.
The real Wall Street
People that work on Wall Street are aware that it is just a movie. A post within the Wall Street Journal by Martin Fridson opines that the movie captured popular outrage, but that it ignores real causes of the 2008 crash. On the ABC site, a corporate lawyer who works on Wall Street also opined that the film is good entertainment, but little more than that. Hollywood fudging the historical record for dramatic purposes is not exactly new. Some Wall Street insiders that served as technical advisers for the film lamented that director Stone did not touch on other components of the crash.
Barrel ruined
The adage about bad apples spoiling the bunch is true. Many traders and workers on Wall Street are incredibly ethical and work very hard. That said, that sort of thing doesn’t sell tickets or magazines unfortunately. The film “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” would be dull if that was the subject.
more info on this subject
ABC News
abcnews.go.com/Business/films-taking-wall-street/story?id=11712654 and page=3
Wall Street Journal
blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2010/09/24/a-wall-street-veteran-on-wall-street-2/
