Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
Encyclopedia
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, also known as Wall Street 2, is a 2010 American drama film directed by Oliver Stone
, a sequel to Wall Street (1987). Michael Douglas
reprises his role as Gordon Gekko
with Shia LaBeouf
, Josh Brolin
, Carey Mulligan
, and Frank Langella
also starring in the film. The screenplay was written by Allan Loeb
and Stephen Schiff
. Set in New York, the film takes place 23 years after the original and revolves around the 2008 financial crisis. Its plot centers on a reformed Gekko acting an antihero rather than a villain, and follows his attempts to repair his relationship with his daughter Winnie, with the help of her fiancé, Jacob. In return, Gekko helps Jacob get revenge on the man he blames for his mentor's death.
Principal photography took place in New York between September and November 2009. After having its release date moved twice, Money Never Sleeps was released theatrically worldwide on September 24, 2010, by 20th Century Fox
. Prior to its official release, many journalists connected to the financial industry were reportedly shown advanced screenings of the film.
Despite opening to positive reception at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival
, Money Never Sleeps received polarized reviews from critics, who generally praised the acting, but considered it an unnecessary sequel. Though failing to meet its commercial expectations, the film was successful at the box office
, topping the United States's ranking during its opening weekend, and earning a worldwide total of $134 million in ticket sales, and more than $15 million on DVD.
(Michael Douglas
) is released from prison after serving eight years for insider trading
and securities fraud
. Seven years later, Gekko is promoting his new book Is Greed Good?, while his estranged daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan
), runs a small news website and is dating Jacob Moore (Shia LaBeouf
), a top proprietary trader at Keller Zabel Investments. Jacob is a protegé of managing director Louis Zabel (Frank Langella
), and is trying to raise money for a fusion
research project.
After Keller Zabel's stock loses more than 30% of its value, Zabel tries to arrange a bailout for KZI from other Wall Street banks but is blocked by Bretton James (Josh Brolin
), head of rival firm Churchill Schwartz, which Zabel had refused to bail out eight years earlier. The next morning Zabel kills himself by jumping in front of a subway train. Distraught, Moore proposes marriage to Winnie, who accepts. Later, he approaches Gekko after a lecture. Gekko tells Jacob that his daughter refuses to speak to him and that Keller Zabel's collapse started when rumours of the company having toxic debt started to spread. Jacob and Gekko arrange a trade: Jacob will reconcile Winnie and Gekko, while Gekko will gather information to destroy Bretton.
Aided by Gekko, Moore learns that Bretton James profited from the Keller Zabel collapse. In revenge he spreads rumors about the nationalization of an African oil field
owned by Churchill Schwartz. The company loses $120 million and Bretton offers Moore a job, which he accepts determined to avenge Zabel. At his new job, Moore convinces Chinese investors to fund the fusion research he has been supporting. Bretton is impressed by Jacob's initiative and glad for the new investment.
As the economy starts to crumble
, Winnie announces to Moore she is pregnant and Bretton reveals to Moore that the Chinese investment is going into bunk solar panels and fossil fuel
s instead of fusion research, which upsets Moore. Gekko proposes a solution using a $100 million trust fund account in Switzerland
, which Gekko set up for Winnie in the 1980s, to fund the research and save the company. She signs the money over to Moore who then entrusts it to Gekko to legitimize the funds for investment in the fusion research company. However, the money never arrives and Gekko leaves the country with the money. Jacob realizes that Gekko has been using him to get the money in the account for his own gain. Distraught, Jacob confesses to Winnie that he had been secretly meeting with Gekko. Winnie then asks Jacob to leave as she no longer trusts him nor feels safe around him.
Moore tracks Gekko to London where he is running a start-up financial company with the $100 million. Jacob proposes one last trade: Winnie gets her money back, and Gekko gets a grandson but Gekko refuses. Moore pieces together everything from Keller Zabel's collapse to the economic bailout of Bretton's company and gives the information to Winnie telling her that revealing it will bring her website publicity and credibility. Winnie runs the story and Bretton James is exposed. The board of directors fire Bretton and hire Gekko on the back of his $1.1 billion return. As Jacob finds Winnie in New York, Gekko appears and tells them that he deposited $100 million into the fusion research's account anonymously. He apologizes to Jacob and Winnie, who then reconcile. One year later, Gekko is seen at his grandson's first birthday.
reprises his role as Gordon Gekko
. Gekko has recently been released from prison and, after a failed attempt to warn business leaders of the imminent economic downturn, he decides to try to rebuild a relationship with his estranged daughter Winnie.
Shia LaBeouf
portrays Jacob "Jake" Moore, an ambitious, young proprietary trader who works for Keller Zabel Investments, and is in a relationship with Winnie. LaBeouf's role in the film has been said to be a role similar to that of Charlie Sheen’s in the original. The young actor said he was able to relate to his character's background and found similarities in their motivations. Initially the actor was intimidated by the idea of working on a film that was going to stretch his dramatic abilities and came to the film set with a different approach, which was that if he disappointed his fans twice, his career was finished after making two recently panned sequels.
LaBeouf stated that, during his first meeting with Stone, the director was "really expedient about killing any ego or conceit on my part", saying not to worry because Tom Cruise
was not an actor when he first worked with him either, which LaBeouf considered a knife to his heart. LaBeouf said that he did not know what a credit derivative
is or what a CP, LP, or LVC were, commenting "You gotta know ticker names." He also said that he has "no concept" of the "ins and outs of the financial world" and, as part of getting into character, he chose to stay thin to be like hedge funders. To prepare for the film he traded with different firms, playing with up to $1 million and became so interested in trading that he began studying for his Series 7 exam and later earned a broker's license.
Josh Brolin
plays Bretton James, head of the Churchill Schwartz investment bank, whom Jacob blames for the death of his mentor. Bretton has been described as being a villain and serves as an antagonist
. Bretton is presented as a "new style" version of Gekko in the film. Javier Bardem
was in final talks to play the character; in July 2009 it was confirmed that he had turned down the project in favor of a film adaptation of the book Eat, Pray, Love, with Julia Roberts
. Brolin took the part and lost 30 pounds in a month to prepare physically for this part. The actor, acknowledging that every character had both good and bad in them, viewed Bretton as being on a "higher level", adding that he liked the ambition his character had and that he was an opportunist.
Carey Mulligan
was cast as Winnie Gekko, Gordon's estranged daughter and Jacob's fiancée. Winnie has not spoken to her father since his imprisonment; she blames Gordon for the suicide of her brother, Rudy. The character has been said to be the "moral center of the story" and described as being liberal, and to some extent passive. Mulligan is British and had to speak with an American accent for her role. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps was her first major studio film. When she had first met Stone for the role she explained that she did not want her character to be a "token girlfriend", they both agreed to work to make sure that would not happen. During the same encounter Stone learned that she had short hair and he initially discussed having her wear a wig which Mulligan did not agree to; stating that she did not feel like herself when wearing the hair piece, Stone trusted her and made an exception. According to Mulligan, Stone cast her in the Wall Street sequel based on her performance in An Education
(2009).
Frank Langella
was cast as Louis Zabel. His death "ultimately leads the characters to discover the shady practices" of James's hedge fund. Susan Sarandon
portrays Sylvia Moore, Jacob's real-estate agent mother who is just as consumed by greed as Gekko is, but in a different sense. Audrey, a "tough, intelligent trader in the Wall Street trenches", is portrayed by Vanessa Ferlito
. John Buffalo Mailer
plays Jacob's Long Island financier friend, Robby and Eli Wallach
plays the part of Jules Steinhardt, a Churchill Schwartz top executive and Wall Street patriarch who considers the current economic climate to be like the 1929 stock market crash. Pressman deemed the actor's role as the "crier of doom," who, "reveals just how much more devastating things can be today." Charlie Sheen
reprised his role as Bud Fox, Gekko's former mentee whom he meets briefly at a cocktail party.
Natalie Morales
, Graydon Carter, the Vanity Fair
editor, Nouriel Roubini
, an economist, Stone's mother, and Warren Buffett
have minor roles in the film. Jim Cramer also makes a brief appearance after Stone cast him because he was a former hedge fund manager. Stone, who had a cameo in the first film, plays a different brief role in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. He wanted to give the young LaBeouf "some older connections" that would "give it weight" in the movie. Donald Trump
and Julianne Michelle
played minor parts, but Trump's scene was cut from the final version (it is instead available on the DVD). Stone said the scene was too "distracting" for the ending. Program host Neil Cavuto
appears in the sequel for several seconds. A longer scene that involved him was cut; a representative for Stone clarified that his decision was an aesthetic, not political, choice. Roger Hendricks Simon, a director-actor, landed a part acting as a thinly veiled version of former AIG
CEO Hank Greenberg
. Like Trump's part, his scenes were not included but are in the film's DVD version.
reported that a sequel to Wall Street, then tentatively titled Money Never Sleeps, had entered pre-production
and was in the early stages of development with a screenplay by Stephen Schiff
of The New Yorker
. Shortly after the film was confirmed, Douglas was reported to be interested in reprising his role as Gordon Gekko, depending on the script. In October 2008, 20th Century Fox
announced that it had officially green-lit the film and would serve as a distributor. In the same month it was announced that Allan Loeb
had been approached to write a script that was being referred to as a "page one rewrite", meaning that he would be starting "from scratch". Shortly after the film had entered pre-production it was announced that both Charlie Sheen and Daryl Hannah
would not be involved with the sequel for unknown reasons. Despite stating that Sheen was not going to return, Stone confirmed he would briefly reprise his role as Bud, which would be worked into the script.
Around May 2007, The New York Times reported that Stone had turned down the opportunity to direct the film, even after months of being pressured to do so by Douglas, among others. However, in April 2009 Fox confirmed that Stone would be returning as both director and producer, alongside Douglas and Edward R. Pressman. Stone stated that he reconsidered passing on directing the film after the stock market crash. The film was co-produced by Eric Kopeloff with Alessandro Camen and Celia D. Costas serving as executive producers. In addition to screenwriter Loeb, the film's overall writer is Schiff. Bryan Burrough
received credit as a consultant, and may have done uncredited work on the story.
At the time of the film's announcement the plot details were kept under-wraps, but Loeb later confirmed that its plot would primarily focus on Gekko, recently released from prison and re-entering a much more "chaotic" financial world than the one he once oversaw from the previous film. Its budget was reported to be between $60 million ($50 million with the tax credits) and $70 million. Money Never Sleeps was being used as the film's working title before being re-named Wall Street 2 at the director's request and finally changed to Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. As part of research for the film, Douglas and Stone had a dinner meeting with Samuel D. Waksal
, the founder of the bio-pharmaceutical company ImClone Systems
, who spent five years in federal prison for securities fraud. LaBeouf, along with Stone, discussed the financial collapse with multiple hedge fund managers.
Early in mid-2009, Stone took LaBeouf to a cocktail party organized by Nouriel Roubini
, a New York University
economics professor and chairman of a consulting firm. There, Stone and LaBeouf discussed the financial collapse with Roubini and also discussed hedge fund managers who are clients of Roubini’s firm. Roubini said that "in this financial crisis it was the traditional banks and the investment banks that had a larger role in doing stupid and silly things than the hedge funds." Stone also stated that he had conversations with Jim Chanos, a prominent hedge fund manager who had urged him to focus less on hedge funds and more on the banking system, Chanos said, "there was a much more important story, a bigger story, in what happened with the system."
with Weiser. Weiser's treatment for Wall Street Two was discarded and the film began taking shape from an original script by Stephen Schiff. It was reported that Aaron Sorkin
had turned down the opportunity to work on the film's script.
During December 2008, while still in the process of drafting, Loeb said that he had been riveted by the Bernie Madoff headlines and showed interest in referencing him in the film, noting: "the thing that is so crazy about this story is that Ponzi scheme
s seem to be the simplest low-class scam," and "but this was carried out in the highest-echelon of high-finance. You couldn't even get in to see this guy unless you had $2 million to invest." Stone clarified that Madoff will not be mentioned in the film, commenting that he considered Madoff's actions to be "a crook running a Ponzi scheme" which is "legal robbery." The filmmaker returned to the project in April on the strength of this script, feeling Loeb's draft was "so great" that he did not feel the need to touch it, although he did have the option.
Sometime in early June, Loeb reportedly handed in his second draft of the film to Fox, and in July, was finalizing the screenplay. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is based in four locations; New York, London, the United Arab Emirates
, and an Asian country. One of the character consultants to the new film will be billionaire Vincent Tchenguiz. Pressman said that Tchenguiz had modeled Gekko but did admit that Gekko was "partly Milken" and that Gekko will be a more outwardly altruistic figure but, admits, "a leopard doesn't change its spots, despite appearances." Pressman said of the origin of the film's subtitle: "Wall Street was New York-centric. Today the markets are much more global, hence the title of the new film, Money Never Sleeps." He described Gekko's involvement in the film as being "larger than life".
It was reported that Loeb had taken advice from a "number of real Wall Street movers and shakers" to ensure "horrifying accuracy" for the film's script. Of the re-writes done to script, Stone said: "We sort of started over with the story of a young man who is at the center of it, and how he needs Gordon Gekko's help to navigate those waters." In a reference to the GEICO
Gecko commercial, which was suggested by New York Governor David Paterson, Gekko says "even a caveman could do it" in the movie. At the request of Mulligan and LaBeouf, the filmmaker cut some dialogue from the character's break-up scenes, which he at first was initially hesitant to do.
Stone said that the film will provide more of a social commentary and admitted that he had never expected high finance to "serve again as a tableau for his storytelling". He also added that the its plot will showcase the unemployment rate at an all time high and the "our national debt ever climbing." Discussing the difference between Wall Street and its sequel, the director explained, "In the other movie, Charlie Sheen is corrupt at the beginning and he finds a path to integrity. In this movie, it starts out the other way. Shia and Carey are idealists. And their idealism is being threatened." A writer for USA Today
believed that the film's story-line "attempts to put the complicated financial schemes that led to the worldwide economic collapse on a human scale."
, reflecting its new position as a "bulwark of the system" according to Stone. The location provided a link to the contemporary crisis the film examines, since September 2008 it has been an important site for meeting on the crisis. Stone decided not to prominently use the Stock Exchange because interest in stock trading made the system available and comprehensible to everyone and also because it was foreign territory.
Although August 10 was reportedly the start date, principal photography began on September 9. The filmmaker continued to make additions to the script and meet with financial consultants about the project whilst filming. Mulligan was able to film all of her scenes in 15 days. Stone said that they were on schedule and on budget, but claimed that the constantly changing weather was a problem for filming. He also said that the filming on location process was similar to the first film. While filming, LaBeouf said that Douglas was an "opened wound on the set" due to his oldest son's arrest in July for drug trafficking, adding that Stone filmed a "struggling" Douglas.
Sheen was able to shoot his scenes in one day and described being on set with the director and Douglas as strange, with Stone adding that it was difficult for the actor. While Sheen was filming his scenes, he had trouble remembering his lines and required some prodding to remember his cue during the party scene in which Gekko encounters Fox. Although eager to meet Sheen, LaBeouf did not interact with him on set per request. Regarding working with the director, who has a reputation for being demanding on his cast, Douglas described his as being mellow, but acknowledged that "it's still always a workout with him." "Everyone was very friendly, but the scene work felt dangerous," LaBeouf recalls of the on-set atmosphere. "These guys aren't going to coddle you. Douglas was the one who comforted me. And I've never gone deeper with a director than Oliver. He's the Easter bunny and Orson Welles
in one man." The young actor further discussed Stone's work ethic on-set with him, saying:
Douglas filmed the opening scene, which is Gekko being released from Sing Sing
maximum-security prison, in Ossining
, Westchester County, on September 18. Stone felt that the prison scene was a "key plot element" because there is no-one there to meet Gekko which shows him wandering into world as an outsider. Regarding there being no scenes that show Gekko adjusting to the modern world, the director clarified that there is "very little space to do those kind of tricks in this movie" because of how modern the world is becoming on a monthly basis. Filming took place in Fordham University
for the classroom scenes on October 10 and 11. In order to shoot a dining scene between LaBeouf and Douglas, Shun Lee West closed for 24 hours so the two could film scenes at the restaurant for the entire day of November 10. Brolin and Stone found extras simply by asking workers, at places like RdV, if they would like to be a part of the sequel.
in France. Pressman thought that Cannes would be the "perfect platform to launch a film that speaks of today’s economic dilemma". It was met with positive reviews from film critics at the festival, although numerous reviewers "objected to an ending deemed somewhat pat". A spokesperson for Fox said that Stone had changed the ending since its screening at Cannes. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps opened The Ischia Global Film and Music Fest, held during July 11–18. Michael Corkery of The Wall Street Journal
reported that numerous journalists involved in the financial industry had been invited to see advanced screenings of the film. To promote Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, several cast members visited the NASDAQ
Market site in Times Square
, on September 20 and presided over the NASDAQ Opening Bell.
Also on September 20, the movie's New York premiere was held at the Ziegfeld Theater in midtown Manhattan
. According to Deadline Hollywood the film originally had a February 2010 release date, but it was later given an April 23, 2010, release. In March 2010, the film's release date was pushed back to September 24. Brolin stated that he hoped that audiences would wonder about the ethics of the banking industry, asking "How much is enough?," he concluded, "There used to be a ceiling. Now there's no ceiling". Surveys indicated that the main audience for the movie would be older adults who remembered the first film.
Money Never Sleeps opened at a total of 3,597 theaters in the United States, earning nine million on its first day and approximately nineteen million in its opening weekend in the US, averaging $5,330 per theatre and becoming the number one movie at the box office, although falling short of studio estimates. Nonetheless it still marked one of the best openings for a Stone film. Despite an increase of thirty-two screens for its second weekend, Money Never Sleeps saw a forty-seven percent decrease on its earnings, falling to third place at the box office and making slightly over ten million for the week.
During the October 8-10th weekend it had a further decrease, falling almost fifty-five percent, earning over four million and dropping to 7th place at the box office. In its fourth week of domestic release it fell under the top ten at the box office with a revenue of more than one million, after suffering a forty-eight percent decrease and seven-hundred and ninety less screens. Domestically, the film made $52.4 million, and has grossed over $134.7 million worldwide. Some of the films top grossing international locations were Australia (almost $5,000,000), Spain (more than $4,700,000), Brazil ($2,300,000) and the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta
with a combined total of $4,933,306. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps was released on DVD
and Blu-ray on December 21, 2010, in the US. Since then it has made more than $15.2 million in DVD sales revenue selling more than 983,000 units.
website Rotten Tomatoes
reported a rating of 54%, based on a sample of 209 reviews; for comparison, Wall Street had achieved a 77% positive rating. Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News
publication awarded it five out of five stars saying that it is a sharp sequel that is worthy of its investment. He also saluted the cast's performance and noted that Douglas gives Gekko "uncounted layers as he fakes, deals and fuels fire". Matthew Toomey of Australia's 612 ABC Radio Brisbane
gave it a B-rating and said that Douglas is the film's "biggest positive", finding LaBeouf to be unconvincing in his role. Christy Lemire, in The Canadian Press, claimed that the film ultimately "goes soft and loses its way" and described the contrast in its final scenes as being "laughable". Furthermore, the subplot between LaBeouf and Mulligan's characters as unneeded and pointed out that their relationship leads viewers to wonder why Winnie, who despises Gekko, would be involved with a man who does exactly the same thing as him, which she condemns; however, Lemire acknowledged that the movie is an uncommon sequel that seems to be both relevant and necessary and said that it proves that "greed can still be good". Film critic Colin Newton of the Brisbane Sunday Mail
felt that the plot lacked the enthusiasm of the first film. Along the same lines, Village Voice contributor Nick Pinkerton pointed out that the Wall Street sequel did not have the "clean, fable-like arc" formula of its predecessor.
Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter
said that the film succeeded in being one of the good sequels in a while, but that Stone "gets too fancy here and there", the film's "heavy reliance on multiple screens, graphics and digital tricks makes it feel like one is watching CNN
with all its computer-screen busyness." Roger Ebert
, reviewing the movie in the Chicago Sun-Times
, noted that it ended with a better conclusion when Stone had edited the film after its Cannes viewing, but still felt it was a little too long. He considered the film to be sophisticated and said its photography was aestheticlly pleasing but stated he wanted it to be "outraged." In The Guardian
Peter Bradshaw gave the film two out of five stars, commenting that "despite the pious waffle about market craziness being like cancer, no one is ever shown enduring the actual misery of losing money." Writing for Time magazine
, Richard Corliss stated that the film has the "drive, luxe and sarcastic wit of the snazziest Hollywood movies." David Edelstein, writing in New York Magazine, described the film as being "full of promise, with minuscule returns." He concluded that, like Stone's other recent work, it is difficult to distinguish what the project's focus is supposed to be. New Zealand Heralds Russell Baillie gave it two and a half out of five stars, with the verdict for the film being that it does not fall flat of its expectations and hype.
Joe Morgenstern from The Wall Street Journal
wrote that the movie manages to keep a hold on its audience's attention. He thought that Douglas measured up to Gekko's standards in the film, believing that he was the only actor to sustain a "sense of nasty fun", and felt that LaBeouf's effectiveness was within the range of the film-maker's direction, but was unimpressed with Brolin's portrayal of James. He concluded that the script takes an unconvincing jab at Gekko's "spiritual regeneration," which was due to a scene that he considered to be "inherently illogical and emotionally inert." The Daily Telegraph
s David Gritten said that Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps lacked the "punch" of the original film and was annoyed by the number of cameos throughout the film. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps received three out of five stars from Stephen Lambrechts of IGN
Australia. Lambrechts felt that Stone's growth as a film director might mirror Gekko's as a person; having had used time to calm down over the years and settle into a more relaxed state of being. He concluded that the film's final result is not "quite the incendiary attack that it could have been, but it still has plenty to say while also managing to be an entertaining crowd pleaser."
In contrast to the film's detractors, Boxoffice Magazine journalist Pete Hammond said the film was "brilliantly cast" and labeled it a "crackerjack powerhouse of a movie that shines a light on the financial machinations". He stated that Douglas does not lose any of the substance of Gekko and LaBeouf is firm as Jacob. The writer predicted the Wall Street sequel's box office performance would be brisk, while the prospects were assured on DVD. Andrew O'Hehir's of Salon.com
reviewed the film from Cannes, calling it an "ambitious, uneven, surprisingly talky melodrama, which mixes a quasi-documentary approach to the crash of 2008 with the story." O'Hehir's considered the film to express a more "personal, intimate sense of moral hazard". Marshall Fine
, writing in the Huffington Post, viewed the film as an "overstuffed blend of agitprop and melodrama" that contains a cautionary story pertaining to unchecked capitalism. He considered Stone to be proclaiming a message of the "cancerous effects of greed". Bill Goodykoontz of Arizona Republic admitted that he was not surprised to see that the sequel is not as effective as its predecessor, though it was an engaging film at the top of its game when it is hostile, and less satisfying during romantic parts. He ended by saying that it is not a "great movie", but explained that it is an "effective commentary on what greed cost" everyone. CEO of Tullett Prebon
, Terry Smith, one of the largest inter-dealer money brokers in the world, reviewed the movie for Today on BBC Radio 4
. He gave it three out of five saying that, although it was "a little bit corny in some respects", it puts the events of the credit crunch into context and that "it rings reasonably true," capturing some of the activities, the moods and the individuals quite well."
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
, a sequel to Wall Street (1987). Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
reprises his role as Gordon Gekko
Gordon Gekko
Gordon Gekko is the main antagonist of the 1987 film Wall Street and the antihero of the 2010 film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, both by director Oliver Stone...
with Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
, Josh Brolin
Josh Brolin
Josh James Brolin is an American actor. He has acted in theater, film and television roles since 1985, and won acting awards for his roles in the films W., No Country for Old Men, Milk and True Grit.-Early life:...
, Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan
Carey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She made her film debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice . She had roles in numerous British programmes and, in 2007, made her Broadway debut in The Seagull to critical acclaim....
, and Frank Langella
Frank Langella
-Early life:Langella, an Italian American, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Angelina and Frank A. Langella Sr., a business executive who was the president of the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Company. Langella attended Washington Elementary School and Bayonne High School in Bayonne...
also starring in the film. The screenplay was written by Allan Loeb
Allan Loeb
Allan Loeb is an American screenwriter and film and television producer. He wrote the 2007 film Things We Lost in the Fire and created the 2008 television series New Amsterdam. He wrote the drama film 21, which also was released in 2008. He wrote and produced The Switch which came out in August 2010...
and Stephen Schiff
Stephen Schiff
Stephen Schiff is an American screenwriter and journalist. He grew up in Littleton, Colorado and began his writing career at The Boston Phoenix, where he became the chief film critic and film editor , and hired and trained such critics as Owen Gleiberman and David Edelstein.In 1983, he was a...
. Set in New York, the film takes place 23 years after the original and revolves around the 2008 financial crisis. Its plot centers on a reformed Gekko acting an antihero rather than a villain, and follows his attempts to repair his relationship with his daughter Winnie, with the help of her fiancé, Jacob. In return, Gekko helps Jacob get revenge on the man he blames for his mentor's death.
Principal photography took place in New York between September and November 2009. After having its release date moved twice, Money Never Sleeps was released theatrically worldwide on September 24, 2010, by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. Prior to its official release, many journalists connected to the financial industry were reportedly shown advanced screenings of the film.
Despite opening to positive reception at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival
2010 Cannes Film Festival
The 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 12 to May 23, 2010, in Cannes, France. The Cannes Film Festival, hailed as being one of the most recognized and prestigious film festivals worldwide, was founded in 1946. It consists of having films screened in and out of competition during the...
, Money Never Sleeps received polarized reviews from critics, who generally praised the acting, but considered it an unnecessary sequel. Though failing to meet its commercial expectations, the film was successful at the box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
, topping the United States's ranking during its opening weekend, and earning a worldwide total of $134 million in ticket sales, and more than $15 million on DVD.
Plot
In 2001, Gordon GekkoGordon Gekko
Gordon Gekko is the main antagonist of the 1987 film Wall Street and the antihero of the 2010 film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, both by director Oliver Stone...
(Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
) is released from prison after serving eight years for insider trading
Insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company...
and securities fraud
Securities fraud
Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a practice that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in losses, in violation of the securities laws....
. Seven years later, Gekko is promoting his new book Is Greed Good?, while his estranged daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan
Carey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She made her film debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice . She had roles in numerous British programmes and, in 2007, made her Broadway debut in The Seagull to critical acclaim....
), runs a small news website and is dating Jacob Moore (Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
), a top proprietary trader at Keller Zabel Investments. Jacob is a protegé of managing director Louis Zabel (Frank Langella
Frank Langella
-Early life:Langella, an Italian American, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Angelina and Frank A. Langella Sr., a business executive who was the president of the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Company. Langella attended Washington Elementary School and Bayonne High School in Bayonne...
), and is trying to raise money for a fusion
Fusion power
Fusion power is the power generated by nuclear fusion processes. In fusion reactions two light atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus . In doing so they release a comparatively large amount of energy arising from the binding energy due to the strong nuclear force which is manifested...
research project.
After Keller Zabel's stock loses more than 30% of its value, Zabel tries to arrange a bailout for KZI from other Wall Street banks but is blocked by Bretton James (Josh Brolin
Josh Brolin
Josh James Brolin is an American actor. He has acted in theater, film and television roles since 1985, and won acting awards for his roles in the films W., No Country for Old Men, Milk and True Grit.-Early life:...
), head of rival firm Churchill Schwartz, which Zabel had refused to bail out eight years earlier. The next morning Zabel kills himself by jumping in front of a subway train. Distraught, Moore proposes marriage to Winnie, who accepts. Later, he approaches Gekko after a lecture. Gekko tells Jacob that his daughter refuses to speak to him and that Keller Zabel's collapse started when rumours of the company having toxic debt started to spread. Jacob and Gekko arrange a trade: Jacob will reconcile Winnie and Gekko, while Gekko will gather information to destroy Bretton.
Aided by Gekko, Moore learns that Bretton James profited from the Keller Zabel collapse. In revenge he spreads rumors about the nationalization of an African oil field
Oil field
An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...
owned by Churchill Schwartz. The company loses $120 million and Bretton offers Moore a job, which he accepts determined to avenge Zabel. At his new job, Moore convinces Chinese investors to fund the fusion research he has been supporting. Bretton is impressed by Jacob's initiative and glad for the new investment.
As the economy starts to crumble
Late-2000s financial crisis
The late-2000s financial crisis is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s...
, Winnie announces to Moore she is pregnant and Bretton reveals to Moore that the Chinese investment is going into bunk solar panels and fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
s instead of fusion research, which upsets Moore. Gekko proposes a solution using a $100 million trust fund account in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, which Gekko set up for Winnie in the 1980s, to fund the research and save the company. She signs the money over to Moore who then entrusts it to Gekko to legitimize the funds for investment in the fusion research company. However, the money never arrives and Gekko leaves the country with the money. Jacob realizes that Gekko has been using him to get the money in the account for his own gain. Distraught, Jacob confesses to Winnie that he had been secretly meeting with Gekko. Winnie then asks Jacob to leave as she no longer trusts him nor feels safe around him.
Moore tracks Gekko to London where he is running a start-up financial company with the $100 million. Jacob proposes one last trade: Winnie gets her money back, and Gekko gets a grandson but Gekko refuses. Moore pieces together everything from Keller Zabel's collapse to the economic bailout of Bretton's company and gives the information to Winnie telling her that revealing it will bring her website publicity and credibility. Winnie runs the story and Bretton James is exposed. The board of directors fire Bretton and hire Gekko on the back of his $1.1 billion return. As Jacob finds Winnie in New York, Gekko appears and tells them that he deposited $100 million into the fusion research's account anonymously. He apologizes to Jacob and Winnie, who then reconcile. One year later, Gekko is seen at his grandson's first birthday.
Cast and characters
Michael DouglasMichael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
reprises his role as Gordon Gekko
Gordon Gekko
Gordon Gekko is the main antagonist of the 1987 film Wall Street and the antihero of the 2010 film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, both by director Oliver Stone...
. Gekko has recently been released from prison and, after a failed attempt to warn business leaders of the imminent economic downturn, he decides to try to rebuild a relationship with his estranged daughter Winnie.
Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
portrays Jacob "Jake" Moore, an ambitious, young proprietary trader who works for Keller Zabel Investments, and is in a relationship with Winnie. LaBeouf's role in the film has been said to be a role similar to that of Charlie Sheen’s in the original. The young actor said he was able to relate to his character's background and found similarities in their motivations. Initially the actor was intimidated by the idea of working on a film that was going to stretch his dramatic abilities and came to the film set with a different approach, which was that if he disappointed his fans twice, his career was finished after making two recently panned sequels.
LaBeouf stated that, during his first meeting with Stone, the director was "really expedient about killing any ego or conceit on my part", saying not to worry because Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
was not an actor when he first worked with him either, which LaBeouf considered a knife to his heart. LaBeouf said that he did not know what a credit derivative
Credit derivative
In finance, a credit derivative is a securitized derivative whose value is derived from the credit risk on an underlying bond, loan or any other financial asset. In this way, the credit risk is on an entity other than the counterparties to the transaction itself...
is or what a CP, LP, or LVC were, commenting "You gotta know ticker names." He also said that he has "no concept" of the "ins and outs of the financial world" and, as part of getting into character, he chose to stay thin to be like hedge funders. To prepare for the film he traded with different firms, playing with up to $1 million and became so interested in trading that he began studying for his Series 7 exam and later earned a broker's license.
Josh Brolin
Josh Brolin
Josh James Brolin is an American actor. He has acted in theater, film and television roles since 1985, and won acting awards for his roles in the films W., No Country for Old Men, Milk and True Grit.-Early life:...
plays Bretton James, head of the Churchill Schwartz investment bank, whom Jacob blames for the death of his mentor. Bretton has been described as being a villain and serves as an antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
. Bretton is presented as a "new style" version of Gekko in the film. Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem is a Spanish actor. In 2007 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as sociopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, and has also garnered critical acclaim for roles in films such as Jamón, jamón, Carne trémula, Boca a boca, Los...
was in final talks to play the character; in July 2009 it was confirmed that he had turned down the project in favor of a film adaptation of the book Eat, Pray, Love, with Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
. Brolin took the part and lost 30 pounds in a month to prepare physically for this part. The actor, acknowledging that every character had both good and bad in them, viewed Bretton as being on a "higher level", adding that he liked the ambition his character had and that he was an opportunist.
Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan
Carey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She made her film debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice . She had roles in numerous British programmes and, in 2007, made her Broadway debut in The Seagull to critical acclaim....
was cast as Winnie Gekko, Gordon's estranged daughter and Jacob's fiancée. Winnie has not spoken to her father since his imprisonment; she blames Gordon for the suicide of her brother, Rudy. The character has been said to be the "moral center of the story" and described as being liberal, and to some extent passive. Mulligan is British and had to speak with an American accent for her role. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps was her first major studio film. When she had first met Stone for the role she explained that she did not want her character to be a "token girlfriend", they both agreed to work to make sure that would not happen. During the same encounter Stone learned that she had short hair and he initially discussed having her wear a wig which Mulligan did not agree to; stating that she did not feel like herself when wearing the hair piece, Stone trusted her and made an exception. According to Mulligan, Stone cast her in the Wall Street sequel based on her performance in An Education
An Education
An Education is a 2009 British coming-of-age drama film, based on an autobiographical article in Granta by British journalist Lynn Barber. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by Nick Hornby, and stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, a bright schoolgirl, and Peter Sarsgaard as David,...
(2009).
Frank Langella
Frank Langella
-Early life:Langella, an Italian American, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Angelina and Frank A. Langella Sr., a business executive who was the president of the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Company. Langella attended Washington Elementary School and Bayonne High School in Bayonne...
was cast as Louis Zabel. His death "ultimately leads the characters to discover the shady practices" of James's hedge fund. Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
portrays Sylvia Moore, Jacob's real-estate agent mother who is just as consumed by greed as Gekko is, but in a different sense. Audrey, a "tough, intelligent trader in the Wall Street trenches", is portrayed by Vanessa Ferlito
Vanessa Ferlito
-Personal life:An Italian American, Ferlito was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her father died when she was three. Her mother and stepfather own a hair salon in Brooklyn...
. John Buffalo Mailer
John Buffalo Mailer
John Buffalo Mailer is an American author, playwright, actor, producer, and journalist.-Life and career:Mailer was born in Brooklyn, the youngest child of novelist Norman Mailer and author Norris Church Mailer. Mailer is a graduate of Wesleyan University. He has written several screenplays and...
plays Jacob's Long Island financier friend, Robby and Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
plays the part of Jules Steinhardt, a Churchill Schwartz top executive and Wall Street patriarch who considers the current economic climate to be like the 1929 stock market crash. Pressman deemed the actor's role as the "crier of doom," who, "reveals just how much more devastating things can be today." Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
reprised his role as Bud Fox, Gekko's former mentee whom he meets briefly at a cocktail party.
Natalie Morales
Natalie Morales (actress)
Natalie Morales is an American actress of Cuban descent.Growing up, she attended St. Agatha Catholic School before going to Southwest High School, and participated in the University of Miami Dow Jones Minority High School Journalism Workshop...
, Graydon Carter, the Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
editor, Nouriel Roubini
Nouriel Roubini
Nouriel Roubini is an American economist. He claims to have predicted both the collapse of the United States housing market and the worldwide recession which started in 2008. He teaches at New York University's Stern School of Business and is the chairman of Roubini Global Economics, an economic...
, an economist, Stone's mother, and Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...
have minor roles in the film. Jim Cramer also makes a brief appearance after Stone cast him because he was a former hedge fund manager. Stone, who had a cameo in the first film, plays a different brief role in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. He wanted to give the young LaBeouf "some older connections" that would "give it weight" in the movie. Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
and Julianne Michelle
Julianne Michelle
Julianne Michelle is an American film and television actor. She has appeared in more than 21 productions, beginning in 1990 when she was 5 years old.- Personal life :...
played minor parts, but Trump's scene was cut from the final version (it is instead available on the DVD). Stone said the scene was too "distracting" for the ending. Program host Neil Cavuto
Neil Cavuto
Neil Patrick Cavuto is an American television anchor and commentator on the Fox Business Network and host of three television programs, Your World with Neil Cavuto and Cavuto on Business, both on the Fox News Channel and Cavuto on sister channel Fox Business Network.Cavuto also tapes a nightly...
appears in the sequel for several seconds. A longer scene that involved him was cut; a representative for Stone clarified that his decision was an aesthetic, not political, choice. Roger Hendricks Simon, a director-actor, landed a part acting as a thinly veiled version of former AIG
AIG
AIG is American International Group, a major American insurance corporation.AIG may also refer to:* And-inverter graph, a concept in computer theory* Answers in Genesis, a creationist organization in the U.S.* Arta Industrial Group in Iran...
CEO Hank Greenberg
Maurice R. Greenberg
Maurice Raymond "Hank" Greenberg is an American business executive and former chairman and CEO of American International Group , which was the world's 18th largest public company and its largest insurance and financial services corporation.He is currently chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr & Co., Inc....
. Like Trump's part, his scenes were not included but are in the film's DVD version.
Development
In early 2007 The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported that a sequel to Wall Street, then tentatively titled Money Never Sleeps, had entered pre-production
Pre-production
Pre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...
and was in the early stages of development with a screenplay by Stephen Schiff
Stephen Schiff
Stephen Schiff is an American screenwriter and journalist. He grew up in Littleton, Colorado and began his writing career at The Boston Phoenix, where he became the chief film critic and film editor , and hired and trained such critics as Owen Gleiberman and David Edelstein.In 1983, he was a...
of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. Shortly after the film was confirmed, Douglas was reported to be interested in reprising his role as Gordon Gekko, depending on the script. In October 2008, 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
announced that it had officially green-lit the film and would serve as a distributor. In the same month it was announced that Allan Loeb
Allan Loeb
Allan Loeb is an American screenwriter and film and television producer. He wrote the 2007 film Things We Lost in the Fire and created the 2008 television series New Amsterdam. He wrote the drama film 21, which also was released in 2008. He wrote and produced The Switch which came out in August 2010...
had been approached to write a script that was being referred to as a "page one rewrite", meaning that he would be starting "from scratch". Shortly after the film had entered pre-production it was announced that both Charlie Sheen and Daryl Hannah
Daryl Hannah
Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
would not be involved with the sequel for unknown reasons. Despite stating that Sheen was not going to return, Stone confirmed he would briefly reprise his role as Bud, which would be worked into the script.
Around May 2007, The New York Times reported that Stone had turned down the opportunity to direct the film, even after months of being pressured to do so by Douglas, among others. However, in April 2009 Fox confirmed that Stone would be returning as both director and producer, alongside Douglas and Edward R. Pressman. Stone stated that he reconsidered passing on directing the film after the stock market crash. The film was co-produced by Eric Kopeloff with Alessandro Camen and Celia D. Costas serving as executive producers. In addition to screenwriter Loeb, the film's overall writer is Schiff. Bryan Burrough
Bryan Burrough
Bryan Burrough is an American author and correspondent for Vanity Fair. He has written five books: Barbarians at the Gate , Vendetta: American Express and the Smearing of Edmond Safra , Dragonfly , Public Enemies and The Big Rich...
received credit as a consultant, and may have done uncredited work on the story.
At the time of the film's announcement the plot details were kept under-wraps, but Loeb later confirmed that its plot would primarily focus on Gekko, recently released from prison and re-entering a much more "chaotic" financial world than the one he once oversaw from the previous film. Its budget was reported to be between $60 million ($50 million with the tax credits) and $70 million. Money Never Sleeps was being used as the film's working title before being re-named Wall Street 2 at the director's request and finally changed to Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. As part of research for the film, Douglas and Stone had a dinner meeting with Samuel D. Waksal
Samuel D. Waksal
Samuel D. Waksal is the founder and former CEO of the biopharmaceutical company ImClone Systems, which developed the drug Erbitux...
, the founder of the bio-pharmaceutical company ImClone Systems
ImClone Systems
ImClone Systems Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing biologic medicines in the area of oncology. It was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in New York City. On October 6, 2008, it accepted a $6.5 billion acquisition offer from Eli Lilly and Company, and became a...
, who spent five years in federal prison for securities fraud. LaBeouf, along with Stone, discussed the financial collapse with multiple hedge fund managers.
Early in mid-2009, Stone took LaBeouf to a cocktail party organized by Nouriel Roubini
Nouriel Roubini
Nouriel Roubini is an American economist. He claims to have predicted both the collapse of the United States housing market and the worldwide recession which started in 2008. He teaches at New York University's Stern School of Business and is the chairman of Roubini Global Economics, an economic...
, a New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
economics professor and chairman of a consulting firm. There, Stone and LaBeouf discussed the financial collapse with Roubini and also discussed hedge fund managers who are clients of Roubini’s firm. Roubini said that "in this financial crisis it was the traditional banks and the investment banks that had a larger role in doing stupid and silly things than the hedge funds." Stone also stated that he had conversations with Jim Chanos, a prominent hedge fund manager who had urged him to focus less on hedge funds and more on the banking system, Chanos said, "there was a much more important story, a bigger story, in what happened with the system."
Writing
In October 2008, 20th Century Fox confirmed that Allan Loeb, who is a licensed stock broker, had been selected to re-write the script. Stanley Weiser had worked on a treatment for a sequel set in the present with Gekko being released from jail; the second part would be set in China. The studio felt that the material was dated, and put the project in turnaround. Stone had a falling out with the Pressman, the producer, and began work on W.W. (film)
W. is a 2008 American film based on the life and presidency of George W. Bush. It was produced and directed by Oliver Stone, written by Stanley Weiser, and stars Josh Brolin as Bush, with a cast that includes Ellen Burstyn, Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Scott...
with Weiser. Weiser's treatment for Wall Street Two was discarded and the film began taking shape from an original script by Stephen Schiff. It was reported that Aaron Sorkin
Aaron Sorkin
Aaron Benjamin Sorkin is an Academy and Emmy award winning American screenwriter, producer, and playwright, whose works include A Few Good Men, The American President, The West Wing, Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Social Network, and Moneyball.After graduating from Syracuse...
had turned down the opportunity to work on the film's script.
During December 2008, while still in the process of drafting, Loeb said that he had been riveted by the Bernie Madoff headlines and showed interest in referencing him in the film, noting: "the thing that is so crazy about this story is that Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...
s seem to be the simplest low-class scam," and "but this was carried out in the highest-echelon of high-finance. You couldn't even get in to see this guy unless you had $2 million to invest." Stone clarified that Madoff will not be mentioned in the film, commenting that he considered Madoff's actions to be "a crook running a Ponzi scheme" which is "legal robbery." The filmmaker returned to the project in April on the strength of this script, feeling Loeb's draft was "so great" that he did not feel the need to touch it, although he did have the option.
Sometime in early June, Loeb reportedly handed in his second draft of the film to Fox, and in July, was finalizing the screenplay. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is based in four locations; New York, London, the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, and an Asian country. One of the character consultants to the new film will be billionaire Vincent Tchenguiz. Pressman said that Tchenguiz had modeled Gekko but did admit that Gekko was "partly Milken" and that Gekko will be a more outwardly altruistic figure but, admits, "a leopard doesn't change its spots, despite appearances." Pressman said of the origin of the film's subtitle: "Wall Street was New York-centric. Today the markets are much more global, hence the title of the new film, Money Never Sleeps." He described Gekko's involvement in the film as being "larger than life".
It was reported that Loeb had taken advice from a "number of real Wall Street movers and shakers" to ensure "horrifying accuracy" for the film's script. Of the re-writes done to script, Stone said: "We sort of started over with the story of a young man who is at the center of it, and how he needs Gordon Gekko's help to navigate those waters." In a reference to the GEICO
GEICO
The Government Employees Insurance Company is an auto insurance company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that as of 2007 provided coverage for more than 10 million motor vehicles owned by more than 9 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance...
Gecko commercial, which was suggested by New York Governor David Paterson, Gekko says "even a caveman could do it" in the movie. At the request of Mulligan and LaBeouf, the filmmaker cut some dialogue from the character's break-up scenes, which he at first was initially hesitant to do.
Stone said that the film will provide more of a social commentary and admitted that he had never expected high finance to "serve again as a tableau for his storytelling". He also added that the its plot will showcase the unemployment rate at an all time high and the "our national debt ever climbing." Discussing the difference between Wall Street and its sequel, the director explained, "In the other movie, Charlie Sheen is corrupt at the beginning and he finds a path to integrity. In this movie, it starts out the other way. Shia and Carey are idealists. And their idealism is being threatened." A writer for USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
believed that the film's story-line "attempts to put the complicated financial schemes that led to the worldwide economic collapse on a human scale."
Filming
A shift in location in the sequel reflected some of the changes in the world since then: while the The New York Stock Exchange and its trading floor had featured heavily in the first film, they are less prominent in the second. Instead, more time is spent at the Federal Reserve Building33 Liberty Street
33 Liberty Street is the current home of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It is located in downtown Manhattan in New York City, New York State, USA. Built in 1924, it is where the monetary policy of the United States is executed by trading dollars and United States Treasuries...
, reflecting its new position as a "bulwark of the system" according to Stone. The location provided a link to the contemporary crisis the film examines, since September 2008 it has been an important site for meeting on the crisis. Stone decided not to prominently use the Stock Exchange because interest in stock trading made the system available and comprehensible to everyone and also because it was foreign territory.
Although August 10 was reportedly the start date, principal photography began on September 9. The filmmaker continued to make additions to the script and meet with financial consultants about the project whilst filming. Mulligan was able to film all of her scenes in 15 days. Stone said that they were on schedule and on budget, but claimed that the constantly changing weather was a problem for filming. He also said that the filming on location process was similar to the first film. While filming, LaBeouf said that Douglas was an "opened wound on the set" due to his oldest son's arrest in July for drug trafficking, adding that Stone filmed a "struggling" Douglas.
Sheen was able to shoot his scenes in one day and described being on set with the director and Douglas as strange, with Stone adding that it was difficult for the actor. While Sheen was filming his scenes, he had trouble remembering his lines and required some prodding to remember his cue during the party scene in which Gekko encounters Fox. Although eager to meet Sheen, LaBeouf did not interact with him on set per request. Regarding working with the director, who has a reputation for being demanding on his cast, Douglas described his as being mellow, but acknowledged that "it's still always a workout with him." "Everyone was very friendly, but the scene work felt dangerous," LaBeouf recalls of the on-set atmosphere. "These guys aren't going to coddle you. Douglas was the one who comforted me. And I've never gone deeper with a director than Oliver. He's the Easter bunny and Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
in one man." The young actor further discussed Stone's work ethic on-set with him, saying:
Douglas filmed the opening scene, which is Gekko being released from Sing Sing
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services in the town of Ossining, New York...
maximum-security prison, in Ossining
Ossining (town), New York
Ossining is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 37,674 at the 2010 census. It contains two villages, the Village of Ossining and part of Briarcliff Manor, the rest of which is located in the Town of Mount Pleasant....
, Westchester County, on September 18. Stone felt that the prison scene was a "key plot element" because there is no-one there to meet Gekko which shows him wandering into world as an outsider. Regarding there being no scenes that show Gekko adjusting to the modern world, the director clarified that there is "very little space to do those kind of tricks in this movie" because of how modern the world is becoming on a monthly basis. Filming took place in Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
for the classroom scenes on October 10 and 11. In order to shoot a dining scene between LaBeouf and Douglas, Shun Lee West closed for 24 hours so the two could film scenes at the restaurant for the entire day of November 10. Brolin and Stone found extras simply by asking workers, at places like RdV, if they would like to be a part of the sequel.
Marketing, box office and home media
The film was screened out of competition during May 2010 at the Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
in France. Pressman thought that Cannes would be the "perfect platform to launch a film that speaks of today’s economic dilemma". It was met with positive reviews from film critics at the festival, although numerous reviewers "objected to an ending deemed somewhat pat". A spokesperson for Fox said that Stone had changed the ending since its screening at Cannes. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps opened The Ischia Global Film and Music Fest, held during July 11–18. Michael Corkery of The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
reported that numerous journalists involved in the financial industry had been invited to see advanced screenings of the film. To promote Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, several cast members visited the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
Market site in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, on September 20 and presided over the NASDAQ Opening Bell.
Also on September 20, the movie's New York premiere was held at the Ziegfeld Theater in midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
. According to Deadline Hollywood the film originally had a February 2010 release date, but it was later given an April 23, 2010, release. In March 2010, the film's release date was pushed back to September 24. Brolin stated that he hoped that audiences would wonder about the ethics of the banking industry, asking "How much is enough?," he concluded, "There used to be a ceiling. Now there's no ceiling". Surveys indicated that the main audience for the movie would be older adults who remembered the first film.
Money Never Sleeps opened at a total of 3,597 theaters in the United States, earning nine million on its first day and approximately nineteen million in its opening weekend in the US, averaging $5,330 per theatre and becoming the number one movie at the box office, although falling short of studio estimates. Nonetheless it still marked one of the best openings for a Stone film. Despite an increase of thirty-two screens for its second weekend, Money Never Sleeps saw a forty-seven percent decrease on its earnings, falling to third place at the box office and making slightly over ten million for the week.
During the October 8-10th weekend it had a further decrease, falling almost fifty-five percent, earning over four million and dropping to 7th place at the box office. In its fourth week of domestic release it fell under the top ten at the box office with a revenue of more than one million, after suffering a forty-eight percent decrease and seven-hundred and ninety less screens. Domestically, the film made $52.4 million, and has grossed over $134.7 million worldwide. Some of the films top grossing international locations were Australia (almost $5,000,000), Spain (more than $4,700,000), Brazil ($2,300,000) and the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
with a combined total of $4,933,306. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray on December 21, 2010, in the US. Since then it has made more than $15.2 million in DVD sales revenue selling more than 983,000 units.
Reviews
The film's reception was mixed, review tallyingReview aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services . This system stores the reviews and then uses them for purposes such as: creating a website for users to view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies and creating databases for...
website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported a rating of 54%, based on a sample of 209 reviews; for comparison, Wall Street had achieved a 77% positive rating. Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
publication awarded it five out of five stars saying that it is a sharp sequel that is worthy of its investment. He also saluted the cast's performance and noted that Douglas gives Gekko "uncounted layers as he fakes, deals and fuels fire". Matthew Toomey of Australia's 612 ABC Radio Brisbane
612 ABC Brisbane
612 ABC Brisbane is an ABC Local Radio station in Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of the largest stations in the network, serving as a base for Queensland programming - many programs are broadcast across the ABC Local Radio network in regional and rural areas of Queensland when those stations are...
gave it a B-rating and said that Douglas is the film's "biggest positive", finding LaBeouf to be unconvincing in his role. Christy Lemire, in The Canadian Press, claimed that the film ultimately "goes soft and loses its way" and described the contrast in its final scenes as being "laughable". Furthermore, the subplot between LaBeouf and Mulligan's characters as unneeded and pointed out that their relationship leads viewers to wonder why Winnie, who despises Gekko, would be involved with a man who does exactly the same thing as him, which she condemns; however, Lemire acknowledged that the movie is an uncommon sequel that seems to be both relevant and necessary and said that it proves that "greed can still be good". Film critic Colin Newton of the Brisbane Sunday Mail
The Sunday Mail (Brisbane)
The Sunday Mail is Brisbane's only Sunday newspaper. The Sunday Mail is published in tabloid format, comprising several sections that can be extracted and read separately.-Publishing:...
felt that the plot lacked the enthusiasm of the first film. Along the same lines, Village Voice contributor Nick Pinkerton pointed out that the Wall Street sequel did not have the "clean, fable-like arc" formula of its predecessor.
Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
said that the film succeeded in being one of the good sequels in a while, but that Stone "gets too fancy here and there", the film's "heavy reliance on multiple screens, graphics and digital tricks makes it feel like one is watching CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
with all its computer-screen busyness." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, reviewing the movie in the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, noted that it ended with a better conclusion when Stone had edited the film after its Cannes viewing, but still felt it was a little too long. He considered the film to be sophisticated and said its photography was aestheticlly pleasing but stated he wanted it to be "outraged." In The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
Peter Bradshaw gave the film two out of five stars, commenting that "despite the pious waffle about market craziness being like cancer, no one is ever shown enduring the actual misery of losing money." Writing for Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Richard Corliss stated that the film has the "drive, luxe and sarcastic wit of the snazziest Hollywood movies." David Edelstein, writing in New York Magazine, described the film as being "full of promise, with minuscule returns." He concluded that, like Stone's other recent work, it is difficult to distinguish what the project's focus is supposed to be. New Zealand Heralds Russell Baillie gave it two and a half out of five stars, with the verdict for the film being that it does not fall flat of its expectations and hype.
Joe Morgenstern from The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
wrote that the movie manages to keep a hold on its audience's attention. He thought that Douglas measured up to Gekko's standards in the film, believing that he was the only actor to sustain a "sense of nasty fun", and felt that LaBeouf's effectiveness was within the range of the film-maker's direction, but was unimpressed with Brolin's portrayal of James. He concluded that the script takes an unconvincing jab at Gekko's "spiritual regeneration," which was due to a scene that he considered to be "inherently illogical and emotionally inert." The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
s David Gritten said that Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps lacked the "punch" of the original film and was annoyed by the number of cameos throughout the film. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps received three out of five stars from Stephen Lambrechts of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
Australia. Lambrechts felt that Stone's growth as a film director might mirror Gekko's as a person; having had used time to calm down over the years and settle into a more relaxed state of being. He concluded that the film's final result is not "quite the incendiary attack that it could have been, but it still has plenty to say while also managing to be an entertaining crowd pleaser."
In contrast to the film's detractors, Boxoffice Magazine journalist Pete Hammond said the film was "brilliantly cast" and labeled it a "crackerjack powerhouse of a movie that shines a light on the financial machinations". He stated that Douglas does not lose any of the substance of Gekko and LaBeouf is firm as Jacob. The writer predicted the Wall Street sequel's box office performance would be brisk, while the prospects were assured on DVD. Andrew O'Hehir's of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
reviewed the film from Cannes, calling it an "ambitious, uneven, surprisingly talky melodrama, which mixes a quasi-documentary approach to the crash of 2008 with the story." O'Hehir's considered the film to express a more "personal, intimate sense of moral hazard". Marshall Fine
Marshall Fine
Marshall Fine Author, Journalist, and movie critic. Marshall Fine is a film critic and author who has worked at newspapers in Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi, South Dakota, California and New York. Fine spent 25 years covering film for Gannett Newspapers. More recently, he has served as film/TV...
, writing in the Huffington Post, viewed the film as an "overstuffed blend of agitprop and melodrama" that contains a cautionary story pertaining to unchecked capitalism. He considered Stone to be proclaiming a message of the "cancerous effects of greed". Bill Goodykoontz of Arizona Republic admitted that he was not surprised to see that the sequel is not as effective as its predecessor, though it was an engaging film at the top of its game when it is hostile, and less satisfying during romantic parts. He ended by saying that it is not a "great movie", but explained that it is an "effective commentary on what greed cost" everyone. CEO of Tullett Prebon
Tullett Prebon
Tullett Prebon plc is one of the largest inter-dealer money brokers in the world. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.- History :...
, Terry Smith, one of the largest inter-dealer money brokers in the world, reviewed the movie for Today on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
. He gave it three out of five saying that, although it was "a little bit corny in some respects", it puts the events of the credit crunch into context and that "it rings reasonably true," capturing some of the activities, the moods and the individuals quite well."
Accolades
All of the film's awards and nominations were for the main actors' performances.| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. It was started in 1989 and is held annually in January... |
January 8, 2011 | Breakthrough Performance Award (Also for Never Let Me Go Never Let Me Go (2010 film) Never Let Me Go is a 2010 British dystopian drama film based on Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Mark Romanek from a screenplay by Alex Garland. Never Let Me Go is set in an alternate history and centers on Kathy, Ruth and Tommy who are portrayed by Carey... ) |
Carey Mulligan | |
| 68th Golden Globe Awards 68th Golden Globe Awards The 68th Golden Globe Awards was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 16, 2011, by NBC. The host was Ricky Gervais.... |
January 16, 2011 | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Michael Douglas | |
| 2011 Teen Choice Awards 2011 Teen Choice Awards The 2011 Teen Choice Awards hosted by Kaley Cuoco aired live on August 7, 2011 at 8/7c on Fox. This was the first time that the ceremonies were aired live since the 2007 show... |
August 7, 2011 | Choice Movie: Actor Drama | Shia LaBeouf |
See also
- 2010 in film2010 in filmThe year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and...
- Cinema of the United StatesCinema of the United StatesThe cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
- List of American films of 2010