When Naomi is asked, “what’s that thing that makes you most want to get up in the morning?”, she doesn’t hesitate. “I like money”.
And she likes it enough in the world of investment banking to put up with all the shit involved in being a woman in what literally for decades had been the boys club.
Naturally however she is as beautiful as she is brainy. And sex still sells. But: to fuck or not to fuck…
It’s a world that is entirely Machiavellian. Everyone has an agenda as they hustle and bustle to get every scrap of information they can find that gives them an edge.
And then of course all the shit that is hard-wired into capitalism this high up in the food chain.
The film is described as “the first female-driven Wall Street film”. And given that “…all scenes shot with Bloomberg TV reporters were shot at Bloomberg, using real Bloomberg anchors, producers, directors and crew…” it is not exactly going to provide probing insights into the capitalist political economy.
Again, it’s just one more examination of the “rotten apples” syndrome on Wall Street. The system is more or less okay but some of the players go a bit too far in pursuit of the bottom line. It is as though their cronies in the White House and on Capital Hill did not even exist.
Think Billions on Showtime.
Of course to the extent that competition is rife in any particular segment of the economy is the extent to which ruthlessness is rife. It is built right into the very nature of “the system”. And, in that respect, as we see here, women can be men too. Flagrantly corrupt in other words.
The bottom line is that sooner or later everyone becomes the fucking bastard we have all been taught to hate. Or love as the case may be.
Think Boiler Room.
Oh, and welcome to the mindboggling [and mind blowing] world of cyber security.
Look for the revolving door.
IMDb
Bloomberg - a lead sponsor - did not pay to be a part of the film, but instead lended resources to assist in the production including two Bloomberg executives - Mindy Massucci (TV) and Michael Marinello (Corporate) - who consulted with the producers and writers throughout the production.
at wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equity_(film
trailer: youtu.be/Xg2TSp5tJy4
EQUITY [2016]
Directed by Meera Menon
[b]Neel: So what happened with Dynacorps?
Napmi: Neel, I have taken nine Silicon Valley companies public in the last five years and you want to talk about the one I didn’t take to the finish line? I work for the largest investment bank in the world. We both know I found you guys capital when you were just a couple kids with a laptop and a dream. So we can talk about Dynacorps or we can talk about you and how I’m gonna grow your company so you can build technology that will transform people’s lives.
…
Sam: I think these girls look at me as what not to do. How to go to law school and still end up broke.
Naomi: Well, I’m sure there must be one young idealist in here somewhere.
…
Naomi: You got a file on us?
Sam: I imagine we have a file on everyone.
…
Naomi [at a support group for professional women]: I am not going to sit here and tell you that I only do what I do to take care of other people, because it is okay to do it for ourselves. For how it makes us feel. Secure? Yeah. Powerful? Absolutely. I am so glad that it’s finally acceptable for women to talk about ambition openly. But don’t let money be a dirty word. We can like that too.
…
Naomi [to Edward the Cache founder]: I remember what you told me the first day we met. You said, “We’re not a social media company with privacy settings. We’re a privacy company that can build a social network. An impenetrable social network.” I understood that. The need for it. I felt it in my gut. Now, some other people thought you guys were paranoid. Right? Investors wouldn’t go for it. Now fast forward. Edward Snowden. The Sony hack. Nude photos of actresses. Your revenue jumps. Your competitors start rolling out. But we were ahead of the curve because we understood that it gets harder every day to trust people in this world. And security is the hottest commodity.
…
Benji: You with the green pens.
Michael: The color of money.
…
Sam: I’m interested in one of your clients, Benji Akers.
Michael: Yeah, not sure how I can help you with that. My relationship with my clients is strictly confidential.
Sam: Of course, but these hedge fund guys they always seem to have some way to stay out of trouble but they need someone like you from the big bank. Now, you have regulations and Compliance breathing down your throat. So if someone’s gonna take the fall it seems to me it’s gonna be you. Not Benji Akers.
Michael:Take the fall for what?
Sam: Could be anything.
…
Marin: What happens when Cachet gets hacked?
Sam: Hacked? It’s anonymized and encrypted at every level.
Marin: Yeah, you haven’t met my ex. We were beta testing. It was actually kind of helpful. We plugged all the holes, but he’ll keep trying. There will probably be others.
Sam: Others? What do you mean?
Marin: What do you mean what do I mean? That’s what we do for a challenge. The naked photos, who knows? All right, it’s called a man-in-the-middle attack. So users want to be able to access the network on multiple devices, obviously. But that opens up the possibility of somebody implanting malware on the key server.
…
Naomi: A rumor started that your network, as encrypted as it is might be vulnerable still to a certain kind of hacker.
Edward: Sounds like you met Marin.
Naomi: Yes, actually. And I was interviewing employees and…
Edward: Unfortunately, our business can attract some colorful characters.
Naomi: But you need to make sure that your employees are as much a firewall as your code.
Edward: Look. I can promise you we’ve never been hacked. Okay. In theory, there’s a back door to everything. But we stay one step ahead. That’s the game.
Naomi: Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.
…
Randall: Ed feels like you lack confidence in his IPO! No one wants to be told they have an ugly baby!!! What is the fucking problem?
Naomi: There is no problem. It’s a beautiful fucking baby and I have absolute confidence in this IPO.
…
Edward [to Erin]: We’re here to talk about human connection in the digital age. People crave this connection. But they don’t want Big Brother tracking their every move. They don’t want the NSA monitoring pictures of their kids. That’s where we come in.
…
John [to Naomi]: …what we’re talking about is a rumor here. And rumors, they’re the wild card. You can’t control them. And once you let them inside your head well, you’re fucking lost.
…
Cahn [of Cory]: He’s never been flagged by you guys or the SEC.
Sam: Are you saying he doesn’t know any better? I have 6-year-old twins who know better. When you, your boss and your friends decide to sabotage a company when you have information that Joe Investor couldn’t possibly have, and you use that information to profit while Joe Investor loses 65 percent of his retirement fund…
Cahn: You gonna charge my client or not?
Sam: Depends.
Cahn: He’s not the one you want. There are bigger fish at Titanite.
Sam: That’s the point.
…
Naomi [to Erin]: Where did you get that pen?[/b]
That green pen.
[b]Cory [removing the recording device]: So, am I done?
Sam: Are you fucking kidding me? We own you.
…
Naomi [to Sam’s children]: Sophie and…and William, right?
William: I don’t talk to strangers.
Naomi: Oh. Right. Yeah. Well, it’s really your friends that’ll stab you in the back, so…
…
Naomi: Are you tanking my IPO?
Michael: Should I be?
Naomi: Don’t fuck with me, Michael. Don’t fuck with me now. Did you leak this thing?
Michael: Is it true?
Naomi: It doesn’t matter if it’s fucking true! You know that. Once the rumors start…
Michael: Hey, hey. Start your own rumors. Do you know how to play this game?
Naomi: What the fuck is wrong with you? What did you do? Did you take my phone?
Michael: Are you wearing a wire?
Naomi: What do you think?
Michael: Let’s take our clothes off and find out.
Naomi: Jesus. It’s all just a big game to you, isn’t it?
Michael: What else is there?
…
Frank: So? Which bank? What, you never been called by a headhunter before? Don’t you know that’s why they call this place “the departure lounge”? I’m the only sucker who’s been here more than a decade.
Sam: So why do you stay?
Frank: Uh…Well, it ain’t for the paycheck. Just do me one favor before you talk to those guys, okay? You’ve been on a trading floor, right? No? Honey, you got to go there. You got to see what we’re up against. You go, you breathe it in. The hunger of it, the pure American desire.
…
Naomi: What’s gonna happen up there?
Erin: I don’t know. Hopefully the rumors will die down…
Naomi: Did you leak this?
Erin: I don’t knowwhat you’re talking about.
Naomi: I know you were with Michael.
Erin: I was not with Michael.
Naomi: I don’t give a shit about that, okay? I want to know why you sabotaged this. What the fuck did you do?
Erin: I didn’t do anything.
Naomi: Yes, you did. You did, because you needed it, right?
Erin: You don’t know what I need.
…
Naomi: What is this?
Bill: That is the…you said you wanted it.
Naomi: How many chocolate chips are in my cookie?
Bill: Um…
Naomi: Did anyone teach you basic math? Count the fucking chips.
Bill: Three.
Naoimi: Three. Yes. And your cookies, I saw them, and they were oozing with chocolate and my cookie has three motherfucking chips?!!!
…
Bank official: I’m surprised you called back because you have a reputation for being a bit unorthodox.
Sam: I get the job done. However I can.
Bank official: This would be a big transition for you. Coming over into the corporate world.
Sam: The thing is, I have a family and I’m looking forward to having a sense of stability…and to really be a…You know what? No. Um…That’s not it. Uh…The truth is…l want to make some money. I could say something more nuanced about my dreams and aspirations, but that’s the honest truth. lam so glad that we can sit here as women and talk about ambition. But money doesn’t have to be a dirty word. We can like that too.[/b]
Remember that?
Reporter [voiceover over the closing credits]: Finally today tech company Cachet is back in the spotlight with another surge in share price this week, as the stock continues to rally following a disappointing IPO. Cachet, whose stock has been steadily climbing after that terrible debut earlier this year has by now made a lot of its investors very wealthy if they were able to hold on tight during that steep drop…We saw this with Facebook and Square where a stock rallies and the IPO fades into the distance as investors track the growth of the company over time. What seemed like a disaster at the initial offering could turn out to be just a speed bump on the road to enormous gains.