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| Written by Christopher M. |
The Wrap reports that comedic writer-director Adam McKay (Anchorman, Step Brothers) will direct his first dramatic film with Big Short. A-list actors such as Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling are attached for lead roles in the film.
The project will be handled by Paramount and Pitt’s production company Plan B.
It’s based on the non-fiction novel The Big Short: Inside The Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis.
It focuses on the default credit swap schemes that helped almost destroyed the American economy during the housing crisis.
Lewis’ other book Moneyball was adapted for the screen which had director Bennett Miller and also starred Brad Pitt. The film earned both Pitt and Jonah Hill Oscar nominations and it also received an additional four nominations including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Not the usual material or pedigree Adam McKay is known for. This is a huge step-up for McKay who was recently tasked to rewrite the Ant-Man script for Marvel Studios.
Big Short could establish McKay as a major player the awards level arena when it releases.
It’s expected the dramatic stock market film could end-up awards bait and we should keep an eye on this project.
I’ll be curious to see if Adam’s partner and friend Will Ferrell will get a role since we rarely see him tackle dramatic projects.
