Watch: 1-Hour Talk With Adam McKay And Author Michael Lewis About ‘The Big Short’

A year ago who would have thought that a fourth-wall breaking financial comedy packed to the brim with jargon and all the messy details of the housing bubble would wind up a Best Picture Oscar nominee? Especially one written and directed by “Anchorman” and “Step Brothers” mastermind Adam McKay? But alas, here we are, in the midsts of an awards race where “The Big Short” is up for five Academy Awards, and putting up a solid fight. Which is not at all to say the film is undeserving, but rather to highlight just how far out of left field this movie came from. And, to give McKay the credit he deserves for making a truly idiosyncratic, electric, and fascinating film that actually succeeds in explaining collateralized debt obligations.

READ MORE: Watch: 37-Minute ‘The Big Short’ Talk With Adam McKay, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, And Christian Bale

Recently McKay and ‘Big Short’ author Michael Lewis sat down with Charles Duhigg for a Times Talks interview. The hour-long chat dives...