Money Monster (2016)

The Machine sends us to May 13, 2016 to cover the pulse-pounding thriller Money Monster, starring George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Jack O'Connell.

Lee Gates (played by George Clooney) is the host of Money Monster, a brash, bawdy, over-the-top financial analysis show where he shares hot stock tips and berates his viewers into making big, risky investments with the promise of Wall Street riches. Gates is arrogant, selfish, and frequently in cahoots with the CEOs of the companies he promotes on his show. His longtime producer Patti Fenn (played by Julia Roberts) can no longer stand him and has finally quit. But during her final Money Monster broadcast, an enraged gunman barges into the studio, straps a bomb to Gates’ chest, and threatens to blow it up if anybody cuts off the broadcast. His name is Kyle Budwell (played by Jack O’Connell), and he’s a working class deliveryman who lost his life savings after investing with IBIS Clear Capital, a company Gates heavily promoted on the show that recently lost hundreds of millions of dollars due to a glitch in their trading algorithm. Kyle rants to the camera about the excesses of the 1% while brandishing a gun in Gates’ face and demanding answers from Ibis CEO Walt Camby (played by Dominic West). As Gates defends his life on live TV, Patti and the Money Monster crew work with a rogue IBIS executive and a group of Icelandic computer hackers to uncover the truth: Walt Camby stole the money to use in an elaborate market manipulation scam involving a South African mining company. Outraged, Gates joins forces with Kyle and they march down Wall Street together to confront Camby with the evidence of his wrongdoing live on air.

Written by Jamie Linden, Alan DiFiore, Jim Kouf

Directed by Jodie Foster

 

Support the Machine to keep it running for as little as $1/month over at Patreon.

Movie Memory Machine is part of the Grunt Work Podcasts network. For more information on today’s episode, visit moviememorymachine.com.

Theme song by Porky’s Groove Machine.

Special thanks to Nate DuFort.

Follow us: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube