Continuing our coverage of the slew of new images and synopses from the American Film Market (AFM), we’ve got some great images and an official synopsis from the upcoming financial thriller Margin Call. The film marks the feature debut of writer/director J.C. Chandor and features an impressive cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Mary McDonnell, Zachary Quinto, Simon Baker, and Penn Badgley. The film strikes a familiar note, as it centers on the key people at an investment bank during the 24-hour period during the financial crisis. We recently sat down with Badgley and he told us a bit about the project, so I recommend you check that out. To get a look at the first official images from the film, a promo poster, as well as the official synopsis, hit the jump.
Update: We've been asked by the studio to take down the images....sorry if you missed them
Oliver Stone attempted to tackle the financial crisis with Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps earlier this year, and wasn’t quite as successful as he had hoped. I didn’t think it was a bad film by any means, but it certainly wasn’t anything memorable. Spacey is no stranger to taking on current issues in film; he was in the fantastic Recount on HBO and will next be seen in the Jack Abramoff-based flick Casino Jack. With the caliber of cast involved in this project, I have high hopes.
Here’s the synopsis for Margin Call, hitting theaters on April 15th, 2011:
Based upon the real events leading up to the collapse of the worldwide financial markets in the fall of 2008, Margin Call is the story of a fictional Wall Street investment banking house and the 24 desperate hours leading up to the first significant day of the global financial meltdown.
The firm is making millions selling dangerously high-risk investment packages to their clients, ignoring increasingly frequent warning signs of instability. Late one night, two young brokers discover that the risk levels have broken through the safety barriers, and that the company’s entire portfolio of assets are teetering on disaster. With all of Wall Street poised to sell the same toxic investments, they realize to their horror that the entire market is about to free fall.
Calling an immediate middle-of-the-night conference with senior management, the firm’s executives wrestle with two basic options. They can watch the 107-year-old go under with the rest of Wall Street. Or they can take advantage of being the first to sell their soon to be dangerous securities. Their clients will be ruined, but they might survive.
As the night progresses toward their pivotal morning decision, they face a moral dilemma unlike any they have confronted before. The repercussions of the path they choose will go far beyond their own careers. One single choice on their part could have an unprecedented domino effect on Wall Street, the global financial markets, and on Main Streets around the world.
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