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 Nordea, the Nordic region's biggest bank, booked all 140
seats in one downtown Stockholm movie theatre on Thursday,
sectioning off part of the cinema for clients and starting the
event after local markets closed.
The Italian stock exchange is showing the film on-site next week
while the after-party of the recent Paris premiere was held at
the former site of the Paris bourse.
The film, which opens in European theatres in the coming week,
is based on the memoir of disgraced U.S. stockbroker Jordan
Belfort.
He made a fortune by, and was later jailed for, defrauding
clients and spending the loot on cars, homes, a yacht, hookers,
orgies, alcohol and drugs.
Bankers and investors from Milan to Paris snapped up tickets for
previews and special screenings to see triple Oscar nominee
Leonardo DiCaprio play the 1990s convicted stock swindler.
The role is reminiscent of Michael Douglas's fictional character
in the 1987 film "Wall Street", which helped spawn a generation
of stockbrokers.
Douglas's character, Gordon Gekko, famously said: "The point is,
ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is
good."
For its special screening, Nordea bank's invitation featured a
picture of DiCaprio, decked out in a pin-striped suit and
slicked-back hair, with Belfort's own words: "I partied like a
rock star, lived like a king."
OVERSUBSCRIBED
The event was so popular the bank had to purchase extra tickets
and even had a waiting list for some clients.
"This is a client event mainly for entertainment purposes, and
is a good opportunity for staff to mingle with clients," Helena
Ostman, head of communications at Nordea, said.
A group of young professionals from Swedish lender Swedbank,
whose chief executive officer is coincidentally called Michael
Wolf, organized tickets to a show later in the month, with all
seats snapped up in less than five minutes.
The Italian Stock Exchange will show the film next week, giving
members of the financial industry a chance to rub shoulders in
what will be Italy's first screening.
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 The idea of having a showing at the Italian Stock
Exchange, a first for Borsa Italiana, arose because the Leone Firm
production house, which distributes the film in Italy, listed on the
Italian AIM market on Dec. 18, a spokesman said.
"It's a way to celebrate their market debut," said Andrea Monzani,
spokesman for the exchange, which is controlled by the London Stock
Exchange.
The Martin Scorsese-directed film had its debut in U.S. theatres on
Christmas Day and was No. 4 at the North American box office for the
three days starting January 3, behind "Frozen", "Paranormal
Activity" and "The Hobbit".
The three-hour, R-rated film earned a Golden Globe nomination for
best movie in a musical or comedy and a best actor nod for DiCaprio,
generating speculation of more to come when the Oscar nominations
are announced on January 16.
MIXED REVIEWS
Critical reaction has been mixed, with some calling it a masterly
depiction of American greed culture while others have found its
full-on depiction of wild parties and excess stultifying.
DiCaprio, though, has mostly received raves, with trade publication
Variety saying, "DiCaprio doesn't just play this part; he inhales
it, along with everything else that goes up Belfort's nose and into
his bloodstream."
The 39-year-old DiCaprio read Belfort's no-holds-barred,
unapologetic book about six years ago and knew he had to portray the
cocaine-snorting, fast-talking financial bad boy on the big screen,
saying the biography was a reflection of "everything that is wrong
in today's society".
The excessive ways of the financial industry came under close
scrutiny following the 2008/2009 global financial crisis and
authorities have clamped down on banks to avoid a repeat.
Reckless lending brought several European banks and some governments
to their knees during the crisis, which is still playing itself out
in a number of euro zone countries.
(Reporting by Mia Shanley; additional
reporting by Lisa Jucca in Milan, Lionel Laurent in Paris; editing
by Michael Roddy and Alister Doyle)
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