Brad Pitt, Christian Bale And Ryan Gosling Starring In 'The Big Short'

Let's just put all the good-looking, well-established movie star types in one movie. Maybe that's the secret to success for a financial downturn movie. Adam McKay is writing and directing The Big Short, based on the book written by Michael Lewis of Moneyball fame. The book is the story of "the build-up of the housing and credit bubble of the 2000s," so it may be quite a departure from McKay's typical comedies. Brad Pitt's company Plan B is producing, and now Pitt is in line to star, along with Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling. 

Variety reports that this project, based on Lewis' book 'The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine,' is a big priority for Pitt, who has been pursuing this avidly. The trade says "the feature adaptation will likely feature several A-list actors who have similiar-sized roles, similar to the cast of Traffic or The Counselor."

In the book, Lewis follows a set of people who each had a role in creating the systems and practices that inflated the credit bubble of the 2000s, which burst and led to the economic downturn of 2007-2010. We don't know which actors will be tied to which roles at this point.

Paramount will release the completed film.

The real story of the crash began in bizarre feeder markets where the sun doesn't shine and the SEC doesn't dare, or bother, to tread: the bond and real estate derivative markets where geeks invent impenetrable securities to profit from the misery of lower–and middle–class Americans who can't pay their debts. The smart people who understood what was or might be happening were paralyzed by hope and fear; in any case, they weren't talking. Michael Lewis creates a fresh, character-driven narrative brimming with indignation and dark humor, a fitting sequel to his #1 bestseller Liar's Poker. Out of a handful of unlikely–really unlikely–heroes, Lewis fashions a story as compelling and unusual as any of his earlier bestsellers, proving yet again that he is the finest and funniest chronicler of our time.