Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a study of one of the largest business scandals in American history. McLean and Elkind are credited as writers of the film alongside the director, Alex Gibney. The film examines the 2001 collapse of the Enron Corporation, which resulted in criminal trials for several of the company's top executives; it also shows the involvement of the Enron traders in the California electricity crisis. The film features interviews with... McLean and Elkind, as well as former Enron executives and employees, stock analysts, reporters and the former Governor of California Gray Davis. The film won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 78th Academy Awards in 2006. The film begins with a profile of Kenneth Lay, who founded Enron in 1985. Two years after its founding, the company becomes embroiled in scandal after two traders begin betting on the oil markets, resulting in suspiciously consistent profits.
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| Release date: | April 22, 2005 |
| Directed by: | Alex Gibney |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 109 Minutes |
| Producer: | Alex Gibney, Mark Cuban, Susan Motamed, Alison Ellwood, Jason Kliot |
| Editor: | Alison Ellwood |
| Music by: | Matthew Hauser, Tom Waits, Marilyn Manson |
| Cinematography: | Maryse Alberti |
| Screenplay by: | Alex Gibney |
| Adapted from: | The Smartest Guys in the Room |
| Genre: | Biography |