I originally posted this back in January….anticipating and excited about the new movie back then! Still excited! Sadly, I won’t be able to see it tonight or this weekend as I can’t really leave Storm that long since he still needs to wear his cone if I’m not right there watching him (so he doesn’t pull out his surgical staples.) Going to coordinate a time early next week though!!
The stock market sure welcomed GG back with open arms today though ;)
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You know…if you read this speech…if you truly listen to what he is saying…he is right. Look past the trendy “hate Wall Street” rhetoric being bandied about by our current President and media. Look at what is being said here and think about what is *truly* being said….
Gekko: Well, I appreciate the opportunity you’re giving me, Mr. Cromwell, as the single largest shareholder in Teldar Paper, to speak.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we’re not here to indulge in fantasy, but in political and economic reality. America, America has become a second-rate power. Its trade deficit and its fiscal deficit are at nightmare proportions. Now, in the days of the free market, when our country was a top industrial power, there was accountability to the stockholder. The Carnegies, the Mellons, the men that built this great industrial empire, made sure of it because it was their money at stake. Today, management has no stake in the company!
All together, these men sitting up here [Teldar management] own less than 3 percent of the company. And where does Mr. Cromwell put his million-dollar salary? Not in Teldar stock; he owns less than 1 percent.
You own the company. That’s right — you, the stockholder.
And you are all being royally screwed over by these, these bureaucrats, with their steak lunches, their hunting and fishing trips, their corporate jets and golden parachutes.
Cromwell: This is an outrage! You’re out of line, Gekko!
Gekko: Teldar Paper, Mr. Cromwell, Teldar Paper has 33 different vice presidents, each earning over 200 thousand dollars a year. Now, I have spent the last two months analyzing what all these guys do, and I still can’t figure it out. One thing I do know is that our paper company lost 110 million dollars last year, and I’ll bet that half of that was spent in all the paperwork going back and forth between all these vice presidents.
The new law of evolution in corporate America seems to be survival of the unfittest. Well, in my book you either do it right or you get eliminated. In the last seven deals that I’ve been involved with, there were 2.5 million stockholders who have made a pretax profit of 12 billion dollars. (applause) Thank you.
I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them!
The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed — for lack of a better word — is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms — greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge — has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed — you mark my words — will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA.
Thank you very much.”
This movie was done in 1985. Still holds true today. One could argue that you can apply this to all of the life-long politicians that have never held a real job, a job where they have been responsible for creating anything, for making sure payroll is met, making sure that shareholders receive a return on their investment. They collect their giant salaries (look it up) and benefits that our paid by us…the taxpayers. Do you really think they are any better than the purported “criminals” of Wall Street or the banks? Really? If you do, than you are truly naive…
Are there criminals on Wall Street? Of course. Are there criminals in every single line of work? Yes. Are there criminals serving as your Congressman, as your Senator, or even your City Manager? Yes. If you don’t think so…you are truly naive…
This country was created, built on and made into the greatest country on earth because of the entrepreneurial drive to be successful. And our current government wants to destroy that. Put everyone on a level playing field. Everyone doesn’t belong on a level playing field. Face facts – there are smarter people, harder-working people…not everyone “deserves” the same thing. Period.
One of my most favorite movies ever…
5:31 pm on September 24th, 2010
I never will understand the class warfare that exists here. Who really is the criminal – those who are selling a product to the investing public that by disclosure is entirely risky but could also produce a high return or those who buy a product knowing full well that they can never in a billion years pay for it?
Whenever money is placed in the mix, there is a chance that greed creeps in. Whatever – I wouldn’t trade being on Wall Street and the chance to do deals for any other job. There are some terrific people that work on the Street.
I saw this at the Tribeca Film Festival and well, I will just say that sometimes it’s better to leave something so good alone. Michael Douglas brings GG back to life, but Oliver Stone shows again why he is really a hack and got lucky with the original.
Dead cat bounce…
5:41 pm on September 24th, 2010
I go with choice #2 for the win Alex…
Well, since I am only excited for this movie to see Michael Douglas bring GG back to life, I hope to be satisfied. Although I have a dread that Stone would try to use it as a morality play. Because a Hollywood director knows all and we should listen to him about life events and decisions. But I read that Frank Langella and Josh Brolin are great in it too so hoping to like it :)
But pretty please don’t tell me it ends up with a) GG going soft b) GG going back to jail! and/or c) GG getting taken out for good….
5:13 am on September 27th, 2010
No – none of choices a) b) or c) happen. That’s all I’ll say until you get to see it.
Oh, as a goof we went to the 21 Club over the weekend – that movie just makes you nostalgic for the old money/power meeting places here and I can’t think of a better one excepting some of the private clubs. Every time I walk through the door I half-expect to see GG or Bud Fox sitting in there with a martini and a steak tartare. :)
11:29 am on September 28th, 2010
I liked the movie. Didn’t love it – but thought Gekko was great (sadly not enough of him) and the other characters were interesting enough. Could have used much less of the romance part of the story since it should have just been a back story but oh well. Loved the tulip analogy. And liked all of the cameos. Surprised The Donald didn’t make it in!
I wonder how many people went out and bought “green stocks” for the next bubble ;)
FUN! Jealous!
2:46 pm on September 28th, 2010
That’s how I felt – it was o.k. but nowhere near as good as the original. This drove me nuts – GG had a son – WTF did he have a sex change operation while GG was in prison? Where did the daughter come from?
Made me wish this one wasn’t made and just left WS alone – but whatever.
Green stocks – meh.
3:41 pm on September 28th, 2010
He ODed – far too much pressure being GG’s son (yawn) Must have been a bit hard on MD to play seeing how his son used that same excuse for his numerous drug troubles. I liked when GG pointed out to Winnie that he sent the kid to rehab, he went into jail debt with gangsters to get money to send him again and to pay off a dealer to stop selling him to but it was a problem with him – period.
My guess is they didn’t want to be cliche and have a GG son in the business and play the story from that angle, so they gave him a daughter (who must have been born after his trial started?) and then used a future son-in-law for the connection. Because a future daughter-in-law being the trader with a libbie GG son would have been too hard to believe ;) (hey! no it wouldn’t!!)
6:24 pm on January 2nd, 2017
Stumbled across this post via a friends website, love the design – is there any chance you could email me as would like to offer some work to the desegnir.
9:17 am on February 2nd, 2017
Dün akşam Garanti ATM lerden 6 tanesi bozuktu üsküdar bölgesinde.. Rezillik.. Niye başka banka ATM sinden çekmedin diye soran olursa, takıntılıyım ben. (şifrematikle eşim para çekecekti çünkü, kartsız)