Nearly three years after the fact, filmmakers are finally catching up to the giant bastards behind the collapse of the economy at the end of 2008 that dumped the rest of us in the shit. Last year saw both Oliver Stone‘s mediocre “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” and Charles Ferguson‘s Oscar-winning documentary “Inside Job,” which both looked at the events that led to the crash, while 2011 has already seen “Margin Call” pick up good notices at Sundance, and Curtis Hanson‘s all-star “Too Big To Fail” airs on HBO in a few weeks.
There’s more on the way as well, George Clooney is planning the drama “The $700 Billion Man” down the line, and today brings news of another project looking at the same world, one that’s already got a pair of high-profile actors attached. Roger Donaldson, director of “No Way Out” and “Thirteen Days” among others, is directing “Cities,” a dramatic thriller set against the background of the Dow Jones’ all-time high in 2007, and Clive Owen and Anil Kapoor (“Slumdog Millionaire“) are attached to two of the leading roles.
The film’s described as a cautionary tale, blending three interlinking story lines — a New York hedge fund manager (Owen) chasing sex, money and power, a Mumbai cop investigating corrupt colleagues (including Kapoor) and their links to property speculators, and a young London couple finding it difficult to plant a foot on the property ladder (pfft, tell us about it…). The script is by Donaldson and British TV veteran Glenn Wilhide (“The Royle Family“) and the project will be shopped at Cannes by Parlay Films (“Red Lights“).
Donaldson’s had enough strong work in his career that we’re glad of his presence (even if his CV also has the likes of “The Recruit” and “Dante’s Peak” on it), and we’re fans of both Owen and Kapoor, the latter of whom’s about to become much more familiar to U.S. audiences thanks to his upcoming appearance in “Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol”.” Filming begins in October in the three cities in which it’s set, so we imagine we’ll see it later in 2012. [The Hollywood Reporter]