With Fathers Day just a few days away, we thought we’d take a look at some classic examples of some on-screen dads playing the parents to their real life children within the world of filmmaking. Here’s just a few of our favourites…

Actors Josh Duhamel, Katie Holmes and Blair Underwood had the job of announcing who was up for what.

The King’s Speech, which has already won awards at BIFA, left as a clear front runner, along with The Social Network and Black Swan.

Rather surprisingly, considering the poor reviews, Angelina Jolie has been nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical category for her role in Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s The Tourist. On hearing the news Jolie laughed, as did we, but not because it seems a bit mad. She said:

“When we found out we were laughing because it’s the first time that I’ve been in the comedic category so it’s new for me.”

The awards are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which is made up of about 85 critics and reporters from all over the world. The event takes place on on January 16 and British comedian/actor Ricky Gervais will host the event once again.

Here is a full list of nominations:

Best Motion Picture, Drama

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network

Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical

Alice in Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are All Right
Red
The Tourist

Best Director – Motion Picture

Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
David Fincher – The Social Network
Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech
Christopher Nolan - Inception
David O. Russell – The Fighter

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
James Franco – 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling – Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg - The Fighter

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Halle Berry – Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman – Black Swan
Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy

Johnny Depp – Alice in Wonderland
Johnny Depp – The Tourist
Paul Giamatti – Barney’s Version
Jake Gyllenhaal – Love and Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey – Casino Jack

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy

Anne Hathaway – Love and Other Drugs
Julianne Moore – The Kids Are All Right
Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone – Easy A
Angelina Jolie – The Tourist

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Christian Bale – The Fighter
Michael Douglas - Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield – The Social Network
Jeremy Renner – The Town
Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Amy Adams – The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter - The King’s Speech
Mila Kunis – Black Swan
Melissa Leo – The Fighter
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom

Wall Street‘s Gordon Gekko was, for many of the 1980s financiers, something of a god, a statuesque figure of greed, wealth and cunning that a generation of money and power-hungry bankers, stockbrokers and everyday businesspeople modelled themselves on. But is he a dinosaur in today’s recession-riddled economy, or still sharp enough to make a comeback?

This film very elegantly argues he’s definitely sharp enough. Savvy from the moment he walks free, Gekko (played by a very capable and suave Michael Douglas) is on the fast-track to once again becoming an influential tycoon; a role he’s pined for while in prison. It’s a film that will have you thinking about the banking world, and as it’s been released during the recession (known as the ‘Great Recession’ in the USA, it was the financial disaster that prompted director Oliver Stone to see the sequel as relevant and viable in the first place) it strikes a chord with many a viewer.

The cast are sure handed, and gel together in a realistic way that brings a human touch to a cold world full of cut-throat finance. Shia LeBoeuf plays our plucky anti-hero, investment banker Jake Moore, a pouting, angry youth with a hunger for bonus cheques and an even bigger one for ecologically-friendly energy sources. A bit of a contradiction in beliefs, but he pulls off the role with aplomb and his relationship with fiancée Winnie Gekko (played by Carey Mulligan, no prizes for guessing who her dad is) is similarly well performed.

Charlie Sheen‘s Bud Fox makes a brief appearance, in a nod to the fans of the original, and Frank Langella is heart-warming and loveable as Jake’s mentor, Lou. A special mention has to go out to the completely insane, but adorable Eli Wallach as ancient tycoon Jules Steinhardt. This film pulls no punches, and will illustrate to you the personal price people pay for a life in finance. It’s not all big bonuses and flash cars, but long hours and stress on an unbelievable scale.

The illustration of the recession is smart, with a lot of CGI presentations of numbers and charts that’s predictably on a downwards slant. There’s an air of menace to it all, and you’ll enjoy watching the big cocky bankers display their ignorance towards the market crash you know is coming.

The film deals with a lot of current issues, from the crash of the real estate market (a sub-plot in the form of Jake’s mother, a failing estate agent played by old favourite Susan Sarandon) to the excess of bankers and whether their bonuses are truly needed.

It’s also quite a long film, coming in at just over two hours, but the time passes easily and you’ll walk away feeling satisfied. Perhaps it lacks the impact and the decadence of the first film – we’re more used to the idea of bankers and billionaires being one and the same in 2010, and the ending of the film veers away from the “doom and gloom” that has been built up for its entire duration, which can be confusing.

But it’s a film that needs to be seen by anyone with an interest in finance. The world around us is very uncertain these days, says the press – the house market, loans, credit card debt – everyone’s affected in some way by the issues at stake. Even if you’re a lottery winner, deceit, power and manipulation are likely to be themes present in your life too.

So if you’re a fan of the original, give it a look. Douglas is enigmatic as Gekko, and LeBouf continues to mature into the serious, talented actor that we’ll likely be seeing on the big screen for decades to come. Let’s just hope the recession ends soon, both for our sake and because we might just see a trilogy emerge.

1. Despite being a super rich A-list actor he married an ordinary(-ish) girl from Wales, Catherine Zeta Jones. His opening gambit to her was “ I want to father your children.” Pretty smooth, no? The pair married in 2000 and although everyone was pretty sceptical at the time because of the 25-year age gap, they are still together now, have two children and are showing just how strong they are as he goes through his cancer treatment.

2. In 1975, when his father Kirk Douglas gave him the rights to the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest no one knew if the film would ever get made, let alone become the iconic movie it has become. But Michael made it happen and won the Academy Award for Best Picture for producing it.

3. Michael has already proved twice in his life that he has staying power in the face of adversity. In 1980 he was seriously injured in a skiing accident and his acting career was put on hold for a number of years. Then in the early Nineties he booked himself into rehab for drug and alcohol addiction and came out the other side an even better actor than before.

4. He is not afraid to touch on controversial topics in his movies. Take Basic Instinct, which he starred in alongside Sharon Stone. It was a hugely popular film but it raised questions due to the bisexuality and lesbianism that featured in it. Then there was Disclosure , with Demi Moore where he plays a man harassed by his female boss. Both of these films ruffled a few feathers at the time, but went on to cement his place as an excellent actor.

5. Then there was Wall Street, for which Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film was praised for it’s accurate portrayal of the archetypal 1980s excess. It made a huge impact at the time, as did Falling Down. Michael managed to sum up the emotions that a lot of people in America were feeling at the time, and touched a nerve in a way that not many actors can.
6. Michael isn’t just a great actor though, he does a lot of charity work and is an advocate of nuclear disarmament. He sits on the Board of Directors of the anti-war grant-making foundation Ploughshares Fund. It doesn’t stop there though, he supported the campaign to release the Iranian woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was sentenced to death by stoning after being convicted of committing adulterty.

7. He has a sense of humour and is actually rather funny. Michael made a guest appearance on the hit American sitcom Will and Grace, he played a gay cop attracted to Will. It was so good he received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy.

8. Michael is a Democrat who donated money to Barack Obama (that’s your opinion, Fiona – Ed.).

9. He was good friends with John Lennon, how many people can say that? He also used to be Danny DeVito’s flatmate when they were both starting out as actors. Since Lennon’s death in 1980, Michael has been very involved with supporting gun control.
10. Apart from Sir Lawerence Olivier, he is the only other person to win an Oscar for both Best Picture and Best Actor. Here at the TFR Towers, we think with a little bending of the rules, Michael should be made Sir Michael Douglas, don’t you?

As the sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, premieres around the world, we take the time to fill you in on what’s changed over the last 23 years.

The Gekko (Gordon)

Michael Douglas is still ruthless charmer Gordon Gekko, but his stint in prison (for financial crimes) has left him something of a reformed man. With his infamous “greed is good” speech far behind him, this latest film sees Gekko attempt to warn the financial folks at Wall Street – most of whom are apparently just as merciless as they were back in 1987 – of the impending economic downturn and stock market crash. If the original Gekko was reportedly based on the likes of Ivan Boesky and Carl Icahn, then the 2010 version is, perhaps, Vince Cable. Or maybe someone more glamorous.

The youngsters

Failing that, he tries to reconcile with his estranged daughter, Winnie, played by Carey Mulligan (with an American accent, so we’re told…). Trouble is, Winnie works for some sort of liberal blogging website (typical), and so naturally wants nothing to do with her finance-focused father.

If the responsibility of sexing up this world of suits and scandal previously lay with Daryl Hannah, this time around it’s down to Shia LaBeouf, who plays Winnie’s fiancé, Jacob. He also works for Keller Zabel, a fictional company based on Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, and the 2010 equivalent of the first film’s Blue Star Airlines.

Jacob turns to Wall Street veteran Gekko for help investigating the death of his mentor, and in return he agrees to help bridge the relationship between Winnie and her father. The rest, quite literally, is history. Douglas is back in the role of an all-knowing, if somewhat less corrupt, advisor to the young naive newbies of Wall Street. Simples.

The oldsters

Throw in Susan Sarandon as Jacob’s mother, and Josh Brolin as a potential murderer, and you’ve got yourself a relatively star-studded cast, too. There are also a few cameos to look out for, including original cast member Michael Sheen, who reprises his role as Bud Fox for a brief encounter with Gekko. Art doesn’t so much imitate life, but merge with it, as further cameos include Vanity Fair editor, Graydon Carter, as well as Donald Trump – although his scenes were cut from the final film and are only available on DVD.

The verdict

The original film won Douglas an Academy Award for Best Actor, and did wonders for glamourising the reputation of stockbrokers and traders the world over. Whether this follow-up will have the same success seems unlikely, and the film is already gaining criticism for the unsubtlety of its message.

Yet for those who didn’t experience the economic high jinks the first time around, the accompanying film might be come as something of a novelty, and for those that did, perhaps something of a tradition. In these uncertain times, let’s all just go to the cinema.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleep is released in UK cinemas on 6th October.

Wall Street is often a scene of chaos, disorder, and lately, corruption. America’s financial hub, much like the City in good old London town, is a veritable nexus of ten-digit deals and huge salary bonuses, and more often than not, insider trading. Meet Gordon Gecko. Fresh out of prison and over two decades on from the events of the seminal Wall Street, the ex-financial giant (a role reprised by Michael Douglas) is attempting to forewarn the famous Manhattan address of the inevitable market collapse and financial disaster.

Of course, we’re more likely to believe Barney the Dinosaur than a corrupt ex-con banker, but the man’s telling the truth and can’t get people to see past his rather spoilt curriculum vitae. Instead, he chooses to immerse himself in the life of his daughter (Carey Mulligan), who rejects his friendly advances, blaming him for the suicide of her brother. Of course, she also happens to be dating a young (and eternally innocent-looking) Shia Lebouf as Jacob the trader, who suspects his hedge fund manager of murdering his mentor. The two narratives cross in a proverbial “deal with the devil” that leaves Gecko in charge of Jacob’s future, as Jacob ensures the old man gets in his daughter’s good books.

I don’t know about you, but it sounds damn complicated, and that’s a good thing. In an age of Michael Bay and endless other CGI-filled excuses for an absence of plot or character development, it’s refreshing to see a film about real people in real situations that reflects the current financial climate. Wall Street isn’t usually the ideal place to set a cinematic thriller – a John Grisham novel, certainly, but films tend to lean more towards abandoned houses, dark woods, and of course, that misty island on the lake that the crazy man in the shed told you not to visit, but you do so anyway.

It débuts at Cannes this week, and I’m sure we’ll see early thoughts and reviews on it despite the many, many harsh embargoes surrounding the hallowed film festival itself. No surprises there, then, but then again, it ups the ante of the eventual release. Hopefully we’ll see a true sequel – it certainly seems to be a sign of the times at the moment, with Tron 2 being another example of a possible flop-sequel to an iconic film. Fingers crossed they can take this one all the way to the bank.

Oliver Stone is set to start shooting this summer, so, by the time film comes out, hopefully we’ll all be rolling in cash once more….