With some major casting additions, HBO's telepic Too Big to Fail now lives up to its name.  William Hurt has already signed on to star in the behind-the-scenes look at the 2008 financial crisis, directed by Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential).  James Woods, Paul Giamatti, Billy Crudup, Ed Asner, Kathy Baker, Cynthia Nixon, Ayad Akhtar, Topher Grace, Dan Hedaya, Michael O'Keefe, Tony Shalhoub, and Joey Slotnick have now joined the cast.  Hit the jump to see the real-life personas they'll assume.

Here's the rundown courtesy of Deadline:

  • Joining William Hurt - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
  • James Woods - Chairman/CEO of Lehman Brothers Dick "Gorilla" Fuld
  • Paul Giamatti - Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke
  • Billy Crudup - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
  • Ed Asner - Warren Buffett
  • Kathy Baker - Wendy Paulson
  • Cynthia Nixon - Michele Davis
  • Ayad Akhtar - Neel Kashkari
  • Topher Grace - Jim Wilkinson
  • Dan Hedaya - Barney Frank
  • Michael O’Keefe - Chris Flowers
  • Tony Shalhoub - John Mack
  • Joey Slotnick - Dan Jester

So, yeah. If you are another network thinking of submitting an actor or two to the Mineseries/Movie Emmy categories, maybe push development back to the 2011-12 qualification period.  The one-two punch of Hurt/Giamatti have Lead/Supporting in the bag.

The film is based on the Andrew Ross Sorkin Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System--and Themselves.  Peter Gould (Breaking Bad) wrote the script, but Sorkin is credited as a consultant.  Here's the synopsis:

In one of the most gripping financial narratives in decades, Andrew Ross Sorkin-a New York Times columnist and one of the country's most respected financial reporters-delivers the first definitive blow- by-blow account of the epochal economic crisis that brought the world to the brink. Through unprecedented access to the players involved, he re-creates all the drama and turmoil of these turbulent days, revealing never-before-disclosed details and recounting how, motivated as often by ego and greed as by fear and self-preservation, the most powerful men and women in finance and politics decided the fate of the world's economy. [Amazon]