Dumb Money - Everything You Need To Know
In January 2021, Redditors shook up the stock market when they initiated a short squeeze of GameStop's stocks during the pandemic. Their efforts rescued a financially-strapped video game outlet and became a Robin Hood-like example of small-time investors who were one-upping massive hedge funds (though, ironically, the day trading app Robinhood acted against the interests of these traders). In a breathtakingly short amount of time after the event occurred, Hollywood decided to bring the story to the big screen in director Craig Gillespie's "Dumb Money."
The film is expected to explore the squeeze by adapting Ben Mezrich's book "The Antisocial Network: The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees." Seth Rogen, Paul Dano, Sebastian Stan, Pete Davidson, Shailene Woodley, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Nick Offerman will be starring many of the key players of the historic moment.
With an all-star cast and the director behind "I, Tonya" and "Cruella," the dramedy film will surely be an engaging experience. Here is everything you need to know about "Dumb Money."
When will Dumb Money be released?
Deadline initially reported on what would become "Dumb Money" back in January 2021 when MGM optioned the rights to Ben Mezrich's proposed book on the GameStop short squeeze — despite the fact that the short squeeze happened in January 2021. By 2022, Craig Gillespie had signed on to helm the feature, along with Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo adapting Mezrich's material. Additionally, the star-studded cast joined the project throughout that year, with production continuing into 2023.
The movie is set to be released on October 20, 2023, by Sony Pictures Releasing and Stage 6 Films, with Black Bear International handling international distribution. It is still being determined if this will be a nationwide release or if the film will play in select cities first before gradually expanding throughout the fall. This could allow the feature to stay fresh in the minds of viewers and potential voters once the 2023 awards season launches in December.
What is the plot of Dumb Money?
"Dumb Money" is expected to remain faithful to Ben Mezrich's telling of the Melvin Capital hedge fund squeeze in his source material. Like other Wall Street-based films exploring recent events such as "The Big Short" and other great financial movies, the feature will likely shift to multiple perspectives to represent the Redditors, the hedge fund managers, and the individual companies feeling the pinch of the maneuver.
The movie's synopsis from Black Bear Pictures reads, "A loosely connected group of investors and internet trolls take down one of the largest hedge funds on Wall Street as they fight against the GameStop short squeeze." At CinemaCon 2023, "Dumb Money" footage was shared with those in attendance that aligned with the logline from the production company, which means a certain amount of drama, comedy, and chaos is assured.
In the clip, Seth Rogen and Vincent D'Onofrio, as Gabe Plotkin and Steve Cohen, respectively, were shown as two of the elite capital owners. Pete Davidson and Paul Dano also featured in the sequence while actively squeezing GameStop's stock to dramatic effect and the shock of Plotkin and Cohen.
Who is starring in Dumb Money?
One of the standout details about "Dumb Money" is its cast of characters. In addition to Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Vincent D'Onofrio, in the primary roles, Nick Offerman will star as the CEO of Citadel, along with Sebastian Stan as Vlad Tenev of Robinhood – the financial technology services company that controversially halted the acquisition of GameStop shares. Also in the cast are Pete Davidson, Shailene Woodley, America Ferrera, Anthony Ramos, Myha'la Herrold, Rushi Kota, Talia Ryder, and Dane DeHaan also make up the supporting cast in unspecified roles.
The project will reunite many of its performers, with Dano and Rogen having previously starred in "The Fablemans" for director Steven Spielberg, as Burt Feldman and Bennie Loewy, respectively. Seth Rogen also participated in the Hulu limited series "Pam & Tommy" as Rand Gauthier along with Sebastian Stan (Tommy Lee), which also included several episodes directed by Craig Gillespie. Stan also worked with the filmmaker on "I, Tonya," where he played Jeff Gillooly.
Who is directing Dumb Money?
"Dumb Money" is the eighth film from Australian-American filmmaker Craig Gillespie, who started his career in the 2000s. The filmmaker regularly moves in and out of different genres, with biographical dramas being the one subgenre that recurs most often throughout his filmography. His films, "Million Dollar Arm," "The Finest Hours," "I, Tonya," and his work on "Pam & Tommy" and the Mike Tyson docudrama "Tyson" for TV are all based on real-life subjects and events, many of which featured numerous controversial moments.
Each of these projects is also distinctive in how Gillespie uses the "breaking the fourth wall" technique, where central characters talk directly to the audience as a form of interactive narration. If the technique is used in his latest project, it will offer audiences a unique way to hear directly from all the participants of the most fascinating Wall Street phenomena in recent economic history.