Fortune: Rehashing hackneyed 80′s stereotypes keeps us fresh!*

Yep, that’s Michael Douglas on the cover of Fortune this month, greased up and slicked back as Gordon “Greed is Good” Gekko, the iconic-to-briefcase-toting-business-students figurehead of 1987′s “Wall Street.” Fortune tapped Douglas to pose in celebration of its cover story in which they pose the question “Wall Street 2005: Is Greed Still Good?” (Mabye they should have asked, “are business magazines still good?” We know what David Carr would say.)

According to Liz Smith, the Fortune editors wanted a super-special cover for their super-special report on Wall Street wheeling and dealing, so they “thought and thought” before coming up with the idea to exploit an 80s character that hasn’t really been mentioned much since. Liz does note that Michael Douglas and Oliver Stone have discussed the possibility of a “Wall Street” sequel, so Fortune, keep that cover photo handy, ’cause you can totally still use it when the movie comes out, and it will be just as relevant as it is today! Besides, you’ll save money on a reshoot. And, you know, greed is good. I think I heard that somewhere.

Is Greed Still Good? [Fortune]
Paul Krugman: Greed is Bad [The Unofficial Paul Krugman Archive](Yes, he has a fan page)
David Carr: Business Magazines Suck [NYT]

*(alternate title for post: “Michael Douglas: Rehashing hackneye’d 80s roles keeps me fresh!”)

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