Lehman Collapses Again on Small Screen

Sept. 9, 2009— -- Richard Fuld, the man vilified for the collapse of Lehman Brothers nearly a year ago, has a story to tell but recently told a reporter no one wants to hear it.

"The facts are out there," the former Lehman CEO told a reporter for Reuters who tracked him down at his country home in Ketchum, Idaho, last Friday. "Nobody wants to hear it, especially not from me."

Maybe people will tune in tomorrow night instead, when BBC Two in the UK airs its docudrama, "The Last Days of Lehman Brothers," about Fuld's final days at the helm of the banking giant.

A British production featuring American actors Corey Johnson ("United 93") as Fuld and James Cromwell ("LA Confidential") as former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, "Last Days" is a fictionalized account of the weekend leading up to Lehman's collapse on Sept. 15, 2008.

The filmmakers try to stick close to the facts -- BBC Two did extensive research, interviewing many of the key players involved in that weekend -- but also took some dramatic license.

"A bunch of white guys sitting around in suits talking about money isn't very interesting, said Craig Warner, the screenwriter of the one-hour drama, told ABCNews.com. "I tried to make it fun and comprehensible. All I had to do was imagine that my brother would be watching. He has a very short attention span and likes things to be quick and amusing."

As part of his research to play the role of Fuld, Johnson said he watched YouTube videos of Fuld testifying before Congress.

Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and actor James Cromwell who plays him in the BBC2 drama.Michael Landes plays Zach, a fictional banker and Richard Fuld's assistant.

For comical relief in the film, Warner created the fictional character of Zach played by American Michael Landes. He's a banker and Fuld's personal gofer and narrates parts of the story to camera.

"I think the voiceover brings an element of humor," Landes told ABCNews.com. "It gives it that little bite that takes it just from being just a straight drama."

Zach's sister also makes a brief cameo as a sub-prime mortgage holder who explains how the whole sub-prime mess brought down Wall Street.

Several British actors, including Alex Jennings who plays Timothy Geithner, then the New York Fed president and now the new Treasury Secretary, round out the cast.

Writer Vicky Ward, who writes about the collapse in her upcoming book, "The Great Mistake: The Fall of Lehman Brothers and the Weekend that Changed the World," said she hopes the film will show another side to Fuld.

"Everyone has made Dick Fuld out to be this aggressive, frightening guy," she told ABCNews.com. "He didn't mind having that image out there because it served him well. But he can be immensely charming. And by the end he was far more bullied than a bully. He sat there at the end rather helplessly."