New film to examine banking collapse

The BBC is turning the collapse of Lehman Brothers into a film, starring 'LA Confidential' and '24' actor James Cromwell and 'New Tricks' star James Bolam.

'The Last Days Of Lehman Brothers' tells the story of what happened when the US banking giant went to the wall.

The work of fiction is inspired by real-life events over the course of a weekend in September 2008.

The BBC2 drama will also star Ben Daniels from 'Law and Order: UK', Michael Landes of 'Love Soup' and 'Bourne Ultimatum' and 'Spooks' actor Corey Johnson.

Executive producer Ruth Caleb, whose credits include acclaimed Julia Walters euthanasia drama 'A Short Stay In Switzerland', said: “In the year following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, writer Craig Warner has written a very engaging script inspired by those events.

“We are also very fortunate that we have an exceptional cast, including James Cromwell, Ben Daniels and James Bolam to bring those events to life.”

By Friday September 12 2008, confidence in Lehman Brothers had plunged.

Its clearing bank was demanding more collateral, its attempts to raise money from a Korean bank had stalled and credit agencies warned that if it did not raise more capital, it would be downgraded.

The hour-long drama, to air this autumn, will follow the efforts of Lehman CEO Dick Fuld (Johnson), spending a desperate weekend battling to save his beloved company.