OSBORNE EFFECT
THE OSBORNE EFFECT: Black Man in the CIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
THE OSBORNE EFFECT
Black Man in the CIA
“His Life is a Quest, but His
© by Leutrell Osborne, Sr. and
CNN VIDEO of Leutrell Osborne, Sr. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU0WVcbOTp4
“And take upon's the mystery of things,
As if we were God's spies.” (King Lear, Act V, Scene 1)
FOR INFORMATION ONLY: This proprietary memorandum is informational in nature and relates to the packaging, production and distribution of the dramatic property THE OSBORNE EFFECT written by Leutrell Osborne, Sr. It is for your confidential use and consideration only, and may not be reproduced, sold, or redistributed without explicit prior approval of TRUTH FOR REEL Productions and the TRIPLE EEE Enterprise.
“The movie industry keeps getting richer and richer.
The market for movie entertainment has grown exponentially, and so have the potential rewards for big hits.” –Forbes
Working Title: THE OSBORNE EFFECT: Black Man in the CIA
Release Date: to be announced
Status: Pre-production
Genre: BIO-PIC Docudrama
Production Company:
Cast:
Director:
Screenwriter:
THE STORY
“The Spook Who Sat By the Door” (1973) meets “The Company” (2007).
Independent feature film, bio-pic. More than “The Spook Who Sat By the Door”, Mike Osborne went through the door, like Alice went through the Looking Glass into a different world. He dreamed of being a Spy Manager from the time he was twelve years old and his mother worked at CIA. Set against the backdrop of real events, the inspirational story of this CIA Cold Warrior breaks the mold and explodes public notions about CIA Case Officers, Covert Action and The Company. Characters include those who mentored Osborne at CIA, his rivals and opponents, his recruits, his family, and a host of friends each with their own roots in American history.
A dreamer, a family man, and “a spirit in human form on planet Earth,” Leutrell Osborne, Sr. was involved in some of the most exciting chapters of the Espionage Enterprise and global history. He lived to tell the adventurous tale. His 26 years of bold service at CIA spanned several Directors and Presidents, as well as pioneering contributions in a variety of field and administration assignments on several continents. His adventures included service in a Far Northern Country, paramilitary exploits, bugging an Embassy in a Latin American Country, taking the lead on the “Libyan Show,” running SIGINT signal intelligence in the
Osborne had the opportunity to meet politicians, notables, and spiritual leaders, such as Dr. Martin Luther King when he accepted his Nobel Peace Prize. He continues to work with Civil Rights leaders and insider watchdog investigators. His “grinds” include what he calls the “Triple K Assassinations,” domestic covert action of the COINTEL Factor, 9/11 pre-knowledge, blowback, foreign Covert Action policy, transnational drugs and money laundering, and more. He’s still on a mission, but from God. Spirit is his main motivator.
OVERVIEW
TRUTH FOR REEL Productions and the Triple EEE division of LOA are joint entertainment enterprises seeking production companies and investment for feature-length films for theatrical release. Our stories can be produced as fiction -- docudramas -- or factually-based documentaries. Our group of insightful investigative insiders has a unique perspective on esoteric research, clandestine activity and “deep politics.”
Distinct from the main line of historical fiction, in which the historical setting is a mere backdrop for a plot, docudramas demonstrate some or most of the following characteristics:
- A focus on the facts of the event being treated, as they are known;
- The use of literary and narrative techniques to flesh out or render story-like the bare facts of an event in history;
- A tendency to avoid overt commentary and explicit assertion of the creator's own point of view or beliefs.
TRUTH FOR REEL is currently seeking private funding for production of the dramatic motion picture property THE OSBORNE EFFECT: BLACK MAN IN THE CIA. The film is commercially exploitable to a mass audience through theatrical exhibition, pay-per view, cable broadcast and all home-video formats, including HD and Blue Ray. Outstanding funding required for completion.
OBJECTIVES
Our goal is to make "movies that matter" - quality, intelligent, commercial films - on modest, cost-efficient budgets. We know how to handle controversial subjects to unpack their stories with emotional logic, allowing audiences their own point of view and conclusions. Corrosive secrets are issues that remain or return to relevance. Rather than “fictionalizing,” we illustrate an informed point of view. Conspiracy and “truth” films have gone mainstream. Suspense films remain perennial favorites with wide audiences. Spy genre films continue to thrive. “Dramatic license” leaves interpretation open.
The co-founders of TRUTH FOR REEL Productions bring vision, passion, dedication, and a wealth of talents and experiences to the company. They have personal experience with the Intelligence Community and its characters. They have a unique perspective on the culture and mindscape, an extraordinary backstory of mindbending Cold War covert action and its persistent effects on the world in which we now live, today.
The TRUTH FOR REEL principals are professional activists and writers with intelligence, promotional, and publishing backgrounds. Our content-driven stories are geared to push the product through all domestic and international venues including U.S. Theatrical, Foreign Theatrical, domestic and foreign network television, video and DVD sales, cable, pay per view and satellite. Our mission is to create valuable feature film products that will generate highly-attractive ROIs for our investors. Obscure, small movies routinely make from two to ten times their investment.
DOCUDRAMA PROJECT
THE OSBORNE EFFECT: BLACK MAN IN THE CIA explores one man’s dream to join the Intelligence Community and desegregate various aspects of Agency culture, while maintaining a rich and rewarding home life and spiritual integrity. A biographical film, or biopic, is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their lives. Because the figures portrayed are actual people, whose actions and characteristics are known, biopics are considered some of the most demanding films of actors and actresses. Events are sometimes portrayed more dramatically than they actually occurred, time is "condensed" to fit all important events into the film or several people are blended into a composite.
Many historical films can’t cut it in
Good period music, such as that in The Big Chill, can help make and define a film. Soul, Motown and R&B classics would be a natural addition to this film, defining each time period. There have been some hit biopics, usually involving musicians—Ray, Walk the Line—probably because the music can rescue a mediocre script. For the most part, though,
Oddly, not all biopics are suffering—just the ones about people you have heard of. This is the Erin Brockovich phenomenon, in which a big star appears in a little-known story to great success. The Blind Side, about a Southern mom who adopts a black son, became a $240 million cultural milestone, the rare tale that has played to packed crowds in red and blue states. Will Smith's The Pursuit of Happyness was another feel-good blockbuster.
Docudramas recreate reality and can be used to explore social and national history. However, we need only think of the battles fought over docudramas like Oliver Stone's JFK (1991), Schindler’s List (1993) and “W” (2008) to see the heat which docudrama generates. Spy films which depict activities of Intelligence Officers are almost too numerous to mention. Some biopics purposely stretch the truth. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind was based on game show host Chuck Barris’ widely debunked, yet still popular, memoir of the same name, in which he claimed to be a CIA agent, and Kafka incorporated both the life of author Franz Kafka and the surreal aspects of his fiction.
The docudrama has become a culturally important form which is the site of political battles over the nature of "truth," "reality," and the media manipulation of history and everyday life. This is not a movie-of-the-week biopic, but a film from an inside view of how it might have happened, with the potential for lasting global and artistic importance. The representation of reality is not equal to the reality it represents. But docudrama does make claims to provide a fairly accurate interpretation of real historical events. In other words, it is a non-fictional drama.
Docudrama argues that lost or elusive moral perspectives can be regained. Functional distortions include created dialogues among characters, expressions of internal thoughts, meetings of people that never happened, events reduced to two or three days that actually occurred over weeks, and so forth. While the actuality a work recreates may show the exercise of right and wrong thrown into jeopardy, the docudramatization of actual people, incidents and events ultimately restores a sense of a moral system at work. The world here can still be a place where on some scale, in some way, the struggle for a balance between right and wrong attains coherence.
Standard dramatic formulas from mainstream film and television apply wholesale to representing history. These conventions include a goal-oriented protagonist with clear motivations; a small number of central characters (two to three) with more stereotyping for secondary characters; causes that are generally ascribed to personal sources rather than structural ones (psychological traumas rather than institutional dynamics); a dramatic structure geared to the length of the program (a two-hour movie might have the normal "seven-act" structure); and an intensification of emotional ploys. The desire for emotional engagement by the viewers (a feature valuable for maintaining the audience through commercials) produces an inflection of the docudrama into several traditional genres. In particular, docudramas may appeal to affects of suspense, terror, or tears of happiness or sadness.
STRATEGY
Critical quibbling aside, the docudrama is one of the most popular and lucrative genres in
Foreign markets comprise more than half of a film’s revenue, so our emphasis is on storylines that have interest on all continents. The spy-genre is a big hit abroad. Popular and profitable documentaries have proven that people will go see intelligent movies that strip away propaganda and historical lies. Controversy sells tickets and becomes a built-in aspect of PR. Other options with growing markets include Non-traditional Films, Large format films, direct-to-DVD movies, and small screen films, each having unique market characteristics.
TARGET MARKET
The theatre-going general public thrives on action films with a story. We will do everything in our creative power to make this revealing film receive a rating PG-13 from the MPAA so that it could be suitable for teenagers as well as our primary target audience, which are males 18-65 years of age. All completed films have a significant value in the international marketplace.
STAGES OF PRODUCTION
The budget will cover all stages of production from pre-production to principal photography and post-production, including sound and editing, public relations and marketing campaigns during post-production and after the film’s completion, music clearances and rights, composer, insurance, completion bond, contingencies, and cast. Budget minimum and maximum are cast contingent.
Author and film attorney Mark Litwak says the
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SCRIPT SYNOPSIS (Fictionalized Treatment)
CIA veteran Case Officer, Leutrell "Mike"Osborne, Sr. says even seemingly realistic CIA films are way off base describing operations. An ex-CIA spy master tells us what it's like on the inside of this top-secret organization and what he went through as a CIA spy manager in 30 foreign countries and as a Case Officer at
In order to tell about personal experiences, all books and movie projects by former CIA staff must be vetted by "The Company." Therefore, many choose to fictionalize their tales for greater freedom and to pump up the dramatic story line. Firstly, no one is even supposed to openly declare what countries they've worked in. Spy Managers are often under cover as diplomatic personnel, certainly a euphemism. There is no such designation as CIA "operative" [sic]. There are Case Officers, Agents, and Assets.
Leutrell M. Osborne, Sr. of
Operations include three types: 1) Intelligence, or collection of information, 2) Counter Intelligence (CI) to prevent or stop foreign intrusion; and, 3) Covert Action (CA). Other CIA activities include analysis and projections. Osborne’s specialty was and still is CI – counter intelligence. Many tricks are employed to reach tactical goals, including propaganda, mind control, infiltration, as well as creation and support of insurgents.
Intelligence is one form of control system. Other control systems on the minds of large populations include education (controls behavior), money (controls wealth), law (controls authority), politics (controls national will), economy (controls wealth), history (controls beliefs), psychology (controls thinking), philanthropy (controls opinion), medicine (controls health), religion (controls spiritual beliefs), media / propaganda (controls culture, opinion), and continuity of succession (controls power).
CIA is not the only intelligence agency, but it is deployed by and reports to the U.S. President. There are now 16 intelligence collection agencies (IC) coordinated by the DNI. They include military intelligence, information operations (IO, Intellipedians), satellite and electronic surveillance (SIGINT), science intelligence, even domestic spying and homeland security.
"Law enforcement in the
"When did the DNI's new leadership start determining that we had to give up rights so we can protect a vulnerability in our nation-state's security? How about suggesting that the DNI send a message out to the agencies and departments to do a better and stronger job at conducting Human Intelligence collection operations? We just might find out who and what the adversaries are doing. Thus, we don't have to give up our rights." Osborne has developed a Freedom Program to "counter those activities reducing freedoms, including dirty tricks such as COINTEL PRO." Osborne is currently offering his consultancy services to
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Reduce Memoires to 2 hr. film in 7 Acts –
Chapter I Spy Dreams (1939-1957)
Chapter 2 – The ABC's of CIA
Chapter 3 The Far Northern Country (FNC)
Chapter 4 Meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr.
Chapter 5 Earned PHD in Intelligence before my Bachelors
Chapter 6 Assignment abroad in Latin American Country (LAC)
Chapter 7 Advisor to DCIs: Colby and Bush
Chapter 8 Third tour abroad in the Communications Division
Chapter 9 Desegregating the Management for Arab Operations.
Chapter 10 Empowered and Enfranchised
BACKSTORY
Who doesn't love a good, tense spy thriller? Some of the very best films ground themselves in a gritty reality, focusing not on some fantasy or even thinly-veiled super secret spy organization, but on the CIA itself. Benchmark spy genre films are listed at the end.
Certain mistakes permeate the most popular films. One is the distinction between CIA Case Officers who function as Spy Managers and their contract agents (spies). No one is both a spy and a spy manager. "Operatives" is never an official designation. Another distinction is between Counter Intelligence (CI) which is clandestine or secret and Covert Action (CA) which is paramilitary and includes plausible deniability.
The Intelligence Community (IC) currently includes 16 agencies (called elements) led by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Because of this restructuring the Director of the CIA no longer reports directly to the President, except through the daily briefing. ODNI, Office of Director of National Intelligence now also controls the purse strings of the reinvented IC, whereas the former manager, the DCI, did not.
The CIA is the only member of the intelligence community that doesn't fall under the oversight of a larger cabinet seat. The CIA's focus is collecting intelligence and conducting clandestine operations (CA - Covert Action) for counterintelligence (CI) overseas. Its analysis is used by the military, policymakers, defense planners and law enforcement. Four directorates include Intelligence, Science and Technology, Support, and the National Clandestine Service.
Sinister Spectres
The best films focus on complex facts that change
Some accept and some reject CIA. CIA is a flawed system, often characterized as a sinister specter where the blame stops for myriad ills of society. Instead of superheroes and fierce gun battles, more realistic movies focus on spycraft, political maneuvering, disinformation, profiling, detective work, keen observation, and most importantly on very smart characters – those who fight with their brains instead of brawn. Because they aim to "entertain" rather than educate or inform, none of these films conform with practice.
Some movies focus on power plays on the Grand Chessboard, but there are also individual power plays among the players. As in real life, these quirky heroes and anti-heroes aren’t perfect. Some put personal interests above the mission. In Quantum of Solace, Bond is accused by M of operating from revenge rather than orders. Others go to the mat for their charges to save their lives and careers. There are myths about "rogue institutions" and "going off the reservation." In spy slang, Burn Notice means a compromised agent is blacklisted or terminated.
Corruption is an international fact of life. Sometimes, these movies deal with the extreme creepiness of criminals in and out of government -- an "Enemy of the State." Infractions range from a host of human rights violations including torture, to betrayal, to procedural infractions. Case Officers know that torture is punishment not extraction of critical data. "Body of Lies" gives a nod to the shame and real repercussions of
The dark side of the changing face of intelligence will likely be the subject of numerous future feature films. CIA’s “greatest hits” have been documented as well as their misses, as in Charlie Wilson's War and the 1997 TV film,
The classic Jack Ryan movie, Clear and Present Danger shows CIA involvement and interdiction in the roots of the Columbian drug cartels. The 2007 release, American Gangster depicts the domestic fallout of Golden Triangle heroin in inner city urban areas.
So many of our clandestine and covert incursions, including the lost War on Drugs, take place in drug-producing countries. It's no accident. Air America showed CIA aiding Asian drug lords. Afghan opium is now a big international issue, setting the stage for a new heroin epidemic. The Mexican mob is growing it now, too, as well as cocaine. They are poised to grab the
Perhaps we should be most afraid of what isn’t being shown, what isn’t being disclosed, what are still real state secrets. Syriana (2005) is probably still the quintessential topical CIA film. It is a common sense tale with the basic thesis that if you want to keep consuming petroleum products like there is no tomorrow then you are going to have to get used to pan-national corruption, designed poverty, terror-cell spawning, and doomed-to-failure empire gambits. It’s the spy, his enemies and the shadowy world that have secured the American lifestyle at the expense of others.
Feature films now compete with a new genre of low-budget independent documentary, “truth” or conspiracy films and idiosyncratic exposes, such as “Zeitgeist,” “Esoteric Agenda,” “JFK II,” and myriad 9/11 films. Each expresses a point of view alerting the citizenry to acts done in the name of our nation.
Some segments of the public have become de facto Digital Spies, using Open Source to track down facts and deduce patterns to satisfy their own ends. The spies are being spied on by the watchdogs, including those CIA veterans who have become disillusioned and know the "straw men," "dirty tricks" and "false flags" when they see them. They know the tales that "Wag the Dog."
Spy Genre
But the film world loves to focus on spies. The gamut includes propaganda films of World War II, the James Bond phenomenon, anti-communist spies of the Cold War era, military espionage in the Eighties and Nineties, and terrorism in the Naughties.
In 1973, the landmark spoof, The Spook Who Sat Next to the Door took on issues of discrimination at CIA and Black militancy. "Spook" was used as a racial slur, as well as slang for spy. This spook used his CIA paramilitary training to recruit militants. The story of hypocrisy and oppression has universal qualities. Soon after its release, this politically controversial film was suppressed. Now this political commentary is a radical time capsule, complete with stereotypes.
Spies thrill us and often rise to cult status. Spy films tend to fall into three categories. The formulaic range from the ultra-patriotic Jack Ryan stories to Bond films. The spoofy range from the suave “Our Man Flint,” "Matt Helm," and “Modesty Blaise” to the slick thriller "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" to the unabashedly puerile “Get Smart” and “Austin Powers” series. The wacky theories of Mel Gibson’s 1997 film “Conspiracy Theory” have become commonly accepted knowledge, no longer "fringe."
Sophisticated films focus less on gags than getting the tricky job done. They believably detail core principles and intelligence tasks beyond “bang & burn,” (demolition and sabotage), such as training, information gathering, risk assessment, security awareness and support, counter intelligence, recruiting, assassination, and double-crossing. Still, all films deal with our cultural fantasies of such things more than facts. All are flawed from the operational perspective of espionage insiders. Spies don't operate on their own but under the direction of Case Officers - spy managers. As the tagline for "Spy Game" says, "It's not how you play the game. It's how the game plays you."
CIA is a maze of acronyms that mystify the uninitiated. The real culture of CIA is as difficult to capture as the intelligence it seeks. The chain of command makes it difficult to place blame, when even a George Tenet can be bullied by a President into doctoring intel analysis for a war agenda. Hence, most spy films are the slice-of-life variety. There are many hierarchical levels from the deep insiders of Skull & Bones to the Case Officers, translators, analysts, the man in the street, assets, and pawns. They surveille one another as well as the enemy. They are The Watchers.
In films we all get a rare chance to watch back, to observe the masters of disguise and duplicity. Many of our opinions of clandestine and black ops come from these fictional depictions. We never seem to tire of these observational tales, so we can expect more “buzz” and many more Coming Attractions. They help us collectively process the shadowy underbelly and deeper dark realities of global life that support the American way of life. Dramatic enactment is more powerful than a news or TV story. It lets us into their lives and experience -- the feelings.
Watching You Watching Me Watching You
Undeniably the spy genre has tremendous box-office appeal. Each season brings the latest thriller. Our cultural myths play out in these films just as they do in the socio-political landscape of the Great Game. Myth is quite different than the blunt reality of espionage. The real fight is dirty, brutal and often illegal. It has repercussions – blowback. CIA is cast as the villain as often as not.
Aren’t governments accountable to their citizens? Thus, we have gritty cautionary tales on the hazards of working so closely with evil. They define who is a patriot and who is a traitor and who inhabits the No Man’s Land of moral relativism. The lines are blurry, so it can be tough to tell when they are crossed and double-crossed. They can wave the flag or show our secret shame and conflict. Dialogues hinge on leveraged trust and deceit.
Some of these movies are not so subtle propaganda for the left or right. Does the end ever justify the means? Does an immediate victory insure future retaliation? No nation ever really forgets anything whether the grudge remains secret or open. Muslims still call us The Crusaders. All wars are Cold Wars, including asymmetrical war. Fates of nations hang in the balance. Our fates hang in the balance.
Seeing is Deceiving
But, the turbulent life of CIA spy managers and spies isn't exactly what
Visual representations of this normally unseen agency is an evergreen subject. Perhaps it helps us enact and react to our national identity. It certainly shows us our collective shadow side even when that is hard to take. These films show us the uncertain landscape and morphing atmosphere of some of the world’s most dangerous and critical situations. Spy films are full of secrets.
Dark Shadows
Dirty secrets are at the core of every toxic family, and the dominant hand of the CIA is no exception because it must keep close secrets to function effectively. CIA is the scapegoat of the Shadow Government with its corporate greed and phony religious talk. It has created a national emergency and a Cult of Secrecy. CIA doesn't operate in a vacuum. It is a capitalist tool of the military industrial complex (MIC). The Shadow Government includes the Executive Branch, the Intelligence Branch, the War Department, the Weapons Industry, and the Financial Department.
Because of the fear-mongers, we are now scared of our own collective shadow, everything we have denied and projected as a nation. Ethnic, religious and racial stereotyping is projection, the root of the blame frame which identifies the enemy. We are in the midst of global financial meltdown. No longer backed by the unquestioned "might is right" military capacity of the
We have met the enemy and it is us. All this is fodder for filmmakers, led by Oliver Stone's spoof of George "W." Sometimes, what can you do but laugh at the absurdity?
CINEMATIC SURVEILLANCE: Films explore the creative space between action and identity. The spy genre explores the potential in masquerade where identity is conditional – a fashioned self. Things are never what they seem; there is always a mind-bending twist. The viewer has the enviably safe position of the Observer Self, free to come to a personalized view of unfolding events. One gets to participate as the innocent caught up in clandestine activities, then go home unscathed to order pizza.
There are lots of spy and spy-fi movies, but most of them bear little resemblance to reality, nor do they try to do so, even when they have knowledgable consultants who know better. Films are made in the editing room, long after shooting. But while we watch the movies, the public is watching the spies back while the filmmakers simultaneously shape their opinions. Some might call that mind control stronger than any of that exerted by CIA. Often they show us our folly, or hidden truths, such as Lords of War, in which illegal arms dealers receive political protection at the highest level. After all, small wars are good for business, or are they?
CONSENSUS NARRATIVE: Films make us see things in a certain way and it may be difficult to distinguish fact from fancy in this genre where the real and unreal meld as “friction.” This friction is a defining characteristic of the faultlines of our collective societal values, which films mirror back to us. But the mirroring can be as spurious as forged documentation. They reveal our collective identity crisis.
Do we find self-justification in such cathartic experiences? Does it make us receptive to new policies? It is not simple viewing – SPY SEE -- but also is “in-forming,” making something of us we would not be otherwise. For example, the Oliver Stone film "JFK" caused most people born after the event to consider Stone’s version (based on Jim Marrs's books) the historical summary of the assassination.
DYSTOPIAN THEMES: In this context, we are most interested in those serious films that deal either with real issues or actual events or depict untold history from behind the scenes. These are the most politically relevant and potentially explosive despite the success of more fanciful stories with superheroes like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Tom Cruise. Charlie Wilson's War depicts a moment of seeming triumph on the world stage later followed by the blowback of 9/11 when the same players bit the hand that fed them. But here all we see is the big "Win."
Depending on the political climate, each decade has its own style of narrative, often based on a best-seller book. They range from cloak and dagger to exposes to virtual science fiction, varying with the market or trends they seek to tap. Topical issues now include “terrorism,” “ghost detainees” and torture. Lions for Lambs showed recruiting techniques used in universities to tap talent and carried a strong political message. Movie portrayals of covert operations have to an extent mirrored events in the real world, including the hottest new technologies and the power-driven sins of the military-industrial complex.
Benchmark CIA Films
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962 - 2004), THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD (1965), DAY OF THE JACKEL (1973), THE CONVERSATION (1974),THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (1975), TELEFON (1977), HOPSCOTCH (1980), THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND (1983), THE INSIDE MAN (1984), THE FALCON & THE SNOWMAN (1985), NO WAY OUT (1987), THE RUSSIA HOUSE (1990), AIR AMERICA (1990), JACOB’S LADDER (1990), JACK RYAN SERIES· The Hunt for Red October(1990) – Alec Baldwin· Patriot Games (1992) – Harrison Ford· Clear and Present Danger (1994) – Harrison Ford· The Sum of All Fears (2002) – Ben Affleck· Without Remorse (TBD) – Ryan Gosling, SNEAKERS (1992), MOTHER NIGHT (1996), THE ASSIGNMENT (1997), ENEMY OF THE STATE (1998), RONIN (1998), RAINBOW SIX (1998), ALDRICH AMES: Traitor Within (1998)
THE OPERATIVE (2000), SPY GAME (2001), THE TAILOR OF PANAMA (2001), THE BOURNE TRILOGY (2002-2004-2007), CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND (2002) questionable “memoir,” THE RECRUIT (2003), SECOND NATURE (2003), TARGET OF OPPORTUNITY (2004), ICON (2005), SYRIANA (2005), MUNICH (2005), THE GOOD SHEPHERD (2006) CIA inner workings; James Jesus Angelton, RENDITION (2007), LIONS FOR LAMBS (2007), BREACH (2007) FBI traitor to the Russians, CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR (2007) Soviet/Afghan War, BURN AFTER READING (2008) Spoof, BODY OF LIES (2008) Iraq/Jordan hunt for terrorists, EAGLE EYE (2008) Spy-fi domestic super-surveillance by AI, TAKEN (2008), QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008) Bond, Traitor (2008), DUPLICITY (2009) MI6 marries CIA - mayhem ensues, Men Who Stare At Goats (2009) true life psi-fi of First Earth Battalion psi guy resurrection for Iraq War.
DEVELOPMENT PHASE
The synopsis (above) was shopped at NAPTE, 2010 where it was determined suited to feature film development. It has been extensively researched with core content and characters identified. A recontextualization has generated publication interest. Online versions of the story have drawn positive response from interested publishers.
The backstory is summarized at
An un-narrated illustrated video sketch is viewable at
DISTRIBUTION
Upon securing first monies through private financing, the THE OSBORNE EFFECT: BLACK MAN IN THE CIA Company will seek out pre-sold distribution or negative pickup with a letter of agreement or letter of credit from interested distributors to assist in putting together the total budget for the picture. At present, all rights (including theatrical, cable, broadcast, pay-per-view, home-video, and international) are available.
In a sellers’ market, every distributor wants to outmaneuver their competitors and acquire the few commercial independent films available at any given time. Given the scarcity of exceptional, excellent, or even quality ones, we anticipate a lot of competition for all our films, especially, THE OSBORNE EFFECT: BLACK MAN IN THE CIA which has the potential to ignite a rather fierce bidding war.
COMPANY, CAST, CREW
BUDGET
RISK
INVESTMENT OPTIONS
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Almost all film markets are expanding, and because of new technologies such as HD-DVDs, are also growing in number. So although a
Outstanding funding required for completion: $XX Million.
Coming Soon:
THE OSBORNE EFFECT: BLACK MAN IN THE CIA
PRINCIPALS
Leutrell “Mike” Osborne joined the CIA in 1957, and became one of the first African American Case Officers (C/O). He directed CIA agents and assets in over 24 countries on three continents. Mr. Osborne is the only C/O to also serve as a Communications Security Officer (COMSEC Officer) for over six years. Mr. Osborne resigned his post at CIA in 1984 to pursue private sector opportunities. He returned to government service in 1989, where he oversaw Small Business Administration contracting programs for the Office of Personnel Management.
In 1994, Mr. Osborne retired from Federal Government after 31 years of service. He then returned to private sector advising small businesses on the acquisition of government contracts. In addition, he began an active schedule of personal appearances, radio interviews and television commentary. He and his wife, Rose, have been married for more than 50 years and have five children. Mr. Osborne lives in
Contact information:
email: iiculture@mac.com
Skype: “Leutrell”
Telephone 301 858 8455
Website: http://leutrellosborne.com/?3bbf8f10
COMPS –
The Company (2007)
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment || Not Rated || Oct 23, 2007
| Reviewed by Roy Earle How Does The DVD Stack Up?
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SYNOPSIS
Using a combination of real and fictional characters, this 3-part (6 hour) epic mini-series tells the story of the CIA from the Cold War, beginning in the early 1950s, through the Hungarian Revolution and Bay of Pigs, to the fall of the Berlin Wall in the 1990s.
Most of the action is viewed through the eyes of a Yale graduate/operative, Jack McAuliffe (Chris O’Donnell) who, along with his superiors, is convinced that there is a Russian “mole” in the organization. Even so, it takes decades to flush out the traitor.
CRITIQUE
Adapted from a nearly 900 page novel by Robert Littell, The Company takes a look at the ostensibly inner workings of the Central Intelligence Agency and, whether true or not, claims that its major failures were due to a Russian “mole” in the organization. According to this film, it was this “mole” who, among other betrayals, informed the Russians that the
The decades-long search for this supposed “mole,” which has a fictional outcome, is the main storyline of this more-or-less compelling, well-made miniseries. Filmed in
The series’ one problem is that, even though there are a couple of good “red herrings,” a keen-eyed viewer is going to figure out the identity of the “mole” during the first episode.
The story revolves around five key characters. Yale grad Jack McAuliffe (O’Donnell) is a field operative who seems to have a front row seat wherever the main action is taking place. He tries to help East Berliners escape over the wall, and even has a tragic love affair with one of the potential refugees. He’s fighting with the Hungarian Freedom Fighters, lands in
Two of McAuliffe’s Yale classmates also figure prominently in the story. His best friend, Leo Kritzky (Alessandro Nivola), joins the CIA at the same time as McAuliffe, marries a
Yevgeny Tsipin (Rory Cochrane), on the other hand, is a Russian immigrant, attending the university, who returns to his homeland to be trained as a spy, then comes back to the United States where he serves as a “sleeper agent” and the primary link to the CIA “mole”.
Harvey Torriti (Alfred Molina), known as “The Sorcerer,” is McAuliffe’s cynical, world-weary mentor and the CIA’s counterintelligence chief, while James Angleton (Michael Keaton) is a brilliant, albeit ruthless and paranoid, analyst who makes it his “life’s work” to discover the identity of the CIA “mole,” code name “Sasha”. Angleton was, in fact, a real person, feared by his colleagues, and labeled the “J. Edgar Hoover” of the CIA. Keaton’s cold, low-key portrayal of this very unlikable human being is worthy of Emmy consideration.
Directed by Mikael Salomon, The Company is a fast-moving, well-written thriller (by Ken Nolan) that, in the end, makes one ponder as to which side in the Cold War were really “the good guys” and which were “the bad guys”.
THE VIDEO
The widescreen picture, mastered in high definition, is crisp and sharp. There are no flaws whatsoever.
THE AUDIO
The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound is crystal clear. No problems.
THE EXTRAS
Declassified and The Hidden Hand are two lengthy featurettes in which the filmmakers and the actors discuss the origins and the making of The Company.
Interestingly, the original concept was to make Littell’s book into a theatrical feature, directed by Ridley Scott, but it was, ultimately decided that it would require a mini-series in order to do the work justice.
Covert Mission is, I assume, a DVD-ROM game, however I was unable to access it on my Macintosh computer.
FINAL THOUGHT
The Company is certainly a candidate for multiple viewings, therefore if you like historical spy stories, I would buy it.
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973)
Average Rating:6.1/10Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Based on Sam Greenlee's controversial novel, THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR is a hard-hitting shocker that depicts a world in which the long-suppressed black man fights back with a vengeance. Director Ivan Dixon's uncompromising adaptation was relegated to bottom-rung status upon its release, and it subsequently slipped into oblivion for decades until the film was rediscovered and released on DVD in 2004. Lawrence Cook plays Dan Freeman, a head-nodding, smiling African-American who impresses his CIA cohorts with his winning demeanor. What they don't realize is that Freeman's friendly façade is nothing more than a mask for a deep seated hatred of white people. When he returns to his
Starring: Lawrence Cook, Paula Kelly
Director: Ivan Dixon
