Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
Wall Street (1987 film)
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Production== ===Development=== After the success of ''[[Platoon (film)|Platoon]]'' (1986), Oliver Stone wanted film school friend and [[Los Angeles]] screenwriter [[Stanley Weiser]] to research and write a screenplay about [[quiz show scandals]] in the 1950s.<ref name="Weiser 2008">{{cite news |last=Weiser |first=Stanley |title=Repeat After Me: Greed is Not Good |work=Los Angeles Times |date=October 5, 2008 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-oct-05-ca-wallstreet5-story.html |access-date=October 17, 2008 |url-access=limited}}</ref> During a story conference, Stone suggested making a film about Wall Street instead. Stone pitched the premise of two investment partners getting involved in questionable financial dealings, using each other, and they are tailed by a prosecutor as in ''[[Crime and Punishment]]''.<ref name="Weiser 2008"/> Stone had been thinking about this kind of a film as early as 1981<ref name="Riordan 1996">{{cite book |last=Riordan |first=James |title=Stone: A Biography of Oliver Stone |publisher=Aurum Press |location=New York |date=1996 |isbn=978-1-85410-444-1}}{{page needed|date=October 2023}}</ref> and was inspired by his father, Lou Stone, a broker during the [[Great Depression]] at [[Hayden Stone]].<ref name="Demos 2007">{{cite news |last=Demos |first=Telis |title=Oliver Stone: Life after ''Wall Street'' |work=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |date=September 21, 2007 |url=https://money.cnn.com/2007/09/20/news/newsmakers/oliver_stone.fortune/index.htm |access-date=December 10, 2008}}</ref> Stone knew a New York businessman who was making millions and working long days putting together deals all over the world. This man started making mistakes that cost him everything. Stone remembers that the "story frames what happens in my movie, which is basically a ''[[The Pilgrim's Progress|Pilgrim's Progress]]'' of a boy who is seduced and corrupted by the allure of easy money. And in the third act, he sets out to redeem himself".<ref name="Riordan 1996"/> Stone asked Weiser to read ''[[Crime and Punishment]]'', but Weiser found that its story did not mix well with their own. Stone then asked Weiser to read ''[[The Great Gatsby]]'' for material that they could use, but it was not the right fit either.<ref name="Weiser 2008"/> Weiser had no prior knowledge of the financial world and immersed himself in researching the world of stock trading, [[junk bond]]s, and corporate takeovers. He and Stone spent three weeks visiting [[brokerage firm|brokerage houses]] and interviewing investors.<ref name="Weiser 2008"/> ===Screenplay=== Weiser wrote the first draft, initially called ''Greed'', with Stone writing another draft. Originally, Charlie Sheen's character was a young Jewish broker named Freddie Goldsmith, but Stone changed the name to Bud Fox to avoid the stereotype that Wall Street was controlled by Jews.<ref name="Riordan 1996"/> Reportedly, Gordon Gekko is said to be a composite of several people: Wall Street broker Owen Morrisey, an old friend of Stone's<ref>{{cite book |last=Lavington |first=Stephen |title=Virgin Film: Oliver Stone |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uf6jNxx0ppMC&pg=PT145 |year=2011 |publisher=Ebury |isbn=978-0-7535-4766-3 |page=145}}</ref> who was involved in a $20 million insider trading scandal in 1985, [[Dennis Levine]], [[Ivan Boesky]],<ref name="Crowdus 1987">{{cite magazine |last=Crowdus |first=Gary |title=Personal Struggles and Political Issues: An Interview with Oliver Stone |magazine=Cinéaste |date=1988 |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=18–21 |issn=0009-7004 |jstor=41687728 |url=http://www.cineaste.com/articles/stone-interview.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226194916/http://www.cineaste.com/articles/stone-interview.pdf |archive-date=February 26, 2008}}</ref> corporate raider [[Carl Icahn]], investor and art collector [[Asher Edelman]], agent [[Michael Ovitz]], and Stone himself.<ref name="Weiser 2008"/> For example, Stone told ''Newsweek'' that the "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good" line was based on a speech by Boesky where he said, "Greed is right".<ref name="Sigesmund 2002">{{cite news |last=Sigesmund |first=B. J. |title=The Return of Greed |work=Newsweek |date=19 July 2002 |url=http://www.newsweek.com/2002/07/18/the-return-of-greed.html |archive-date=11 Sep 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100911083224/http://www.newsweek.com/2002/07/18/the-return-of-greed.html |url-status=unfit}}</ref> According to [[Edward R. Pressman]], producer of the film, "Originally, there was no one individual who Gekko was modeled on", he adds, "But Gekko was partly [[Michael Milken|Milken]]". Also, Pressman has said that the character of Sir Larry Wildman was modeled on [[James Goldsmith]], the Anglo-French billionaire and corporate-raider.<ref name="Goodley 2008">{{cite news |last=Goodley |first=Simon |title=Brace Yourself, Gekko is Back |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=October 27, 2008 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2814749/Brace-yourself-Gekko-is-back.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2814749/Brace-yourself-Gekko-is-back.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=January 3, 2009}}{{cbignore}}</ref> According to Weiser, Gekko's style of speaking was inspired by Stone. "When I was writing some of the dialogue I would listen to Oliver on the phone and sometimes he talks very rapid-fire, the way Gordon Gekko does".<ref name="Riordan 1996"/> Stone cites as influences on his approach to business, the novels of [[Upton Sinclair]], [[Sinclair Lewis]] and [[Victor Hugo]], and the films of [[Paddy Chayefsky]] because they were able to make a complicated subject clear to the audience.<ref name="Scott 1987a">{{cite news |last=Scott |first=Jay |title=Stone Gets Down to Business on ''Wall Street'' |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |date=December 4, 1987}}</ref> Stone set the film in 1985 because insider trading scandals culminated in 1985 and 1986.<ref name="Scott 1987a"/> This led to anachronisms in the script, including a reference to the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]], which had not yet occurred. ===Casting=== Stone met with [[Tom Cruise]] about playing Bud Fox, but Stone had already committed to Charlie Sheen for the role.<ref name="Riordan 1996"/> [[Matthew Modine]] turned down the role of Bud Fox.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/full-metal-jacket-star-matthew-modine-stranger-things.amp |title='Full Metal Jacket' star Matthew Modine explains why he turned down 'Top Gun,' 'Back to the Future' | Fox News |website=[[Fox News]]}}</ref> Stone liked the "stiffness" of Sheen's acting style and used it to convey Bud's naivete.<ref name="Kiselyak 2007">{{cite news |last=Kiselyak |first=Charles |title=Money Never Sleeps: The Making of ''Wall Street'' |work=Wall Street: 20th Anniversary Edition DVD |publisher=[[20th Century Fox]] |year=2007}}</ref> Michael Douglas had just come off heroic roles like the one in ''[[Romancing the Stone]]'' and was looking for something dark and edgy.<ref name="Riordan 1996"/> The studio wanted [[Warren Beatty]] to play Gekko, but he was not interested. Stone initially wanted [[Richard Gere]] but Gere passed, so Stone went with Douglas despite having been advised by others in [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] not to cast him.<ref name="Riordan 1996"/> Stone remembers, "I was warned by everyone in Hollywood that Michael couldn't act, that he was a producer more than an actor and would spend all his time in his trailer on the phone". Nevertheless, Stone found out that "when he's acting he gives it his all".<ref name="McGuigan 1987">{{cite news |last=McGuigan |first=Cathleen |title=A Bull Market in Sin |work=[[Newsweek]] |date=December 14, 1987}}</ref> Stone said that he saw "that villain quality" in Douglas and always thought he was a smart businessman.<ref name="Lipper 1987"/> Douglas remembers that when he first read the screenplay, "I thought it was a great part. It was a long script, and there were some incredibly long and intense monologues to open with. I'd never seen a screenplay where there were two or three pages of single-spaced type for a monologue. I thought, whoa! I mean, it was unbelievable".<ref name="Riordan 1996"/> For research, he read profiles of corporate raiders [[T. Boone Pickens]] and Carl Icahn.<ref name="Riordan 1996"/> Stone gave Charlie Sheen the choice of [[Jack Lemmon]] or [[Martin Sheen]] to play his father in the film, and Sheen picked Martin Sheen, his own father. The elder Sheen related to the moral sense of his character.<ref name="Kiselyak 2007"/> Stone cast [[Daryl Hannah]] as Bud Fox's materialistic girlfriend Darien Taylor, but felt that she was never happy with the role and did not know why she accepted it. He tried to explain the character to Hannah repeatedly, and thought that the materialism of the character conflicted with Hannah's idealism.<ref name="Kiselyak 2007"/> Stone said later that he was aware early on that she was not right for the part. "Daryl Hannah was not happy doing the role and I should have let her go. All my crew wanted to get rid of her after one day of shooting. My pride was such that I kept saying I was going to make it work".<ref name="Riordan 1996"/> Stone also had difficulties with [[Sean Young]], who made her opinions known that Hannah should be fired and that she should play that role instead. Young would show up to the set late and unprepared. She did not get along with Charlie Sheen, which caused further friction on the set. In retrospect, Stone felt that Young was right and he should have swapped Hannah's role with hers.<ref name="Riordan 1996"/> Stone admits that he had "some problems" with Young, but was not willing to confirm or deny rumors that she walked off with all of her costumes when she completed filming.<ref name="Lipper 1987"/> ===Principal photography=== Stone wanted to shoot the film in New York City and that required a budget of at least $15 million, a moderate shooting budget by 1980s standards. The studio that backed ''Platoon'' felt that it was too risky a project to bankroll and passed. Stone and producer [[Edward R. Pressman]] took it to [[20th Century Fox]] and filming began in April 1987 and ended on July 4 of the same year.<ref name="Blair 2008">{{cite news |last=Blair |first=Cynthia |title=1987: ''Wall Street'' Filmed in New York City |work=[[Newsday]] |year=2008 |url=http://www.newsday.com/other/special/ny-ihiny090904story,0,2269738.htmlstory |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207012006/http://www.newsday.com/other/special/ny-ihiny090904story%2C0%2C2269738.htmlstory |archive-date=December 7, 2008}}</ref> Parts of the film were shot in [[Snowbird, Utah]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=D'Arc |first1=James V. |title=When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah |date=2010 |publisher=Gibbs Smith |location=Layton, Utah |isbn=978-1-4236-0587-4 |edition=1st}}</ref> According to Stone, he was "making a movie about sharks, about feeding frenzies. Bob [director of photography [[Robert Richardson (cinematographer)|Robert Richardson]]] and I wanted the camera to become a predator. There is no let-up until you get to the fixed world of Charlie's father, where the stationary camera gives you a sense of immutable values".<ref name="Riordan 1996"/> The director saw [Wall Street] as a battle zone and "filmed it as such" including shooting conversations like physical confrontations, and in ensemble shots had the camera circle the actors "in a way that makes you feel you're in a pool with sharks".<ref name="Wuntch 1987">{{cite news |last=Wuntch |first=P |title=Stone's War on Wall St |work=Herald |date=December 21, 1987}}</ref> Jeffrey "Mad Dog" Beck, a star investment banker at the time with [[Drexel Burnham Lambert]], was one of the film's technical advisers and has a [[cameo appearance]] in the film as the man speaking at the meeting discussing the breakup of Bluestar. [[Kenneth Lipper]], investment banker and former deputy mayor of New York for Finance and Economic Development, was also hired as chief technical adviser.<ref name="Cowan 1987">{{cite news |last=Cowan |first=Alison |title=Making ''Wall Street'' Look Like Wall Street |work=The New York Times |date=December 30, 1987}}</ref> At first, he turned Stone down because he felt that the film would be a one-sided attack. Stone asked him to reconsider and Lipper read the script responding with a 13-page critique.<ref name="Welles 1987">{{cite news |last=Welles |first=Chris |title=The Platoon of Pros Who Helped Out on ''Wall Street'' |work=[[Business Week]] |date=December 21, 1987}}</ref> For example, he argued that it was unrealistic to have all the characters be "morally bankrupt".<ref name="Cowan 1987"/> Lipper advised Stone on the kind of computers used on the trading floor, the accurate proportion of women at a business meeting, and the kinds of extras that should be seated at the annual shareholders' meeting where Gekko delivers his "Greed is good" speech.<ref name="Cowan 1987"/> Stone agreed with Lipper's criticism and asked him to rewrite the script. Lipper brought a balance to the film and this helped Stone get permission to shoot on the floor of the [[New York Stock Exchange]] during trading hours.<ref name="Welles 1987"/> Lipper and Stone disagreed over the character of Lou Mannheim. Stone shot a scene showing the honest Mannheim giving in to insider trading, but Lipper argued that audiences might conclude that everyone on Wall Street is corrupt and insisted that the film needed an unimpeachable character. Stone cut the scene.<ref name="Welles 1987"/> Stone also consulted with Carl Icahn, Asher Edelman, convicted inside trader David Brown, several government prosecutors, and Wall Street investment bankers.<ref name="Lipper 1987">{{cite news |last=Lipper |first=Hal |title=The Stone Age |work=[[St. Petersburg Times]] |date=December 13, 1987}}</ref> In addition, traders were brought in to coach actors on the set on how to hold phones, write out tickets, and talk to clients.<ref name="Welles 1987"/> Stone asked Lipper to design a six-week course that would expose Charlie Sheen to a cross section of young Wall Street business people. The actor said, "I was impressed and very, very respectful of the fact that they could maintain that kind of aggressiveness and drive".<ref name="Rattner 1987">{{cite news |last=Rattner |first=Steven |title=From Vietnam to ''Wall Street'' |work=The New York Times |date=August 30, 1987}}</ref> Douglas worked with a speech instructor on [[Vocal pedagogy|breath control]] in order to become better acclimatized to the fast rhythm of the film's dialogue. Early on in the shoot, Stone tested Douglas by enhancing his "repressed anger", according to the actor.<ref name="Kiselyak 2007"/> At one point, Stone came into Douglas' trailer and asked him if he was doing drugs because "you look like you haven't acted before".<ref name="Kiselyak 2007"/> This shocked Douglas, who did more research and worked on his lines again and again, pushing himself harder than he had before. All of this hard work culminated with the "Greed is good" speech.<ref name="Kiselyak 2007"/> Stone planned to use a ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'' magazine cover in exchange for promotional advertisements, but ''[[Forbes]]'' magazine made a similar offer. Stone stuck with ''Fortune'', which upset ''Forbes'' publisher [[Malcolm Forbes]], who turned down a later request to use his private yacht.<ref name="Garcia 1987">{{cite magazine |last=Garcia |first=Guy D |title=In the Trenches of Wall Street |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=July 20, 1987 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965026,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408195840/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965026,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 8, 2008}}</ref> Stone switched from 12- to 14-hour shooting days in the last few weeks in order to finish principal photography before an impending [[Directors Guild of America]] strike and finished five days ahead of schedule.<ref name="Garcia 1987"/> Sheen remembered that Stone was always looking at the script and at his watch.<ref name="Kiselyak 2007"/>
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
Wall Street (1987 film)
(section)
Add topic