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Oscar-tipped film tells story of the man who made $79 million in Wetherspoon pub
It’s one of those stories that you couldn’t make up.
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Wetherspoons news
But the fact is that a major film which is tipped for Oscars has a Wetherspoon pub at the heart of the story.
The Big Short, featuring a host of Hollywood stars, including Brad Pitt, tells the true story of various people in America who predicted the financial crash of 2007-8 and made huge amounts of money as a result.
And one of the characters, played by Brad Pitt, owes the 79 million dollar fortune he made to Wetherspoon’s superb Wi-Fi.
(L-R) Jeremy Strong, Rafe Spall, Hamish Linklater, Steve Carell, Jeffry Griffin and Ryan Gosling in The Big Short.
Photograph: Paramount
His character was on a family holiday in Exmouth when the deal needed to complete.
He was the only person at the firm with the know-how to complete the trades.
He needed to complete the trades using Wi-Fi and was advised by a member of his wife’s family that the best and most reliable Wi-Fi in the town was to be found at The Powder Monkey in Exmouth.
He spent four days at the pub using the Wi-Fi and at the end of the four days had made millions of dollars.
According to the Exeter Express and Echo newspaper “none of the enthusiastic drinkers at the pub seemed to mind, or even notice, the American in the corner table bashing on his Bloomberg machine and talking into his phone from two in the afternoon until eleven at night.”
The Powder Monkey, Exmouth, where the fortune was made.
Tim Martin, J D Wetherspoon Chairman and founder, says:
“I was contacted by an agent for the producer and asked to play the lead role. I was too busy but recommended Brad Pitt. I told Brad I was happy to be his body double in any risqué scenes, but never heard back from him. He owes me, as he admits.”