Discussing his new film Argo this week, Ben Affleck has stated that Hollywood
is likely teeming with CIA operatives. In a video interview with the actor, The
Guardian's Catherine Shoard asks: "Are there many actors in Hollywood
who also moonlight as agents do you think?" At this point, Affleck sits
forward in his chair and laughs uncomfortably. He replies: "I think there
are probably quite a few, yes. I think probably Hollywood is full of CIA agents
and we just don't know it. And I wouldn't be surprised at all to discover that
this was extremely common."
Shoard then asks: "Are you CIA?" To which
Affleck responds, with a strained smile: "I am yes."
Obligatory laughter then follows from Shoard as
Affleck adds: "And now you've blown my cover, so there goes my career, so
I hope the directing thing better work out."
Argo is the true
story of a CIA mission to rescue six Americans holed up in the Canadian embassy
in Tehran during the hostage crisis of 1979. Affleck, who directs and stars in
the film, is no stranger to working with the CIA. In 2002, he starred in the
big screen version of Tom Clancy’s The
Sum of All Fears, which
depicted the Agency as tracking down terrorists who detonate a nuclear weapon
on US soil. For this movie, CIA director George Tenet gave Affleck a personal
tour of the Agency’s Langley HQ. The actor also consulted with CIA analysts and
worked closely with the Agency’s former Entertainment Liaison Chase Brandon, who served as the
movie’s on-set advisor.
Affleck’s wife, Jennifer Garner, enjoyed an even
cosier relationship with CIA as the star of the Agency-supported TV series Alias (2001
– 2006). Garner even starred unpaid in a CIA recruitment video in 2004.
Incidentally, Catherine Shoard, who conducted the
interview with Affleck, was the Commissioning Editor of an article I co-authored in 2009 for The Guardian’s Film Blog examining DoD
involvement in Hollywood’s UFO movies. The
Guardian also published a major feature article by myself and Dr
Matthew Alford in 2008 looking at CIA infiltration of Hollywood.
For the most up-to-date and comprehensive article yet published on CIA
involvement in Hollywood, I highly recommend Matthew Alford’s new article co-authored with Professor
Tricia Jenkins, which appears in the June 2012 issue of Scope: An Online Journal of Film and Television Studies. Read it HERE.
Related:
Ben Affleck, Rwanda, and Corporate Sustained Catastrophe
Related:
Ben Affleck, Rwanda, and Corporate Sustained Catastrophe
What I would like to know, is if the CIA has used the 'movie project' alibi in other nations aside Iran, as depicted by Argo.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up Robbie. Sooner or later the spooks will offer you a job and you can start making some money in this circus.
ReplyDeleteWell, has someone ever heard the name MICHAEL BAY?
ReplyDeleteI think he is the gifted director of ARMAGEDDON (1998) and PEARL HARBOR (2001).
Oh! By the way, BEN AFFLECK appears in both movies as protagonist.
Doesn´t Mr. BAY collaborates gladly with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)?
Oh! Yes, he does!
Wasn't the movie PEARL HARBOR (2001) an important element of that beautiful psychological operation developed by the U.S. Intelligence Community whose main public event happened that September 11th of the year 2001? Oh! Yes, it was!
Then, BEN AFFLECK (like MICHAEL BAY and HOLLYWOOD) contributes to the objectives of the U.S. Intelligence Community. This is not a secret. It is obvious :-D.