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New Zealand's First International Fraud Film Festival

This recent announcement from the FMA states that in November Auckland will be hosting the first Fraud Film Festival in the country. The festival is timed to coincide with November’s Fraud Awareness Week. Click here to read the press release. Here are what we consider to be the top 10 movies about finance:

1. The Wolf of Wall Street
2. Wall Street
3. Inside Job
4. Too Big to Fail
5. The Big Short
6. Trading Places
7. Glengarry Glen Ross
8. The Bonfire of the Vanities
9. Margin Call
10. The Corporation

We could do a book festival too: The Coffee Trader by David Liss is a masterpiece. There are many others, of course. 

"The Big Short" is a Great Financial Film

Hollywood has long been undecided about Wall Street. Finally, it has found a terrific story to tell about finance. "The Big Short" is based on Michael Lewis’s book about the debt crisis and has a starry cast including Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Christian Bale, and Brad Pitt. This article on The Economist discusses how Hollywood directors have struggled with the world of finance in the past.

I have seen reviews of The Big Short and most feel that it is the best movie centered on finance that has ever been made, although The Wolf of Wall Street perhaps wins on other criteria. I hope that they make a movie about "The Coffee Trader" a book by David Liss, which has to be the best novel I have ever read about financial matters, seconded only by his own "The Whiskey Rebels". 

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The Big Short Trailer

The Big Short In One Chart!!

The Shift to New Media

The shift to new media is real. I asked in the office yesterday to get someone to name a media company. The first name was Netflix. This chart confirms the trend as a global shift: 

In my house the shift to new media happened quite a while ago. When we did our renovations we built a media room downstairs and never put a TV in the lounge upstairs, we meant to, but never got around to it. That was the end of 'casual' TV watching. But we have two family PCs in the home office, the eldest child has a laptop, another has a Chromebook, and there is an Ipad knocking around as well. We all have smartphones. Now on-demand services are consumed in great preference to broadcast services, except when there is a really big game of rugby or cricket that we all want to watch!

This has an impact on how advertisers reach people. I should not, however, suggest that advertising is dying. It isn't: we receive many more advertising messages, and many that are better targeted than before, but it does take a bit more thought. Link. 

 

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Insurance in the News on the Weekend

Tom Baker brought Doctor Who to a New Zealand Commercial

Hank Stern brought this to my attention. It was a campaign in which I had some involvement, although the creative idea was the agency. Although I think they did a great job and there was a lot of awareness the campaign was not very successful and other approaches were used after this.

 

 

Why Do You Give Everyone The Same Product?

Goodreturns highlighted a video produced in Europe which shows a financial adviser giving every client the same product, proclaiming that it is 'exactly the right product for you'. You can check out the story by Susan Edmunds at: Link.

It is a worthwhile caution - are you recommending the same product to all of your clients? If you are, is that because all your clients are the same? Or because there is only one best product nomatter what their circumstances? Unlikely.

Friday Fun - Social Media

Hat tip: Mike Maloney. Thank you for bringing us all back down to earth with the following commentary on social media:

The Orator

I saw this on Saturday night and loved it - The Orator - a great movie, a little slow moving at first while it settles you into the pace of island life, and then at times comic, challenging, and very moving.

Link

Hat tip to Rob Dowler who generously gave us free passes.

Friday Fun

A powerful story about Hollywood, not only was I attracted by the title:

"There's something rotten in Hollywood, and it starts with the sign"

...because of all the fuss about a "Wellywood" sign, but I was also attracted by the review of the business for which the town became famous. The writer likes films I like, too, which always helps. So take a break and have some fun this Friday.

I shall be working. I'm snowed under!

Film Insurance - a quantifiable risk?

Here's a great piece about insuring the film industry. An extraordinary segment of a strange business. Link.

Unplugged

I know I've been busy, but it seems I missed the workers protest march against the union.