The Big Short

Name: The Big Short
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 2015-12-11
Duration: 2 h 11 min
Rating: 7.6
Cast: Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Marisa Tomei

This is a true story.

The Big Short (2015)

Timing: 2:11 (131 min)

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Everything about the movie

Video 21

Photo 75

Actors and characters

Video for the film The Big Short — The Big Short - Trailer #2 "Screwed" (2015) - Paramount Pictures

2:05

Photo 75

Release date

2015-12-11

Country

United States

Production

Paramount, Regency Enterprises, Plan B Entertainment

Genre

Comedy, Drama

Budget

$28 000 000

Box office

$133 440 870

Website

http://www.thebigshortmovie.com

Director

Adam McKay

Actors

Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Marisa Tomei, Melissa Leo, Hamish Linklater, John Magaro, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Brad Pitt, Arnon Milchan, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Louise Rosner-Meyer, Kevin J. Messick

Camera operator

Barry Ackroyd

Composer

Nicholas Britell

Artist

Clayton R. Hartley, Kristin Lekki, Michelle C. Harmon

Audition

Francine Maisler, Kathy Driscoll-Mohler

Editing

Hank Corwin, Teddy Au
Whole Team (200)

Short description

The men who made millions from a global economic meltdown.

What's left behind the scenes

A caption appears on the screen: "'Truth is like poetry. Most people find poetry repulsive' — overheard in a Washington bar." In reality, this phrase was coined by Adam McKay, the director and one of the screenwriters, after he failed to find an existing expression that fit the corresponding scene in the film.
In the initial version of the script, other celebrities were considered for cameo roles. Instead of Margot Robbie, who talks about mortgage-backed securities, Scarlett Johansson was supposed to appear. Instead of Selena Gomez with a speech about collateralized debt obligations, Beyoncé with her husband, rapper Jay-Z, were planned. Jay-Z was even supposed to say a few words about a lost bet – the phrase contained an allusion to one of his most popular songs.
Margot Robbie, who makes a cameo appearance as herself, has previously starred in a finance-themed film: Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013).
Screenwriter Michael Lewis recounted in one interview that the film distribution studio "Paramount" only gave director Adam McKay the green light to film "The Big Short" in exchange for a promise to make a sequel to the 2004 comedy "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy".
This is the second collaboration between actors Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei, and Steve Carell. They previously appeared together in the film 'Crazy, Stupid, Love' (2011).
When meeting Dr. Michael Burry, whom he was to portray, Christian Bale borrowed a pair of cargo shorts and a T-shirt from him for the duration of filming. Bale later admitted he really wanted Burry to attend the premiere in Los Angeles. “I was hoping to sit next to him in the audience and find out if he was going to bite my head off,” the actor said.
The film's cast includes four Oscar winners: Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, Marisa Tomei, and Brad Pitt. Two Oscar-nominated actors also appear in the film: Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling.
At the end of the trip to Las Vegas, the camera shows a highway with a huge poster of comedian and actor Martin Short above it (the English title of the film is "The Big Short").
This is the second film based on a book by Michael Lewis that Brad Pitt has produced and starred in. The first was “Moneyball” (2011).
Screenwriter Michael Lewis mentioned in an interview that Paramount, the studio responsible for distributing the film, only gave director Adam McKay the green light to film 'The Big Short' in exchange for a promise to make a sequel to the comedy 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy' (2004).
Director and co-screenwriter Adam McKay said that the studio executives felt the characters from Michael Lewis's book were flawed. "They told me, 'We need to make them more positive,' and I was like, 'Everyone is like that. Martin Luther King cheated on his wife. Gandhi was a total libertine. We're all messes. And these guys are no different.'"
The first investor to respond to Burry's email was someone named Bateman.
Adam McKay recounted that just before filming "The Big Short" began, Christian Bale seriously injured his knee. Following doctors' advice, the director decided to use a stunt double for some scenes, but Bale insisted on performing them himself. McKay eventually gave in to his pleas; however, during the scenes featuring the drum kit, doctors were stationed on set to provide medical assistance to the actor if needed.
Margot Robbie, who plays herself in a cameo role, had previously starred in a film about finance. That was Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013).
Steve Eisman, the real-life counterpart to Steve Carell's character Mark Baum, met debt specialist Wing Chow at Okuda, a Japanese restaurant in the Wynn Las Vegas hotel and casino. By the time "The Big Short" was being filmed, the restaurant had already closed, so the characters' meeting was filmed at Harrah's in New Orleans, which also features a 24-hour casino.
A caption appears on the screen: “'Truth is whatever you can get away with' – overheard in a Washington bar.” In reality, this phrase was invented by Adam McKay, the director and one of the screenwriters, after failing to find an expression that could be inserted into the corresponding episode of the film.
At the end of the Las Vegas trip, the camera shows a highway and a massive billboard above it featuring a portrait of comedian and actor Martin Short (a play on the English title of the film, "The Big Short").
A caption appears on the screen: "Truth is like poetry. Most people hate poetry." – overheard in a Washington bar. In reality, this phrase was invented by Adam McKay, the director and one of the screenwriters, after he couldn't find an expression to fit the corresponding scene in the film.
The offices of the bankrupt investment firm Lehman Brothers were “recreated” in the lobby of the New York State Financial Services building in Manhattan.
Screenwriter Michael Lewis recounted in one interview that the studio responsible for distributing the film, Paramount, only gave director Adam McKay the green light to film "The Big Short" in exchange for a promise to make a sequel to the 2004 comedy "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy".
The character of Mark Baum, played by Steve Carell, was based on the real-life fund manager Steve Eisman. Jared Vennett, played by Ryan Gosling, was based on trader Greg Lippmann. Ben Rickert, played by Brad Pitt, was modeled after Ben Hockett. Charlie Geller and Jamie Shipley, played by Jon Magaro and Finn Wittrock respectively, were based on the real-life Charlie Ledley and Jamie May.
This is the second joint project for actors Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei, and Steve Carell. They previously starred together in the 2011 film "Crazy, Stupid, Love".
Steve Eisman, the prototype for the character of Mark Baum played by Steve Carell, met debt obligations specialist Wing Chau at "Okada," a Japanese restaurant in the Wynn Las Vegas hotel and casino. By the time "The Big Short" was being filmed, the restaurant had already closed, so the heroes' meeting was filmed at the Harrah's hotel in New Orleans, which also has a 24-hour casino.
Steve Carell's portrayal of Mark Baum was based on real-life hedge fund manager Steve Eisman. Jared Vennett, played by Ryan Gosling, was inspired by trader Greg Lippmann. The character of Ben Rickert, played by Brad Pitt, is modeled after Ben Hockett. Charlie Geller and Jamie Shipley, played by John Magaro and Finn Wittrock respectively, are based on real people Charlie Ledley and Jamie Mai.
Adam McKay recounted that Christian Bale seriously injured his knee right before filming began on "The Big Short." Following doctors' advice, the director decided to use a stunt double in some scenes, but Bale insisted on filming himself. McKay eventually gave in to his persuasion, but during the filming of scenes behind the drum kit, doctors were on standby on set to provide the actor with medical assistance if needed.
Director and one of the screenwriters, Adam McKay, said that the studio executives considered the characters in Michael Lewis's book to be flawed. "They told me, 'We need to make them more positive,' and I was like, 'Everyone is like that. Martin Luther King cheated on his wife. Gandhi was a wanderer. We're all messed up. And they're no better than anyone else.'"
The film's cast includes four Academy Award winners: Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, Marisa Tomei, and Brad Pitt. Two actors nominated for an Oscar also appear in the film: Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling.
This is the second film based on a book by Michael Lewis that Brad Pitt both produced and starred in. The first was 'Moneyball' (2011).
When Michael Burry, played by Christian Bale, checks his email after sending a message to his clients, several incoming emails from Adam McKay can be seen on the screen.
In one episode, the financial genius himself – hedge fund manager Michael Burry – appears on screen for a few seconds.
In the initial version of the script, other celebrities were intended for the cameo roles. Scarlett Johansson was supposed to appear instead of Margot Robbie, who speaks about mortgage-backed securities. Beyoncé and her husband, rapper Jay-Z, were meant to replace Selena Gomez in the speech about collateralized debt obligations. Jay-Z was even supposed to say a few words about a lost bet—a phrase that contained a nod to one of his most popular songs.
When meeting Dr. Michael Burry, whom he was set to portray, Christian Bale borrowed a pair of cargo shorts and a T-shirt from him for the duration of filming. Bale later admitted that he really wanted Burry to attend the Los Angeles premiere. "I hoped to sit next to him in the theater and find out if he was going to punch me in the teeth or not," the actor said.