With a serious, delicate subject (the financial crisis of 2007–2008) and a director best known for comedy, Adam McKay, (the creator of Don’t Look Up), The Big Short was a very intriguing prospect. And of course, there was an absolutely stellar cast (Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling).
The Big Short follows the real lives and actions of a number of financial industry professionals in the mid-2000s, against the backdrop of the real estate market’s rise and subsequent shocking collapse. Based on a non-fiction book by Michael Lewis, some characters’ names in the film and other distinguishing characteristics were changed.
Moreover, the cast and the movie’s co-producer, Brad Pitt, once spoke in-depth about the film and how Bale’s portrayal of his character really “shocked” him.
Christian Bale’s Eye for Detail Creeped Out Brad Pitt
The Big Short’s director, Adam McKay may have chosen a heist-movie tone because the financial crisis of 2007–2008, which led to so many people losing their homes, was not something to laugh about.
The Big Short was co-produced by Brad Pitt, who also took a small role in the film to help ensure the production got properly funded. The 59-year-old actor once discussed his side business as a real prestige film mogul, what it meant to work with the author, Michael Lewis, and how much he was impressed with Christian Bale‘s portrayal of his character.
The only character in the movie whose name has not been altered from its real-life counterpart was Michael Burry (Christian Bale).
Similar to Bale’s portrayal, the real Michael Burry was infamous for going weeks at a time without putting on shoes, listening to speed metal, and dressing in shabby T-shirts.
In fact, Bale requested some of Burry’s clothes when they met, allowing him to dress like the latter for the photo. His efforts to adapt his character also amazed Pitt, who told Vulture:
“I was shocked by how close, especially the principals, captured the actual people. Christian Bale was so much like Michael Burry that I thought it was creepy — he did a very, very good job. He was wearing Michael Burry’s clothes. That T-shirt and shorts. I asked Adam, ‘How did he even know he was wearing that when I went to see him?’ The answer is he didn’t. That’s what Michael Burry was wearing when Christian Bale went to see him, and Christian was like, ‘Can I have your clothes?’ I guess he has had to get new clothes now.”
All These Big Names Were Unrecognizable In The Big Short
The film’s directors admitted that they wanted the actors to appear as normal as possible. So, they forced them to play their parts while wearing such heavy makeup and props that people could not recognize them. They made them wear cheap hair and ungroomed hairstyles because they were to play the parts of common people.
In a discussion with Cinema Blend about the actors’ character design, the film’s director and co-writer, Adam McKay, said,
“These are the guys who don’t have the thousand dollar haircuts. These are the guys who don’t wear the six thousand dollar suits. These are the kind of shlubby, off-beat kind of guys who, when you’re in a room with them, don’t make eye contact, or in the case of [Steve] Carell’s character, are loud and boisterous.”
McKay wanted to show the contrast between the wealthy executives of the large banks and the eccentric, garish, and perpetually exhausted workers of the small businesses.
The main theme of the movie was this disparity between them, and actors like Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt could not play these men while acting with their faces covered when they were among the most attractive men in the industry.
Thus, giving them a makeover was all that the director could do.
For the record, the movie had a $50 million budget but earned slightly more than $133 million at the box office. It received generally favorable reviews from critics and audiences alike.
The Big Short is available for streaming on Hoopla.
Source- VULTURE
