Wall Street/Trivia

Wall Street

• Beam Me Up, Scotty: Gekko doesn't exactly say "greed is good", he says: "The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good." This is because the theatrical trailers cut off the "excess" words and showed Gekko saying, "Greed is good. Greed works."
• Hey, It's That Guy!:
  • Deep Throat continues to dispense advice about the money.
  • Perry Cox is one of Bud Fox's co-workers in the movie.
  • Alan Shore is one of Bud's friends, and funnily enough a Lawyer as well.
• Reality Subtext: Charlie said his inspiration on the hospital scene was remembering how he felt when Martin had a heart attack during Apocalypse Now.
• Real Life Relative: Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen, as Bud and Carl Fox.
• Unintentional Period Piece: In particular, technology and the lifestyles of the wealthy seem to change more noticeably than other things do. Arguably, this is Lampshaded in the first scene of the sequel, when Gekko gets back his enormous cell phone.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

• Actor Allusion: Jake's cellphone ringtone is the theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which starred in a prominent role....Eli Wallach. Guess who plays Julie in this movie.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Josh Brolin lost 30 pounds of weight for his role, and Shia LaBeouf did a lot of research on stock trading and even got a broker's license.
• Fake American: Carey Mulligan (English) as Winnie Gekko.
• Playing Against Type/What the Hell, Casting Agency?: Shia LaBeouf's attempt to get out of his Typecasting was at first received by thundering cries of "WTF???". When the movie got into theaters, most critics seem to agree that he gave an overall solid performance.
• Sequel Gap
• Technology Marches On: There's a gag when Gordon, leaving prison, is given his old brick-sized cell phone back.
  • Also, when one considers that 'Wall Street' itself no longer exists, as it has traditionally been understood. Trading is no longer the province of a few stock brokers in New York City, but is considerably decentralized and personal, thanks to the Internet. So, Finance Marches On, perhaps.
  • Overlaps with Society Marches On. As he's leaving prison, Gordon sees an inmate be greeted by his family in a limousine. What was once an icon of status and wealth is now accessible to the common man.