Tag Archives: James Adams

Waffle Street on IMDb

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It really is going to be a movie and how I know is because it is now up on the IMDb website. The movie is, of course, Waffle Street and this is the plot line as described:

Waffle Street’s riches-to-rags tale is an adaptation of James Adams’ 2010 memoir of the same name (published by Sourced Media Books), which chronicles the financier’s foray into the food industry. After being laid off at the hedge fund where he worked, and further jaded by his culpability in the crisis, Adams chose to work at a popular 24-hour diner where he claims “most of his financial knowledge has been gleaned.” Offering a fresh take on the fallout of corporate greed, Adams’ is a tale of the redemption and unlikely friendship found under the tutelage of Glover’s character Edward, the best short-order cook in town.

My own way of thinking about it, however, is how a bond trader at the top of the income tree is felled by the GFC and finds himself a few weeks later as the night manager of a Waffle House. He therefore enters a world that until then had only been seen at a distance but is now his daily presence. Part of what he learns is the up-close reality behind the kinds of things that are taught in economics and finance courses – things such as Say’s Law – discovering their deeper meaning by seeing them as an inseparable part of the way in which the world works. But the most astonishing lesson is embodied in the person of Edward Collins, an ex-convict who has found his own productive meaning in life by becoming not just a Waffle House cook but a moral philosopher. It is Jean Valjean again except rather than Collins being a character from a novel, he is someone from real life.

The story is exceptional, but a movie is not a book. They have the makings for the film of the year but we shall see. Release date is 2015 so it’s not long to go. I’ll let you know how well it’s been done right after the premier.

Say’s Law goes to the movies

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A while back I posted Say’s Law as Literature about a book of the name Waffle Street written by James Adams. The book is now being turned into a movie, and the story is now out in the open as they have now signed Danny Glover to play the lead role of Edward Collins. This is from the press release:

Legendary actor Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon 1-4, The Color Purple, Dreamgirls) has signed on to star in the upcoming feature film, Waffle Street. The drama-comedy tells the story of James Adams, a VP of a $30 billion hedge fund who lost his job in the recent market crash and wound up working as a waiter in a waffle shop. Amid the greasy madness of the 24-hour diner, Adams befriends ex-con grill master Edward Collins (played by Glover), who serves up hard lessons about finance, life, and grits.

Waffle Streets riches-to-rags tale is an adaptation of James Adams 2010 memoir of the same name (published by Sourced Media Books), which chronicles the financiers foray into the food industry. After being laid off at the hedge fund where he worked, and further jaded by his culpability in the crisis, Adams chose to work at a popular 24-hour diner where he claims most of his financial knowledge has been gleaned. Offering a fresh take on the fallout of corporate greed, Adams is a tale of the redemption and unlikely friendship found under the tutelage of Glover’s character Edward, the best short-order cook in town.

The story is a story of redemption for both the author, James Adams and for Edward Collins, who has found himself in productive work. How this relates to Say’s Law is through the “lessons about finance, life and grits” which includes experiencing the core understanding of economic life that the law of markets provides. This is from the review of the book by the President of the Mises Institute, Doug French:

But Adams does scrap with John Maynard Keynes in the pages of Waffle Street, lamenting, “How far we’ve fallen” in the area of economics education. Pointing out that Say’s Treatise was once the top economics textbook in America, he explains that now, “Instead of learning sound doctrine, today’s undergraduates are inundated with principles that will not bear the scrutiny of common sense and experience.”

I am still waiting to hear who will play Jimmy and then his wife. An amazing story. I’ve never been to a Hollywood premier before, but this is one I do not intend to miss. Meanwhile, you should read the book.