倒塌的大厦

在美国能源巨头安然公司倒台一年有余之际，美国哥伦比亚广播公司宣布以安然丑闻为题材的电影《惊天大骗局》(The Crooked E)将于1月5日首次公映。透过电影银幕，人们将了解到安然公司如何从得克萨斯州乡间崛起，成为美国最大的能源交易商，以及被盈利冲昏头脑的公司管理人员又是如何不择手段，把安然推入万劫不复的深渊。 影片改编自安然前业务员的一部热销回忆录——《解剖贪婪》(Anatomy of Greed)，男主角布赖恩·登内希曾因扮演经典名剧《推销员之死》而获得第58届美国金球奖最佳男演员。据哥伦比亚广播公司介绍，该片“从内部人士的视角，讲述了10年来最大的商业丑闻之一的故事”。 安然公司于2001年12月申请破产保护，其申请破产时所列的总资产为631亿美元，成为当时美国最大的破产案。 Based on Brian Cruver's first-person book, Anatomy of Greed, this strident TV movie chronicles the rise and fall of the notorious Houston-based Enron Corporation in the early years of the 21st century. The film is related from the perspective of Cruver himself (played by Christian Kane), here depicted as a brilliant but naïve young trader who, after being hired by Enron, was dazzled and seduced by the company's "get rich quick by whatever means necessary" credo. The obscenely extravagant "Enron Culture" (represented by endless office parties and nubile young ladies) was built upon the backs of the company's stockholders and lower-echelon employees -- and, when everything inevitably crashed and burned in the spring of 2002, it was the "little people" who suffered the most. Although several real-life personalities are portrayed in the film, among them Enron CEO Ken Lay (played Mike Farrell), executive Jeff Skilling (Jon Ted Wynne), and conscience-stricken whistleblower Sherron Watkins (Jan Skene), many of the characters are composites, chief among them the mysterious, sinister Enron higher-up "Mister Blue" (Brian Dennehy), whose primary function is to spout blatantly mercenary exposition. Due to budget restraints, The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron was filmed not in Houston but in Canada; and thanks to copyright restrictions, the company's famous "slanted E" logo is considerably altered onscreen. The film made its CBS debut on January 5, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide