Gordon Gecko, the slick inside trader/anti-hero of Oliver Stone’s Wall Street (1987) may be gracing cinema screens once again, according to an interview with the film’s producer Ed Pressman in the West Australian.
Pressman has been working with screenwriter Stephen Schiff in developing a story that not only returns the character to the big screen, but reflects the changes in world business that have occurred over the last quarter century. He said-
Wall Street was New York-centric. Today the markets are much more global, hence the title of the new film, Money Never Sleeps… The new film will be based in New York, in London, in the United Arab Emirates and in an Asian country. We’ve pretty well worked out the inter-personal relationships between the characters. We’re now talking about the business events.
Portrayed by Michael Douglas, Gecko embodied all that director Oliver Stone saw as wrong in corporate America. Of course, Gecko’s over-the-top ambition and drive didn’t stop him from becoming a hero to many. As Pressman explains-
That’s his appeal. Gekko is larger than life. His appetites are large. The audience enjoys a vicarious pleasure of seeing a world they would never be part of. In a funny way Wall Street was like The Godfather in that the real mob began dressing and behaving like characters in the movie. After Wall Street people started wearing suspenders (braces) like Michael.
And what has happened to Gecko since audiences last saw him being betrayed by his protégé Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) to rival Sir Larry Wildman (Terence Stamp)? Pressman reveals that much like real life trader Michael Milkin, whom the character of Gecko is partly based on, Gecko has done a stretch in prison for his illegal activities, but upon release has donated much time and money to charity work. Pressman hints, though, “a leopard doesn’t change its spots, despite appearances.”
Via Film Ick.
