That’s the question at the heart of Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, the newest film from acclaimed documentary director Steve James ( Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters). Why did Abacus face charges, while the biggest banks on Wall Street all avoided prosecution for fraud related to the sale of bad mortgages? bank to be prosecuted in relation to the financial collapse and the first bank indicted in New York since 1991. The bank’s owners, the Chinese-American Sung family, fired a loan officer - and reported the fraud to their regulators at the federal Office of Thrift Supervision.īut two-and-a-half years later, the bank was accused of mortgage fraud by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office - making Abacus Federal Savings the only U.S. “He meant the poster, but subliminally, I thought, ‘Maybe I need to win an Oscar.’ ”Ĭlint O’Connor covers pop culture.It’s a little-known chapter from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression: In 2009, shortly after the housing market crashed and the markets melted down, the owners of a small community bank in New York City’s Chinatown discovered fraud within their loan department. And he said, ‘I bet you want one of those.’ ” He had this poster on the wall that had a big Oscar and all the best picture winners. “I remember coming home in 1985 or 1986 from Chicago and my dad wanted to show me something. “We had one of those typical basement rec rooms with wood paneling where we had a VCR and all kinds of videotapes of movies that my dad loved and I loved,” said Mitten. I made my first movie when I was 14.”Īs for collecting a gold statue at the Oscars, that particular fantasy may have been launched more than 30 years ago. “I can still remember going to the Highland Theatre with my dad to see Grand Prix, and the following year I went to see 2001: A Space Odyssey and that kind of cemented my love of film and my desire to make films. He exposed me to a lot of innovative creativity,” said Mitten. He owned an ad agency called Hesselbart & Mitten. “My dad, Robert, got me interested in film. The two later collaborated on Life Itself, the 2014 documentary about film critic Roger Ebert.īut Mitten’s own movie-making dreams had started long before. Mitten met James, best known for the acclaimed Hoop Dreams, while working on a series of short films on behalf of Chicago’s ill-fated attempt to land the 2016 Summer Olympics. “None of us in a million years thought he had political aspirations to run for president.” “I helped produce season 2 and season 3.” “But then a friend of a friend called and said they were looking for someone with a McKinsey background to work on a new reality show on NBC.” “When I was leaving McKinsey I was planning to take a sabbatical,” said Mitten. He also spent two years working on a TV series. Walter Thompson advertising agency before launching his own brand strategy company, which was later absorbed by the international consulting behemoth McKinsey & Co. He settled in Chicago, working for the J. “Akron was integral to my becoming who I am today.”Īfter Firestone High (class of ’76), he headed to Miami University in Oxford and then on to Northwestern for an MBA. “I’m proud of being an Akronite,” he said. All three will be at the ceremony, along with members of the Sung family.Ībacus is now available on iTunes and Amazon, and Mitten said that a feature film based on the documentary is in the works with director Justin Lin ( Star Trek: Beyond). The film argues that Abacus was a scapegoat, taking a blame-the-little-guy hit while bigger banks walked away with massive bailouts.ĭirected by Steve James, the film was co-produced by Mitten and Julie Goldman. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, it became the lone bank indicted for mortgage fraud. The film looks at Abacus Federal Savings, a small bank in New York’s Chinatown run by Thomas Sung and his family. I jumped out of my seat and started yelling,” he said on the phone from Chicago as he was preparing to leave for Los Angeles. When Mitten first heard about the nomination in January, he said he was in a hotel room at the Sundance Film Festival. The Akron native and Firestone High School graduate produced Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, which is nominated for Best Documentary Feature. Mark Mitten will be sitting inside Hollywood’s Dolby theatre Sunday night at the 90th Academy Awards hoping to hear the word “Abacus.”
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