'The Big Short': Will the newest adaptation of a Michael Lewis book be a hit?
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
Another of Michael Lewis鈥檚 nonfiction books has been adapted for the screen, with the movie 鈥淭he Big Short,鈥� which is based on Mr. Lewis鈥檚 book of the same name, coming to movie theaters this December.聽
鈥淪hort鈥� stars Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, 海角大神 Bale, and Ryan Gosling as Wall Street insiders who were able to predict the approach of the 2008 financial crisis.
The movie is directed and co-written by Adam McKay of 鈥淎nchorman 2鈥� and 鈥淭he Other Guys.鈥� The film recently was screened at the AFI Fest.
Books by Lewis have been very successful in Hollywood. Film adaptations of his books 鈥淭he Blind Side鈥� and 鈥淢oneyball鈥� were hits with both critics and moviegoers. 鈥淏lind鈥� became a box office hit in 2009 and actress Sandra Bullock won a Best Actress Oscar for her role as real-life figure Leigh Anne Tuohy. The film was also nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.
2011鈥檚 鈥淢oneyball鈥� did similarly well, performing respectively at the box office and earning Oscar nods for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor for Mr. Pitt and Jonah Hill.
Academy voters are often drawn to real-life stories. Many recent awards went to actors playing real people, such as Eddie Redmayne, who won a Best Actor Oscar for portraying Stephen Hawking in 鈥淭he Theory of Everything鈥�; Matthew McConaughey, who portrayed real-life figure Ron Woodroof in and won a Best Actor Oscar for 鈥淒allas Buyers Club鈥�; and Lupita Nyong鈥檕, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as the slave Patsey in 鈥�12 Years a Slave.鈥澛�
Will 鈥淪hort鈥� do as well as the movies 鈥淏lind鈥� and 鈥淢oneyball鈥�? It will come to theaters on Dec. 11 in limited release.
