Screaming Chicago pit traders prompted new documentary
James Allen Smith was a Web designer for a financial company in 1997 when he was first called to the chaotic floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
"It was an incredible sight," Smith recalled. "The place was crammed with all these screaming guys wearing funny-looking jackets and making crazy hand gestures. It was scary. I was getting pushed around so much, I thought I might get crushed."
Smith became fascinated with the dog-eat-dog world of Chicago pit traders, where millions of dollars could be made or lost in a day betting on the prices of everything from soybeans to pork bellies. He turned that interest into "Floored," his lively documentary about a profession that has been virtually wiped out by electronic trading in the past decade.
Now playing at Chicago's Gene Siskel Film Center, the movie opens in New York on May 7. Starting next week, it can also be viewed as an eight-part series at www.babelgum.com.
Smith, a 37-year-old former art student and rock-music promoter with a mound of curly red hair, spoke about the film during an interview at Bloomberg's New York headquarters. He now lives in Seattle with his wife.
Warner: What intrigued you the most about pit trading?
Bloomberg: It was like the Wild West, where self-made men did anything they could to get ahead. It didn't matter what kind of degree you had or where your family came from. It was all about performance. If you didn't perform, you were gone.
Warner: There are a lot of crazy characters in your film, like a big-game hunter who fills his house with stuffed animals and a guy who lost it all with one trade and ended up as a floor clerk who relaxes by playing golf in the snow.
Bloomberg: Yes, there are some bittersweet stories. Jeff, the one who lost it all, climbed the ladder, got to the top of the heap and then was knocked back down. But instead of leaving the business, he stayed on as a clerk. It's just in his blood.
Warner: Was it hard getting the traders to talk to you on camera?
Bloomberg: It's a close-knit boys club that's hard to enter. But I was working around these guys for 10 years before I started the film, so I think they trusted me.
I heard a story about a trader who did an interview with Cigar Aficionado magazine and talked about his boat and all the homes he owned. He couldn't get a trade for two or three months after that because everybody was making fun of him.
Warner: What makes a good pit trader?
Bloomberg: First of all, you have to stand out from the crowd. That's why you see all those Technicolor jackets. A lot of guys wore shoes with three-inch soles so they'd look taller. There was a guy in the Loop who made his living resoling shoes for traders.
Warner: In 1997, there were about 10,000 pit traders. Today, because of electronic trading, fewer than 10 percent are left. Is that world gone for good?
Bloomberg: I think so. This is really a movie about forced change. You either adapt or you're done. My uncle used to make cash registers. Then, one day, everything went digital and he was out of work. You can put your head down and ignore change, but it's not going to stop it.
Warner: Speaking of change, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade merged a few years ago. How has that changed the business?
Bloomberg: It's now one enormous company called the CME Group. They closed the Mercantile floor and moved everything to the Board of Trade building.
Family Secrets
Warner: Your next documentary is about your parents, particularly family secrets. What was the big secret in your family?
Bloomberg: When I was graduating from high school, my mother told me she was dishonorably discharged from the Army and accused of being a lesbian. I never even knew she was in the military.