Wall Street (Exclusive Series) (HBO Max)

Initial release date: December 11, 1987

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Tagline: Every dream has a price

Plot: In the Wall Street of the 1980s, Bud Fox is a stockbroker full of ambition, doing whatever he can to make his way to the top. Admiring the power of the unsparing corporate raider Gordon Gekko, Fox entices Gekko into mentoring him by providing him insider trading. As Fox becomes embroiled in greed and underhanded schemes his decisions eventually threaten the livelihood of his scrupulous father. Faced with this dilemma, Fox questions his loyalties.

Cast

Michael Douglas - Gordon Gekko

Charlie Sheen - Bud Fox

John C. McGinley - Chuckie

Martin Sheen - Carl Fox

Tamara Tunie - Carolyn

Hal Holbrook - Lou Mannheim

James Karen - Lynch

Sean Young - Kate Gekko

Cecilia Peck - Candice Rogers

Paul Guilfoyle - Stone Livingston

Annie McEnroe - Muffin Livingston

Daryl Hannah - Darien Tyler

James Spader - Roger Barnes

Writer(s): Stanley Weiser (W.)

Oliver Stone

Director: Oliver Stone (Snowden; Savages)

Rated R (126 minutes)

In 1987, filmmaker Oliver Stone released the acclaimed film ‘Wall Street,’ which was loosely based on the insider stock trading scandals of the 1980s.

This 1987 feature film is very compelling and features great performances from Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas (Bud Fox and Gordon Gekko). After this movie, the Godron Gekko character became the face of Wall Street in a way and got several people interested in the finance world.

The film is also famous for the iconic “Greed Is Good” speech that Gekko says in the movie. There are quite a few memorable moments throughout the film and most of the film is just captivating.

If you haven’t seen this 1987 feature, it’s really worth a look. Only saw the belated sequel ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’ only once - maybe will check it out again down the road.

Here are some interesting tidbits for ‘Wall Street’:

• The first feature film to show a character using a cordless mobile cellular telephone.

• The plot is loosely based on the junk bond and insider trading scandals of the 1980s.

• Gekko’s “Greek is good” speech was inspired by Ivan Boesky’s at the University of California’s commencement ceremony in 1986. Boesky was a Wall Street arbitrageur who paid a $100 million penalty to the SEC later that year to settle insider trading charges. In his speech, Boesky said, “Greed is all right, by the way, I want you to know that. I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself.”

• Douglas was also working on the film ‘Fatal Attraction’ at the same time as this film. To avoid a schedule conflict, Douglas would alternate between each film during the week.

• The movie’s line “Greed … is good” was voted as the No. 70 of ``The 100 Greatest Movie Lines” by Premiere in 2007.

• After the success of ‘Platoon,’ Stone wanted film school friend and L.A. screenwriter Stanley Weiser to research and write a screenplay about quiz show scandals in the 50s. During a story conference, Stone suggested making a film about Wall Street instead.

• ‘Wall Street’ was released on December 11, 1987, in 730 theaters and grossed $4/.1 million on its opening weekend. It went on to make $43.8 million domestically, earning theatrical rentals of $20 million.

• In 2007, a sequel entitled ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’ was released. Despite not getting as much acclaim as the 1987 film, the sequel was still a moderate hit.

https://youtu.be/2KqKHuPa2J8