McKay is set to direct an adaptation of The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, based on the book by Moneyball author Michael Lewis. McKay will also pen the script with Brad Pitt on board to produce, and in a nutshell the story deals with the derivative market, one of those things that is so obscure financial experts making a ton of money on it can't even tell you what the heck a derivative is. All we know is that it helped lead to the "too big to fail" banks that crashed our economy, and it continues to be an issue now.
The book synopsis is below, followed by a scene from Michael Moore's documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story, in which he asks a bunch of Wall Street fat cats to explain derivatives , with spectacularly bad results.
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.
