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The Smartest Guys In The Room
''Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room'' is a 2005 American documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by ''Fortune'' reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, who are credited as writers of the film alongside the director, Alex Gibney. It examines the 2001 collapse of the Enron Corporation, which resulted in criminal trials for several of the company's top executives during the ensuing Enron scandal, and contains a section about the involvement of Enron traders in the 2000-01 California electricity crisis. Archival footage is used alongside new interviews with McLean and Elkind, several former Enron executives and employees, stock analysts, reporters, and former Governor of California Gray Davis. The film won the awards for Best Documentary Feature at the 21st Independent Spirit Awards and Best Documentary Screenplay at the 58th Writers Guild of America Awards. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 78th Acade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alex Gibney
Philip Alexander Gibney (; born October 23, 1953) is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2010, ''Esquire'' magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important documentarian of our time". Gibney's works as director include '' The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley,'' '' Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief'' (winner of three Emmys in 2015), '' We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks'', '' Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God'' (the winner of three 2013 primetime Emmy awards), '' Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room'' (nominated in 2005 for Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature); '' Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer'' (short-listed in 2011 for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature), ''Casino Jack and the United States of Money'' and ''Taxi to the Dark Side'' (winner of the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature), focusing on a taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed at Bagram Air Force ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and removed from office. He is the second state governor in U.S. history to have been recalled. A member of the Democratic Party, Davis holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from Stanford University and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service as a captain in the Vietnam War. Prior to serving as governor, Davis was chief of staff to Governor Jerry Brown (1975–81), a California State Assemblyman (1983–87), California State Controller (1987–95) and the 44th lieutenant governor of California (1995–99). During his time as governor, Davis made education his top priority and California spent eight billion dollars more than was required under Proposition 98 during his first term. In California, under D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism refers to various theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics, and which were largely defined by scholars in Western Europe and North America in the 1870s. Social Darwinism holds that the strong see their wealth and power increase while the weak see their wealth and power decrease. Social Darwinist definitions of ''the strong'' and ''the weak'' vary, and also differ on the precise mechanisms that reward strength and punish weakness. Many such views stress competition between individuals in ''laissez-faire'' capitalism, while others, emphasizing struggle between national or racial groups, support eugenics, racism, imperialism and/or fascism.Leonard, Thomas C. (2009"Origins of the Myth of Social Darwinism: The Ambiguous Legacy of Richard Hofstadter's Social Darwinism in American Thought" ''Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization'' 71, pp. 37–5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark To Market
Mark-to-market (MTM or M2M) or fair value accounting is accounting for the "fair value" of an asset or liability based on the current market price, or the price for similar assets and liabilities, or based on another objectively assessed "fair" value. Fair value accounting has been a part of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the United States since the early 1990s, and is now regarded as the "gold standard" in some circles. Failure to use it is viewed as the cause of the Orange County Bankruptcy, even though its use is considered to be one of the reasons for the Enron scandal and the eventual bankruptcy of the company, as well as the closure of the accounting firm Arthur Andersen. Mark-to-market accounting can change values on the balance sheet as market conditions change. In contrast, historical cost accounting, based on the past transactions, is simpler, more stable, and easier to perform, but does not represent current market value. It summarizes past tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeffrey Skilling
Jeffrey Keith Skilling (born November 25, 1953) is an American businessman who is best known as the CEO of Enron Corporation during the Enron scandal. In 2006, he was convicted of federal felony charges relating to Enron's collapse and eventually sentenced to 24 years in prison. The US Supreme Court heard arguments in the appeal of the case March 1, 2010."High Court Hears ex-Enron CEO Skilling's Appeal" by Mark Sherman, , via ''yahoo.com'', March 1, 2010 (ran in ''The New York Times'' March 1 or 2, 2010, p. 4 of NY ed., but no longer linked online). Yahoo link retrieved June 9, 2010; info vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margin Call
''Margin Call'' is a 2011 American drama film written and directed by J. C. Chandor in his feature directorial debut. The principal story takes place over a 24-hour period at a large Wall Street investment bank during the initial stages of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. In focus are the actions taken by a group of employees during the subsequent financial collapse. The title comes from a finance term for when an investor must increase the securities or other assets used as collateral for a loan when their value falls below a certain threshold. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, and Stanley Tucci. The film was produced by the production companies Myriad Pictures, Benaroya Pictures and Before the Door Pictures (first to sign on, and owned by Zachary Quinto). Theatrically, it was commercially distributed by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. The direc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bluff (poker)
In the card game of poker, a bluff is a bet or raise made with a hand which is not thought to be the best hand. ''To bluff'' is to make such a bet. The objective of a bluff is to induce a fold by at least one opponent who holds a better hand. The size and frequency of a bluff determines its profitability to the ''bluffer''. By extension, the phrase "calling somebody's bluff" is often used outside the context of poker to describe situations where one person demands that another proves a claim, or proves that they are not being deceptive. Pure bluff A pure bluff, or stone-cold bluff, is a bet or raise with an inferior hand that has little or no chance of improving. A player making a pure bluff believes they can win the pot only if all opponents fold. The pot odds for a bluff are the ratio of the size of the bluff to the pot. A pure bluff has a positive expectation (will be profitable in the long run) when the probability of being called by an opponent is lower than the pot od ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenneth Lay
Kenneth Lee Lay (April 15, 1942 – July 5, 2006) was an American businessman who was the founder, chief executive officer and chairman of Enron. He was heavily involved in the eponymous accounting scandal that unraveled in 2001 into the largest bankruptcy ever to that date. Lay was indicted by a grand jury and was found guilty of 10 counts of securities fraud at trial. Lay died in July 2006 while vacationing in his house near Aspen, Colorado, three months before his scheduled sentencing. A preliminary autopsy reported Lay died of a heart attack caused by coronary artery disease. His death resulted in a vacated judgment. Lay left behind "a legacy of shame" characterized by "mismanagement and dishonesty". In 2009 a list posted on portfolio.com ranked Lay as the third-worst American CEO of all time. His actions were the catalyst for subsequent and fundamental corporate reform in regard to "standards of leadership, governance, and accountability". Lay was one of America's high ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national " newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
78th Academy Awards
The 78th Academy Awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled one week later than usual to avoid a clash with the 2006 Winter Olympics. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories honoring films released in 2005. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actor Jon Stewart hosted the show for the first time. Two weeks earlier in a ceremony at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California held on February 18, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Rachel McAdams. ''Crash'' won three awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included ''Brokeback Mountain'', ''King Kong'', and ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' with three awards and '' Capote ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award For Best Documentary Feature
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and Skills, skill, north of Ancient Athens, Athens, Greece. Etymology The word comes from the ''Academy'' in ancient Greece, which derives from the Athenian hero, ''Akademos''. Outside the city walls of Athens, the Gymnasium (ancient Greece), gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning. The sacred space, dedicated to the goddess of wisdom, Athena, had formerly been an olive Grove (nature), grove, hence the expression "the groves of Academe". In these gardens, the philosopher Plato conversed with followers. Plato developed his sessions into a method of teaching philosophy and in 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
58th Writers Guild Of America Awards
The 58th Writers Guild of America Awards, given on February 4, 2006, honored the best film writer, film and television writers of 2005. Winners and nominees Film Adapted Screenplay ''Brokeback Mountain'' – Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana *''Capote (film), Capote'' – Dan Futterman *''The Constant Gardener (film), The Constant Gardener'' – Jeffrey Caine *''A History of Violence'' – Josh Olson *''Syriana'' – Stephen Gaghan Original Screenplay ''Crash (2004 film), Crash'' – Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco, Bobby Moresco *''The 40-Year-Old Virgin'' – Judd Apatow and Steve Carell *''Cinderella Man'' – Akiva Goldsman and Cliff Hollingsworth *''Good Night, and Good Luck.'' – George Clooney and Grant Heslov *''The Squid and the Whale'' – Noah Baumbach Documentary Screenplay ''Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room'' – Alex Gibney; based on the book ''The Smartest Guys in the Room (book), The Smartest Guys in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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