Directed and produced by investigative journalist Leslie Cockburn with Andrew Cockburn as co‑producer, American Casino premiered at Tribeca on May 2, 2009, and opened theatrically at the Roxie in San Francisco (August 21) and New York’s Film Forum (September 2). The documentary assembles a who’s who of policy figures — Phil Gramm, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Rep. Henry Waxman, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon — alongside financial reporter Mark Pittman to build a sustained, journalistic accusation: that the U.S. subprime mortgage collapse was not merely a market failure but the predictable outcome of decades of deregulation, industry lobbying and political accommodation. Variety dubbed it a “searing expose” and Slant called it “revelatory,” language that reflected the film’s aim to take the scandals around predatory lending, opaque mortgage securitization and regulator capture out of the headlines and present them as a connected pattern of institutional malpractice. Despite its hot-button subject and festival profile, the film’s theatrical reach was modest — by September 29, 2009 it had grossed $23,974 — highlighting how even damning, well-sourced documentaries can struggle to turn public outrage into broad commercial visibility.
Preparing the daily feature…
AI concept artworkArchive Record · 2000s
Leslie Cockburn’s American Casino: A 2009 Searing Exposé of Washington–Wall Street Collusion
American Casino (film) / 2000s
Directed and produced by investigative journalist Leslie Cockburn with Andrew Cockburn as co‑producer, American Casino premiered at Tribeca on May 2, 2009, and opened theatrically at the Roxie in San Francisco (August 21) and New York’s Film Forum (September 2). The documentary assembles a who’s who of policy figures — Phil Gramm, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Rep. Henry Waxman, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon — alongside financial reporter Mark Pittman to build a sustained, journalistic accusation: that the U.S. subprime mortgage collapse was not merely a market failure but the predictable outcome of decades of deregulation, industry lobbying and political accommodation. Variety dubbed it a “searing expose” and Slant called it “revelatory,” language that reflected the film’s aim to take the scandals around predatory lending, opaque mortgage securitization and regulator capture out of the headlines and present them as a connected pattern of institutional malpractice. Despite its hot-button subject and festival profile, the film’s theatrical reach was modest — by September 29, 2009 it had grossed $23,974 — highlighting how even damning, well-sourced documentaries can struggle to turn public outrage into broad commercial visibility.
The daily feature is taking an intermission. There’s still an entire archive to explore.