Remember Lehman Brother ?
Now a Movie Coming Soon on Lehman Brother....“The Last Days of Lehman Brothers,”...
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With the one-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers’s collapse fast approaching, prepare to soon see a version of the seminal event on the small screen.
The BBC said on Wednesday that it is producing “The Last Days of Lehman Brothers,” a TV movie “inspired by the real events” of that September weekend, for its BBC Two channel. And it has also cast a few familiar faces to play some of the main characters who helped shape the fate of the late investment bank.
Hank Paulson and James CromwellHenry Paulson (left) and James Cromwell
Playing two of the biggest roles: James Cromwell, the character actor known for roles in “L.A. Confidential,” “Babe” and “24,” who will play then-Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.; and Corey Johnson, who was in “United 93″ and “The Bourne Ultimatum,” who will portray Lehman chief executive Richard S. Fuld Jr.
Richard Fuld and Corey JohnsonRichard Fuld (left) and Corey Johnson
(We can see the resemblance of Mr. Cromwell to Mr. Paulson, but the actor may need to bulk up a little to play a former football player known as the Hammer. Mr. Johnson seems imposing enough to play Mr. Fuld, called the Gorilla for his hard-charging demeanor.)
Other actors named in the release include James Bolam, Ben Daniels and Michael Landes. Any guesses as to whom they’ll play?
The BBC made sure to note that the production was a work of fiction based on the real-life events of the weekend of Sept. 12. But in its release, the broadcaster portrayed the goings-on in a curious way, saying that Mr. Fuld was “recently sidelined in a boardroom coup.”
Still, the Beeb knows how to press the right dramatic tension buttons:
But without the financial support of Paulson and Lehman’s fiercest competitors, Fuld’s empire – and with it, the stability of the world economy – teeters on the verge of extinction.
It isn’t clear when “The Last Days,” written by the BBC scribe Craig Warner, will come out, other than sometime this fall.
Of course, a slew of books about the financial crisis are set to hit bookshelves this fall (one, by a former midlevel Lehman executive, has already been published), and maybe we’ll see other dramatizations of the Lehman weekend.
Source: http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/coming-soon-lehman-brothers...
