The film that cost $20,000,000,000,000 to make|Oct. 08, 2010|United States|109 Min.|PG-13
Genre: Documentary
Description: The documentary *Inside Job* explores the 2008 global financial crisis through five segments. It begins by analyzing Iceland’s deregulation in 2000 and the privatization of its banks, which led to economic collapse alongside the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the failure of AIG, triggering a worldwide recession. At the 2005 Jackson Hole conference, Raghuram Rajan, then chief economist of the IMF, warned of increasing risks in the financial system and suggested measures to mitigate them. His concerns were dismissed by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, who labeled Rajan a “luddite.” However, following the 2007–2008 financial crisis, Rajan’s insights were recognized as accurate, and he became a key interviewee for this film.
The U.S. financial sector was regulated from 1941 to 1981, followed by decades of deregulation. The savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s cost taxpayers approximately $124 billion. By the 1990s, the industry had consolidated into a few major firms. In March 2000, the internet stock bubble burst after investment banks promoted failing internet companies, resulting in $5 trillion in investor losses. Derivatives gained popularity during this time, increasing financial instability, but efforts to regulate them were blocked by the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000.
The 2000s saw the industry dominated by five investment banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Bear Stearns), two financial conglomerates (Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase), three insurance companies (AIG, MBIA, and AMBAC), and three rating agencies (Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch). Investment banks packaged mortgages with other debts into collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), which they sold to investors. Despite their risks, many CDOs received AAA ratings from rating agencies. Subprime loans led to predatory lending, with homeowners often granted loans they could not repay.
Cast director: Charles Ferguson
Cast actor: Matt Damon, William Ackman, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Jonathan Alpert, Christine Lagarde, Ann Curry, Daniel Alpert, Sigridur Benediktsdottir, Gylfi Zoega
Original name: Inside Job