Magnolia has just announced it will be handling the North American distribution for the documentary adaptation of the bestselling book, Freakonomics, about incentives-based thinking by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. The film will bring together some of the super stars in documentary filmmaking: Oscar winner Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Casino Jack and the United States of Money), Oscar nominees Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp), Oscar nominee Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight) and Seth Gordon (The King of Kong).
A Magnolia press release describes each director’s role: Alex Gibney takes a visually arresting look at the crumbling fa√ßade of Sumo wrestling and exposes searing and violent truths about this ancient and revered sport. Morgan Spurlock offers up a buoyant and revealing angle on the repercussions of baby names. Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing balance levity and candor with an eye-opening profile of underachieving kids incentivized to learn with cold hard cash. Finally, Eugene Jarecki investigates an unsettling theory to explain why crime rates dramatically dropped in the early ‚Äô90s. Seth Gordon weaves the pieces together with brisk interludes, providing context and commentary from the authors.