Gold

Gold is a 2016 American crime drama film directed by Stephen Gaghan and written by Patrick Massett and John Zinman. The film stars Matthew McConaughey as Kenny Wells, a struggling prospector who joins the geologist Michael Acosta, played by Édgar Ramírez, in a high-risk Indonesian gold-mining venture. Bryce Dallas Howard, Corey Stoll, Toby Kebbell, Craig T. Nelson, Stacy Keach and Bruce Greenwood appear in supporting roles. Although the story is fictionalized, its central fraud is loosely based on the 1997 Bre-X mining scandal, in which a purportedly enormous gold discovery in Indonesia collapsed after evidence emerged that core samples had been manipulated. The filmmakers changed names, locations and plot details for legal and dramatic reasons. The film follows Kenny Wells, the heir to a small prospecting business who has fallen into financial hardship after his father’s death. Working from his girlfriend’s bar and desperate to restore the family enterprise, Kenny travels to Indonesia after dreaming of a major discovery. There he partners with Acosta, an ambitious but financially troubled geologist, to investigate a remote prospect. The exploration effort initially appears to fail, but Acosta later announces that the team has found a vast gold deposit. Kenny returns to the United States, raises capital and turns the venture, Washoe, into a publicly traded company. The discovery produces a rapid rise in the company’s market value and transforms Kenny into a celebrated businessman. As Washoe’s apparent success grows, the story explores the social and psychological consequences of sudden wealth. Kenny becomes absorbed in parties, deal-making and public recognition, while his relationship with Kay deteriorates. A major mining executive offers hundreds of millions of dollars for an interest in the mine, but Kenny rejects the proposal because it would remove the Washoe name from the business. The Indonesian government then closes the operation, forcing Kenny and Acosta to seek political support and reopen the venture. The mine is ultimately represented as part of a business valued at tens of billions of dollars, with Washoe retaining a minority share. The apparent triumph ends when investigators reveal that Acosta fabricated the deposit by salting samples with gold. The material came from river gold obtained from local people, while the mine itself contained no genuine commercial discovery. Acosta disappears, and Kenny is questioned by the FBI about his role in the scheme. The film leaves aspects of Acosta’s fate uncertain, but establishes that insiders sold shares before the fraud became public. In the final sequence, Kenny discovers evidence that Acosta may have transferred a substantial sum to an account connected with their original agreement, preserving an ambiguous relationship between victimhood, complicity and betrayal. Development began in 2011, initially with Michael Mann attached to direct and Christian Bale reportedly considered for the leading role. Mann later departed, Spike Lee was briefly attached, and Stephen Gaghan became director in 2015. Black Bear Pictures joined the project as a financing and production partner, while the Weinstein Company acquired United States distribution rights. Filming took place in Thailand, New Mexico, Nevada and New York City during 2015. The film received a limited United States release on December 30, 2016, followed by a wider release on January 27, 2017. It earned mixed critical reviews, with particular attention to McConaughey’s committed performance, and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song. Its worldwide theatrical gross was approximately $14.8 million against a reported $20 million production budget.

Gold originated as a screenplay by Patrick Massett and John Zinman, developed in 2011 as a treasure-hunt and business-adventure project. Paul Haggis helped develop the script and showed it to Michael Mann, who became attached as director and producer through Forward Pass. Christian Bale was reportedly considered for the lead during this early period. Mann later left the project because of other filmmaking commitments, and Spike Lee was subsequently reported as a replacement. Neither director ultimately made the film. Black Bear Pictures joined the project in 2012 to fully finance and produce it. Teddy Schwarzman and Ben Stillman produced for Black Bear, alongside Haggis and Michael Nozik through Hwy61; Massett and Zinman also served as producers. Matthew McConaughey was confirmed as the lead in 2014. In January 2015, Stephen Gaghan became director. The production assembled an international cast that included Édgar Ramírez as geologist Michael Acosta, Bryce Dallas Howard as Kay, and supporting performers Corey Stoll, Toby Kebbell, Bruce Greenwood and Stacy Keach. McConaughey also received a producer credit, while Richard Middleton joined as an executive producer. Sierra/Affinity handled foreign sales, and the Weinstein Company acquired U.S. distribution rights. Principal photography began in 2015. Production used Thailand for Indonesian and jungle settings, the Albuquerque area and other New Mexico locations, Reno for exterior material, and Manhattan for New York scenes. Daniel Pemberton composed the score. The production’s story drew on the Bre-X scandal, but Gold did not present itself as a literal reconstruction. It created fictional characters, including Kenny Wells and Michael Acosta, and altered the mechanics and consequences of the fraud. The fictionalization allowed the film to focus on the emotional experience of a small-time prospector who suddenly becomes a public-market celebrity, as well as on the ambiguity surrounding his knowledge of the scheme. The release strategy changed during post-production. A planned wide opening on December 25, 2016 was revised so that the film could receive a limited awards-qualification release first. It opened in the United States on December 30, 2016 and expanded on January 27, 2017. The film opened alongside several other commercial releases and finished its opening weekend with approximately $3.5 million from 2,166 theaters. Its domestic and international theatrical totals were reported at roughly $7.2 million and $7.6 million respectively, producing a worldwide total near $14.8 million against a $20 million budget. Critical response was mixed. Reviewers commonly praised McConaughey’s physical and energetic performance while finding the narrative uneven. Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 42 percent approval rating from 187 reviews, and Metacritic reported a score of 49 out of 100 from 40 critics. CinemaScore audiences gave the movie a B-minus average grade. The film received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song, providing its principal awards recognition.

• 2017

  Wide U.S. release

  [1]Gold (2016 film)en.wikipedia.org

  The film expanded to a wide U.S. release on January 27, 2017.

• 2016

  Limited theatrical release

  [1]Gold (2016 film)en.wikipedia.org

  Gold received a limited U.S. release on December 30, 2016.

• 2015

  Gaghan becomes director and production begins

  [1]Gold (2016 film)en.wikipedia.org

  Stephen Gaghan replaced Spike Lee, and principal photography began on June 29 across Thailand, the United States and later Nevada and New York.

• 2012

  Black Bear Pictures joins production

  [1]Gold (2016 film)en.wikipedia.org

  Black Bear Pictures came aboard to finance and produce the project after Mann’s departure from the director’s position.

• 2011

  Project announced

  [1]Gold (2016 film)en.wikipedia.org

  Gold was announced as a developing treasure-hunt film, with Michael Mann and Paul Haggis involved during the early development period.

A fictionalized, character-driven crime drama about speculative finance, extractive-industry ambition and corporate fraud, marketed through Matthew McConaughey’s lead performance and its loose connection to the Bre-X scandal.

• Feature film · 2016

  Gold

  A crime drama centered on a financially desperate prospector and a geologist who claim to have discovered an enormous Indonesian gold deposit. The story examines speculative investment, personal ambition, political influence and the consequences of fraudulent sample manipulation. It is loosely inspired by the Bre-X mining scandal but uses fictional names and substantially reworked events.

• 1997

  Bre-X mining scandal inspires the film

  Gold is loosely based on the Bre-X scandal, in which a purported Indonesian gold discovery collapsed after core samples were found to have been salted. The real-world scandal is an inspiration for the film rather than an incident involving the film’s production or distribution.

  Source

Read more

• 2016

  Release date shifted to a limited awards-qualification openingOther

  Background

  The film was initially scheduled for a wide Christmas 2016 release.

  Action taken

  The wide release was moved to January 27, 2017, while a limited U.S. release was scheduled for December 30, 2016.

  Aftermath

  The revised schedule gave the film a limited theatrical opening before its broader domestic release.

  Source

• 2015

  Stephen Gaghan replaces Spike Lee as directorOther

  Background

  The project had previously moved from Michael Mann to Spike Lee during development, but neither remained director when production was reorganized.

  Action taken

  Stephen Gaghan was appointed director, with filming planned for June 2015.

  Aftermath

  Gaghan directed the completed film, which entered production later in 2015.

  Source

1. 1Gold (2016 film)en.wikipedia.org