НАЗВАНИЕ: The Big Short (2015)
ГОД: 2015
СЦЕНАРИСТ: Adam McKay
ИСТОЧНИК: ScriptSlug (PDF) — https://www.scriptslug.com/script/the-big-short-2015
URL: https://assets.scriptslug.com/live/pdf/scripts/the-big-short-2015.pdf
СКАЧАНО: 2026-10-12 11:49
ПРИМЕЧАНИЕ: текст чужой, для личного изучения. Не распространять. Не исполнять.
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           Screenplay By
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
       Based Upon the Book by
         Michael Lewis
The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-
witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but
the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most
intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows
already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.



Leo Tolstoy, 1897
                 BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                2.


1   OPEN ON: INT. SOLOMON BROTHERS - 1979 - DAY                   1

    A bunch of FAT BOND TRADERS eat deli sandwiches and smoke
    cigarettes on the Solomon Brothers Bond Trading floor. It’s
    not exactly Michael Douglas in Wall Street.

    The voice that walks us through this is smart, too the point
    and slick. We’ll meet him later.

                        MODERN TRADER (V.O.)
              In the late seventies banking was
              not a job you went into to make
              large sums of money. It was a good
              stable profession like selling
              insurance or accounting. And if
              banking was boring then the bond
              department at a bank was downright
              comatose. We all know about bonds,
              give em to your nephew when he
              turns 16 and then we he’s thirty he
              makes a hundred dollars. Yawn.
              Bonds were for losers. That is,
              until Lewis Ranieri came on the
              scene at Solomon Brothers...

    MUSIC: Some great 70’s ballad like KISS YOU ALL OVER by EXILE

    We see an even schlubbier version of the other Bond Traders
    emerge. His suit is rumpled, he has a mustard stain on his
    shirt from a soft pretzel he’s eating and he is easily
    seventy pounds over weight. This is LEWIS RENIERI. And though
    his world is obscure, he is the shit.

    Our NARRATOR the MODERN TRADER passes through the scene for a
    second, dressed in modern clothes...

    Lewis greets his Bond Department with obscenities barked
    through his patchy beard and glasses.

                        MODERN TRADER (V.O.)
              You see Lewis didn’t know it yet,
              but he had already changed banking
              forever. He had just one simple
              idea...


2   INT. SOLOMON BROTHERS - CONFERENCE ROOM - 1979 - DAY          2

    Lewis and HIS TEAM are doing a presentation to a bunch of
    STATE PENSION FUND MANAGERS with an old fashioned OVER HEAD
    PROJECTOR.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               3.


                    LEWIS RANIERI
          ...The mortgage backed security. Or
          the private label M.B.S.

                    FUND MANAGER
          What is that?

                    BOND TRADER
          I hope you don’t say that when you
          look at your wife’s pussy!

They all HOWL except the fund manager who looks shocked but
then finally laughs to fit in.

                    LEWIS RANIERI
          Here’s how it works. You’ve got
          your average person’s mortgage.
          Fixed rate, 30 years...

We see A HOUSE on the over head projector.

                    LEWIS RANIERI (CONT’D)
          Boring, safe, small pay off...
          Right? But when you have thousands
          of them all bundled together...

We see an illustration of many homes. The next illustration
shows them all “bundled” together with a bow.

                    LEWIS RANIERI (CONT’D)
          Suddenly the yield goes up and the
          risk is still low cause it’s a
          mortgage and who the hell doesn’t
          pay their mortgage?

                    BOND TRADER
          Dickheads and junkies.

                    LEWIS RANIERI
          And because the risk is hedged
          these bonds allow for people with
          not so perfect credit to get homes.
          So you’re making money and you’re
          doing a good thing.

                    BOND TRADER #2
          Lewie is a fucking genius.

                    FUND MANAGER
          Uhm, what exactly is the credit
          rating on this bond? All my pension
          fund cares about is triple A rated
          risk.
                 BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               4.


                        LEWIS RANIERI
              Risk? What risk? The only risk is
              that you get paid back too soon!
              Plus each of these mortgages is
              guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
              This bond gentlemen, is AAA rated.

                        FUND MANAGER
              This is exactly what the Michigan
              State pension fund has been looking
              for. I’ll buy 20 million...

                        BOND TRADER #2
              Come on live a little!

                        FUND MANAGER
              Twenty five million.

                        LEWIS RANIERI
              Let’s break out the paper work!

    MUSIC: Something like BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE by A TASTE OF HONEY


3   INT. STRIP CLUB - 1979 - NIGHT                               3

    The Bond Traders are partying at a strip club throwing
    dollars everywhere and boozing. It disgusting and fun as hell
    and none of these guys will live past 60.

                        MODERN TRADER (V.O.)
              Lewis and his band of foul mouthed
              bond traders took a sleepy
              department and made it the most
              profitable on Wall Street. Pretty
              soon stocks and savings were almost
              inconsequential to the big banks.
              They were doing 50, 100, 200
              billion in mortgage bonds and
              dozens of other securities a year.


4   EXT. SKYLINE OF MANHATTAN - DUSK                             4

    TIME LAPSE: New impressive BANKING BUILDINGS SPRING UP and
    dot the Manhattan skyline. Chase, B of A, Morgan Stanley,
    Lehman Brothers etc.

                        MODERN TRADER (V.O.)
              And America barely noticed as it’s
              number one industry became boring
              old banking. Then one day...
                        (MORE)
                 BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               5.

                        MODERN TRADER (V.O.) (CONT'D)
              almost thirty years later... in
              2008... It all came crashing down.

    SMASH CUT TO BLACK

                        1010 WINS ANCR (V.O.)
              Wall Street has suffered one of
              it’s worst days in history as
              Lehman Brothers has declared
              bankruptcy.


5   1) TRACKING SHOT PAST HOUSING DEVELOPMENT LAWNS WITH       5
    FORECLOSED AND FOR SALE SIGNS ON ALL THEM (STOCK FOOTAGE).


6   2) AND THEN A LONG LINE OF APPLICANTS AT A MCDONALD’S JOB   6
    FAIR. (STOCK FOOTAGE)


7   3) IMAGES OF THE DOW DROPPING. (STOCK FOOTAGE)              7

                        1010 WINS ANCR (V.O.)
              This follows the demise of Bear
              Stearns and a plummeting Dow Jones,
              down four thousand since January.

                        MODERN TRADER (V.O.)
              In the end Lewis Ranieri’s Mortgage
              Backed Security mutated into a
              monstrosity that collapsed the
              whole world economy. And none of
              the experts or leaders or talking
              heads had a clue it was coming. I’m
              guessing most of you still don’t
              really know what happened. Yeah,
              you got a sound bite you repeat so
              you don’t sound dumb but come on...

    WE FADE TO BLACK.

                        MODERN TRADER (V.O.)
              But there were some who saw it
              coming... While the whole world was
              having a big ol’ party, a few
              outsiders and weirdos saw what no
              one else could. Not me, I’m not a
              weirdo. I’m pretty cool. We’ll meet
              later. These outsiders saw the
              giant lie at the heart of the
              economy. And they saw it by doing
              something the rest of the suckers
              never thought to do: they looked.
                    BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015             6.


    TITLE: THE BIG SHORT


8   EXT. MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL FIELD - DAY                       8

    GRAPHIC: 1985

    A MIDDLE SCHOOL football game is in progress. MICHAEL BURRY
    age 11 catches a ball and starts running. He’s pretty good.

    His parents and coaches cheer him on. Cute 8th GRADE
    CHEERLEADERS wave their pom poms.

                        PARENTS/COACH
              Thatta way Michael! Go! Go!

    He is TACKLED by a few players and as Michael gets up we hear
    an OPPOSING PLAYER scream.

                        OPPOSING PLAYER
              Ewwww! Look!

    CU of a GLASS EYE on the field. Michael covers his eye with
    his hand.

                        OPPOSING PLAYERS
              Gross! His eye fell out! He’s a
              freak! etc.

    Michael picks the eye up and walks back to the side lines
    still covering his one eye. Another player runs into replace
    him.

                        PA ANCR (V.O.)
              Replacing Michael Burry at tight
              end, number 88, Scott Proffer!

    A CUTE CHEERLEADER looks at Michael with her nose scrunched
    up and then looks away. His MOM and DAD meet him.

                        MOM
              It’s okay Michael. Let’s just wash
              it off and put it back in.

                        DAD
              You were playing so well son. I
              heard the coach compliment you.

                        11 YR OLD MICHAEL BURRY
              Can we just go home?

    He walks away.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               7.


9    INT. INDOOR POOL - DAY                                        9

     We see from under the water ADULT MICHAEL BURRY swimming
     laps. His strokes are clean and strong.

     Michael Burry gets out of the pool. He towels off and walks
     immediately to the lockers.

                          MICHAEL BURRY (V.O.)
               I’ve always been more comfortable
               alone. I believe it’s because of my
               glass eye. I lost the eye from a
               childhood illness. It separates me
               from people. Most social
               interactions are awkward. For me,
               for the person. Even when I try to
               compliment someone it comes out
               wrong... The compliment, not the
               eye.
                    (quarter beat)
               That wasn’t a joke. I’m just being
               clear.

     GRAPHIC: MICHAEL BURRY

                         MICHAEL BURRY (V.O.)
               The other night there was a party
               with some old college associates.


10   INT. WATER FRONT RESTAURANT - NIGHT                        10

     There is a party going on with upper class professionals
     drinking white wine and Heinekens. Michael stands alone
     between two groups of professionals talking.

                         LAWYER
               We bought the house two years ago
               for 650 and we just sold it for
               950. We put 30 thousand into it
               tops...


11   EXT. WATER FRONT RESTAURANT - NIGHT                        11

     FLASH to Michael starting his car, a Honda, and leaving.

                         MICHAEL BURRY (V.O.)
               After ten minutes I left and went
               home and researched state by state
               mortgage fraud rates until three in
               the morning.
                     BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            8.


12   INT. MICHAEL BURRY’S FUND OFFICE - DAY                       12

     Michael is seated behind his desk in a t-shirt and shorts.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               Did you know they’re going up?
               Highest fraud rates since the
               1930’s.

     We reveal he is talking to a YOUNG EAGER ANALYST in his
     office at the center of SCION CAPITAL, Michael Burry’s fund.
     Michael’s office is at the front enclosed in glass. There are
     20 ANALYSTS working at desks in the main room outside the
     glass.

     A big white board shows the quarterly profits from Scion:
     +38%

                         YOUNG ANALYST
               No. I didn’t know that.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               I’m sorry if I’m going on and on.
               My wife says I need to share more.

                            MARCH 2005

               3 years 6 months until the crash

                         YOUNG ANALYST
               That seems healthy.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               I like your hair. Did you cut it
               yourself?

                         YOUNG ANALYST
               What? No. I uh, paid someone.

                           MICHAEL BURRY
               Oh.

     Beat.

                         YOUNG ANALYST
               So, do I get the job? I really
               think I could help your fund.

                           MICHAEL BURRY
               What?    Oh sure. Right. Yes...um
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               9.


                    YOUNG ANALYST
          David.
              (onward)
          Great! I guess I’ll find a desk. Is
          there anything you want me to work
          on for starters?

                    MICHAEL BURRY
          Yes...

Another long beat. Michael thinks. This beat keeps going.
Finally the Young Analyst starts to speak just as Michael
does.

    MICHAEL BURRY (CONT’D)              YOUNG ANALYST
Did you find it strange-        You can let me know later-
                                I’m sorry.

                    MICHAEL BURRY
          Did you find it odd that when the
          tech bubble burst in 2001 the
          housing market in San Jose, the
          tech center of the world, went up?

                    YOUNG ANALYST
          Huh. I guess. I mean, no. It’s
          housing. It’s always AAA rated, low
          risk.

                    MICHAEL BURRY
          Yes.... That’s the idea...
              (he knows what he needs
               now)
          I need you to get me the top 20
          selling mortgage bonds.

                    YOUNG ANALYST
          So you want to know what the top 20
          selling mortgage bonds are?

                    MICHAEL BURRY
          No. I want to know what mortgages
          are in each one.

                     YOUNG ANALYST
          Wait, aren’t those bonds made up of
          thousands and thousands of
          mortgages?

                    MICHAEL BURRY
          Yes.

The Analyst waits for Burry to complete the thought but he
doesn’t.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                  10.


                         YOUNG ANALYST
               Right away Dr. Burry.

     Finally he leaves. Burry sits down at his desk and PUTS EAR
     BUDS IN while Googling “SEC mortgage brokerage firm
     violations” He gets no hits.

     MUSIC: Some hard-core heavy metal like BLOOD THUNDER by
     MASTADON

     An Asian American ASSISTANT walks by Burry’s office window
     and LOOKS AT CAMERA.

                         ASIAN AMERICAN ASSISTANT
               I was Michael’s actual assistant
               for years. I know what you’re
               thinking, a hedge fund manager with
               a glass eye who unwinds by
               listening to thrash metal, come on.
               But he really did do that.


13   INT. SCION CAPITAL - MICHAEL BURRY’S OFFICE - NEXT DAY         13

     CU of a COMPUTER SCREEN showing THOUSANDS OF COMPLICATED
     LINES OF MORTGAGES from a MORTGAGE BACKED SECURITY. The lines
     are almost indecipherable but we see Michael Burry is reading
     them intently like it’s a page turning mystery novel.

                         MICHAEL BURRY (V.O.)
                   (his internal thought
                    process)
               30 days late... Rate adjusts in one
               year... Foreclosed... Paid on
               time... rate adjusts in one year...
               Investment grade mortgage bonds
               full of high risk interest only
               adjustable rate mortgages... Do
               people really understand how an
               adjustable rate mortgage works?...
               Most of these are no money down
               loans... 105 LTV... 540 Fico
               score?... Why are the mortgage
               companies giving these people
               mortgages...?

     Outside Burry’s office we see the Analyst he just hired David
     at his desk talking to another ANALYST #2

                         YOUNG ANALYST
               What’s he doing? He hasn’t moved
               all day.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               11.


                         ANALYST #2
               He does this every few days. He
               hasn’t spoken to me since he hired
               me.

                         MICHAEL BURRY (V.O.)
               90 days late... 30 days late...
               These bonds are one of the banks’
               biggest revenue sources... They
               need more mortgages to fill them...
               That’s why it’s all adjustable rate
               high risk... They’re giving
               mortgages to people who can’t
               afford mortgages in order to fill
               these bonds, in order to earn
               fees...

     As he continues to read we TIME LAPSE and see the employees
     start to leave at the end of day. Eventually THE MAIN
     ANALYST’S OFFICE IS EMPTY and THE SUN IS COMING UP OUTSIDE.

                         MICHAEL BURRY (V.O.)
               These mortgage bonds might fail...
               No one thinks they
               can fail, but all that subprime
               credit risk is real, no matter how
               they slice and dice it... 30 days
               late, rate will
               adjust next year... 60 days late...
               These bonds will fail...


14   INT. MICHAEL’S OFFICE - THE NEXT AFTERNOON                  14

     Michael is on the phone. He clearly hasn’t slept and his
     clothes are rumpled. There are water bottles everywhere.
     Michael brushes his teeth over a garbage can with water.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               Lawrence. I found something really
               interesting.

                         LAWRENCE FIELDS (V.O.)
               Great Michael. Whenever you find
               something interesting we all tend
               to make money. What stock are you
               valuing?
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                  12.


                         MICHAEL BURRY
               No stocks. I want to short the
               housing market.


15   INT. METRO CAPITAL - LAWRENCE FIELDS’S OFFICE - SAME TIME 15

     LAWRENCE FIELDS’S office is the opposite of Michael’s. It’s
     lavish with Manhattan views as is he.

                         LAWRENCE FIELDS
               Haha! Really? But the housing
               market is rock solid. Greenspan
               just said bubbles are regional,
               defaults are rare.

     FIELDS motions to his assistant through the open door.

                         LAWRENCE FIELDS (CONT’D)
               Tell them I’ll be there in a
               minute...

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               Greenspan’s wrong.

                         LAWRENCE FIELDS
               I don’t think you mean to do it but
               sometimes you sound very dismissive
               and superior Michael. Alan
               Greenspan is the greatest Fed
               Chairman in history.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               It’s a fact. Greenspan’s wrong.
               He’s too focused on being right to
               realize he’s wrong. I don’t know
               how else you want me to say it.

     Burry spits out his coffee gargle into the garbage.

                         LAWRENCE FIELDS
               Look, Metro Capital backed you four
               years ago when you were a doctor
               with a dinky web page and some
               inheritance money. And we’ve all
               done very well. Why don’t you just
               stick with stocks?

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               I look for value whereever it can
               be found. And the fact is: mortgage
               backed securities are filled with
               extremely risky subprime adjustable
               rate loans.
                         (MORE)
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               13.

                         MICHAEL BURRY (CONT'D)
               Once the majority of adjustable
               rates kick in 07’ they will begin
               to fail and when they fail above
               15% the whole bond is worthless.

     The scene freezes.

                         MODERN TRADER (V.O.)
               Mortgage backed securities,
               subprime loans, tranches... Pretty
               confusing right? Does it make you
               feel bored? Or stupid? Well, it’s
               supposed to. Wall Street loves to
               use confusing terms to make you
               think only they can do what they
               do. Or even better, for you to
               leave them the fuck alone. So
               here’s Scarlett Johansson under a
               water falls to explain...


16   EXT. SMALL WATERFALL - DAY                                  16

     SCARLETT JOHANSSON in a white T shirt and cut off jeans let’s
     the waterfall run over her while explaining mortgage backed
     securities.

                         SCARLETT JOHANSSON
               Basically Lewis Ranieri’s Mortgage
               bonds were amazingly profitable for
               the big banks. They made billions
               and billions off of their 2% fee on
               each of these bonds they sold. But
               then they started running out of
               mortgages to put in them. After
               all, there’s only so many homes and
               so many people with good enough
               jobs to buy them. So the banks
               starting doing something different.
               Instead of creating mortgage bonds
               that were guaranteed by the US
               government, they started creating
               their own private mortgage bonds.
               No government, no pesky standards
               like good credit or minimum income.
               And then the big banks were able to
               fill the bonds with riskier and
               riskier mortgages and keep the
               profit machine churning. By the
               way, the risky mortgages are called
               “subprime.” Anytime you hear
               subprime, think shit.
                         (MORE)
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            13A.

          SCARLETT JOHANSSON (CONT'D)
Michael Burry found out these
mortgage bonds that we supposedly
65% AAA were actually mostly full
of shit, so now he’s going to
“short” the bonds, which means to
“bet against.” Got it? Good.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               14.


17   INT. MICHAEL BURRY’S FUND OFFICE - CONTINUOUS               17

     Back to the scene.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               It’s only a matter of time before
               someone else sees this investment.
               We have to act now.

                          LAWRENCE FIELDS
               And how do you know the bonds are
               built on subprime crap? Aren’t they
               filled with hundreds of pages of
               mortgages?

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               I read them.

                         LAWRENCE FIELDS
               You read them? No one reads them.
               Only the lawyers who put them
               together read them.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               I don’t think they even know what
               they made. The whole housing market
               is propped up on these bad loans.
               It’s a time bomb. And I want to
               short it.

                         LAWRENCE FIELDS
               Through what instrument Michael?
               There are no insurance contracts or
               options for mortgage bonds. The
               bonds are too stable. No one would
               buy them.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               I’m going to get a bank to make me
               one. Then I’m going to buy a ton of
               them.

                                                       CUT TO:


18   EXT. GOLDMAN SACHS - MANHATTAN - DAY                        18

     We push in on Goldman Sachs. We see FINANCIAL NEWS on a
     monitor outside playing Jim Cramer’s Mad Money show.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               15.


                         JIM CRAMER
               Folks, this market ain't dropping!
               It’s like the running of the bulls
               in Pamplona. Either get out of the
               way or invest, invest, invest!

                         THE FEMALE SALES REP (V.O.)
               So, Dr. Burry, tell us about this
               trade.


19   INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - GOLDMAN SACHS - DAY                  19

     A SALES REP (LUCY THALIA), an INDIAN NUMBERS GUY (DEEB
     WINSTON) all from Goldman Sachs sit across from Michael
     Burry. Michael looks very Men’s Warehouse in a blue blazer
     and slacks compared to the Goldman group who looks very GQ in
     Prada suits.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               I want to buy swaps on mortgage
               bonds. A credit default swap that
               pays off if the underlying bond
               fails.

                         SALES REP
               You want to bet against the housing
               market?

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               Yes.

                         DEEB WINSTON
               Why? These bonds only fail if
               millions of Americans don’t pay
               their mortgages. That’s never
               happened in history. If you’ll
               excuse me Dr. Burry, it seems like
               a foolish investment.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               Based on prevailing sentiment of
               the market, the big banks and
               popular culture, yes, it’s a
               foolish investment. But everyone’s
               wrong.

     There’s a beat and then everyone laughs except Michael Burry
     who wasn’t kidding.

                         SALES REP
               This is Wall Street, Dr. Burry. If
               you offer us free money, we are
               going to take it.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                16.


                    MICHAEL BURRY
          My one concern is that when the
          bonds fail I want to be certain of
          payment in case of solvency issues
          with your bank.

They are shocked.

                    SALES REP
          I’m sorry. Are you for real? You
          want to be against the housing
          market the most reliable sector of
          the American economy and you’re
          worried we won’t pay you?

                    MICHAEL BURRY
          Yes. That’s correct.

The Goldman people whisper amongst themselves for a beat.

                    DEEB WINSTON
          We could work out a pay as we go
          structure that would pay out if the
          bond’s value falls. But it would
          also apply to your payments if the
          value of the mortgage bond goes up.
          You’d have to pay us monthly
          premiums.

                    SALES REP
          Is that acceptable Dr. Burry?

Mike starts pulling thick DOCUMENTS out of his backpack. He
slides them across the table.

                    MICHAEL BURRY
          Yes it is. Here are prospectuses on
          6 mortgage-backed securities I want
          to short.

They scan them. They're diligent, they make us wait.

                    DEEB WINSTON
          These should be fine.

                    SALES REP
          We are prepared to sell you five
          million in credit default swaps on
          these mortgage bonds.

                    MICHAEL BURRY
          Can we do 100 million?
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                17.


20   EXT. GOLDMAN SACHS HALLWAY - MOMENTS LATER                   20

     Michael Burry leaves the conference room. AS HE CLOSES THE
     DOOR HE HEARS THE SALES REPS AND THE NUMBERS GUY LAUGHING AND
     CLAPPING. He hesitates, is he hurt? But then pushes on.

     MUSIC: Popular Hip Hop track like GOLD DIGGER by KANYE WEST

                         MICHAEL BURRY (V.O.)
               Is there any way to buy 200
               million?


21   INT. DEUTSCHE BANK - THE NEXT DAY                            21

     Michael is now across from SALES REPS from Deutsche Bank.

                         DEUTSCHE SALES REP
               I, uh, I don’t see why not. But are
               you sure?

                         DEUTSCHE SALES REP #2
                   (waves off his colleague)
               Absolutely. Absolutely we can do
               that.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               That would be great. Here are the
               bonds I would like to bet against.

     He pushes another bundle of papers across the table.


22   QUICK CUTS: OF BUNDLES OF HAND PICKED MICHAEL BURRY MORTGAGE
                                                               22
     BONDS BEING PUSHED ACROSS TABLES AND SIGNED AT BANK OF
     AMERICA, BEAR STEARNS, MORGAN STANLEY, CREDIT SUISSE ETC.


23   INT. FAST FOOD RESTAURANT - DAY                              23

     The MUSIC CUTS OUT and we see Michael Burry through the front
     window eating alone at a chain restaurant. His phone buzzes.
     He answers. It’s a photo of his WIFE, and his 6 year old son
     Nicholas. Under it, it reads “We miss you!”


24   INT. MANHATTAN NIGHT CLUB - NIGHT                            24

     THE HIP HOP SONG KICKS BACK IN AS SOURCE. AN UPSCALE CLUB IS
     PACKED WITH BANKERS dancing and drinking.

     We focus in on the DEUTSCHE SALES REP AND COWORKERS WHO SOLD
     BURRY THE SWAPS. They are clearly CELEBRATING HARD.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               18.


                    TRADER
          Hey Randall, what’s with the Dom?
          Bonuses aren’t for three months.

                    DEUTSCHE SALES REP
          We just sold 200 million today in
          credit swaps for mortgage bonds!
          Some fund manager from California!
          Fucking crazy right? It’s a whole
          new way to make money!

                     TRADER
          I didn’t know there were swaps on
          mortgages!

                    DEUTSCHE SALES REP
          There are now! We made one for him.
          He must have gone off his zoloft!

More Dom is poured. A male and female sales rep make out. The
Trader steps over to another table and taps a guy on the
shoulder.

                    TRADER
          Hey Jared! Did you hear about the
          deal Randall did with some fund
          manager?

For the first time we see the Modern Trader, JARED VENNETT,
32. He’s smart, a bit slick with a slight Jheri curl and
wears a sharp suit. HE’S OUR NARRATOR.

                    JARED VENNETT
          Randall’s a foot soldier. It must
          be a shit deal.

GRAPHIC: JARED VENNETT

                    TRADER
          No, it’s for real.

Jared LOOKS AT CAMERA.

                    JARED VENNETT
          I told you I’d come in later.

                    TRADER
          Apparently this guy wanted 200 mill
          in credit default swaps on mortgage
          bonds! Randall made the sale. Can
          you believe it?!
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               19.


                         JARED VENNETT
               Someone shorted 200 mill worth of
               mortgage bonds?

                         TRADER
               That was just with Deutsche. Word
               is he hit half the town!

                         JARED VENNETT
               How much total?


25   INT. MICHAEL BURRY’S FUND OFFICE - DAY                      25

     Michael Burry is on the phone with Lawrence Fields.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               1.3 billion.

                         LAWRENCE FIELDS
               What?! That’s pretty much all of
               Scion’s liquidity! Michael this is
               highly distressing.


26   INT. ACADEMY GALLERIA - FLORENCE                            26

     Lawrence Fields is in Florence with the David behind him. He
     steps away to continue the conversation.

                          MICHAEL BURRY
               It’s not all of our liquidity
               Lawrence. I’m not certain you
               understand this trade. This is a
               certainty.

                         LAWRENCE FIELDS
               Michael, I consider myself a mentor
               to you. But our company is not
               comfortable with this investment.
               Am I being clear?

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               I have full autonomy when it comes
               to investment strategy. You can
               read our agreement-

                         LAWRENCE FIELDS
               Don’t throw our inception agreement
               in my face Michael. There was an
               underlying understanding that you
               wouldn’t act like a goddamn crazy
               man!
                BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015             20.


                       MICHAEL BURRY
             This isn’t crazy. It’s all very
             logical.

                       LAWRENCE FIELDS
             So now we pay out premiums on these
             swaps against the housing market
             until the mortgages fail? In other
             words we lose millions until
             something that’s never happened
             before happens?

                       MICHAEL BURRY
             That’s correct.

                       LAWRENCE FIELDS
             And you have no doubts. You’re not
             nervous at all?

                       MICHAEL BURRY
             I have no doubts. But yes, I’m
             nervous. It’s a very large position
             for me to take.

                       LAWRENCE FIELDS
             And will you please tell me what
             the difference between doubt and
             nervousness is?

Half beat.

                       MICHAEL BURRY
             That is a very good question. And
             I’m sorry but I’ll have to get back
             to you on that. Have a nice
             vacation Lawrence.

He hangs up. His computer and phone are dinging.

QUICK CUTS OF EMAILS FROM MICHAEL BURRY’S INVESTORS:

1. “Have you lost your mind? I’m seriously worried about
you.”

2. “What the hell is a credit default swap???”

3. “I am not comfortable trying to guess what the peak of a
70 year housing spike is!”

4. “So you’re telling me that rather than receiving profits
on stocks I will now be paying premiums on these credit
default swaps you bought? How is this in anyway good news?”

And finally we push in on one last ominous email:
                     BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015              21.


     “A LOT OF PEOPLE IN NEW YORK ARE TALKING ABOUT WITHDRAWING
     THEIR MONEY FROM YOUR FUND.”

                                                          CUT TO:


27   EXT. SUNNY ROOFTOP - DAY                                       27

     CU of a cell phone on the ground. We hear a voice.

                         VOICE (V.O.)
               Paul? Are you there Paul? Paul!

     We FLASH out.


28   INT. GROUP THERAPY SESSION - MANHATTAN - DAY                   28

     A group of 7 PROFESSIONALS in suits sits in a circle with A
     THERAPIST leading the group session.

                         Businessman
               ... I’m a nice guy all day long.
               Ask anyone. I’m a pleasure to work
               with. But the second my son screws
               up I’m yelling at him just like my
               Dad did to me-

     MARK BAUM, 40, moppish hair, rumpled suit, will always say
     what he thinks, busts into the room.

                         MARK BAUM
               I’m so sorry I’m late! No cabs!

     He sits down and starts right away.

                         MARK BAUM (CONT’D)
               So, yeah. I met with this retail
               banker yesterday and I’m supposed
               to be getting him to invest in our
               fund but instead I start grilling
               him about over draught penalties
               and how his bank lets a customer
               write ten, twelve checks before
               they tell em they’re overdrawn. And
               this creep is making billions off
               of screwing over people this way-

                            THERAPIST
               Mark-
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015         22.


                    MARK BAUM
          And I’m getting madder and madder
          and I ask this guy how he sleeps at
          night knowing he’s ripping off
          working people and he just leaves.
          He doesn’t say a word. He just
          walks away from the lunch. So am I
          fucked up or is he?

Beat as the room catches up.

                    THERAPIST
          Mark, we’ve talked about this
          numerous times. You can’t come in
          late and hijack the entire session.

                    MARK BAUM
          I didn’t hijack the session.
              (to another businessman)
          Did I hijack the session.

                    BUSINESSMAN #2
          Yes.

                    MARK BAUM
          What’d you do?

                    BUSINESSMAN #2
          I’m in commodities.

                    MARK BAUM
          Of course you are.

                    THERAPIST
          Mark, I know you suffered a
          terrible loss... Maybe we can talk
          about that...?

                    MARK BAUM
          I don’t talk about that. Hold on!

Mark’s phone is buzzing.

                    MARK BAUM (CONT’D)
          Oh shit. I have to take this. So
          sorry.

He answers and walks out.

                    MARK BAUM (CONT’D)
              (onto phone)
          I don’t care Porter. The guy’s
          whole business is built on ripping
          people off. How long can that last?
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               23.


      He leaves. The group is left stunned.

      GRAPHIC: MARK BAUM


29    EXT. MANHATTAN STREETS - LATER                              29

      We see GIANT BILLBOARDS: for Movado watches, Mercedes SUVs,
      Designer jeans (with a topless woman with her back to us).
      We’re on the streets of Manhattan and Mark’s walking while
      talking on his phone.

      MUSIC: Pop song like HIPS DON’T LIE by SHAKIRA plays on
      monitors in the window of an electronics store.

                           January 2006

              2 years 7 months until the collapse

                          MARK BAUM
                I don’t want that kind of
                business... I’m sorry. Money’s not
                money... That’s bad money. Other
                than Goldman what company lasts
                ripping people off like that?

                          JARED VENNETT(V.O.)
                Mark Baum had built a career on
                never assuming anyone or any
                company was legit without proving
                it. When he was a kid he excelled
                at studying the Talmud in Yeshiva.
                That was great. But one day the
                Rabbi told his Mom why-


A30   INT. YASHIVA SCHOOL - DAY                                 A30

      10 YEAR OLD Mark Baum and his 8 YEAR OLD BROTHER PAUL run
      around with kids in the hallway of a Yashiva while his MOM,
      35, talks to the RABBI, 52.

                          RABBI
                Paul is a fine boy. But his brother
                Mark... He is the best student of
                the Torah and the Talmud...

                          MOM
                Then what’s the problem Rabbi?

                          RABBI
                It’s the reason.. He says he
                studies so hard because...
                          (MORE)
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015        23A.

          RABBI (CONT'D)
he is looking for inconsistencies
in the word of God.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                 24.


     Beat.

                         MOM
               So has he found any?

     BACK TO MANHATTAN STREET

                          JARED VENNETT (V.O.)
               Later Baum started his own fund on
               Wall Street. He had an amazing nose
               for bullshit and wasn’t afraid to
               let everyone know when and where
               the bull had gone number 2. But
               then a tragedy happened to Mark
               that turned his world view dark and
               ready to believe the whole system
               was a lie.

                          MARK BAUM
                   (sees he’s got another
                    call)
               I gotta go, it’s Cynthia. I’ll be
               in the office in twenty minutes.

                                                     INTERCUT:


30   INT. APARTMENT LIBRARY - PARK AVENUE - NEW YORK - DAY         30

     Mark’s wife, CYNTHIA (35). Their TWIN DAUGHTERS (10) are on
     the floor on matching laptops while their SON (7) runs
     around.

                         CYNTHIA
               Your therapist called me. You did
               it again.

                         MARK
               There were no cabs. What was I
               supposed to do? At least I went.

                         CYNTHIA
               I worry about you Mark. You run
               around like you’ve got to right
               every wrong in the world.
               Everyone’s a creep or a crook.

                         MARK BAUM
               Fine. I’m a rude guy. And I’m
               pissed off. But it’s a shit storm
               out here sweetie.
                         (MORE)
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015          24A.

          MARK BAUM (CONT'D)
You have no idea the crap people
are pulling and the average person
just walks around like they’re in a
goddamn Enya video.
                     BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            25.


31   EXT. MANHATTAN STREETS - CONTINUOUS                         31

     MUSIC: Dreamy new-age song like ENYA’S ONLY TIME

     We see SLO MO people walking down the street. Some laughing.
     Some stressed about work. Some eating hot dogs.

                            MARK BAUM
                  They’re all getting screwed...
                  Credit cards, pay day lenders, car
                  financing, fees, fees, and more
                  fees. And what do they care about?
                  The ball game or which actress went
                  into rehab?

     MUSIC: OUT

                            CYNTHIA
                  I think you should try medication.

                             MARK
                  Nooo. We agreed. If it interfered
                  with work.

                            CYNTHIA
                  You hate Wall Street. Maybe it's
                  time to quit.

     Mark is now trying to hail a cab.

                            MARK
                  I love my job.

                            CYNTHIA
                  You hate your job.

                            MARK
                  I love my job!

                            CYNTHIA
                  You're miserable!
                      (gets quieter)
                  Mark. I feel sad about what
                  happened every day. I know you
                  must feel the same... But you never
                  show it.


32   QUICK FLASH TO THE CELL PHONE ON THE GROUND.                32

                            MARK (V.O.)
                  Paul? Are you there Paul? Paul!
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               25A.


WE PULL UP AND SEE A MAN IN A SUIT WALK TOWARDS THE EDGE OF
THE BUILDING... AND STEP OFF.
                    BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015             26.


     WE CUT BACK TO MARK just as the man falls fully out of frame.


33   INT. APARTMENT LIBRARY - PARK AVENUE                         33

     There is silence for a beat before Cynthia speaks.

                         CYNTHIA
               I know how close you were to your
               brother... I keep hoping you’ll
               talk about it. But you never do.
               And now you’re so distrustful of
               everything and everyone. You didn’t
               used to be this way...


34   EXT. MANHATTAN STREETS                                       34

     Mark is quiet. He’s still unconsciously holding his arm up
     for a cab.

                         MARK
               Please don’t. I really can’t do
               this now Cynthia.

     A cab stops.

                         CYNTHIA
               We should talk. Can you just think
               about the idea of making a change?

                         MARK
               I’ll think about anything. I’ll
               think about shaving my head and
               joining a monastery but I can tell
               you the answer is no.

                         CYNTHIA
               Consider it. Please. I’m not
               talking about joining a monastery.
               We could just get off the treadmill
               and move to Vermont and open a B&B.
               It could be that easy.

                          MARK
               Fine, I’ll consider it. But
               honestly, I’m okay Cynthia. I
               really am.
                   (sees a guy try and take
                    his cab)
               No! That’s my cab!! Back off
               asshole!
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               27.


     He grabs the guy and yanks him out of the cab.


35   EXT. MORGAN STANLEY BUILDING - LATER                        35

     Everyone walking in and out of the Morgan Stanley building is
     on their Blackberries. Mark gets out of his cab while
     finishing a conversation with his cab driver.

                         MARK
               And remember, get out of that
               mutual fund you’re in. They’re
               going to rape you with fees!

     He walks into the building and passes a Morgan Stanley higher
     up KATHY TAO.

                         KATHY TAO
               Hello Mark Baum!

                         MARK
               Hey Kathy. You busted me. I had an
               afternoon personal thing.

                         KATHY TAO
               I’m not your baby sitter. If
               FrontPoint makes Morgan Stanley
               money I’m happy!

                         MARK
               Hey did I hear you’re expecting?

                         KATHY TAO
               We’re expecting to be expecting!
               The IVFs are cleaning us out but
               we’re staying positive!


36   INT. FRONTPOINT OFFICE - MORGAN STANLEY NEW YORK - LATER    36

     Small. Provisional. A tiny SUPPORT STAFF. There are four
     desks with Mark’s team working at each.

     Mark enters, pushing open the door that reads “FrontPoint
     Partners.”

                         MARK
               Hey! Cynthia wants me to quit and
               open a B&B in Vermont!

     VINNY DANIEL, a Queens city school graduate in a Macy’s suit
     turns from his desk.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               28.


                    VINNY DANIEL
          I’d love to see Mark Baum run a
          B&B. “Here’s your steel cut oatmeal
          asshole!”

                    JARED VENNETT (V.O.)
          Because he didn’t kiss the ring of
          the people with the check books
          Mark Baum had to set up his fund
          under Morgan Stanley’s umbrella.
          His small team reflected Mark’s
          distrust of the system.

                    MARK
          Yeah. She says this job is making
          me unhappy.

                    VINNY DANIEL
          But you’re happy when you’re
          unhappy.

                    JARED VENNETT (V.O.)
          Vinny Daniel: Mark’s numbers guy.
          Vinny lost his Father to violent
          crime when he was young. Just like
          Mark he didn’t talk about it.

                    VINNY DANIEL
              (to camera)
          I don’t talk about it.

An athletic Wasp, PORTER COLLINS, 31. who wears a suit jacket
and polo shirt, covers his blue tooth to chime in.

                    PORTER COLLINS
          Cynthia doesn’t mess around. She
          got me to stop eating gluten. You
          want me to check the residential
          real estate market in Vermont!?

                    JARED VENNETT (V.O.)
          Porter Collins: former Olympic
          rower who went to Brown. He had
          worked with Baum at a previous firm
          and couldn’t figure out why no one
          listened to Baum, the guy with all
          the good ideas.

                     MARK
          There’s no way I’m moving to
          Vermont. Westchester maybe, but not
          Vermont...
               BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015             29.


DANNY MOSES (31) Southern but moving fast towards New Yorker,
a self-effacing analyst type, though he's actually their
trader. HE’S FINISHING A PHONE CALL.

                    DANNY MOSES
          ... wait a minute. I think you have
          the wrong FrontPoint. There’s
          another FrontPoint in this same
          building that is bonds.

                    JARED VENNETT (V.O.)
          And Danny Moses: the optimist of
          the bunch. And a hell of a trader,
          which is why they tolerated the
          optimism.

                    DANNY
          Okay... No problem.

He hangs up.

                    DANNY (CONT’D)
          That was a weird call.

                    PORTER
          Why? Did the person actually enjoy
          talking to you?

                    DANNY
          It was this guy from Deutsche who
          was talking about shorting housing
          bonds. In the middle of the call I
          realize he’s got the wrong
          FrontPoint. He wanted the one of
          the eighth floor.

                    VINNY
          He wanted to short housing bonds?
          Who bets against housing?
              (due diligence)
          What’s the ABX at?

                    PORTER
          What’s the ABX?

                    VINNY
          It tracks sub-prime mortgage bond
          value.

Danny checks his computer.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               30.


                         DANNY
               It’s down... Wow. That’s weird.
               It’s down three points since last
               year. I haven’t heard a peep about
               that.

                         MARK
               What was this guy’s name again?

                         DANNY
               Jared Vennett. From Deutsche. He
               sounded pretty sketchy.

     One of the ASSISTANTS (the real DANNY MOSES) LOOKS UP TO
     CAMERA.

                         ASSISTANT
               This actually happened. I’m the
               real Danny Moses. A wrong number
               led us to one of the biggest leads
               in investment history. I still work
               in New York and I wasn’t that much
               of an optimist.

                         MARK BAUM
               Call him back. Tell him we want to
               hear his presentation..

                         VINNY
               You wanna take advice from a trader
               we don't know -- about a market we
               don't understand -- cause the idiot
               dialed a wrong number?

                         MARK BAUM
               Yeah. Why not?

                         DANNY
               If he'd even show up, it'd be to
               screw us.

                           MARK BAUM
               Probably.

                         VINNY
               Definitely.


37   INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - THE NEXT DAY                         37

     Jared Vennett, his Chinese Quantitative Analyst, TED JIANG
     and a Deutsche YOUNG SALES REP stand and sit in front of the
     room.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               31.


     Mark, Porter, Vinny and Danny listen to the bond trader's
     spiel, which is condescending and very sharp.

     The Deutsche Rep hands out hard copies.

                         MARK BAUM
               So how many people have you talked
               to about this trade?

                         JARED
               A few. And there’s definitely some
               interest.


38   FAST CUTS: A HALF DOZEN PEOPLE THAT HE TALKED TO PREVIOUSLY38
     SAYING “NO” “GET LOST JARED” “YOU’RE HIGH” ETC.


39   INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - CONTINUOUS                           39

                         MARK BAUM
                   (sarcasm)
               Which is why you’re here talking to
               us, a wrong number.

                         JARED VENNETT
               Look, some people have called me in
               to just laugh at me on this deal.
               Is that what this is?

                         VINNY
               That’s not what this is. That’s
               just Mark. We wanna hear this.

                         JARED VENNETT
               Okay, here we go...

     On the table is a JENGA GAME of stacked wooden blocks. On the
     side of the blocks is written the ratings of the tiers AAA,
     AA, BBB, BB, and B.

                         JARED VENNETT (CONT’D)
               This is a basic mortgage bond. The
               original ones were simple,
               thousands of AAA mortgages bundled
               together and sold with a guarantee
               from the US government. But the
               modern day ones are private and are
               made up of layers of tranches, with
               the AAA highest rated getting paid
               first and the lowest, B rated
               getting paid last and taking on
               defaults first.
                         (MORE)
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            31A.

                    JARED VENNETT (CONT’D)
          Obviously if you’re buying B levels
          you can get paid more. Hey, they’re
          risky, so sometimes they fail...

He throws one of the B blocks into a TRASH CAN.

                    JARED
          But somewhere along the line these
          B and BB level tranches went from
          risky to dog shit. I’m talking rock
          bottom Fico scores, no income
          verification, adjustable rates...
          Dog shit. Default rates are already
          up from 1 to 4 percent. If they
          rise to 8 percent, and they will, a
          lot of these BBB's are going to
          zero.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                  32.


Jared chucks another B block and a BB in the garbage.

                    JARED (CONT’D)
          And that, my friends, is an
          opportunity.

                    DANNY
          You're sure of the math?

Jared gestures to his CHINESE QUANT, sitting to his right.

                    JARED
          Jiang is my quant. Look at him, he
          doesn't even speak English. He won
          a national math competition in
          China. China. Yeah I’m sure of the
          math.

Ted turns to camera.

                    TED JIANG
          Actually I do speak English. Jared
          likes to say I don’t because he
          thinks it makes me seem more
          authentic. And I finished second in
          the national math competition. Some
          people at work think Jared’s a dick
          but he’s great at his job.

                    VINNY
          So you’re offering us the chance to
          short that pile of blocks? How?

                    JARED
          With something called a credit
          default swap. It’s like insurance
          on the bond. And if it goes bust
          you can make a 10 to 1, even 20 to
          1 return. And it’s already slowly
          going bust. But no one’s paying
          attention cause all the banks are
          busy getting paid obscene amounts
          of fees selling these bonds.
          Basically I'm standing in front of
          a burning house and offering you
          fire insurance on it.

Danny's trying to get his head around Jared’s numbers.

                    DANNY
          How can the underlying bonds in
          these pools be as bad as you say?
          They wouldn't be legal.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               33.


                     JARED
          No one knows what's in these bonds.
          I've seen some that are 65% AAA
          rated that are actually full of 95
          percent subprime shit with Ficos
          below 550.

                    VINNY
          Get the fuck out of here!

                    JARED
          And now get ready to really have
          your mind blown. I just discovered
          this treat...

                    TED JIANG
              (to camera)
          We discovered it. But that’s fine.
          He’s on a roll.

                    JARED
          ...when the market deems some bond
          too risky to buy, what do you think
          happens to it? We just warehouse
          them on our books?! No. They get
          repackaged, with a whole bunch of
          other shit that didn't sell, into a
          CDO.

                    MARK
          A what?

Jared takes a bunch of the BBB, BB and B rated blocks and
makes a precarious NEW tower.

                    JARED
          A collateralized debt obligation. A
          C-D-O. We put a bunch of unsold B,
          BB or BBB bonds together, when the
          pile gets large enough, the whole
          thing's considered diversified and
          the whores at the ratings agencies
          rate it 92, 93% AAA. No questions
          asked.

                    MARK
          Holy hell... Say that again.

FREEZE: Mark, leaning forward completely engaged.
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015          33A.


          JARED (V.O.)
The Collateralized debt obligation.
It’s important to understand
because it’s what allowed a housing
crisis to become a nation wide
economic disaster. So here is world
famous chef Anthony Bourdain to
explain.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               34.


40   INT. CHEF’S KITCHEN - DAY                                   40

     In a high end professional kitchen ANTHONY BOURDAIN opens a
     fridge with a bunch of fish in it.

                         ANTHONY BOURDAIN
               Okay, I’m a chef on a Sunday
               afternoon setting the night’s menu
               at a big restaurant. I ordered my
               fish on Friday which is the
               mortgage bond that Michael Burry
               shorted. But some of the fresh fish
               doesn’t sell. I don’t know why,
               maybe it just came out halibut has
               the intelligence of a dolphin. So
               what am I going to do, throw all
               this unsold old fish, which is the
               BBB level of the bond, in the
               garbage and take the loss?

     Bourdain chops up the old fish and pushes it into the big pot
     of “SEAFOOD STEW.”

                         ANTHONY BOURDAIN (CONT’D)
               No way. Being the crafty and
               morally onerous chef that I am,
               whatever crappy levels of the bond
               I don’t sell I throw into a “sea
               food stew.” See, it’s not old fish.
               It’s a whole new thing! And no one
               knows they’re eating three day old
               halibut. That is a CDO.


41   INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - CONTINUOUS                           41

     BACK TO THE SCENE

                         MARK
               Wait, wait, so the mortgage bonds
               are dog shit but the CDOs are dog
               shit wrapped in garbage?

                         JARED
               Institutions treat these CDOs like
               they’re as solid as treasury bonds
               and these things are going to zero.

                         DANNY
               That can’t be right. There were 500
               billion in housing bonds sold last
               year alone.
                         (MORE)
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               35.

                         DANNY (CONT'D)
               The banks, the ratings agencies,
               the government... They wouldn’t let
               this happen.

                         JARED
               They would and they did. My whole
               department is long this stuff. The
               pricks are calling me Chicken
               Little and Bubble boy. But when
               reality hits the idiots in my
               department won’t be laughing.

     He starts pulling blocks out of the CDO and MBS towers and
     throwing them in the garbage.

                          JARED (CONT’D)
               Triple B’s? Zero. Double B's? Zero.
               B's? Zero.

     On this last one, the table shakes... both towers collapses.

                         JARED (CONT’D)
               Then that happens.

                         MARK
               What's that?

                         JARED
               That is Aermcia’s housing market.


42   INT. FRONTPOINT OFFICE - DAY                                 42

     Vinny, Danny and Porter cluster unhappily at their desk.

     They watch Mark say good-bye to the Deutsche Bank team at the
     door. He's lost in thought as he returns.

                         VINNY
               He's playing us. He's dumping his
               position.

                         MARK
               What if he's right?

                         VINNY
               You want him to be right!

                         MARK
               Yes, I do. When a bank offers a
               loan, people take it. Why? Because
               they assume banks know more about
               money than they do.
                         (MORE)
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               36.

                    MARK (CONT'D)
          Banks have spent decades training
          us to let them handle our money and
          credit. How else do they get away
          with credit cards that keep you in
          debt for years? Student loan rates
          that you never get free of?
          Financing, for many Americans, is
          just a fancy term for getting
          raped. Then this guy walks in my
          office... tells me those same banks
          got greedy... lost track of the
          market ...and I can now profit off
          their stupidity? Fuck yeah, I want
          him to be right.

                     DANNY
          Things can't be as bad as he says
          out there.

                    MARK
          Let's find out. That's our job.

                    VINNY
          Why don't you hate this guy? He's
          everything you taught us not to
          trust.

                    MARK
          I can't hate him. He's so
          transparent in his self interest I
          kind of respect him. Would I buy a
          car from him? No way.
          Is he right about the mortgage
          market? Let's find out.
              (the others moan)
          Look, it's two very simple
          questions. Is there a housing
          bubble? And if there is, how
          exposed are the banks?

Mark’s team can't resist him when he's in adventure mode.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                 37.


                         DANNY
               Yeah, okay. Fine.

                            PORTER
               Sure.

     Vinny pfiffs his concession.

                         MARK
               And let’s move fast. If Vennett’s
               right, it’s only a matter of time
               before every loser with a few
               million bucks in a fund jumps on
               this.


43   INT. HIGH END DANCE CLUB    - NIGHT                           43

     MUSIC: A rap song with a great beat and attitude like GRILLZ
     by NELLY

     JAMIE SHIPLEY, 30, good looking but earnest and CHARLIE
     GELLER, 31, very smart and neurotic are dancing on a dance
     floor in a high end Chelsea club.

     WOMEN COME TO HANDSOME Jamie but his horrible dancing soon
     chases them away TO Charlie who tries to impress.

                         CHARLIE
               Hey ladies! I’m Charlie! This is
               Jamie!

     The WOMEN move away.

     MOMENTS LATE: Charlie and Jamie approach a table full of
     ATTRACTIVE MANHATTAN PROFESSIONAL WOMEN.

                         CHARLIE (CONT’D)
                   (yelling over the music)
               Hi ladies! I’m Charlie . This is
               Jamie!

                         JAMIE
               Hi! I’m Jamie!

                         ATTRACTIVE MANHATTAN PROFESSIONAL
               How can we help you?

                         CHARLIE
               I’ll just be straight with you. No
               games. The truth is, you all are
               very attractive and we wanted to
               get to know you!
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                  37A.


                    ATTRACTIVE MANHATTAN PROFESSIONAL
          Get the fuck away from us!

                    CHARLIE
          Okay!

Jamie starts to sit down with them.

                    CHARLIE (CONT’D)
          No! They said fuck off.

                    JAMIE
          Oh!

Jamie jumps up and they leave.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                38.


     GRAPHIC: CHARLIE GELLER AND JAMIE SHIPLEY


44   INT. LOBBY WAITING AREA - JP MORGAN - NEW YORK - DAY         44

     Charlie and Jamie sit nervous under massive Richter works.

                         CHARLIE
               JP Morgan. Can you believe it?

                         JAMIE
               Okay, don’t make me nervous.
               They’re just people.

     Finally, they hear...

                         YOUNG MAN'S VOICE
               Brownfield Fund?

     They stand, straighten their suits. A BOY BANKER hurries out
     from behind the reception desk.

                         CHARLIE
               You must be Ted!

                         YOUNG BANKER
               No, I'm Chris. I'm on Ted's desk.

                         CHARLIE
               Oh. I’m Charlie. Charlie Geller.

                         JAMIE
               Jamie Shipley. We’re excited to get
               set up on your trading platform.

                         YOUNG BANKER
               Cool. Here, guys, have a seat a
               second.

     He gestures to the chairs they just stood from. Not good.

                         YOUNG BANKER (CONT’D)
               Ted asked me to do some meeting
               prep but I couldn't find any
               marketing material on you.
           BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015           39-40.


                    CHARLIE
          Oh. Sorry. We don't have any. We
          recently moved here from Colorado.

                     YOUNG BANKER
          Got it. Can we see your offering
          documents?

                    CHARLIE
              (sheepish)
          Brownfield is all our own money.

                    YOUNG BANKER
          Well, can you tell us how much you
          manage?

                    CHARLIE
          Sure. It's 30 million, but we
          started four years ago with 110
          thousand. So, our returns have been
          pretty phenomenal.

                    JAMIE
          We want to get an ISDA agreement
          with JP Morgan so we can deal in
          long term options.

                    YOUNG BANKER
          That's cool. But you're under the
          capital requirements for an ISDA.

                    CHARLIE
          Like, by how much?

                    YOUNG BANKER
          One billion four hundred seventy
          million.

Jamie and Charlie flinch.

                    CHARLIE
          Does it make us look bad that we
          didn’t know what the capital
          requirements were?

                    YOUNG BANKER
          It’s not great.

Awkward beat.

                    YOUNG BANKER (CONT’D)
          Have a good one guys.

He walks away.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               41.


                    JAMIE
          B of A and Bear didn’t return our
          calls and even Wachovia blew us
          off. 30 million means nothing to
          these banks. They keep calling us
          “high net worth individuals.”

                    CHARLIE
          Here’s the prospectuses and
          brochures of all the other losers
          who didn’t get past the lobby.

There are scattered brochures and folders with names like
“The Nostradamus Fund” and “The Long Short Group.” Under one
is Jared Vennett’s “Shorting the Housing Market.”

                    CHARLIE (CONT’D)
          Look... This guy’s saying the
          housing market is a massive
          bubble...

Jamie LOOKS TO CAMERA

                    JAMIE
          We didn’t really find Jared
          Vennett’s housing bubble pitch in
          the lobby of a bank that rejected
          us.
                    (MORE)
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               42.

                         JAMIE (CONT'D)
               The truth is, a friend told Charlie
               about it. And I read about it in
               Grant’s Interest Rate Observer. But
               this is more fun.

                         CHARLIE
               This guy says there are 10 to 1
               returns on credit default swaps on
               mortgage backed securities. He says
               they whole housing market will
               collapse...

     Freeze.

                         JARED VENNETT (V.O.)
               For Jamie and Charlie , the housing
               market doomsday prediction was
               music to their ears.


45   OMIT                                                        45


46   OMIT                                                        46


47   EXT. BOULDER COLORADO - GARAGE - SUMMER DAY                 47

     A CRAPPY GARAGE with computer paper on the wall reading “The
     Brownfield Fund” It’s hot as Jamie and Charlie work on their
     lap tops. Jamie pours water over his head. A CHOCOLATE LAB
     sleeps on the floor.

                         JARED VENNETT (V.O.)
               They had started working out of
               Jamie’s garage with 110 thousand
               Jamie had saved taking sailboats up
               and down the east coast. Their
               strategy was simple and
               brilliant...

                         CHARLIE
               People hate to think about bad
               things happening so they
               underestimate their likelihood.

                         JAMIE
               Holy shit. That’s like the most
               brilliant thing you’ve ever said!
                 BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015         42A.


                         JARED VENNETT (V.O.)
               And Jamie and Charlie found banks
               will sell options very cheaply on
               things they think will never ever
               happen. When they were wrong, they
               were wrong small. But when they
               were right, they were right big.
               Within a a few years they had
               turned their 110 grand into 30
               million. But then it was time to
               go to NYC. And so far, it wasn’t
               going well.


48   INT. JP MORGAN LOBBY - CONTINUOUS                     48

                         JAMIE
               So what if it does seem
               interesting. No bank will give us
               our ISDA. We’re dead in the water.

                         CHARLIE
               I think we should call Ben.
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015              43.


49   EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - DAY                               49

     FREEZE: WE CUT TO BEN RICKERT, 45, and the most neurotic
     person we’ve met so far, walking his dog with Jamie on A
     RESIDENTIAL STREET or PARK.

                         JARED VENNETT (V.O.)
               Ben Rickert was a former trader in
               Singapore for Chase who had quit
               the whole game in disgust. He
               happened to be Jamie’s neighbor
               when they were in Colorado and they
               met walking dogs. But Ben was dark.
               He didn’t just think the whole
               system would fail, he thought the
               whole world was going down.


50   INT. SAM’S HOUSE - NIGHT                                    50

     We see hands putting down jugs of water next to a dozen jugs
     of water in a kitchen. It’s Jamie and Charlie.

                         JAMIE
               Hey Ben! Do you think you have
               enough water?

                         BEN (O.C.)
               Average precipitation in this
               region is down 2% a year for the
               past eight years! And Congress just
               cut the budget to police loose
               nukes!

                         CHARLIE
               God he’s paranoid.

     Ben enters.

                         BEN
               Not paranoid. Prepared.

     FREEZE

                         JARED VENNETT (V.O.)
               Ben had real experience in a big
               bank. Jamie and Charlie had never
               even been in a Manhattan bank
               bathroom. But Ben was done with the
               banking world. He was very clear.


51   INT. JP MORGAN LOBBY - CONTINUOUS                           51
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               44.


                         JAMIE
               Look, there really could be
               something here. But it’s pretty
               bold, so let’s do some digging
               before we call Ben. .

                         CHARLIE
               (Still perusing the pitch). Wow.
               This is pretty shocking. It’s like
               it’s all hidden in plain sight...

                          LOBBY SECURITY GUARD
               Seriously guys! I need you out of
               here! Now!

                                                       CUT TO:


     CU: The hilarious scowl of the MIAMI DOLPHINS LOGO.


52   INT. TERMINAL - MIAMI AIRPORT - DAY                         52

     Porter and Danny pass a shop with the Dolphins logo on every
     conceivable domestic item. They're on a mission, one they're
     sure is a waste of time.

                         PORTER
               One time Mark sent me to Indiana
               for a week to check out an air
               conditioner factory. He thought
               they were using inferior materials.
               They weren’t.

                         DANNY
               Come on, it’s not so bad. It’s
               Florida. Besides, I never get to
               travel. Let’s have fun.

                         PORTER
               Don’t be chipper in the face of me
               being miserable. Please. It makes
               me hate you.

                         DANNY
               I wasn’t being chipper.

     Beat as they walk.

                         DANNY (CONT’D)
               Maybe we can get some Cuban food. I
               hear it’s amazing in Miami.
                 BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               44A.


                         PORTER
               I’m serious Danny. Knock it off.

                         DANNY
               How is wanting to eat chipper?


53   EXT. UNFINISHED SUBDIVISION - DUSK                          53

     Porter and Danny get out of a rental car and consider a
     FAILED DEVELOPMENT. Four model houses sit alone, closed for
     business, their perfect yards surrounded by cyclone fencing.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               45.


     STREET LIGHTS NOW COME ON ACROSS THE EMPTY AND HALF FINISHED
     SUBDIVISION. Danny and Porter are puzzled, and intrigued.

                         DANNY
               It’s like they just walked away...


54   INT. CONFERENCE HALL - CORPORATE HOTEL - THAT NIGHT         54

     Two-hundred eager PARTICIPANTS attend a seminar called, "You
     Can Be a Real Estate Millionaire!"

                         SEMINAR LEADER
               Real estate is the only
               entrepreneurial activity available
               to all Americans. Why? Simple, it
               doesn't require capital. That's
               right. Let me say that again. You
               don't need money to be a real
               estate millionaire!

     In the back, Porter sips a hotel takeaway cup, stunned,
     appalled. Danny takes notes. An EAGER GREETER spots them.
     She slips out.

                         GREETER
               Hello gentlemen. Are you
               interested in the 10 CD set? Only
               2999 dollars!

                         PORTER
               We’re good! Thank you.

     Porter and Danny slip away.


55   EXT. FRONT PORCH - RANCH HOUSE - NEXT DAY                   55

     Danny knocks like someone knocking for the last time. No
     answer. He looks in the mail slot... the house is empty.


56   EXT. FRONT PORCH - ANOTHER RANCH HOUSE - DAY                56

     Covered in old newspapers. Porter checks one for a date. It’s
     three months old.


57   EXT. FRONT PORCH - YET ANOTHER RANCH HOUSE - DAY            57

     Danny peers in a front window. This time, the door OPENS. A
     sleepy MAN WITH A TATTOOED NECK rubs his eyes.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               46.


                         DANNY
               Oh. Hello. I'm surveying mortgage
               owners who are over 90 days
               delinquent. I'm looking for a...
               Harvey Humpsey?

                         TATTOOED NECK
               You want my landlord's dog?

                         DANNY
               Your landlord filled out his
               mortgage using his dog’s name?

                         TATTOOED NECK
               I guess so. Hold up, has that
               asshole not been paying his
               mortgage? Cause I’m paying my rent.

                         DANNY
               He is 90 days late on his payments,
               yes.

                         TATTOOED NECK
               Seriously, am I going to have to
               leave?

     There's fear in his eyes, the last thing Danny expected. A
     CHILD now appears between the big man's legs.

                         TATTOOED NECK (CONT’D)
               Cause my kid just got settled in
               the school.

                         DANNY
               Um. I don’t know. You should talk
               to your landlord. Sorry. Have a
               good day!

     The man stays at the door as Danny hurries away.


58   INT. FOYER - STILL YET ANOTHER RANCH HOUSE - DAY             58

     The door opens. Danny and Porter peer in... the place is
     abandoned; its few modest furnishings, covered in dust.

                         PORTER
               Hello?! Anybody here?! Hola?! Yo?!


59   INT. LIVING ROOM AND HOME OFFICE - CONTINUOUS                59

     Porter tries a light switch, dead.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               47.


     A CORKBOARD above a desk still has post-its. The carpet is
     covered with files, books, a box of old photos.

                         PORTER
               The only thing they took was their
               TV!

     He picks up a dusty TIME MAGAZINE with Greenspan/Summers/
     Rubin on the cover. "The Committee to Save the World".

                            DANNY (O.S.)
               Come here!


60   INT. DEN AND KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS                            60

     White bread molds in the bag.

     At the counter, Porter watches Danny shows the old mortgage
     bill: the house's owner used a black marker to circle the
     amount due and then wrote... SORRY!


61   EXT. BACK YARD - CONTINUOUS                                  61

     The back yard is over grown and the pool is murky green.

                         PORTER
               I think I saw three houses in the
               whole development with cars in the
               driveway.

     Suddenly something swirls in the pool and they see a 10 FOOT
     ALLIGATOR emerge and submerge.

                         DANNY
               Holy... fucking... shit.


62   EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - DAY                                  62

     DANNY IS VISIBLE IN THE WINDOW OF A CUBAN RESTAURANT EATING.
     Porter is outside on the sidewalk on his phone.

                          PORTER
               Hey Mark, you might want to get
               down here.

                                                       CUT TO:
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               48.


63   INT. SCION OFFICE - DAY                                      63

     We pan past Scion’s office which is now littered with empty
     desks and land on the WHITE BOARD showing last quarter’s
     returns: -9.3%.

     Two ANALYSTS talk to each other from their desks gossiping
     while Burry in his office works on his computer.

                         ANALYST #2
               I heard he had a breakdown. He’s
               letting the fund tank.

                         YOUNG ANALYST
               A buddy of mine in Manhattan said
               Burry left his wife and is moving
               to Peru.

     A PHONE RINGS at Burry’s ASSISTANT’S DESK.

                         MIKE'S ASSISTANT
                   (answers the phone) )
               Scion. Dr. Burry's office.
               ...He would prefer you email
               him...I sit twenty feet away and I
               email him--

     The FRONT DOOR opens.

     Lawrence Fields and MARTIN BLAINE (45) of Metro Capital
     enter. 2 thousand dollar sport coats and polo shirts.

     They stride right for Mike's office. MIKE'S ASSISTANT starts
     to email Burry furiously, gives up, stands.

                         MIKE'S ASSISTANT (CONT'D)
                   (loudly)
               Mr. Fields. Mr. Blaine. Hello.

     They enter Mike's office, shut the door.

                         YOUNG ANALYST
               Was that Lawrence Fields? Holy
               shit.


64   INT. SCION OFFICES - MIKE'S OFFICE - DAY                     64

     Lawrence sits. Martin stands. They're angry. Yet, Mike, in T-
     shirt, shirts with no shoes, doesn't seem to even register
     there's any emotion here at all.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            49.


                    LAWRENCE FIELDS
          Your big mortgage bet concerns us.
          We have no confidence in your
          ability to identify macroeconomic
          trends.

                    MIKE
          You flew here to tell me that? Why?
          I mean, anyone can see there's a
          real estate bubble.

                    LAWRENCE FIELDS
          Actually, no one can see a
          bubble... that's what makes it a
          bubble.

                    MIKE
          That's dumb, Lawrence. There are
          always markers. Mortgage fraud.
          It's quintupled since 2000. Average
          take home pay is flat yet home
          prices are soaring. That means the
          homes are debt not assets.

                    MARTIN BLAINE
          So, Mike Burry of San Jose, a guy
          who gets his hair cut at Super Cuts
          and doesn’t wear shoes, knows more
          than Alan Greenspan and Hank
          Paulson?

                    MIKE
          Dr. Mike Burry. And, yes. He does.

                    LAWRENCE FIELDS
          Are you being sarcastic with us,
          Michael?

                    MIKE
          I don't know how to be sarcastic. I
          don't know how to be funny. I don't
          know how to work people. I know how
          to read numbers.

Okay, let's talk numbers. Lawrence changes tack.

                     LAWRENCE FIELDS
          How big's your short position?
          Right now?

                    MIKE
          It's 1.3 billion.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               50.


                    LAWRENCE FIELDS
          And the premiums?

                    MIKE
          We pay roughly 80 to 90 million
          every year.
              (they wince)
          I know it's high but I was the
          first one to do this trade.
          It will pay. Watch. I may have been
          early, but I'm not wrong.

                    MARTIN BLAINE
          It's the same thing!

Lawrence raises a finger to ask his partner for restraint.

                    LAWRENCE FIELDS
          You're managing, what, a fund of
          555 million?
              (Mike nods)
          In 6 years it'll all be gone. On
          one bet.

                    MIKE
          Second quarter of 07’ the
          adjustable rates will kick in and
          defaults will sky rocket.

                      MARTIN BLAINE
          Says you.

                    LAWRENCE FIELDS
          How much is eligible for withdrawal
          before they do, say in the next two
          quarters?
              (then)
          If your investors panic.

                    MIKE
          It's 302 million.

                     LAWRENCE FIELDS
          My God, Michael.

                    MIKE
          No one will pull out! It'd be
          suicide! Yeah, I'm down 17 percent
          for the year, but if they trust me--

                    MARTIN BLAINE
          No one trusts you.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                51.


                         MIKE
               I’ve written several emails to the
               investors letting them know second
               quarter of 07’ is when our position
               on housing shows returns. I've been
               very clear.

     He sounds like a crazy man defending himself to a tree.

                         LAWRENCE FIELDS
               There will be redemptions.

                         MIKE
               Well, that would be really stupid.
                   (angry)
               If the fund's capital drops too
               much, the swaps contracts are
               voided. And the banks get to keep
               the collateral!

                         MARTIN BLAINE
               What?

     They didn't know this, and it seals the deal.

                         LAWRENCE FIELDS
               Give us our money back.

                                                     CLOSE ON:

     BUMPERSTICKER: “Pricing gets traffic, staging gets offers.”

     The sticker's on a brand new...


65   INT. MERCEDES SUV - UPSCALE SUBDIVISION - DAY                65

     Mark gets a house tour from a wealthy REAL ESTATE AGENT.

     MUSIC: A dreamy samba like SO NICE by BEBEL GILBERTO

                         REAL ESTATE AGENT
               The market's in an itsy-bitsy
               little gully right now. It's like
               everybody said, "Okay, that was
               crazy. Let's all just slow down."

     A YOUNGER AGENT sits in the back between Danny and Porter.

     Mark’s engrossed by the upper-middle-class world out the
     window; Every driveway has a new SUV, or odd Prius. Every
     garage has a Winnebago, jet ski, speed boat. Complicated
     riding mowers. Trampolines. Plundered Ebay and Amazon boxes.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               52.


     And, yet, there are For Sale signs everywhere.


66   EXT. TRACT MANSION - DAY                                    66

     An attractive brick house, exhaustively landscaped. In fact,
     the harried HOMEOWNER is now edging his lawn.

                         REAL ESTATE AGENT (O.S.)
               I sold it the year it was built for
               350.


67   I/E. MERCEDES SUV - DAY                                     67

     The SUV has stopped at a discreet distance.

                         REAL ESTATE AGENT
               Two years later for 480. Then...585
               maybe... only 18 months later. This
               couple bought it last year for 650,
               he'd let it go for that.

     He spots her. Come show it!

     She waves back. Not today!

                          REAL ESTATE AGENT (CONT'D)
               It'll break his heart, but he'll
               let it go.

                         MARK
               Why's he selling?

                         REAL ESTATE AGENT
               Neither one's working right now.

                         YOUNGER AGENT
               Marlene, you'd say they're
               motivated, right?

                         REAL ESTATE AGENT
               As much as one can be in this
               neighborhood.


68   I/E. SUV - TRAVELLING - DAY                                 68

     SHOTS of the SUV driving them past big houses for sale.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               53.


                          REAL ESTATE AGENT
               House on the left might be
               motivated...That is another quasi-
               motivated seller...They're probably
               teensy-weensy bit motivated...In
               her case I'd say possibly almost
               motivated.

     Danny and Porter exchange a look. The market's in trouble.

                          MARK
               A lot of homeowners seem pretty
               motivated.

                         REAL ESTATE AGENT
               It's the gully. That's all. Just
               nerves.
                   (faces Mark)
               So... where are we?

                         MARK
               Let me talk to my wife.

                         YOUNGER AGENT
               This market won't last.

                         MARK
               Actually, can I talk with a
               mortgage broker? Anyone you like?

69   OMIT                                                         69


70   INT. HOTEL BAR - SOUTH BEACH - DAY                           70

                         BLACK
               Bitch better like me, I sent her to
               Cabo.

     The bar's empty save Mark, Danny and Porter sitting with two
     overly-groomed MORTGAGE BROKERS -- their ties match their
     shirts: the hip one's in BLACK; his friend, MAROON.

     The guy in Maroon has Porter's business card.

                         MAROON
               Is Morgan Stanley recruiting us?

                          PORTER
               The bank owns our hedge fund but
               we're not really part of it. We
               invest in financial service
               companies.
                          (MORE)
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015         53A.

          PORTER (CONT'D)
We're here trying to understand
the residential mortgage business.
              BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015              54.


The brokers just nod, glad to be part of the conversation.

                    MARK
          How many loans do you write each
          month?

                    BLACK
          It's about 60.

Maroon nods. Me, too. Almost.

                    MARK
          What was it four years ago?

                    BLACK
          Ten. Maybe 15.

                    MAROON
          I was a bartender.

                     DANNY
          How many are adjustable rate
          mortgages?

                    BLACK
          Most. Ninety percent. The bonuses
          on those sky rocketed a few years
          ago. Adjustable is our bread and
          honey.

                     MARK
          These are people buying a primary
          residence?

                    BLACK
          No, they're all cash-out refi's, or
          property to flip. A shitload of
          condos. A few primaries.

                    DANNY
          Do mortgage applicants ever get
          turned down?

They laugh.

                     BLACK
          Dude, if they get rejected I suck
          at my job.

                    DANNY
          Even if they have no money?
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                55.


                         MAROON
               Well, my firm offers NINJA loans.
               No Income. No Job. I just leave the
               income section blank if I want,
               corporate doesn't care. And the
               people just want a house. So they
               go with the flow.

                         BLACK
               We call those loans “Dorothys”
               cause they’re magic. No credit, no
               income, no problem: just tap your
               shoes together three times and say
               “There’s nothing like owning a
               home.”

                         MARK
               Your companies don't verify?

                         BLACK
               If I write a loan on Friday
               afternoon, the big banks buy it by
               Monday lunch.

                            MAROON
               Same here.

                         MARK
               Can you two hold on a second?


71   INT. HOTEL LOBBY - SECONDS LATER                             71

     Eyeing the brokers, Mark whispers with Porter and Danny.

                         MARK
               I don't get it. Why are they
               confessing?

                         DANNY
               That's not confessing.

                         PORTER
               They're bragging.


72   INT. HOTEL BAR - DAY                                         72

     Mark takes an ottoman right in front of the brokers.

                         MARK
               Do customers ever know what they're
               buying?
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               56.


                         MAROON
               I focus my business on immigrants.
               Once you tell them they’re getting
               a home they sign where you tell
               them to sign, don't ask questions,
               don't really understand the rates.

     Mark starts to say something, then turns to Black.

                         MARK
               You target immigrants, too?

                         MAROON
               Ha! Their credit isn't bad enough
               for him!

                         BLACK
               I'm a yield guy. I make 2,000 on
               fixed-rate prime loans. I can make
               10,000 on a subprime adjustable.
               Trust me, I would not be driving a
               Hummer without Strippers. Nobody on
               the pole has good credit. And
               they're all cash rich.

     Porter and Danny watch Mark consider punching this punk. The
     last thing they expect is...

                         MARK
               Can you introduce us?


73   INT. ALCOVE - VIP ROOM - STRIP CLUB - NIGHT                 73

     MUSIC: A sexy pop song like SEXYBACK by JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

                         DANCER
               I always get option-pay
               adjustables. I'm a private
               contractor. I need flexibility.

     A DANCER does rote gyrations. Mark’s indifferent to the lap
     dance, unashamed, occupied by his agenda.

                         MARK
               You tell the mortgage company what
               you do?

                         DANCER
               I write therapist.
                   (and then)
               You can touch me.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               57.


                    MARK
          Always?

                    DANCER
          Only in the VIP.

                    MARK
          No, you said you always do
          adjustables. You have more than one
          loan on a property?

                    DANCER
          Everybody does. At least down here.
          That way you only put down like 5
          percent.

                    MARK
          But prices have leveled off.

                    DANCER
          Yeah, there's a gully.

                    MARK
          Can you stop moving? I'll still pay
          you.

She peeks out of the alcove, sees a BURLY MAN WITH A HARD
FACE and keeps dancing.

                    DANCER
          Sorry, (mouthing it) we're not
          alone.

                    MARK
          Okay, look, if home prices don't
          rise you won't be able to
          refinance. You'll be stuck with
          whatever your monthly payment jumps
          to after the teaser rate expires.
          Plus any payments you missed. Plus
          interest on those payments! Your
          monthly could go up 200 or 300
          percent!

                    DANCER
          Jamie says I can always refinance.

                    MARK
          He's lying. Actually, in this
          particular case, Jamie's probably
          just wrong.
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015     57A.


          DANCER
Two hundred percent? On all my
loans?
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               58.


                         MARK
               What do you mean all my loans?
               We're talking about two loans on
               one house, right?

     She stops and gives him a look.

                         DANCER
               I have five houses. And a condo.


74   INT. TICKETING AREA - MIAMI AIRPORT - DAY                   74

     Full of purpose, Mark strides ahead of Porter and Danny.

                         MARK
               Get the mortgage exposure and
               leverage ratio of every bulge
               bracket i-bank--
                   (into his phone)
               --Hey, there's a bubble.

                         VINNY (O.S.)
               How do you know?

                         MARK
               Trust me. Call Vennett. Buy 50
               million in swaps on the MBS...

     Danny holds out the offering doc.

                         MARK (CONT'D)
               ...Garabaldi IV. Triple B.

                         VINNY (O.S.)
               You sure, Mark?

                         MARK
               Yeah. It's time to call bullshit.

                         VINNY (O.S.)
               Bullshit on what?

                         MARK
               Everything.


75   INT. GYM - DAY                                              75

     Jared Vennett is running on a treadmill when the phone rings.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015           59.


                         JARED
                   (on his cell)
               Is this America's angriest hedge
               fund?

                         VINNY (O.S.)
               How are you, JARED?

     Jared steps off the treadmill to take the call.

                         JARED
               Starting to believe my own hype.

                         VINNY (O.S.)
               I've got one last question.


76   INT. TRADING DESK - FRONTPOINT OFFICE - DAY             76

     Vinny on the phone.

                         VINNY
               How are you fucking us?

     Jared cackles.

                         VINNY (CONT'D)
               I'm serious. We'll buy your swaps.
               But only if you say how you're
               fucking us.

                           JARED (O.S.)
               Hold on.


77   INT. GYM - DAY                                          77

     Jared steps away from a few guys working out.

                         JARED
               Swaps are a dark market. That means
               I set the price. Whatever price I
               want. When you come back for your
               pay day I’ll rip your eyes out and
               make a fortune. The good news for
               you is you’ll make so much you
               won’t care. Plus your boss has a
               big mouth and I need people to know
               about this trade so my superiors
               don’t think it’s an esoteric waste
               of time and I can keep selling it.

     Static.
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015   59A.


             VINNY (O.S.)
Thank you.
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                  60.


                          JARED
                Anytime.
                    (then)
                What's it gonna be? You want me to
                make you a market?

                          VINNY (O.S.)
                Yeah. We'll take 50 million--

      He disconnects, punches air. His casual pose evaporates.


78    OMIT                                                           78


A79   EXT. WIDE SHOT OF BOULDER COLORADO - DAY                   A79

      Can be stock footage showing mountains and the town of
      Boulder. We hear a phone ringing.


B79   INT. BEN RICKERT’S HOME OFFICE - BOULDER COLORADO - DAY    B79

                         APRIL 2006

             2 years 4 months until the collapse

      CU on a cell phone ringing on a desk. A hand fumbles for it
      and answers.

                          BEN
                Hello?

      It’s Ben Rickert. His office has three computer screens
      showing the Japanese markets, the Dow, Nasdaq, weather
      satellite images and tidal charts.

                          JAMIE (V.O.)
                Hey Ben. It’s Jamie-

                          BEN
                I told you not to call this number.

      He hangs up. After a beat a satellite phone rings. Ben
      answers.

                          BEN (CONT’D)
                Hey.

                          JAMIE (V.O.)
                I hate when you do that. No one’s
                listening to your calls Ben. You’re
                a retired trader.
                 BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                 60A.


                         BEN
               Really? So the NSA has a 52 billion
               dollar budget and the ability to
               monitor 10’s of millions of calls a
               second but they’re not using it?

                         JAMIE
               Okay fine. We’ll call this number
               and I’ll stop saying “Ben Rickert”
               and “dirty bomb” in the same
               conversation.

                         BEN
               Seriously don’t do that. That’s not
               funny.

                         CHARLIE (V.O.)
               Did you read what we sent you?!
               It’s Charlie! I’m here too!

                         BEN
               Hey guys. Yeah, I checked out what
               you sent me... Hold on...

     Ben picks up a bootleg copy of Jared’s PRESENTATION.


79   INT. BROWNFIELD OFFICE - GREENWICH VILLAGE - DAY              79

     A brick loft. Jamie and Charlie are gathered around a phone
     on speaker. We cut back and forth.

                         JAMIE
               And?

                         BEN (V.O)
               I’ll be honest gentlemen... It
               scared the shit out me.
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                61.


                          CHARLIE
                So this guy Vennett’s not wrong?

                          BEN (V.O.)
                No... he’s not.

                           CHARLIE
                Yes!

                          BEN (V.O)
                Tell me more about these CDOs... I
                feel like I opened the hood of a
                car and instead of an engine saw a
                monkey on a bike.

      Ben holds up a report Jamie and Charlie did on CDOs.

                          JAMIE
                Vennett mentions the CDOs but
                they’re way worse than even he
                knows. We couldn’t even model them.

                          CHARLIE
                They don’t make any sense! And
                they’re a hundred times larger than
                the MBS!

                          BEN (V.O.)
                And somehow they’re over 90% AAA
                rated. The perfect scam.

      FREEZE

                          JARED VENNETT (V.O.)
                I’ll be honest. I don’t love that
                these losers are saying I missed
                something but the truth is they’re
                right. The CDOs were a hundred
                times worse than even I imagined.
                Let’s go back to Bourdain’s seafood
                stew so we’re all on the same page.


A80   INT. KICHEN -- DAY                                       A80

      Bourdain stands over the pot of seafood stew.

                          BOURDAIN
                Alright, remember how I said the
                CDOs are seafood stew filled with
                old fish stamped AAA? Well Jamie
                and Charlie found out the CDOs were
                even worse than that.
                          (MORE)
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               61A.

                          BOURDAIN (CONT'D)
                Turns out they were filled with
                shitty mortgages from different
                bonds that didn’t even operate by
                the same laws. And there were also
                swaps and all kinds of other junk
                just thrown in there. Millions and
                millions of this garbage... So
                instead of just old fish our
                seafood stew also has... wolverine
                meat in it...

      He puts a weird gray meat in.

                          BOURDAIN (CONT’D)
                Possum... skunk... Kimodo dragon
                and then a whole lot of stuff the
                no one even knows what it is.

      Bourdain reaches into a box marked simply MEAT (?) and throws
      a bunch in.

                          BOURDAIN (CONT’D)
                And these CDOs were selling and
                selling....

      Wee pull out and see dozens of pots of stew all around the
      kitchen.

                          BOURDAIN (CONT’D)
                Nuts, right?


B80   INT. BROWNFIELD OFFICE - GREENWICH VILLAGE - DAY         B80

                          BEN (V.O.)
                I saw the CDOs you want to short.
                The’re brilliant. Worthless, total
                crap.

                           CHARLIE
                Jamie Shipley, Ladies and
                Gentlemen.

                          JAMIE
                I'm good at finding shit. If I can
                keep Charlie from trying to sneak
                in a little value.

                          CHARLIE
                Sue me, I'm Jewish. We shorted all
                double BBs and triple B’s. The risk
                is relatively low and the pay off
                is 25 to 1.
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015          61B.


                    BEN (V.O.)
          So why are you calling me? I don’t
          do this anymore.

Charlie and Jamie share a careful glance.

                    CHARLIE
          Look, Ben, help us get an ISDA so
          we can short this crap. We know you
          hate Wall Street but it's not like
          you'd be trading, you'd only be
          helping us get a place at the
          table.

                    BEN (V.O.)
          That’s an ugly table to be seated
          at.

                    JAMIE
          The system fucked up in a big, big
          way here. And somehow we know
          before anyone else.
                    (MORE)
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               62.

                          JAMIE (CONT'D)
                This is a once in a lifetime trade.
                Help us make this deal. Come on,
                it’ll be fun.

                          BEN (V.O.)
                Oh this won’t be fun.

      Sam’s tone is less than definite, he's clearly tempted.

                          JAMIE
                I didn’t mean fun.

                          BEN (V.O.)
                You said fun.

      Beat

                          BEN (V.O.)
                Okay, I'll call Deutsche Bank.

      Charlie and Jamie high five.

                          CHARLIE
                Thank you. What about Bear? They
                have some reprehensible product.

                          BEN (V.O.)
                Okay. Bear will trade with anybody.

      Silent air pumps.

                          JAMIE
                How soon can you be out here?

                          BEN (V.O.)
                I don’t know... I haven’t flown
                since they put those Chertoff body
                scanners in the airports. I’ve
                never been a fan of being strip
                searched by radiation.
                    (takes a breath)
                I’ll be there Tuesday.

      Jamie and Charlie celebrate more.

      MUSIC: An popular alternative hip hop song like FEEL GOOD INC
      by GORILLAZ plays us into the next scene.


C80   INT. KENNEDY AIRPORT TERMINAL - DAY                       C80

      Ben rides the long airport escalator wearing a flu mask. And
      holding a duffle bag.
                     BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               62A.


      He passes an Asian man also wearing a flu mask, salutes his
      comrade-in-fear. The man stares back confused.

      At the bottom of the escalator Charlie and Jamie wait with a
      sign reading “Ben Rickert”

      Ben walks past them with out breaking stride and crumples up
      the sign.


D80   EXT. DEUTSCHE BANK - TWO HOURS LATER                       D80

      Establishing


80    INT. LOBBY - DEUTSCHE BANK - DAY                               80

      Charlie and Jamie sign an ISDA CONTRACT in the lobby.

      Ben waits over them. NOAH, 26, Vennett’s assistant takes the
      contract.

                          NOAH
                All right. I'll see if I can push
                it through.

                          BEN
                Thanks, Noah. And thank Jared for
                us.

      Charlie and Jamie stand. Noah goes. The boys exchange an
      unsure look. What now? Ben gestures to the exit.

                          JAMIE
                You know, just once in my life, I'd
                like to see the inside of an
                investment bank.

                          CHARLIE
                So that’s it Ben? We’re done?

                          BEN
                That’s it. Between Bear and
                Duetsche, you now officially own 12
                million dollars of credit default
                swaps on the BBB- tranches of
                subprime ABS’.

                          CHARLIE
                Somehow I thought it would be more
                dramatic.

                          JAMIE
                So what’d we do now?
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015   62B.


Ben doesn’t break stride.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               63.


                         BEN
               Now we wait for the world to blow
               up.

                                                       CUT TO:


81   QUOTE COMES UP OVER BLACK:                                  81

     “THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE. BUT NOT UNTIL IT IS DONE WITH
     YOU.”   -DAVID FOSTER WALLACE, INFINITE JEST

                                                       CUT TO:


82   EXT. MIDTOWN - MORGAN STANLEY BUILDING - DAY                82

     An electronic scroll on the side of Morgan Stanley reads:

     Mortgage Delinquencies Hit New High

                      January 11, 2007

             1 year 7 months until the collapse

     We hear snippets of business news audio:

                         SNIPPETS OF BUSINESS NEWS
               Ben Bernanke calls the news a
               momentary market fluctuation....
               Despite the disappointing housing
               news all other market indicators
               are very strong....

     Mark Baum is running down the street while dialing his phone
     and trying to hail a cab.

                         MARK
               Hello! Vinny Daniel please!

     A CAB STOPS, he gets in.

                         MARK (CONT’D)
               The Morgan Stanley building. Fast.

                         VINNY
                   (feint voice on the cell)
               Hello? Mark is that you?

                         MARK
               Vinny! Did you see?
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               64.


83   INT. FRONTPOINT PARTNERS OFFICE - DAY                       83

     Vinny is walking through the FrontPoint offices. Danny,
     Porter and the rest of the staff are on the phones.

                          MARK (V.O.)
               Mortgage defaults just went through
               the roof! Is anybody jumping off
               buildings?

                         VINNY
               Why would they? Subprime mortgage
               bond prices are up.

     We see emails on Vinny’s screen from Duetsche notifying that
     the bond’s value is up. “Garabaldi IV: BBB tranche”

                         MARK (V.O.)
               What?!

     Porter turns over his shoulder from his desk.

                         PORTER
               Vennett is asking for more
               collateral on our swaps!

                         MARK (V.O.)
               What the hell's going on?!

                         VINNY
               We don't know. But Deutsche is on
               the phone demanding payment.

                         MARK (V.O.)
               Somebody call Vennett.
                   (Porter does so)
               Subprime loans go bad... but
               subprime bonds get more valuable?!

                         VINNY
               They want another 2 million by
               market close.

                         MARK (V.O.)
               What about the rating’s agencies?
               Are Moody’s and S&P downgrading
               CDOs or mortgage bonds?

                         VINNY
               Nope. They’re all still triple A.
                 BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015   64A.


84   INT. CAB - SAME TIME                            84

                         MARK
               Motherfuckers!
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                65.


     The West African CAB DRIVER looks over his shoulder.

                         CAB DRIVER
               Is everything okay sir?

                         MARK
               Yeah, other than the fact America
               is a cesspool of corruption and
               greed.

                         CAB DRIVER
               That is very true sir! But I never
               hear Americans say it! Haha!

                         VINNY (V.O.)
               That’s not all Mark...


85   INT. TINY SIDE OFFICE - FRONTPOINT - DAY                     85

     Vinny peers into their Conference Room, where there are THREE
     RISK MANAGERS. Standing at the head of the table is a very
     pregnant, Kathy Tao.

                         VINNY
               The Frontpoint risk guys are here.
               They called in Kathy Tao. They're
               trying to convince her to make us
               to sell our swaps.
               Apparently, tying up 6
               years of insurance payments in
               hopes of housing Armageddon is not
               good investing.

                         MARK (O.S.)
               What'd Kathy say?

                         VINNY
               Nothing, yet. She keeps asking if
               this is one of your crusades.


86   INT. CAB - DAY                                               86

     Mark on the phone.

                         MARK
               When she leaves, go back in and
               very calmly, very politely, tell
               the risk assessors to fuck off.
                         (MORE)
                    BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015             66.

                         MARK (CONT'D)
               Then meet me over at Standard and
               Poors. Let’s go talk to Georgia
               Hale.

     He hangs up.

                         CAB DRIVER
               In my country they just show up and
               steal your children for their army.
               In America they are very sneaky.
               They take your house, your money
               and you still think they are your
               friends!

                         MARK
               You want a job?

                         CAB DRIVER
               No way brother! I am just the
               ferryman! Haha!

     He drives crazy fast through traffic.


87   INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - FRONTPOINT PARTNERS - DAY             87

     Vinny enters. The risk managers go silent.

                         VINNY
                   (calmly, politely)
               Mark said to fuck off.

     The Risk Managers wait for nuance. None will be coming.

                                                        CUT TO:


88   INT. SCION OFFICES - DAY                                     88

     Michael Burry writes on the big white board the quarterly
     returns: -11.3%. There are now only five working analysts.
     The rest of the desks are empty.

     Michael walks into his office closes the door and yells.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               Fuuuuuuuck!!!!!

     Everyone in the office looks up and then after a beat, go
     back to working.

                           WIFE (V.O.)
               Michael?
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               67.


89   INT. MICHAEL BURRY’S HOME - LIVING ROOM - DUSK              89


     Michael is watching Business News on the TV while his WIFE,
     pretty and direct, tries to talk to him.


     SOMEONE FROM THE TREASURY OR THE FED BEING INTERVIEWED.

                         GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL(SOT)
               Yes, there’s been an up tick in
               defaults but it’s well within our
               models.

                          WIFE
               Michael.

                         GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL (SOT)
               So despite these temporary aberrant
               numbers we’re quite pleased.

                          WIFE
               Michael!

     She turns off the TV.

                         WIFE (CONT’D)
               I’m trying to talk to you.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               I’m sorry. I was listening. Go on.

                         WIFE
               The school says Nicholas has been
               having issues. He’s not
               socializing. He isolates and
               doesn’t communicate with the other
               kids.

     NICHOLAS his six year old son is playing with a toy crane on
     the floor.

                         ALEX
                   (listing parts of the
                    crane)
               Hoist rope, lattice boom, upper
               sheave, gantry, harnass...

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               Well I was never the most social of
               kids... Is that such a bad thing?
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               68.


                         WIFE
               They think we should take him to a
               specialist to get an evaluation.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               Then yes, of course, let’s do
               that.

                         NICHOLAS
               Mom, Dad...

     Nicholas has walked over to them holding his toy crane.

                         NICHOLAS (CONT’D)
               The crane is rotating 260 degrees.
               It just needed a circular base and
               a catch for the string.

                         MICHAEL BURRY
               That’s great Nicholas! Good job!


90   OMIT                                                        90


91   INT. SMALL OFFICE - RATING AGENCY SURVEILLANCE DEPT - DAY 91

                         GEORGIA
               I can't see a damn thing.

     GEORGIA HALE (55) is a pleasant, middle-class woman wearing
     EYE EXAM SUNSHADES and fussing with her blinds.

                         GEORGIA (CONT’D)
               My eye doctor's always busy. I end
               up taking any appointment they'll
               give me and then the whole morning
               gets shot to hell.

     She goes to her desk... where Mark and Vinny wait.

                         GEORGIA (CONT’D)
               Alrighty. So. FrontPoint Partners.
               How can Standard and Poors help
               you?

                         VINNY
               We don't understand why the ratings
               agencies aren't downgrading
               subprime bonds, since the
               underlying loans are deteriorating.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               69.


                    GEORGIA
          Well, delinquency rates have people
          worried, but they're actually
          within our models.

                    MARK
          Models that you share with the
          banks. Couldn’t they be gaming
          them?

                    GEORGIA
          I highly doubt it. These are very
          large banks that care a great deal
          about their reputations.

                    MARK
          They care a lot more about their
          bonuses.

                    GEORGIA
          I'm sure the world's banks have
          more nuanced incentives than abject
          greed, Mr. Baum.

                    MARK
          You're wrong.

                     GEORGIA
          Then they'll go bankrupt. The
          marketplace is ruthlessly
          efficient.

Mark considers this old saw a moment.

                    MARK
          Your convinced the underlying
          mortgages in these bonds are solid
          loans?

                    GEORGIA
          That's our opinion, yes.

                    MARK
          Here's what I don't understand: if
          these mortgage bonds are so solid
          why are all the stocks for the
          mortgage brokerage companies down?
          These are companies issuing the
          loans that make up the bonds and
          they’re tanking.

She's inscrutable behind her sunshades. But the fact she
doesn't argue tells us he's shaken her confidence.
                BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            70.


                       GEORGIA
             We believe our ratings will prove
             accurate.

                       MARK
             Have you ever refused to rate any
             of these bonds upper tranches AAA?
             Can we see the paper work on those
             deals?

                       GEORGIA
             I’m not under any obligation to
             share that information with you.

                       MARK
             Just answer me Georgia. Can you
             name one time in the past year
             where you checked the tape and
             didn’t give the banks the triple
             AAA percentage they wanted?

Half beat.

                       GEORGIA
             If we deny them the rating they'll
             go to Moody's.

A stunned beat. She's not supposed to say this.

                       GEORGIA (CONT’D)
             If we don't work with them, they'll
             go to our competitors.

                       VINNY
             Holy shit. They’re selling ratings
             for fees.

Silence. Mark didn't know it was that simple, that cynical.

                       MARK
             You can afford to make less. Make
             less.

                       GEORGIA
             It’s not my decision. I have a
             boss.

                       MARK
             Really? That’s the angle you’re
             taking? So anyone who has a boss
             can’t be held responsible for doing
             shitty and illegal things? What are
             you, nine years old?
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               70A.


She takes her glasses off. Her eyes are watery, dilated.

                    GEORGIA
          And what, pray tell, are your
          incentives?! Why are you in my
          office?! Is it maybe in
          your interest to have the ratings
          change?! How many credit default
          swaps do you own?!

She's nailed him.

                    MARK
              (quietly)
          That doesn't make me wrong.
                      BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            71.


                             GEORGIA
                   No, it just makes you a hypocrite.


92    INT. CAB - DAY                                              92

      Vinny watches Mark as they ride back uptown in a
      crowd. He’s rattled.

                             VINNY
                       (checks his blackberry)
                   Vennett’s coming to the office at
                   3.
                       (then)
                   You okay?

      Mark nods.

                             MARK
                   Short the rating agencies. All of
                   them.


93    INT. BROWNFIELD OFFICE - NYC LOFT - DAY                     93

      Charlie and Jamie are climbing the walls. Ben is on speaker
      phone.

                             BEN (V.O.)
                   Mortgage delinquencies went up and
                   the CDOs got more valuable!? You
                   gotta be kidding me!

                             JAMIE
                   We know. It’s completely backwards.
                   It’s like 2 plus 2 equals 73.


A94   INT. BEN RICKERT’S OFFICE - SAME TIME                    A94

      Ben sits at his desk reading the Sixth Great Extinction. We
      cut back and forth.

                             BEN
                   I just called an old friend at Bear
                   and he didn’t even know what a CDO
                   is.

                              JAMIE (V.O.)
                   I had to transfer Bear and Duetsche
                   78 thousand dollars. It’s like I
                   bought a suit and paid for it with
                   two suits.
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015          71A.


                    CHARLIE (V.O.)
          It’s rigged. We bought into a
          rigged game. We’re going to lose
          hundreds of thousands a year until
          it’s all gone and I have to move
          back in with my mom.

                    BEN
          Having fun yet?

Beat as Charlie catches a thought.

                    CHARLIE
          Wait a minute... We know the CDOs
          are taking losses and yet the price
          is frozen or going up. Maybe
          they’re frozen because the banks
          have no idea how to value them? I
          bet they’re so toxic the banks are
          just guessing!
              (half beat)
          I think we should buy more swaps.

                    JAMIE
          What?! No way! No.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               72.


94   INT. FRONTPOINT PARTNERS - SAME TIME                        94

     Jared Vennett is seated in the conference room. Mark, Vinny,
     Danny and Porter are SCREAMING AT HIM. He is amazingly calm
     and even CHECKS HIS PHONE at one point.

                         ALL
               You fucked us! I knew you’d fuck
               us!... What game are you running!
               I’m calling the goddamn justice
               department! Don’t check your phone!
               Don’t you check your fucking
               phone!!

     Finally the group is exhausted from yelling and they run out
     of gas.

                         JARED
               You guys done?

                         DANNY
               Yeah. I think so.

                         PORTER
                   (holding his side)
               Jesus. I think I pulled a muscle in
               my back from yelling.

                         VINNY
               Mortgage defaults are way up. Yet
               you quote us a higher price on the
               bonds. Tell me why we shouldn’t
               pull out of this trade right now?

                         JARED
               Listen, I told you when we did this
               deal the ratings agencies, the SEC
               and the big banks are clueless. So
               now their foot’s on fire and they
               think their steak is done and
               you’re surprised?

                         MARK
               This isn’t stupidity, this is
               fraud.

                         JARED
               Hey, if you can tell me the
               difference between stupid and
               illegal I’ll have my wife’s brother
               arrested.

     Danny laughs. Everyone glares at him.
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015          72A.


          DANNY
I’m sorry. That was funny.

          JARED
I just don’t think you guys realize
how clueless the system is.
          (MORE)
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015         73.

                         JARED (CONT'D)
               Yeah, there’s shady shit happening
               but trust me, it’s all fueled by
               stupidity. Face it, as cynical as
               you all are I think you still have
               a shred of respect left for the
               powers that be.

                         VINNY
               Not me.

                         JARED
               Okay, except Vinny.


95   INT. BROWNFIELD OFFICE - NYC LOFT - SAME TIME         95

     Charlie is pleading to his case.

                         CHARLIE
               Look, either we’re wrong or we’re
               right in a giant, giant way! If
               we’re right I want to go all in. If
               we’re wrong I want someone to tell
               us.

                         JAMIE
               I’m not feeling remotely confident
               that we’re right. And if we’re
               wrong, who’s going to tell us?

                         BEN (V.O.)
               Sounds like we need to go to Vegas.

                         JAMIE
               Vegas?


96   INT. FRONTPOINT PARTNERS - SAME TIME                  96

                         JARED VENNETT
               Yeah, Vegas. The American
               Securitization Forum. It’s next
               week. Every bond and CDO salesman,
               subprime lender and swap trader in
               the country will be there. I’m
               telling you, your bet is against
               dumb money. I think it’s time you
               meet that dumb money.

                         PORTER
               I hate Vegas.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               74.


                         DANNY
               I hear the restaurants in Vegas
               have gotten really good. They have
               a Nobu.

                         PORTER
               Fucking stop it.

                                                       CUT TO:


97   INT. VENETIAN HOTEL - STATUES - DAY                          97

     CU The LIVING STATUES AT THE VENETIAN. The white classical
     statues are STILL FOR A BEAT and THEN MOVE AND LOOK INTO
     CAMERA.

     MUSIC: A hip hop or rap song that exudes attitude like TOUCH
     IT OR NOT by CAM’RON kicks in as soon as the statues move.


98   INT. MAIN CASINO FLOOR OF CAESAR’S PALACE - DAY              98

     QUICK SERIES OF IMAGES: 1) Cash being exchanged for chips 2)
     A SEXY WAITRESS serving drinks with a tattoo of her baby
     daughter on her calf 3) A MARINE is playing two slot machines
     smoking and drinking. 4) A poster showing happy good looking
     people gambling and winning.


99   INT. TRADE SHOW FLOOR - CAESAR’S PALACE - DAY                99

     A sea of sponsored booths. Familiar banks. Lots and lots of
     White people. A BANNER tells us it's the:

                    American Securitization Forum

     Ben gives Charlie and Jamie the tour. Jamie takes photos with
     his cell. Charlie gets schooled.

                         BEN
               And what's "midprime"?

                         CHARLIE
               A loan that's between prime and
               subprime?

                         JAMIE
               Midprime's exactly the same as
               subprime.

                         CHARLIE
               That doesn't make sense.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                  75.


                    BEN
          And if a bond is “rich” it is...?

                    CHARLIE
          Loaded with assets?

                    JAMIE
          Overpriced and you probably lose
          all your money.
              (how did he know this?)
          I can’t sleep on planes so I did my
          homework.

Ben stops, turns to his proteges.

                    BEN
          Let’s focus up. Now what's our goal
          here?

                    CHARLIE
          To figure out if this is the deal
          of a lifetime, or if everybody
          knows something we don’t and we’re
          about to get royally screwed.

                    BEN
          Good. Now don’t lose sight of that
          when you’re with the guys from Bear
          tomorrow morning. I set you up with
          a face-to-face.

                    JAMIE
          Great!

                    CHARLIE
          Where’s the meeting?

Mark, Vinny, Danny and Porter enter and cross past the
Brownfield Guys.

                    MARK BAUM
          Five years ago securitization was a
          loser convention. 100, maybe 200
          people would show. 500 billion
          dollars a year later and you get
          this.

                    PORTER
          A lot of smug looks in this place.

                    VINNY
          It’s like someone hit a pinata
          filled with white people who suck
          at golf. Who are all these clowns?
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                 76.


                          MARK BAUM
                According to Vennett, this is who
                we’re betting against.

      Vennett approaches the group with his young ASSISTANT, who
      hands out room keys.

                          JARED
                Hello gentlemen. My assistant Chris
                has your room keys. I trust your
                travel was uneventful?

                          MARK
                So when do we get face time with
                these charming folks?

                          JARED
                They’ll be plenty of face time. But
                remember, we’re here to gather
                info, not advertise our short
                position. We don’t want to spook
                anyone. Got it?

      Mark nods. The group still checking out the crowded lobby.

                          JARED (CONT’D)
                Seriously. Mark, you’ve got a very
                loud mouth. Can you muzzle it for a
                few days?

                          MARK
                So you don’t want me warning people
                that the entire conference is put
                on to normalize the buying and
                selling of worthless shit?

                          JARED
                Yes.

                          VINNY
                Don’t worry. We’ll be good little
                boys.


100   INT. SHOOTING RANGE - THE GUN STORE - LAS VEGAS - DAY     100

      RICH GUY and Reps from Bear Stearns in business casual shoot
      guns.

      Bullets rip into politically incorrect targets...a black kid
      attacking a sexy white woman, an Asian gangster, a big photo
      of Osama bin Laden.
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               76A.


Charlie and Jamie shoot Uzi's, surprised by how much fun
they're having. Clips spent, they remove headgear.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015         77.


                    CHARLIE
          The Beretta's great, but the Uzi...
          awesome!

                    BEAR REP #2
          Nice shooting, Brown Holers.

                    JAMIE
          Brownfield. The name of the company
          is Brownfield.

                    BEAR REP #2
          Yeah, I know. But it’s more fun to
          call you Brown Hole.

                    CHARLIE
          I get it, wow that’s really clever.

Another Bear Rep #1 is about to shoot.

                    CHARLIE (CONT’D)
          Hey, Matt right?

                    BEAR REP #1
              (removes head phones)
          What’s going on?

                    CHARLIE
          We were hoping we could get a
          little more insight on the CDO’s
          from you we’ve got swaps on.

                    JAMIE
          SO, what do you think’s gonna
          happen to CDO’s in seven years?

                    BEAR REP #1
          7 years? I just need this CDO
          machine to keep going for another 2
          years. By then I’ll be rich enough
          to get a place in Aspen.

                    CHARLIE
          Do you have any concerns about the
          performance of the underlying
          securitizations? It’s easy to see
          delinquencies and even default
          rates on the rise.

                    BEAR REP #1
          Don’t be a buzzkill, dude. We
          didn’t bring you guys out here to
          talk work, OK?
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               77A.


                          JAMIE
                Then why did you?

                          BEAR REP #1
                We need a client along so we can
                expense the ammo.

      Aims machine gun at a poster of thug, and fires.

                          RICH BEAR REP
                Woooo!!

                          CHARLIE
                    (to Jamie)
                Holy shit. These are the guys on
                the other side of our trade. They
                only care about their fees and
                bonuses. And they’re morons. We
                need to buy more shorts.

      Jamie checks his cell.

                          JAMIE
                You hit the main floor and price
                some more swaps. My Brother’s ex
                girlfriend works at the SEC and
                she’s in town. If we’re missing
                something she can tell me.


101   INT. GIANT BALLROOM - SAME TIME                          101

      TWO HUNDRED OR SO BANKERS AND BOND TRADERS TAKE THEIR SEATS
      in a large ball room with a podium at the front. A sign reads
      “Option One CEO Paul Dantone: The Mortgage Market is Strong
      and Getting Stronger”

                          DANNY
                Option One is the mortgage company
                last year that took a big loss in
                their subprime department.

                          PORTER
                I don’t get it. They sell the
                mortgages they make. How did they
                take losses?
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                 78.


                    DANNY
          There’s a provision that if the
          owner misses the very first payment
          the loan goes back to Option One.

                    VINNY
          Who takes a mortgage if they can’t
          make the first payment?

                    MARK
          The real question is: what company
          gives a mortgage to someone who
          can’t make the first payment?

LATER: THE CEO OF OPTION ONE is speaking to the room.

                    OPTION ONE CEO
          ...Business is good. Profits are
          strong and the mortgage continues
          to be the bedrock on which this
          economy is built. Yes, we did take
          some losses in our subprime
          department last year. But those
          losses will be contained at 5%.

Mark raises his hand.

                    VINNY
              (whispers)
          Hey Mark, this isn’t a Q and A...

Mark juts his hand up even higher.

                    OPTION ONE CEO
          Uh, yes... There’s a question?

                    MARK
          Would you say it’s a possibility or
          a probability that subprime losses
          stop at 5%?!

                    OPTION ONE CEO
          Well... I would say it’s a very
          strong probability.

Mark raises his hand again. But his hand is in the shape of a
ZERO.

                    MARK
          Zero! There is a zero percent
          chance your subprime losses stop at
          5%!

His phone rings.
                      BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            79.


                          MARK (CONT’D)
                Excuse me, I have to take this!

      He gets up and leaves while answering his phone.

                          MARK (CONT’D)
                Hey honey... You’re just calling to
                say hi? Well that’s so sweet. How
                are the kids?

      Mark walks past Vennett, patting him on the shoulder. JARED
      flips him off and then looks to camera.

                          JARED VENNETT
                The fucker really did this.

                                                         CUT TO:


102   INT. SCION OFFICE - SAN JOSE - DAY                       102

      CU OF EMAILS:

      “Withdrawing money end of the month”

      “I trusted you. And you betrayed that trust. I am done with
      Scion”

      “Will be severing ties with Scion next month”

      “When my two year period is over next month I withdraw all my
      money from your fund”

      Mike Burry is looking at his emails at his desk. He looks
      pale and unhealthy. He now has only THREE EMPLOYEES -- the
      other desks have the abandoned look of people laid off
      quickly.

      Mike comes out and goes to the company white board. He writes
      the latest quarterly returns...-19.3%.

      On his way out, he stops at a ladder where his Assistant is
      putting up Valentine’s decorations.

                          MIKE
                Can you come in early tomorrow? As
                you know, we also have big shorts
                in AIG and Countrywide, Frauddie
                Mac and I need to unload those
                positions to ensure we can afford
                the insurance premiums on our core
                mortgage short.
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015   79A.


                    ASSISTANT
          Sure Dr. Burry.

Mike starts to leave.
                       BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            80.


                              ASSISTANT (CONT’D)
                    Dr. Burry? What’s going to happen?
                    If the investors withdraw, are we
                    done?

                              MIKE
                    Honestly? I don’t know. The bonds
                    aren’t going down. They won’t move.
                    It’s possible we are in a
                    completely fraudulent system.

                              ASSISTANT
                    Or you’re wrong.

       Silence.

                              ASSISTANT (CONT’D)
                    I’m sorry. I just meant...

                              MIKE
                    That’s okay Lewis. Yes, it’s
                    possible I’m wrong. I don’t know
                    how. But I guess when someone’s
                    wrong they never know how.

       He leaves.


A103   INT. BURRY’S BASEMENT - LATER                           A103

       MUSIC: BY DEMONS BE DRIVEN

       Michael sits behind drums and furiously plays double kick
       drum heavy metal drums to Pantera. Finally he breaks the
       sticks from playing so hard.

                              MIKE
                    AAAHHHHH!!!!

       We hear his wife from upstairs.

                              WIFE (O.C.)
                    Michael! Is everything okay?

                                 MIKE
                    Yes honey!
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                 81.


103   INT. TRADE SHOW FLOOR - LATER                             103

                          MERRILL REP
                We can maybe sell you BBB level
                swaps at five-hundred basis points.
                Maybe.

      Ben and Charlie are testing the waters for a deal with the
      MERRILL REP at the Merrill Lynch Booth.

                          CHARLIE
                Five-hundred? You want us to pay a
                5% premium on a swap? We paid 2% on
                the ones we got two months ago!

                          MERRILL REP
                Good for you. That was two months
                ago. Trust me, you’re not gonna do
                any better anywhere else.

                          CHARLIE
                So you’re pricing the swaps like
                the bond is going to collapse but
                the bond value has gone up? Really?
                How are you not in jail? Or at
                least-

                          BEN
                Charlie, let’s go. Thanks guys!
                We’ll consider it.

      He takes Charlie firmly by the arm, marches him away.

                          CHARLIE
                What the hell is going on?

                          BEN
                People are starting to wake up. Not
                enough for them to adjust the
                values on the bonds but enough to
                stop giving the swaps away. Cheap
                bets are over.

      The Rich Bear Rep passes them.

                          BEAR REP #1
                Hey! It’s Brown hole!

                            CHARLIE
                Fuck off!

                          BEN
                You have to calm down.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               81A.


104   EXT. CASINO HOTEL - POOL SIDE - SAME TIME                104

      Jamie in polo shirt and shorts is talking to a bookish but
      pretty college friend who works at the SEC, EVIE, 30.

                          EVIE
                I can’t believe you got into
                finance Jamie. I always thought
                you’d... I don’t know. Be living
                off canned beans on your sailboat
                or mooching off older women at the
                yachtclub or something...

                           JAMIE
                Thanks. Actually we’ve been
                investing in housing bonds and I
                wanted to ask, is the SEC worried
                about them? I mean, I know you
                can’t tell me specifics.. Just
                generally.
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               82.


                          EVIE
                Oh we don’t investigate mortgage
                bonds. Truth is since we had our
                budget cut we don’t investigate
                much.

                          JAMIE
                Really? Then why are you here? I
                thought-

                           EVIE
                I’m not here for the SEC. I’m here
                on my own dime.
                     (she leans in)
                I’m floating my resume to some big
                banks. How’s your brother by the
                way?

                           JAMIE
                He’s good.
                    (back to business)
                How are you floating your resume to
                big banks when you’re supposed to
                be the ones policing them?

                          EVIE
                Grow up Jamie. 90% of the people at
                the SEC are just there to get
                better jobs.
                    (she sees someone)
                Hey Doug!
                    (then to Jamie)
                He’s at Goldman.

      She gets up and leaves. The guy she’s approaching grabs her.

                          DOUG
                Look everyone! It’s regulatory
                capture!

      He pulls Evie and himself into the pool. A whole group of
      bankers laugh while dance music plays. Jamie looks sickened.


105   INT. CASINO RESTAURANT -   LUNCH                         105

      Jamie, Ben and Charlie are eating chopped salads.

                          CHARLIE
                Even Bear’s doubled their prices.
                And they keep calling us Brown
                Hole.
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015         82A.


          BEN
Don’t take it personally. You just
don’t have the money or the
reputation.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               83.


                    CHARLIE
          So I’m a broke loser with a bad
          reputation but don’t take it
          personally?

                    BEN
          They’re assholes. Let it go.
              (to Jamie)
          Did your friend from the SEC give
          any perspective?

                    JAMIE
          The SEC isn’t even paying
          attention. Their budget has been
          gutted and they know zip about the
          housing market. It was actually
          depressing.

                    BEN
          People wanted small government,
          they got it.

They eat for a beat, defeated.

                    CHARLIE
          Wait a minute... We need a deal
          that we can afford and they can’t
          refuse, right? What if we bet
          against the AA rated tranches of
          the CDOs? What’s cheaper than AA?

                    BEN
          Come on Charlie. AA is so safe they
          barely even show up on the risk
          sheets for the banks.

                    CHARLIE
          Are they really though? We know if
          the bottom tranches fail at over 8%
          the double AA tranches are worth
          zero. We also know the ratings
          agencies and the SEC are asleep at
          the wheel. I bet those AAs are more
          like Bs.

Jamie fishes some paper work out of his bag and points to
some numbers.

                    JAMIE
          Charlie’s right. The pay off is 200
          to 1. But they don’t see it so
          they’re charging pennies on the
          dollar to bet against the
                    (MORE)
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015         83A.

          JAMIE (CONT'D)
AAs. With that kind of risk/reward
we’d be fools not to do it.
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               84.


      Ben looks at the returns on AA swaps.

                          BEN
                Just when I start thinking you guys
                are clowns... No one on the planet
                is betting against AA. The banks’ll
                think we’re high or having a
                stroke... And they’ll take every
                dime we have.

      Charlie LOOKS TO CAMERA

                          CHARLIE
                This is the thing we did that no
                one else did. Even Burry and Baum
                didn’t imagine the AAs could fail.

      MUSIC: A song with a beat like US v THEM by LCD SOUND SYSTEM


106   MONTAGE OF CHARLIE, JAMIE AND BEN MEETING DIFFERENT BANKS 106
      OVER DRINKS, LUNCH, BLACKJACK TABLE, POOL SIDE.

                          GOLDMAN REP
                I don’t understand, you want to bet
                against AA?

                          BEAR REP #1
                Brother, I will sell you as much as
                you want. And you can shoot with us
                anytime you want.

                          MERRIL REP
                What’s the angle here?

                          BEN
                No angle. We want 10 million
                against a AA housing CDO.

                          LEHMAN BROTHERS REP
                Yes. Of course yes. Wow. I thought
                this trip might be a waste of time.
                Wow.

                          MORGAN STANLEY REP
                Yes. Yes and yes.


107   INT. CASINO - DAY                                        107

      As they get AROUND A CORNER, Charlie AND Jamie SILENTLY
      CELEBRATE AND EVEN DANCE A BIT. But Ben tells them to cool
      it.
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               85.


                          BEN
                Do you even know what you just did?

                          CHARLIE
                Yeah, we made the deal of our
                careers.

                          BEN
                You just bet against the American
                economy. If we’re right it means
                people lose homes, jobs, retirement
                savings, pensions. These aren’t
                just numbers. For every point
                unemployment goes up, 40 thousand
                people die. Did you know that?

                          CHARLIE
                No...

      Jamie and Charlie look like kids who have been caught teasing
      an old person.

                          JAMIE
                We were just excited...

                          BEN
                Just don’t fucking dance. Okay?

      He walks off. Exiting through double doors.

                          JAMIE
                Where are you going?

                          BEN
                Home! I’ll call you when things get
                bad.

                          CHARLIE
                Alright Ben! Talk soon!
                    (then to Jamie)
                Jesus. I didn’t know it could be
                that bad for the country. I guess
                this hasn’t really hit me yet. I
                just got scared. Are you scared?

                          JAMIE
                I’m always scared.


108   INT. TABEMASU ASIAN RESTAURANT - HOTEL - NIGHT           108

      MUSIC: Traditional Japanese string version of something like
      LIONEL RITCHIE’S EASY
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               85A.


A tranquil waterfall out of plate glass windows. Jared walks
in with Mark and his team.

                    JARED VENNETT
          Alight Mark Baum from Frontpoint
          Partners... You’re nervous you and
          your swaps are being played? Now
          you get to meet who you’re betting
          against. Try not to get too
          righteous and listen for once.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               86.


                    MARK
          Okay, okay. So who is this guy?

FLASH CUT: Mark sits at a table. His dining partner is MR.
CHAU (50), Chinese-American, an expensive suit.

                    MR. CHAU
          I'm a CDO manager. At Harding
          Advisors.

                    MARK
          I didn't know there was anything to
          manage.

                    MR. CHAU
          We select the securities that go
          into the CDO portfolio, and monitor
          the assets. I do most of Merrill
          Lynch's CDOs.

Mark glances through hibachi steam to see Jared... raising
his beer. Meet your counter-party. Meet the sucker.

                    MARK
          And you represent investors or the
          bank?

                    MR. CHAU
          The investors.

                    MARK
          But Merrill's only going to send
          you buyers if you put Merrill’s
          bonds in your CDOs.

                    MR. CHAU
          Let’s just say Merrill and I have a
          good relationship.

Mark can't tell if Mr. Chau is being naive or just arch.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               87.


                    MARK
          Are you worried about rising
          default rates?

                    MR. CHAU
          I assume no risk for these products
          myself.

                     MARK
          Let me get this straight. The bank
          calls you up. Gives you bonds they
          want to sell. Gives you the
          clients. Gives you the money to run
          your business. Gives you fat fees
          for doing so. But you represent the
          investors?

Mr. Chau finally chuckles -- he’s actually being defiant.

                    MR. CHAU
          Yes. But my office is not in the
          Merrill Lynch building. We’re in
          New Jersey.

                    MARK
          20 minutes away.

                    MR. CHAU
          5 if we use a helicopter.

MOMENTS LATER: Vinny, Jared and Danny nervously watch Mark
huddle with Mr. Chau. Mark’s animated, speaking too loudly.

                    MARK
          Say that again! Say that again!

                    JARED
          Uh-oh. Your boss is about to
          explode.

                    VINNY
          No. He’s too curious to explode.

Ignoring his food, Mark scribbles furiously on a napkin.

                    MARK
          CDO A has parts of CDO B and CDO B
          has parts CDO A, but then both get
          put inside CDO C?
           BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               88-89.


                    MR. CHAU
          That one's called a CDO Squared.
          And then there are CDOs made up of
          the opposite side of the bet you
          made with your swaps. We call them
          synthetic CDOs.

                    MARK
          “Synthetic CDOs?”

LATER: Mark’s completely disheveled now, tie off. Mr. Chau is
as decorous as ever, enjoying his dessert.

Another paper napkin slaps the counter.

                    MARK (CONT’D)
          Okay. This is a pool of, say, 50
          million in subprime loans. How much
          money could be out there betting on
          it through these synthetic CDOs and
          swaps?! Right now?! Tonight?!

                    MR. CHAU
          A billion dollars.

                    MARK
          What?!

Mr. Chau shrugs.

                    MARK (CONT'D)
          How much bigger is the market for
          insuring mortgage bonds than actual
          mortgages?!

                    MR. CHAU
          Twenty times?

We FREEZE on his disoriented expression.                        *

                    JARED VENNETT (V.O.)                        *
          If the flawed mortgage bonds that                     *
          Michael Burry discovered were the                     *
          match. And the CDOs Jamie and                         *
          Charlie bet against were the                          *
          kerosene soaked rags... Then the                      *
          synthetic CDO was the atomic bomb                     *
          with a drunk President holding his                    *
          finger over the button. At that                       *
          moment Mark Baum realized the whole                   *
          world economy might collapse.                         *
                    (MORE)
                 BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               88-89A.

                          JARED VENNETT (V.O.) (CONT'D)
                But I’m sure you’re wondering one                     *
                thing: what the hell is a                             *
                “synthetic CDO?” Well here is Dr.                     *
                Richard Thaler, the father of                         *
                Behavioral Economics and                              *
                international pop star Selena Gomez                   *
                to explain.                                           *


109   INT. CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT                                109    *

      SELENA GOMEZ sits at a black jack table with a giant stack of   *
      chips. She wins another hand and rakes in more chips from the   *
      PROFESSIONAL DEALER. A crowd cheers her on around the table.    *

                          CROWD                                       *
                She can’t lose! That’s seven hands                    *
                in a row!                                             *

                          SELENA GOMEZ                                *
                So here’s how a synthetic CDO                         *
                works. Let’s say I make a bet of 10                   *
                million on a black jack hand...                       *

                          DR. THALER                                  *
                10 million because this hand                          *
                represents a simple mortgage bond.                    *

      She is dealt a Jack and an 8 by the dealer.                     *

                          DR. THALER (CONT’D)                         *
                Selena is showing 18 and the dealer                   *
                is showing a seven. So the odds are                   *
                very much in Selena’s favor. 87% to                   *
                be exact. Which are like the great                    *
                odds most perceived the housing                       *
                market to have.                                       *

                          SELENA GOMEZ                                *
                Did you really create a whole field                   *
                of economic study?                                    *

                          DR. THALER                                  *
                Well is was inspired by the great                     *
                work of others, but yes.                              *

                           SELENA GOMEZ                               *
                I have 30 million twitter                             *
                followers.                                            *

                          DR. THALER                                  *
                I have 30,000.                                        *
           BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               88-89B.


                    SELENA GOMEZ                              *
          (Trying to be encouraging)                          *
          That’s not bad.                                     *
              (back to the explanation)                       *
          So my odds are great. And I am on a                 *
          winning streak. Everyone else here                  *
          wants in on this. I can’t lose,                     *
          right?                                              *

                    DR. THALER                                *
          We have done countless studies that                 *
          show that people often make this                    *
          error in their thinking. If                         *
          something is happening-- like                       *
          Selena winning seven hands in a row                 *

                    SELENA GOMEZ                              *
          Or the housing market going up for                  *
          seven years straight...                             *

                    DR. THALER                                *
          Exactly. They think it will go on                   *
          forever. It’s called extrapolation                  *
          bias. People see something                          *
          happening and they extrapolate that                 *
          it will continue to happen.                         *

                    SELENA GOMEZ                              *
          So the people who are watching and                  *
          think I can’t lose will make a side                 *
          bet which is the first CDO.                         *

We see A WOMAN IN GLASSES standing behind SELENA. She turns   *
to a BUSINESS MAN.                                            *

                    WOMAN IN GLASSES                          *
          Wow. I love Selena Gomez. And she’s                 *
          won seven in a row with a seven                     *
          showing for the dealer. I bet you                   *
          50 million she wins and I’ll give                   *
          you three to one odds.                              *

                    BUSINESSMAN                               *
          3 to 1 odds? Okay, I’ll take that                   *
          bet.                                                *

                    DR. THALER                                *
          Then someone behind him decides to                  *
          bet on their bet with someone else.                 *
          That’s synthetic CDO number two.                    *

There’s a GUY IN A WARRIORS GAME JERSEY talking to a AN OLD   *
WOMAN.                                                        *
           BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               88-89C.


                    GUY IN GAME JERSEY                         *
          Hey I bet you 200 million that lady                  *
          in the glasses wins that bet.                        *

                    OLD WOMAN                                  *
          She probably will win, she always                    *
          does, so I want a great pay off.                     *

                    GUY IN GAME JERSEY                         *
          How about 20 to 1?                                   *

                    OLD WOMAN                                  *
          Deal.                                                *

                     SELENA GOMEZ                              *
          And this goes on and on and on and                   *
          on.... With more and more CDOs                       *
          betting on the bet on the bet on                     *
          the bet...                                           *

                    DR. THALER                                 *
          This happens all the time. In the                    *
          stock market. In sports. In                          *
          basketball, they call the Hot Hand                   *
          fallacy. A player hits 3 shots in a                  *
          row and everyone thinks he is                        *
          definitely going to make that 4th                    *
          one. We know, from a lot of                          *
          statistical evidence, that there is                  *
          no such thing as hot hands, but                      *
          people refuse to accept that.                        *

                    SELENA GOMEZ                               *
          People are cray cray.                                *

                    DR. THALER                                 *
          I don’t know what that means.                        *

We see a LONG LINE OF PAIRS OF PEOPLE making bets of           *
increasing value and complexity that stretches behind Selena   *
and Dr. Thaler at the table down the hall and around the       *
corner and out of the doors of the casino.                     *

                    SELENA GOMEZ                               *
          And then the dealer plays out his                    *
          hand.                                                *

The dealer turns over a 3, giving him 10 and then turns over   *
a King. DEALER WINS.                                           *

                    SELENA GOMEZ (CONT’D)                      *
          No! How could I lose!?                               *
           BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               88-89D.


There is then a long chain reaction of winners and losers’    *
reactions.                                                    *

                    LONG CHAIN OF BETTERS                     *
          Shit! Pay up! Crap! Wait, I lost? I                 *
          want my money! How could Selena                     *
          lose! Nooo!!!                                       *

                    DR. THALER                                *
          They all should have known the odds                 *
          they could lose. But they got                       *
          overconfident. And because of the                   *
          synthetic CDOs and all the bets on                  *
          bets on bets... The one loss                        *
          becomes thousands of losses.                        *

                    SELENA GOMEZ                              *
          And those losers? Pension funds,                    *
          insurance companies. City                           *
          governments all over the world.                     *
          Crazy shit right?                                   *

                    DR. THALER                                *
          Not crazy, just human. The crazy                    *
          part is assuming people will act                    *
          logically all the time.                             *

                    SELENA GOMEZ                              *
          Translation: crazy shit.                            *
                    (MORE)
BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015     90.

       SELENA GOMEZ (CONT'D)
                                     *
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               91.


110   INT. TABEMASU ASIAN RESTAURANT - CONTINUOUS               110

      UNFREEZE BAUM AND MR. CHAU. All Mark can think to do is stand
      and collect his things.

                          MARK
                I have to go. Honestly I feel a bit
                sick. Be careful, Mr. Chau. You'll
                make a lot of money... until you
                don't.

                           MR. CHAU
                You think I’m a parasite Mr. Baum?
                But apparently, society values me
                very much.
                    (a beat)
                In fact, let's do this... I'll tell
                you what I'm worth, you tell me
                what you're worth.

      Mark looks straight in the face of everything he hates.

                          MARK
                I don't think you're a parasite, Mr
                Chau.
                    (sincere)
                I think you're an idiot.

      Mark walks away and past Jared and the guys.

                          MARK (CONT’D)
                Short everything that guy has
                touched.
                    (he walks away)
                I want half a billion more in
                swaps!

                          JARED
                The collateral calls could bankrupt
                you.

                          MARK
                Yup!
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                  92.


                                                   DISSOLVE TO:


111   EXT. CAESAR’S PALACE - THE NEXT MORNING                     111

      SLO MO: Hungover and broke people straggle out of the hotel
      in the bright morning Vegas sun dragging luggage. They get
      into valet’d cars and cabs.

      Charlie and Jamie exit and jump into a Mercedes SUV. They
      looked vaguely ashamed and Charlie looks freaked.

      Mr. Chau walks out with a smile on his face, designer luggage
      and enters a stretch limo.

      A short moment later Mark, Porter, Danny and Vinny walk out.
      Mark looks particularly far away and haggard.

      Three of the Bear Stearns firing range guys leave with two
      BEDRAGGLED PARTY GIRLS. They’re still drunk. They get in a
      Humvee Limo.

      And last, we see Evie, from the SEC and the Goldman Sachs
      guy, Doug, leaving together. They kiss and then he gets in a
      Range Rover and she gets in a cab.


112   EXT. UPSCALE CLOTHING BOUTIQUE - "EDIT NEW YORK" - DAY      112

      Mark struggles to pull his bag out of a taxi's trunk.

                          CYNTHIA (PRE-LAP)
                Did you eat on the plane?


113   INT. UPSCALE CLOTHING BOUTIQUE - DAY                        113

      The Baum’s are in an elegant and isolated seating area in
      Cynthia’s upscale clothing boutique.

                          MARK
                Yeah.

                          CYNTHIA
                What's wrong? What happened?
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                93.


                    MARK
          Things are worse than I thought. I
          honestly think the economy might
          collapse.

                    CYNTHIA
          Really?

                    MARK
          Yeah.
              (then)
          And we could end up making a
          fortune.

                    CYNTHIA
          Define fortune.

                    MARK
          The fund could make half a billion,
          Cynthia. Maybe a lot more.

She had no idea. A SALES CLERK approaches.

                    SALES CLERK
          Ms. Baum should I- ?

                     CYNTHIA
          Not now Paula. You’re my manager. I
          trust you.

They lower their voices, lean closer.

                    CYNTHIA (CONT’D)
          A half a billion on one trade?! How
          is that even possible?!

                    MARK
          Group think. Fraud. Legalized
          corruption. Stupidity.

                    CYNTHIA
          You’ve been saying the whole system
          is broken for years Mark. Why are
          you shocked?

                    MARK
          It’s all so much uglier and more
          twisted than I ever imagined. And
          I’m a banker. I’m a part of this
          horrible world.

A silence between them. Cynthia refuses to break it.
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015         93A.


           CYNTHIA
And I keep thinking about my
brother. About Paul. And how he...
When he...

          CYNTHIA (CONT’D)
When Paul took his own life.

          MARK
...We can talk about it later.
You’re at your store-

          CYNTHIA
Mark.
             BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015         94.


                    MARK
          Before... my brother... committed
          suicide... when he told me he was
          having bad thoughts... My first
          response was... to offer him some
          money. My brother was in pain. Real
          pain. And I offered him... money.

                    CYNTHIA
          You tried to help. There’s no
          perfect way...

                     MARK
          All this greed in the world. Maybe
          I’m not so above it. Maybe I’m part
          of it. And it’s changed me. Changed
          me into a person who’s not able to
          reach out to someone who’s hurting
          without money being a part of it.
               (beat)
          Does it bother you that I feel that
          way?

                    CYNTHIA
          No. You can’t name a scenario for
          how I could have helped him that
          doesn’t play in my head every day.
          But it bothers me that you’re so
          certain you’re right. Because
          you’re not.

His silence means yes.

                    CYNTHIA (CONT’D)
          You love to know more than other
          people. To be the virtuous one. You
          always have Mark. As though you’re
          untainted and we’re al the filthy
          masses clawing at Noah’s arch. But
          the truth is: you're a banker. A
          banker who makes more than he
          should. A banker who had a terrible
          thing happen to a family member.
          And now you’re about to make a lot
          of money from another terrible
          thing. And even you can’t find a
          way to make that virtuous. Because
          it’s not. It’s just life. And
          sometimes it hurts and it’s sad and
          it’s scary. So stop trying to fix
          the world and just feel the
          feelings like all of us. Because
          they’re there.
                    (MORE)
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015        94A.

                    CYNTHIA (CONT’D)
          And when you act like they’re not
          it makes me want to scream.

Mark starts to break.

                    MARK
              (tears up)
          Paul was always there for me...
                    (MORE)
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               95.

                          MARK (CONT'D)
                His face was so smashed we
                couldn’t even have an open
                casket... He just dropped the
                phone...

                          CYNTHIA
                He couldn’t hear anyone. That’s why
                he’s dead... There’s nothing you
                could have done.

      They both sit there holding hands.

                           CYNTHIA (CONT’D)
                Nothing.


114   INT. WAITING AREA - PEDIATRIC PSYCH CENTER - DUSK        114

      Mike's son Nicholas plays alone, talking to himself about the
      different parts of a BACKHOE LOADER. Stabilizer
      legs...bucket...atriculated arm...

      Mike enters. His Wife's been waiting, annoyed, gestures to
      her watch. Where were you?

                          MIKE
                I’m sorry I’m late. Everything’s
                falling apart at work. People want
                to remove their money from the
                fund. I don’t know what to do.

      His wife doesn’t respond.

                          MIKE (CONT’D)
                What’s wrong. Is Nicholas okay?

                          MIKE'S WIFE
                    (upset, quiet)
                They think it's Asperger's
                Syndrome.

                          MIKE
                No. What? What...what's the
                symptomology?


115   INT. LIVING ROOM - BURRY HOUSE - NIGHT                   115

      Mike has a stack of books: Attwood's The Complete Guide to
      Asperger's, Baron-Cohen's Mindblindness, etc.

      Sceptical, he chooses A Parent's Guide and reads...
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               96.


                          MIKE (O.S.)
                "The first sign a child is on the
                Autism spectrum is often a hobby.
                It will be one that is solitary and
                idiosyncratic, and it will
                completely obsess the child."

      Mike's surprised, this actually resonates.

      JUMP CUTS: A dizzying whirl of TEXT PASSAGES fly at us...

                          MIKE (O.S.) (CONT'D)
                "...few real peer- to-peer
                relationships...less eye contact...
                ...ability to quickly absorb
                complex systems ...love of
                computers... math... good with
                numbers

      Mike stops reading. Sweating. Thunderstruck.

      A strange truth settles over his face.


116   INT. HOSPITAL ROOF - SAN JOSE - DAY                         116

      Mike has sought counsel from a MED SCHOOL FRIEND, a psych
      ward doctor currently self-medicating on a joint.

                          MED SCHOOL FRIEND
                This is good, a diagnosis like
                this, as an adult, it's all upside.
                You don’t have to feel like there’s
                something wrong with you anymore.
                Now you know. Mystery is solved.

                           MIKE
                What's the upside of having
                Aspergers?

                          MED SCHOOL FRIEND
                C'mon, Burry, who else but an Aspie
                actually reads entire bond
                prospectuses?! Your whole life your
                brain's told you one thing and
                society another. Now, you get to
                stop listening to society. Stop
                caring what we think! Don't you get
                it? We're normal. We can't keep up.

      CLOSE on Mike, taken with the idea, and its implications.

                          MIKE (O.S.)
                "To All Investors"
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                 97.


      MUSIC: A heavy metal song like METALLICA’S EYE OF THE
      BEHOLDER fades in.


117   INT. SCION - MIKE'S OFFICE - DAY                            117

      Mike types an email. He is alone in the office with empty
      desks outside.

                          MIKE (V.O.)
                "As you may know, our agreement
                allows me to take extraordinary
                measures when markets aren't
                functioning properly. I currently
                have reason to believe the mortgage
                bond market is fraudulent. So in
                order to protect investors from
                this fraudulent market
                I've decided to restrict investors’
                withdrawals until further
                notice. Sincerely. Dr. Michael
                Burry."

      Mike breathes deep, and hits SEND.

      He sits listening to the quiet hum of office outside his open
      door. The distant highway.

      A very long beat.

      Slowly at first, isolated, then gathering like an angry
      storm, the office PHONES begin to RING and his email box
      begins to ding.

      One email stands out: From Lawrence Fields. The subject: I’M
      SUING.

                                                        CUT TO:


118   OVER BLACK WE SEE THE QUOTE:                                118

      “Everyone, deep in their hearts, is waiting for the end of
      the world to come.” - Haruki Murakami, 1Q84



      We DISSOLVE to TV Channels flipping from one to the next.

      1) SOME SORT OF FLUFFY POP ENTERTAINMENT, a sitcom, game
      show, reality show.
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                 98.


      2) BARRY BONDS defends himself in a press conference.

      3) Footage celebrating Lance Armstrong.


119   INT. BROWNFIELD OFFICE - NYC LOFT - DAY                   119

      Charlie is the one flipping through the TV channels. Jamie is
      on his lap top. They’re restless, tense and killing time.

                        April 2, 2007

                        The Crash Begins

                          JAMIE
                Will you stop changing the
                channels? You’re driving me crazy.
                Just put the business news on.

      Charlie turns the channel to business news.

                            CHARLIE
                Fine.

      Jamie stops and watches while Charlie rolls over on the
      couch.

                          JAMIE
                Holy shit. Did you see that?

                            CHARLIE
                See what?

                          JAMIE
                On the crawl!

      He grabs the remote and rewinds and freezes the TV. On the
      crawl at the bottom of the financial news show we see:
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               99.


        Nation's second-largest mortgage lender bankrupt.

                          JAMIE (CONT’D)
                It’s starting.

                          CHARLIE
                I’m going to call my Mom.


120   INT. FRONTPOINT OFFICE - DAY                              120

      Vinny, Danny and Porter watch Kathy, thin again, yelling at
      Mark in the Conference Room.

      ON A WALL TV: The FED CHAIRMAN is speaking to Congress.

      The Dow is down 283 points.

                          BERNANKE (ARCHIVE FOOTAGE)
                ...We believe the effect of the
                troubles in the subprime sector on
                the broader housing market will
                likely be limited, and we do not
                expect significant spillovers from
                the subprime market to the rest of
                the economy--

                          VINNY
                Turn off all the financial news.
                They’re in crazy land. We’re trying
                to stay in reality.

      An assistant turns off all the TVs in the office.

      Danny Moses, on the phone yells over to Vinny.

                          DANNY MOSES
                Duetsche says the CDOs still
                haven’t lost any value!

                          VINNY
                The banks are holding the value til
                they can dump their position...
                They know now.

      The DOOR opens. Kathy and her minions storm off... and out.

      Mark emerges beaten, yet hardened.

                          VINNY (CONT’D)
                Well?

                          MARK
                Kathy wants us to dump our shorts.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                  100.


                          PORTER
                What else is new?

                          MARK
                She says Morgan Stanley will buy
                them.

                          DANNY
                What?! Holy shit. Vinny’s right,
                they need our shorts. They know.

                          VINNY
                The whole time we were wondering
                who’s on the other side of this bet
                and it’s the big banks themselves.
                They believed their own bullshit.

                          DANNY
                What’d you tell Kathy?

                          MARK
                I told her we’re not selling shit.
                If Morgan needs to lose half a
                billion cause they screwed up it’s
                not my problem.

                          VINNY
                So now what’d we do?

                           MARK
                Hold on.


121   INT. BROWNFIELD OFFICE - NYC LOFT - SAME TIME              121

      Charlie is getting off the phone.

                          CHARLIE
                You need to understand, mom. This
                isn’t just a banking thing. It’s
                going to affect real people. All
                over the world. Like an enormous
                tsunami hitting the global economy
                all at once... Yeah, OK. I love
                you, too.

      He hangs up and turns to Jamie who’s at his computer.

                          CHARLIE (CONT’D)
                She told me I should go on lithium.

      Jamie shows him an email on his computer.
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015        100A.


          JAMIE
Check it out - from Bear Stearns.
They claim the CDOs still haven’t
moved.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               101.


                          CHARLIE
                That’s insane. They’re crooks. Just
                look at the ABX: those CDOs should
                be at zero! You know what they’re
                doing, right? They’re selling off
                their worthless CDOs so they don’t
                take the loses. That’s fraud. On a
                massive scale.
                    (looks panicked)
                Jeez, I can’t catch my breath. I
                think I’m having a panic attack.

                          JAMIE
                We’ve got to tell someone. The
                whole world has no idea what’s
                about to hit them.

                          CHARLIE
                Who? The SEC is useless. The
                ratings agencies are in on it.

                          JAMIE
                Let’s go to the press. This is a
                giant story. Who wouldn’t publish
                it?


122   INT. NEWS ROOM - WALL STREET JOURNAL - DAY               122

      Charlie and Jamie just explained the situation to CASEY, 30
      their college friend, and the junior finance reporter.

                          CASEY
                So what am I supposed to do? Write
                a piece called “We’re all fucked?”

                          CHARLIE
                Yes! That’s a perfect title.

                          JAMIE
                Casey, right now every bank in town
                is unloading these shit bonds on
                unsuspecting customers. They won’t
                devalue them until they unload
                them. This is the biggest fraud in
                banking history.

                          CASEY
                It took years to build my
                relationships on Wall Street!
                          (MORE)
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015         101A.

          CASEY (CONT'D)
No bank or ratings agency is going
to confirm a story like this just
because two guys in a garage-band
hedge-fund thinks it’s the
apocalypse.

          JAMIE
Don’t be a dick Casey. We didn’t
say “apocalypse.”
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            102.


                            CHARLIE
                Wow. Wow.

                          JAMIE
                    (tries again)
                Look, these banks bought most of
                the government. They bought the
                ratings agencies. There’s no one
                left but you. This story is why
                journalism exists. If someone like
                you blows this off because they’re
                worried about access to the banks
                this country is fucked.

                          CASEY
                Nice speech Kev. You sound like
                Oliver Stone.
                    (he gets up)
                Look, I’ve got work to do. So
                thanks for stopping by.

                            CHARLIE
                Wow.

                          JAMIE
                Stop saying Wow.
                    (back to Casey)
                I thought you were for real Casey.
                I really did.

                          CASEY
                Yeah, well you try being “for real”
                with a three year old and a wife
                who’s getting her Master’s degree.
                I’m not burning my reputation on
                your wild hunch.

                            CHARLIE
                Wow.

      He’s holding the door for them. They exit.

                          CASEY
                Thanks for stopping by. Totally
                fucking awesome to see you.


123   EXT. HALLWAY - WALL STREET JOURNAL - CONTINUOUS      123

                          CHARLIE
                Disgusting. He won’t do his job
                because he wants to keep access to
                the banks to keep doing the job he
                won’t do?
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015        102A.


          JAMIE
I just had a horrible thought.

          CHARLIE
I’m already juggling five or six
horrible thoughts. Don’t tell me.
                     BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               103.


                          JAMIE
                If Bear Stearn is freezing the
                value of the CDOs it must mean they
                own tons of them.
                    (a breath)
                They could go under. And we bought
                80% of our swaps at Bear. We’d lose
                everything.

                          CHARLIE
                Stop it. Bear Stearns has been
                around for a hundred years. They’re
                not going under.

                          JAMIE
                We have to at least consider the
                possibility.


124   INT. SCION OFFICES - DAY                                    124

      Mike is at his desk. The headline on the site he’s on is:

      Bear Stearns liquidates mortgage backed securities hedge
      funds. Losses at 3.6 Billion.

      The office is completely empty save two LAWYERS who are
      wheeling files out on a hand cart. Michael is on the phone
      hearing a voice mail.

                          WOMAN (SOT)
                You’ve reached Lucy Thalia at
                Goldman Sachs. I’m not available-

      He hangs up.

                            July 31, 2007

                          LAWYER
                That should do it Dr. Burry.

                          MICHAEL BURRY
                If you need any files from 2005-

                          LAWYER
                Mr. Field’s suit is very specific
                to files from the past year.

                          MICHAEL BURRY
                Well then tell Lawrence I said hi.

      Burry’s PHONE rings. The caller ID is Thalia/Private.
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015          104.


                    MIKE
              (answering)
          You can't get back to me for a
          whole week?

                    LUCY THALIA (O.S.)
          I'm so sorry, Mike. Goldman had a
          systems failure. I lost a ton of
          messages.

                    MIKE
          B of A said they had a power
          outage. And Morgan Stanley said
          their server crashed.

                    LUCY THALIA (O.S.)
          Huh. That's weird.

                    MIKE
          I would call it improbable. Where
          do you have our position marked?

                    LUCY THALIA (O.S.)
          It could be the same, Mike.

                    MIKE
          Can you explain that to me? How's
          the value of an insurance contract
          in no way affected by the demise of
          the thing it insures?

                    LUCY THALIA (O.S.)
          They’re independent markets.
          They’re not always correlated. I
          know it sounds odd but these are
          very complicated products.

                    MIKE
          They are correlated, and I can
          prove it.

                    LUCY THALIA (O.S.)
          How?

                    MIKE
          You'd never claim they're
          uncorrelated on a hard line --
          those are recorded bank records --
          but you'll say it on your cell
          phone.

Static.
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015   104A.


          MIKE (CONT'D)
Hello?
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                  105.


                          LUCY THALIA (O.S.)
                Mike, I need to call you right
                back.

      She clicks off. Mike hangs up.

      The phone RINGS again almost immediately. Goldman.

                          MIKE
                    (answers)
                I'm listening.

                             A DIFFERENT VOICE
                Dr. Burry?

                             MIKE
                Yeah.

                          DEEB
                Deeb Winston, Goldman Sachs.
                Listen, I've been reviewing your
                position. I wanted to discuss your
                marks, make sure they're fair.

      Mike realizes what's happened.

                          MIKE
                I think you mean you've secured a
                net short position yourselves so
                you're free to mark my swaps
                accurately for once. Because it's
                now in your interest to do so.

      Static.

                          DEEB
                I'm not sure what you want me to
                say.

                             MIKE
                Nothing.

      Mike hangs up. There. See. Done.

                                                           CUT TO:


125   INT. FRONTPOINT OFFICE - DAY                               125

      The trading desk is hopping. We see someone on their computer
      on Bloomberg.com. The story: Countrywide Financial Warns of
      “Difficult Conditions.”

      The Dow is down 325 points
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                  106.


      Mark has a phone full of blinking red lights, about to pull
      up a call, as soon Danny finishes prepping him.

                          DANNY
                Subprime bonds went off a cliff.
                Rumor is default numbers are huge.

                          MARK
                Who got the remittance data early?
                I bet it’s Goldman.

      Mark punches a blinking light.

                          MARK (CONT’D)
                Jared, it's chaos over here. Where
                are we?


126   INT. DUETSCHE BATHROOM - DEUTSCHE BANK - DAY               126

      Jared enters a bathroom, pushes a BANKER OUT THE DOOR.

                          JARED VENNETT
                The gods have spoken. No one’s
                buying CDO or mortgage bonds
                anymore.
                    (To the guy he’s pushing
                     out)
                Sorry, important call!
                    (then back to Mark)
                Our secret's out. Swaps are now the
                most valuable product on the
                street. And I heard from someone
                who heard from someone that Bennie
                Leibman over at Morgan just took
                some heavy losses in Morgan’s bond
                department. Your ship might be
                taking on water... It might be time
                to grab a life jacket.

      Mark hangs up. Everyone's looking his direction.

                           VINNY
                And?

                          MARK
                The market's turned.

      A long, weird beat. No one speaks. No one celebrates.

      For good reason...

                          RECEPTIONIST
                Kathy's office is looking for you.
                     BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            107.


127   INT. MORGAN STANLEY HALLWAY - MOMENTS LATER                 127

      Mark strides for a corner office. A young woman passes in
      tears, carrying a personal effects box and crying, newly
      fired.


128   INT. MORGAN STANLEY - KATHY TAO’S OFFICE - DAY              128

      A BREAST-PUMP on a credenza.

      Mark’s waiting on Kathy. Considering her Spartan office, he
      realizes she has no personal effects, save the pump.

      Kathy Tao enters, frazzled, scared.

                             KATHY TAO
                   Thanks for coming so quickly, Mark.
                   I’m sure you’ve been hearing
                   rumblings about some losses Morgan
                   has suffered.

      He nods. She sits.

                             MARK
                   Congratulations.

                             KATHY TAO
                   What?

      He points to the breast pump.

                             KATHY TAO (CONT'D)
                   Oh. Thanks. I just wanted you to
                   know that yes, Morgan has suffered
                   some losses but our liquidity is
                   strong and there’s no cause for
                   concern.

                             MARK
                   What about Bennie Leibman? Is he
                   concerned. Word on the street is he
                   took some heavy losses.

      Half beat.

                             MARK (CONT’D)
                   We know each other too well Kathy.
                   How bad is it?
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015          107A.


          KATHY TAO
Okay. Two years ago, Bennie Leibman
in Morgan’s bond department also
started shorting subprime housing.
2 billion in triple B’s.

          MARK
Bennie's smarter than I thought.

          KATHY TAO
Not smart enough. The premiums on
the swaps ate into his desk's
profit.
          (MORE)
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015          108.

                    KATHY TAO (CONT'D)
          To cover his triple B shorts he
          sold a lot of A and double A swaps
          as protection. A lot. He believed
          there was no way they could be
          affected.

                    MARK
          Tell me Morgan Stanley doesn’t hold
          those contracts.

Silence. They held them.

                    MARK (CONT’D)
          What’s your exposure. 3 billion?
          Don’t tell me it’s over 4.

                    KATHY TAO
          I can’t answer that. And I’m not
          sure there’s even a definitive
          answer.

                    MARK
          Kathy, you bring me in here to say
          everything’s fine and you don’t
          mention Bennie’s losses. You’ll
          have to pardon me if I don’t
          believe a word you’re saying right
          now.

Beat.

                    KATHY TAO
          Our long exposure is somewhere
          between 12 and 16 billion.

                    MARK
          Jesus Christ... Are you fucking
          kidding me?

                    KATHY TAO
          He kept saying defaults over 8
          percent were impossible. There'd be
          a million homeless.

                    MARK
          And how is that a reason it can’t
          happen?!

                    KATHY TAO
          No one thought... Please don’t do
          this Mark. Like it or not you’re
          part of Morgan.
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            108A.


                    MARK
          Kathy, given Morgan's leverage,
          what are you doing to prevent a run
          on this bank?

We see she’s not just stunned, she’s terrified.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               109.


129   INT. MANHATTAN RESTAURANT - LATE NIGHT                   129

      At a window table, Mark and Vinny sit across from Porter and
      Danny.

                          PORTER
                But we have nothing to do with
                Morgan Stanley!

                          VINNY
                Tell the bankruptcy court. Morgan
                fails, our accounts go on their
                balance sheet.

                          DANNY
                That’s crazy. Morgan makes the
                sucker’s bet and we pay their
                gambling debts.

      Mark’s brooding dangerously.

                          PORTER
                You're saying, we could do
                everything right, disciplined,
                smart, and still go broke?

                          VINNY
                That’s right.

                          PORTER
                What do we do?

                          MARK
                Short the bank stocks. Then we
                wait.

                          VINNY
                Or... we sell our swaps, when the
                market opens. We get our bonuses
                and our investors get their
                profits. We'd get 30 cents on the
                dollar. Not bad.

                          MARK
                They're worth three times that.

                          VINNY
                If Morgan goes under it won’t
                matter.

                           MARK
                Forget it. I'm not giving away
                lifeboats.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               110.


                          VINNY
                Mark, don’t play a game of chicken
                on this one.

                          MARK
                Drop it! Christ, Vin. We sell when
                I say we sell. Don't pussy out on
                me!

                          VINNY
                I get that this is what you’ve
                dreamed about but we have a
                fiduciary responsibility to-

                          MARK
                No. No we don’t. No one is being
                responsible. So fuck
                responsibility. We’re going to
                shove the knife in to the hilt and
                make these assholes at the big
                banks-

                          WAITRESS
                    (approaching)
                --you boys want--

                          MARK
                --we're talking! Excuse us.

      The Waitress is wounded. Goes. A brutal beat. No one can look
      at Mark.

                          MARK (CONT’D)
                    (quiet)
                I’ll say when we sell.


130   EXT. STREETS OF CHELSEA - DAY                            130

      Jamie is walking down the street on his cell.

                       August 3, 2007

                          JAMIE
                So not only do two mortgage hedge
                funds backed by Bear Stearns go
                belly up but now there’s a class
                action law suit against Bear.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               110A.


131   INT. SPIN CLASS - SAME TIME                              131

      A SPIN CLASS IS IN PROGRESS WITH LOUD MUSIC PLAYING and 20
      people on bikes. A sweaty Charlie is standing off to the side
      on his cell.

                          CHARLIE
                    (yelling over the music)
                Holy shit! Bear Stearns could
                really collapse?

                          JAMIE (V.O.)
                I don’t know if Bear will collapse.
                But there’s a risk they might. And
                it’s a risk we shouldn’t take.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                  111.


                          CHARLIE
                How the hell do we sell these
                swaps!? I just realized we bought
                them but we don’t know how to sell
                them.

                          JAMIE
                We’ll have to get Ben to do it.

                          CHARLIE
                He’s on vacation with his wife’s
                family in England!

      The Spin Class instructor turns to Charlie.

                          INSTRUCTOR
                Hey brother! Do you mind?

                            CHARLIE
                Sorry!


132   INT. SCION - MIKE'S OFFICE - SAN JOSE - DAY                 132

      CLOSE on Mike's good eye: he's scanning his monitors.

                         January 14, 2008

      He hovers over his terminal, worried. The numbers are not
      good. We see default rates above 12%, Dow down 420 points
      etc. He picks up the phone and dials a number by heart.

                          MIKE
                It's Dr. Burry. Looks like the
                collapse in the financial sector is
                imminent. Let's start to unwind my
                position. It's 1.3 Billion.

      We hear disappointment in Mike's voice.


133   INT. SCION OFFICE - NIGHT                                   133

      It's been cleared out, even Mike's Assistant is gone. The
      light goes off in his inner office.

      Leaving, Mike stops off at his WHITE BOARD, erases -19.3%
      with his palm and starts to write +...

      He stops, turns and considers the room full of abandoned
      desks, just a telephone on each, all of them silent.

                                                        CUT TO:
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                112.


134   EXT. THE POWDER MONKEY PUB - EXMOUTH, ENGLAND - DAY         134

      A southern England old world pub on a wet street in a small
      country town.

                          BEN (V.O.)
                I’ve got almost no cell phone or
                wifi reception and I’m trying to
                sell 200 million dollars worth of
                securities. And yes, this pub
                smells like wet sheep.

                          JAMIE (V.O.)
                You can do this Ben ...


135   INT. POWDER MONKEY PUB - EXMOUTH, ENGLAND - DAY             135

      Ben has his Bloomberg terminal set up at a table, wears a
      fancy headset, rolls calls in sweatpants.

                          BEN
                This is The Brownfield Fund... I'm
                trying to sell credit default
                swaps...20 double A tranches of
                CDOs...Absolutely, they're all
                complete shit... Face value is 205
                million dollars.

      The PROPRIETRESS and THREE OLD ENGLISH MEN AT THE BAR pretend
      not to listen to the strangest conversation they've ever
      heard.

                          BEN (CONT’D)
                No, we're looking for at least 100
                million.

                          PUB-GOER
                100 million! Hey laddy, are you a
                drug dealer or a banker?! If you’re
                a banker fuck off!

      Everyone laughs in the pub. Now they’re openly watching.

                          BEN
                Just give me your best number.

                          PUB-GOER #2
                Have em throw in a million for me!

                          BEN
                Look, if you don’t want this deal
                then hang up...
                          (MORE)
                     BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            113.

                          BEN (CONT'D)
                    (they don’t hang up)
                That’s what I thought...


136   INT. BROWNFIELD OFFICE - EARLY MORNING                    136

      Charlie and Jamie stand around Charlie’s SPEAKER PHONE.

                          CHARLIE
                Okay. Eighty million. Okay. That's
                good.

                          JAMIE
                Eighty's great, Ben. Thank you.
                Thank you so much.

                          BEN (O.S.)
                Most of it went to UBS. You're very
                lucky. The largest bank in France
                froze customers money market
                accounts today. This thing's
                hitting Europe. I hope I can get
                home...

                          CHARLIE
                You will. Call us when you land.

                          JAMIE
                Hey Ben, I’m just wondering, why
                did you do this with us? I mean,
                you didn’t have to.... and thanks.
                But why?

                          BEN (O.S.)
                Because I like you guys.

                          JAMIE
                    (thrown)
                Wow. You do? That’s so cool...
                Okay... Bye Ben. Hello? Oh.

      He hangs up.

                          JAMIE (CONT’D)
                Eighty million in 6 months. From
                just 110 thousand 4 years ago.
                That's not bad.

                          CHARLIE
                I’m done. No more.
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                113A.


          JAMIE
Yeah. Yeah, me too.
    (half beat)
But we have to short Bear Stearns.

          CHARLIE
You damn straight.
    (realizing)
Oh, crap, where are we gonna put
the money we made?

                                     DISSOLVE TO:
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                 114.


137   INT. AUDITORIUM - DEUTSCHE BANK HQ - DAY                  137

      Dark. Elegant. A well-heeled crowd of 200 INVESTORS.

                         March 14, 2008

                           JARED VENNETT (V.O.)
                As the housing markets and banks
                continued to hemorrhage only one of
                the big shorts refused to sell:
                Mark Baum. So it was beyond perfect
                when he was asked to speak at a
                conference opposite Bruce Miller, a
                famous bullish investor. After he
                and Mark had their debate, Alan
                Greenspan, one of the architects of
                the whole crisis was scheduled to
                speak. Everyone in Mark’s office
                showed up and even invited
                friends.... This was Ali versus
                Foreman of the financial world...
                The realist versus the fools. If it
                seems almost too perfect, trust me,
                this happened. And it was
                beautiful.

      A podium waits for Greenspan. Beside it are 3 chairs with THE
      HOST, BRUCE MILLER, ruddy and confident and a sloppily-
      dressed Mark Baum.

      Vinny's in the front row.

                          BRUCE MILLER (THE BULL)
                As some of you may know, Bear
                Stearns just received a loan from
                JP Morgan. We'll see how the market
                reacts, but I think that lays to
                rest concerns about the bank's
                health.

                          THE HOST
                I take it you have no plans to sell
                your 200 million in Bear stock?

                          BRUCE MILLER
                When we're done here, I'll probably
                buy more.

                          THE HOST
                For the opposing view, Mr. Baum.

                          MARK
                I gotta stand for this.
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                114A.


Wholly uninvited, Mark takes his mic to the podium.
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               115.


                    MARK (CONT'D)
          Okay, hi, so my firm's thesis is
          simple: Wall Street took a good
          idea, Lewis Ranieri’s Mortgage Bond
          and turned it into an atomic bomb
          of fraud and stupidity that is on
          it’s way to decimating the world
          economy.

                    BRUCE MILLER
          How do you really feel?

The crowd laughs.

                    MARK
          I’m glad you still have a sense of
          humor. I wouldn’t if I were you.
              (back to the crowd)
          Now, anyone who knows me knows I
          have no problem telling someone
          they’re wrong. Hell, it’s my
          passion.
              (beat)
          Well for the first time in my life,
          it’s not so enjoyable.

Arriving late, Porter slips in the last row behind Danny.

                    PORTER
              (whispers)
          Bear Stearns issued a press release
          denying rumors of liquidity
          problems.

                    DANNY
              (whispers)
          They said they had liquidity?! That
          always means they don’t.

                    MARK
          We’re living in an era of fraud in
          America. Not just in banking. But
          in government, education, food,
          religion, journalism, prisons,
          baseball... Somehow, American
          values became fuck it, let’s grab
          what we can for now and the hell
          with tomorrow.

Danny gets a quote, curses, types, Here we go! Bear at 47!
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               116.


                    MARK (CONT’D)
          And what bothers me isn’t that
          fraud is “not nice” or “mean.” It’s
          that for fifteen thousand years
          fraud and short sighted thinking
          has never, ever worked. Not once.
          How the hell did we all forget
          that?

Vinny gets a text...Bear at 35 last!

                    MARK (CONT’D)
          I thought we were all better than
          this... I really did. And the fact
          that we’re not doesn’t make me feel
          superior and right... It makes me
          feel sad...

In the back, a man hurries out holding on his cell phone.

                    MARK (CONT'D)
          And as fun as it is seeing pompous
          dumb Wall Streeters be wildly
          wrong,
              (turns to the Bull)
          and you are wrong sir.
              (back to his wrap up)
          I just know that at the end of the
          day regular people are going to pay
          for all of this. Because they
          always, always do.

Danny's just typed Bear at 29 last!!! as he hears this.

                    MARK (CONT'D)
          That's my two cents. Thank you.

Mark pats Bruce Miller on the back as he takes his seat.

                    THE HOST
          Does our bull have a response?

                    BRUCE MILLER
          Only that in the history of Wall
          Street, no investment bank has ever
          failed except when caught in
          criminal activities. So I stand by
          my Bear Stearns optimism.

A YOUNG BANKER stands, unwilling to wait for the Q & A.

                    YOUNG BANKER
          Mr. Miller! Sorry. Quick Question.
              (re: his Blackberry)
                    (MORE)
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                 117.

                          YOUNG BANKER (CONT'D)
                From the time you guys started
                talking, Bear Stearns stock has
                fallen more than 38 percent. Would
                you buy more now?

                          BRUCE MILLER
                    (unsure)
                Sure. Yeah. I'd buy more. Why not?

      Awkward silence.

      Mark whispers into his mic...

                          MARK
                Boom.

      Mark watches the whole room scramble for the aisles.


138   INT. BACK HALLWAY TO AUDITORIUM - DAY                      138

      A PR PERSON leads ALAN GREENSPAN (never fully seen) and his
      ENTOURAGE toward an auditorium door.

                          PR PERSON
                This way Mr. Greenspan. We are so
                honored to have you here today...


139   INT. AUDITORIUM - DAY                                      139

      The PR Person leads Greenspan and entourage in up front.
      THERE ARE ONLY SIX AUDIENCE MEMBERS in the vast hall.

                          PR PERSON
                What the hell?

                                                         CUT TO:


140   EXT. TIMES SQUARE - PRE-DAWN                               140

      Empty. The SCROLL is dead.

      Suddenly, it flickers and kicks to life as if re-booted.

      The first message says it all...

          Lehman bankruptcy leaves country in turmoil.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               118.


141   EXT. PLAZA - LEHMAN BROTHERS HQ - DAY                     141

      A beautiful day. Charlie stands on a bench watching LEHMAN
      EMPLOYEES with effects boxes exit through a PRESS gauntlet.

                          September 15, 2008

      Jamie ends a call below him.

                          JAMIE
                That was Ben . The Dow has dropped
                1800 points in the last three days.
                He thinks the price of gold could
                go higher than the Dow. Up is now
                officially down.

      Charlie is still watching the chaos at Lehman.

                          CHARLIE
                I want to see inside.

                           JAMIE
                How?


142   EXT. WEST 49TH STREET - DAY                               142

      His box already in a taxi, a LEHMAN GUY looks from Jamie and
      Charlie’s expectant faces to the building. Fuck it.

      The Guy takes off his ID tag and hands it over.

                          CHARLIE
                Which floor's fixed income?


143   INT. FRONTPOINT OFFICE - LATER THAT DAY                   143

      Vinny is on the phone. Danny and Porter work quietly if
      feverishly at their desks that are covered in screens.

                          VINNY
                Mark! Answer your phone! We have to
                sell! This whole thing’s blowing
                up!

                          DANNY
                Prices are moving... I can't get a
                fix!

      Danny's panicked.
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               119.


                    DANNY (CONT'D)
          We have like 70 positions...I
          can't...I don't know what's
          happening to anything!
          Morgan's lost a third of it's
          value.

Vinny and Porter exchange a worried glance.

                    VINNY
          Is it a run?

                    DANNY
          I don't know.

                    VINNY
          Danny, is there a run on Morgan
          Stanley?!

                    DANNY
          I don't know!

Danny squints at his screens; something's wrong with his
vision. He's soaking wet. Looks down at his chest.

                    DANNY (CONT'D)
          I think I'm having a heart attack.

                    PORTER
          No, you're not.

He's extremely pale but doesn't walk from the desk, tries to
regulate his breathing as Porter and Vinny watch.

                    PORTER (CONT’D)
          You're not having a heart attack.
              (no response)
          You're not having a heart attack.
              (no response)
          You're not having a heart attack.

Danny looks as if he can't hear.

                    PORTER (CONT'D)
          All right, maybe you are.

Vinny picks up the phone to call 911.

                    VINNY
          Hello, we need an ambulance, now!
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               120.


144   INT. LEHMAN ELEVATOR BANKS - DAY                            144

      A DIMINUTIVE EXEC is in the flow of departing Employees.

                          DIMINUTIVE EXEC
                Go straight to your transportation!
                Do not talk to the press! Go
                straight to your transportation! Do
                not talk to the press!

      Jamie holds up the pass for a Guard, who hurriedly waves he
      and Charlie through the turnstile, like two diplomats
      slipping back in the embassy as Saigon falls.


145   INT. TRADING FLOOR - LEHMAN BROTHERS - DAY                  145

      Abandoned. A few EMPLOYEES pack. Loose paper's everywhere.

      Charlie and Jamie walk through the destruction: plundered
      desks; emptied picture frames; sad tchotkes.

      On one desk, someone's made a pyramid of Red Bull cans.

      On one wall, someone's painted a huge...LEH: 0.00.

                          CHARLIE
                This isn't how I pictured it.

                          JAMIE
                What'd you think we'd find?

      Charlie considers this question a few seconds.

                          CHARLIE
                The grown-ups.


146   EXT. ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL - DAY                          146

      A BUSINESS CROWD passes.

      On the church steps, Danny is now okay. He, Vinny and Porter
      watch the crowd, rushing past, oblivious.

                            VINNY
                You okay?

                          DANNY
                Yeah... I think so. It’s
                embarrassing. I really thought I
                was having a heart attack.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               121.


                          PORTER
                Let’s go to dinner tonight. I hear
                there’s a great new Cuban joint in
                the lower east side.

                          DANNY
                Really? I’d like that.

      Vinny paces. His Blackberry RINGS.

                          VINNY
                Mark, finally!
                    (answering)
                Hey, it's a bloodbath up here.


147   EXT. UPPER EAST SIDE APARTMENT ROOF GARDEN - SAME TIME     147

      Mark sits at a table with his laptop and a coffee, shell
      shocked staring off into the building around him.

      Vinny's on Mark’s cell phone speaker.

                          VINNY (O.S.)
                Word's out. Morgan's stock has lost
                half its value. Down to 23.10.
                Clients are wanting to talk to you
                about pulling their money.
                    (then)
                It's now or never. We gotta sell
                Mark.
                    (silence)
                Hello?
                    (nothing)
                Mark?!

                          MARK
                Yeah.

      CLOSE on MARK. He's staring at nothing.

                          VINNY (O.S.)
                At least tell me what you're
                thinking.

                                                 FADE TO BLACK:

                          MICHAEL BURRY (V.O.)
                I met my wife on Match.com. My
                profile said, quote, I am a medical
                student with only one eye, an
                awkward social manner, and $145,000
                in student loans, end quote.
                          (MORE)
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015                122.

                           MICHAEL BURRY (V.O.) (CONT'D)
                 She wrote back: you're just what
                 I've been looking for. She meant
                 honest. So, let me be honest...


148    INT. SCION OFFICE - DAY                                     148

       Bare feet on corporate carpet.

                           MIKE (V.O.)
                 ...making money is not like I
                 thought it would be.

       Mike's at the Assistant's Desk sorting through a stack of his
       mail. He's also listening to the VOICE MAIL on the phone's
       speaker, erasing most messages after they start.

                           VOICE MAIL MESSAGE
                 Oh, Mike, this is Kerry Mann down
                 at Camelot Capital. Listen, we see
                 you're jumping back in the equities
                 market in a big way. In this
                 environment, we're not sure that's
                 a wise--

       He hits ERASE. And keeps sorting.

                           MIKE (V.O.)
                 This business kills the part of
                 life that is essential: the part
                 that has nothing to do with
                 business.


149    INT. MINI-MART - DAY                                        149

       Burry’s FORMER ASSISTANT is stocking Red Bulls in a
       convenience store.


A150   EXT. UPSCALE MIAMI NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY                   A150

       The neighborhood Baum toured with the real estate agent is
       now covered with foreclosure signs.


150    INT. SEMINAR ROOM - CORPORATE HOTEL - DAY                   150

       With two dozen others, Marlene and the Younger Agent are
       taking a seminar, “You Can Be a Real Estate Millionaire”.
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015        122A.


          SEMINAR LEADER #2
    (again)
The housing crisis represents the
greatest financial opportunity of
your lifetime!
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               123.


151   EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE - DAY                                151

      The Man with the Tattooed Head comes out of the store and
      hurries to his CAR, carrying food. When he gets in, we see
      his child, wife and their stuff. They now live in the car.

                          MIKE (V.O.)
                For the past two years my insides
                have felt like they’re eating
                themselves. All the people I
                respected won’t talk to me anymore
                except through lawyers...


152   INT. BASKETBALL ARENA - MIAMI UNIVERSITY - DAY              152

      A large JOB FAIR.

      Maroon waits in a long line for his turn with an ADVISOR, one
      of many in a row of folding tables. He looks over to see his
      friend, Black, in another line. Nods. Hey. Hey.

                          MIKE (V.O.)
                People want an authority to tell
                them how to value things. But they
                chose this authority not based on
                facts or results. They chose it
                because it seems authoritative and
                familiar. And I am not and never
                have been... “familiar.”


153   INT. CAB - DAY                                              153

      The West African Cab Driver that drove Mark looks at his
      401K. It says -43,540 dollars. Leaving only 46k.


154   INT. MIKE'S OFFICE - NIGHT                                  154

      Mike types the email we've been hearing in VO throughout.

                          MIKE (V.O.)
                So, I've come to the sullen
                realization that I must close down
                the fund.


155   INT. SCION OFFICE - NIGHT                                   155

      It's the night Mike erased the WHITE BOARD in the empty
      office.

      This time, we watch him write his fund's growth...+489%.
                  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               124.


                          MIKE (V.O.)
                I am writing this to inform you
                that earlier today I sold off all
                positions for Scion Fund.

      He circles it. Then walks out.


156   INT. OFFICE - DEUTSCHE BANK - DAY                          156

      Inscrutable, Jared Vennett considers a BONUS LETTER on his
      desk. He talks to camera.

                          JARED
                    (to camera)
                I can’t really say it to anyone
                else, but I’ll say it to you: I was
                right. I took a rash of shit for
                the past two years but I was right.

      His bonus for 2008 is $47,000,000.

                          JARED (CONT’D)
                Hey I never said I was the hero of
                this story.

      He kisses the check.

                          JARED (CONT’D)
                I can feel you judging me...
                Remember, I made this bank 20
                billion. My two bosses lost 30
                billion and still got fifty million
                in bonuses. You didn’t see that on
                your news did you?


157   EXT. UPPER EAST SIDE APARTMENT ROOF GARDEN - DAY           157

      Mark as before, quiet, talking to Vinny via cell phone.

      MUSIC: A piano piece like THE TWINS by MAX RICHTER fades in
      slowly

                          VINNY (O.S.)
                Mark!? At least tell me what you're
                thinking.

                          MARK
                Paulson and Bernanke just left the
                White House. There's going to be a
                bailout.

      Mark’s voice is full of masked emotion, quiet, resigned.
  BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015   124A.


          VINNY (O.S.)
You're serious?!
                   BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               125.


                          MARK
                Yeah... The whole time we were
                wondering how the big banks could
                be so stupid... They didn’t care.
                They knew the tax payers had to
                bail em out.

                          VINNY (V.O.)
                Those fuckers.
                    (and then)
                At least we’ll see some of them go
                to jail. And they’re going to have
                to break up the banks.

                          MARK
                I don’t know Vinny. I bet in a few
                years we’ll be doing what people
                always do when the economy goes
                south: blaming immigrants and poor
                people.

                          JARED (V.O.)
                But Mark was wrong. In the years
                that followed 100’s of bankers and
                rating’s agency executives went to
                jail. The SEC was completely
                overhauled.


158   MONTAGE OF REFORM IMAGERY: 1. HEARINGS AT CONGRESS. 2. THE158
      DODD/FRANK BANKING REFORM BEING SIGNED, 3. BANKERS BEING PERP
      WALKED IN HANDCUFFS.

                          JARED (V.O.)
                And Congress had no choice but to
                break up the big banks and regulate
                the mortgage and derivatives
                industries.
                    (Beat)
                Just kidding.


159   SMASH TO: VT. OF 1) PEOPLE SCREAMING AT IMMIGRANT CHILDREN159
                                                                  ON
      THE BORDER. 2) GOVERNORS AND TALK SHOW HOSTS BLAMING TEACHERS
      3)CONGRESS VOTING DOWN SERIOUS BANKING REFORM.

                          JARED (V.O.)
                The banks took the money the
                American people gave them and used
                it to lobby the Congress to kill
                big reform. And then America blamed
                immigrants and poor people. And
                this time... even teachers.
                          (MORE)
                     BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015            126.

                             JARED (V.O.) (CONT'D)
                   And when all was said and done,
                   only one single banker went to
                   jail.

      PICTURE OF THE ONE BANKER WHO WENT TO JAIL.

                             JARED (V.O.)
                   This poor schmuck. Kareem
                   Serageldin from Credit Suisse. He
                   hid a few billion in mortgage bond
                   losses. Something most of the big
                   banks do on a good day. I’m sure it
                   didn’t hurt that he was of Egyptian
                   decent...


160   EXT. UPPER EAST SIDE APARTMENT ROOF GARDEN - CONTINUOUS   160

      Mark silently looks off into the distance, still on the phone
      with Vinny.

                             VINNY (V.O.)
                   Mark?
                       (beat)
                   Can we sell now? The fund’ll make
                   almost a billion dollars... You’ll
                   clear 200 mill Mark.

                             MARK
                   You know once we sell we’re just
                   like all the rest...

                             VINNY (V.O.)
                   No we’re not Mark... We didn’t prey
                   on people’s dreams of owning a
                   home... They did. And now we can
                   kick em in the teeth.

                             MARK
                   A billion dollars...

                             VINNY
                   That’s right. But we’ve got to sell
                   or it could be zero. It’s now or
                   never. It really is.

      Long beat.

                             MARK
                   Okay... Sell it all.

      The Big Short
            BUFF REVISED, MAY 11, 2015               127.


MUSIC: ORCHESTRAL THEME.

And then over black...

“When the dust settled from the collapse 5 trillion dollars
in pension money, real estate value, 401k, savings, and bonds
had disappeared. 8 million people lost their jobs, six
million lost their homes. And that was just in the USA.”

“Charlie Geller and Jamie Shipley attempted to sue the
ratings agencies but were laughed out of all law offices.
Jamie still runs Brownfield with Ben Rickert but Charlie left
New York to live in Charlotte and start a family. He did not
go on Lithium.”

“Cynthia says Mark Baum actually became gracious after the
collapse and never said “I told you so” to anyone. But he did
give large sums of his money to a charity that helps people
escape from cults. Danny, Vinny and Porter all still run a
fund together and are as terrified as ever.”

“Michael Burry contacted the government several times to see
if anyone wanted to interview him to find out how he knew the
system would collapse years before anyone else. No one ever
returned his calls. But he was audited four times and
questioned by the FBI. The small investing he still does is
all focused on one commodity: water.”

After a beat...

“In 2015 several large banks began selling billions in
something called a “bespoke tranche opportunity.” Which
according to the Wall Street Journal is just another name for
a CDO.”

END.
