This Dec. 6, 2013 file photo shows director Adam McKay from the film "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" in New York. Paramount Pictures on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015, announced that it will release the McKay-directed adaptation of Michael Lewis’ book, "“The Big Short: The Doomsday Machine," in limited release on December 11. A wider release will follow December 23. (Photo by Victoria Will/Invision/AP)
NEW YORK (AP) --
Hollywood's awards season has a surprise new entry: "The Big Short."
Paramount Pictures on Tuesday announced that it will release the Adam McKay-directed adaptation of Michael Lewis' book in limited release on Dec. 11. A wider release will follow Dec. 23.
The film boasts a star-studded cast of Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling. It tells the true story of a handful of people who got rich by betting against banks and predicting the financial crash of 2008.
A trailer for the film also debuted Tuesday. "The Big Short" will first premiere at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles on Nov. 12.
Merman has officially announced the signing of director Ritesh Gupta for commercial representation in the U.S. Gupta had joined Merman last year but was working on a feature film for most of 2024 so the production company held off until now on making the signing public.
The director is a former award-winning sports journalist and creative director. He’s created noteworthy campaigns from Budweiser’s viral “Dwyane Wade: This Bud’s for 3,” which he directed, to the multi-award winning Beats by Dre campaign “You Love Me,” which Gupta worked on as group creative director at the agency Translation. The “You Love Me” film, which was directed by Melina Matsoukas, earned a primetime commercial Emmy nomination in 2021 as well as a DGA Award win for PRETTYBIRD director Matsoukas. This marked the second Emmy nod for Gupta. Back in his MTV days he was a producer on a documentary, Aftershock: Diary of Gideon in Pakistan, which garnered a News & Documentary Emmy nomination.
As a director, Gupta’s approach is to layer a truthful authenticity ingrained during his time as a journalist--along with an emotional intelligence he honed storytelling in the documentary world--to craft his own evocative and unique cinematic style. In addition to his two Emmy nods, he has netted four Webbys, six AICP wins, eight Cannes Lions, 25 Clios and recognition from ADCOLOR and the ANDYs.
“Ritesh brings a unique perspective to his storytelling,” said Merman global director Ellen Clarke. “He has the ability to identify the multilayers of a narrative and its characters, weaving them impactfully together. His strength lies in his connection to the talent’s performance and discovering the authenticity within the story.”
