Given the success of Moneyball, it’s perhaps not surprising that Brad Pitt might want to be involved in another adaptation of one of Michael Lewis’s nonfiction books, tricky as they may be to turn into films. And on his latest venture into Lewis’s world, financial drama The Big Short, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling are along for the ride.
Anchorman director Adam McKay has been developing this one for a while now, working up something very different from his usual comedy brand. Lewis’s book, subtitled 'Inside The Doomsday Machine', follows several key people who had roles in creative the toxic credit bubble that sent the financial markets into panic mode. McKay, who is writing and directing the film, is reportedly looking for a group of big-name actors who will fill a Traffic-style ensemble. There’s no indication yet on how the first three will be involved, plot-wise.
Pitt is also planning to produce this one via his Plan B company, though there is no start date set yet. Still, given the names already board, we’d imagine that studio backers Paramount will be eager to get this one moving. Pitt, last seen in Fury, has worked on** By The Sea**, which co-stars and is directed by his wife, Angelina Jolie. Bale is on screen as Moses in Ridley Scott’s Exodus and will show up in Terrence Malick’s two 2015 films, Knight Of Cups and its untitled fellow drama. As for Gosling, he’s just finished shooting Shane Black’s new LA crime thriller The Nice Guys alongside Russell Crowe.