Arts·Commotion

The race to adapt news stories for the big screen

Nate Jones discusses Hollywood's thirst for quick turnaround films on stories ripped from the headlines.

Culture critic Nate Jones explains why there are so many movies about stories from recent memory

man at computer talks to a screen
In Dumb Money Paul Dano plays Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty, who rallied retail stock market traders to buy Gamestop shares. (Sony Pictures)

Director Craig Gillespie's latest film Dumb Money chronicles the GameStop stock short squeeze that happened just two years ago. What's more, the film is based on a book, The Antisocial Network, that came out only a few months after the short squeeze occurred.

These sorts of tight turnarounds are becoming more and more common in Hollywood — but where did this race to adapt the stories making headlines come from in the first place?

Vulture pop culture and film critic Nate Jones joins host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about Dumb Money and what it says about Hollywood's thirst for IP.

WATCH | Official trailer for Dumb Money:

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.


Interview with Nate Jones produced by Stuart Berman.