THE Bank of England last night admitted the economy was not its strongest subject, insisting it was much better at films and television.
Deputy governor Sir John Gieve revealed the Bank did not appreciate the severity of the financial crisis because it had been watching the Godfather trilogy in chronological order.
Sir John told the BBC's Panaroma programme: "Were we supposed to be keeping an eye on all this economic stuff? Right, right, I see. Gosh.
"Look, I'll be honest with you, we're not especially good at analysing lots of big numbers and interpeting them, but can you name the actor who played police Captain Mcluskey? The one who gets his head blown off in the restaurant? No? Well, it was Sterling Hayden.
"And did you know that James Caan originally auditioned for the part of Michael, but they went with Al Pacino instead? Thank goodness for that, eh? Can you imagine?"
Sir John said the British economy was now in a 'reception' that would probably last for 'a while' especially if 'everyone keeps losing their jobs and stuff'.
"Apparently what happens is that when you don't buy stuff companies don't make any money and they close down. It's just a shame they didn't come up with a really brilliant idea like Michael J. Fox in The Secret of My Success.
"But then again, they might not have been able to handle the pressure like Michael J. Fox in Bright Lights, Big City."
He added: "The good news is that all this depressing money stuff should not interfere with the opening of the new Star Trek movie next summer.
"Although I have to say I am deeply concerned about Simon Pegg's accent. Personally, I would have gone with an actual Scotsman to play Scottie. Perhaps a Gerard Butler or a James McAvoy. No, hang on – Dougray Scott."
