Carsey-Wolf Center at UC Santa Barbara 
Script to Screen: The Big Short
- Thursday, January 14, 2021 / 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM (PST)
- With Charles Randolph (Screenwriter)
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Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt
Directed by: Adam McKay
Adapted from Michael Lewis’s 2010 nonfiction book of the same name, The Big Short (2015) dramatizes the relationship between the financial crisis and collapse of the United States housing bubble. It centers on characters played by Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt, based on real figures who were working on Wall Street at the time of the collapse. The film uses unconventional techniques to explain financial instruments, with cameo appearances by stars who break the fourth wall to explain concepts such as subprime mortgages and collateralized debt obligations.
The Carsey-Wolf Center is delighted to welcome Academy Award-winning screenwriter Charles Randolph for a virtual Q&A with Matt Ryan, director of the Pollock Theater.
This event will not include a screening. The Big Short may be streamed in advance on Amazon Prime, Youtube, or Vudu.
Biographies
Screenwriter Charles Randolph
Charles Randolph is an American screenwriter and producer for film and television. His screenplays include Bombshell (2019), Love and Other Drugs (2010), and The Life of David Gale (2003). In 2016, Randolph received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the Critic’s Choice Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the Empire Award for Best Screenplay, the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and the Academy Award for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay for co-writing The Big Short with Adam McKay.
Moderator Matt Ryan
Matthew Ryan earned his MFA in Screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University in 2008. He has been the Pollock Theater Director since the theater opened in October 2010. He created and hosts the Script to Screen series, which has welcomed prestigious guests such as writer/director/producer Jordan Peele (Get Out), writer/director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash), screenwriters Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), and writer/director/producer David Mandel, actor Tony Hale, and actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus (VEEP).
Ryan oversees the Pollock Theater Internship, which offers industry-level experience in live multi-camera television production and event planning. TV shows produced by students through this program have generated 15.1 million online views on the UCTV cable station.
This event is sponsored by the Carsey-Wolf Center, the Department of Film & Media Studies and the Scott Frank Fund for Screenwriting.
Script to Screen
The Script to Screen series examines the screenplay and its transition to the screen from the perspective of writers, directors, producers, editors, and actors. The Pollock Theater connects artists to our audience of aspiring production students, and Guild & Academy Members. Our Q&As transform into a television show that airs on the UCTV cable station. The series is hosted by the Pollock Theater Director, Matt Ryan, and co-produced by the Pollock Theater student staff.