Financial Services Goes Hollywood
When the TV series “Billions” premiered in early 2016, I was skeptical. As someone who runs a PR firm that represents many hedge fund managers, I thought I would have a hard time with it. I also wondered whether anyone would really be interested in watching a series about a billionaire hedge fund manager.
In the end, I confess, I was hooked -- alongside most of my friends, family and work colleagues, and the 6.3 million other people who tuned in every week. In fact, now that the series has ended I am in a "post-Billions depression." The show was that good.
About a month ago, I read about “Dry Powder,” a sold out play starring Claire Danes. The subject: The private equity industry. What? I get the attraction of watching Claire Danes in a small theater, but I was shocked that the regular theatergoer in New York would want to watch a play about private equity. I was so intrigued I bought a ticket (to the tune of $300, and I had to go solo). Guess what? It was amazing (although the couple from Kansas that sat next to me said they “didn’t get one word”).
According to a recent New York Times piece, there is a growing audience for movies, plays and TV shows about finance, and more specifically the misdeeds and failures that brought the economy to the edge of collapse. “The Big Short” is a great example, pulling in $133 million on a $28 million budget for Paramount Pictures and a nomination for best picture.
According to experts quoted in the Times, this is just the beginning of Hollywood's fascination with finance. Sandy Climan, president of a movie and digital media investment company in Los Angeles, noted that, “The culture has become much more attuned to the financial world. Creators are now dramatizing what people were already thinking about.”
As someone who runs a financial communications firm, my interest may be a bit positively biased. I am riveted by those who influence the economy, and the characters who inhabit Wall Street. I'm looking forward to the entertainment and finance worlds continuing to intertwine. It’s Wall Street’s turn in the spotlight and short term, I just can't wait for the next season of Billions! 