Shia in Wall Street 2

Apparently Allan Loeb’s work writing WALL STREET 2 was “so great” that director Oliver Stone didn’t feel he needed to touch it. Now, thanks to Nikki Finke we’ve gotten some solid word on casting and plot. There are a couple more details at Deadline Hollywood but if I’ve got a somewhat shortened version of the plot overview for you:

Michael Douglas reprises his role as Gordon Gekko. But it’s 21 years later and he has finished serving his prison sentence. He finds himself on the fringe of the financial community. (“Kinda like Jim Cramer or Mike Milken after their disgrace,” an insider with the pic tells me.) Gordon is obsessed with trying to repair his ruptured relationship with his daughter.

Shia LaBeouf is a young Wall Street trader who’s engaged to be married to Gekko’s estranged daughter. Shia wants to be a major player, but his mentor unexpectedly kills himself, and Shia thinks a stock-shorting worldwide hedge fund manager is responsible. Shia seeks revenge on this villain, to be played by Javier Bardem. So Shia goes to Gordon saying, “I need your help”, and makes a Faustian deal with Gekko who in return wants Shia’s help getting back with the daughter.

So there you go. I was never all that in love with this movie so I’m going to take the easy way out and let you guys make judgments on this thing. All I will say is I have no idea how the hell Allan Loeb went from 21 to “so great”. Did he make a Faustian deal too?