Investigation: Intelligence Agencies and the “Stars”

While this is mainly about intelligence agencies and Hollywood, I also included some random information about the Central Intelligence Agency funding random organisations back in the day of random media outlets just to show that, honestly, they will fund anything as long as it accomplishes their goal. Also, by the way, if you decide to go and read further into the 1950–1970 stuff, you’ll realise that there is essentially some kind of feedback loop where the C.I.A. funds and manipulates foreign publications and then American journalists write up on it, or books written by agents end up in bestseller lists. Anyway, here you go. The article was published on June 1, 20XX.

“I can’t tell you how many times this happened. Because he’s going to be playing a CIA guy in a movie? That’s the criteria now? You just have to be a friend of the agency and you can come in and walk around? In the meantime, people who are undercover are having to wall through the halls with their hands over their faces because these people aren’t cleared. It’s insane.” — John Kiriakou

In 1915, West Point engineers assisted D. W. Griffith with technical advice and provided artillery for the movie Death of a Nation.

In 1924, D. W. Griffith received over 1,000 cavalrymen and a military band from the United States Department of Defence for his movie, America.

In 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency was founded.

“The connection is not quite as odd as it might appear. At this time the new agency, staffed mainly by Yale and Harvard graduates, many of whom collected art and wrote novels in their spare time, was a haven of liberalism when compared with a political world dominated by McCarthy or with J Edgar Hoover’s FBI. If any official institution was in a position to celebrate the collection of Leninists, Trotskyites and heavy drinkers that made up the New York School, it was the CIA.” — The Independent

Soon after the founding, the Central Intelligence Agency established the Propaganda Assets Inventory division, which was also informally known as Wisner’s Wurlitzer after the first chief of Propaganda Assets Inventory, Frank G. Wisner.

Between 1947 to 1967, the Central Intelligence Agency sponsored numerous conferences, art exhibitions, concerts and magazines to push anti-Soviet propaganda.

In 1948, the United States Department of Defence established an entertainment liaison office.

In 1950, the Central Intelligence Agency established the International Organisations Division led by Tom Braden.

Also in 1950, the Central Intelligence Agency also established the Congress For Cultural Freedom, led by an agent, which eventually had offices in 35 countries and published over 24 magazines such as the Der Monat, El Mundo Nuevo, Encounter, Forum, Preuves, Atlas, Thought, Paris Match and Quest (which was shut down after intervention from Ambassador Cohn Galbraith). One museum ran by Nelson Rockefeller, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, was contracted to the Congress For Cultural Freedom.

At some point after 1950, Tom Braden was replaced with Cord Meyer, Jr. as the person in charge of the International Organisations Division at the Central Intelligence Agency.

The Central Intelligence Agency then dispatched a team led by E. Howard Hunt to purchase the film rights to Animal Farm from George Orwell’s widow, which led to the change to the ending removing the criticism of the humans and leaving only the animals.

The Central Intelligence Agency also founded the organisation the Farfield Foundation led by Julius Fleischmann.

The Central Intelligence Agency also brokered a relationship with a number of Jewish ex-Communists as an access point to the intellectual community, with three intermediaries being used including Nicholas, a cousin of Vladimir Nabokov.

“The decision to include culture and art in the US Cold War arsenal was taken as soon as the CIA was founded in 1947. Dismayed at the appeal communism still had for many intellectuals and artists in the West, the new agency set up a division, the Propaganda Assets Inventory, which at its peak could influence more than 800 newspapers, magazines and public information organisations. They joked that it was like a Wurlitzer jukebox: when the CIA pushed a button it could hear whatever tune it wanted playing across the world.
The next key step came in 1950, when the International Organisations Division (IOD) was set up under Tom Braden. It was this office which subsidised the animated version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, which sponsored American jazz artists, opera recitals, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s international touring programme. Its agents were placed in the film industry, in publishing houses, even as travel writers for the celebrated Fodor guides. And, we now know, it promoted America’s anarchic avant-garde movement, Abstract Expressionism.” — The Independent

At some stage, the Central Intelligence Agency funnelled millions of dollars using the Marshall Plan through organisations such as the Ford Foundation and fake philanthropies it had created.

“We couldn’t spend it all. There were no limits, and nobody had to account for it. It was amazing.” — Gilbert Greenway

At some stage, Isaiah Berlin and Stephen Spender became aware of the Central Intelligence Agency’s efforts to influence the intellectual community.

In 1951, the Central Intelligence Agency founded the organisation Free Radio China with another organisation, the Committee For Free Asia (now known as the Asia Foundation ran by Robert Blum).

In the early 1950s, Tom Braden was hired to lead the Central Intelligence Agency’s covert cultural division. Another participant was Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

“If the other side can use ideas that are camouflaged as being local rather than Soviet-supported or stimulated, then we ought to be able to use ideas camouflaged as local ideas.” — Tom Braden

Also in the early 1950s, Luigi Luraschi was employed as the Head of Domestic and Foreign Censorship at Paramount, as well as sending reports to the Central Intelligence Agency about how censorship was boosting the United States’ image in foreign culture. Luraschi also added African-Americans as extras into numerous films to combat the Soviet Union’s criticism of the United States’ race problem.

In 1954, the Central Intelligence Agency funded the creation of the British animated movie Animal Farm.

In October 1954, Sig Mickelson visited the office of William S. Paley at CBS News, where two agents at the Central Intelligence Agency met with him and informed him that Austin Goodrich was an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.

“Sig Mickelson, who was president of CBS News in the 1950’s, said yesterday that his organisation had cooperated with the Central Intelligence Agency to the extent of ‘sharing information’ under implied instructions from William S. Paley, chairman of CBS Inc.”
[…]
“In a telephone interview from London, Mr. Mickelson said that, on request, the network had provided intelligence agents with ‘outtakes,’ or portions of news film not broadcast on the air, that usually dealt with disturbances in foreign countries.” — The New York Times

“The museum was also linked to the CIA by several other bridges. William Paley, the president of CBS broadcasting and a founding father of the CIA, sat on the members’ board of the museum’s International Programme. John Hay Whitney, who had served in the agency’s wartime predecessor, the OSS, was its chairman. And Tom Braden, first chief of the CIA’s International Organisations Division, was executive secretary of the museum in 1949.” — The Independent

In 1955, the animated movie Animal Farm was released.

The same year, Radio Free Asia came to an end.

Before 1956, the Central Intelligence Agency interfered with the adaptation of 1984, where they added an alternate ending where Winston Smith remained defiant against Big Brother, a departure of the actual ending where Winston Smith becomes compliant with Big Brother.

Before 1958, an agent at the Central Intelligence Agency, Edward Lansdale, contacted the director of The Quiet American, Joseph L. Mankiewicz and persuaded him to alter Alden Pyle’s character from being an American government official in Vietnam based on Colonel Lansdale to an aid worker and toymaker — therefore changing his moral allegiance.

In 1958, Graham Greene disowned the adaptation of his book, The Quiet American, upon discovering Alden Pyle’s role had changed, and that the plot focused on a love triangle rather than the geopolitics of America and Vietnam.

At some stage, the Central Intelligence Agency became ingrained with Hollywood, as the need for disguises was easier with Hollywood’s development.

“There was a time when we were doing a lot of operations in Moscow that demanded quick-change disguises, which were developed right in this town.” — Milton Bearden

In 1959, the Central Intelligence Agency founded the organisation Foreign Publications Inc. to push literature written by editors and publishers escaping Cuba.

In April 1959, the Central Intelligence Agency reached out to Robert Maheu in order to arrange companionship for King Hussein of Jordan, which may have led to his relationship with actress Susan Cabot.

“In connection with the official State visit of a foreign Head of State in 1959.
Office of Security was requested to render special support during the Los Angeles and New York phases of the tour.
According to NEA personnel, the foreign official was especially desirous of female companionship during his Los Angeles visit and it was requested that appropriate arrangements be made through a controlled source of the Office in order to a satisfied visit.

On 3 April 1959 Mr. Robert Maheu, a cleared Office of Security contact, was asked to arrange a party for the foreign official at Los Angeles, California. This was done by Mr. Maheu through [CLASSIFIED]. Mr. [CLASSIFIED] is a prominent Los Angeles attorney and Hollywood figure previously granted [CLASSIFIED] Division. By pre-arrangement, during the course of this party, the foreign official was introduced to [CLASSIFIED] a [CLASSIFIED]. For the duration of the foreign official’s stay in Los Angeles, 3 through 7 April 1959, he and the [CLASSIFIED] became intimate friends. It was indicated by a [CLASSIFIED] who was integrated into the State party, that the froeign official desired to continue his friendship with [CLASSIFIED] and that he wished to meet with her during his stay in New York City from 14 through 18 April 1959.” — JFK Files

In the early 1960’s, the Free Cuba Radio was founded by the Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1964, Milton Bearden was hired by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Between 1965–1974, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Clyde Tolson vetted every single episode of the television series The F.B.I., with J. Edgar Hoover attempting to cancel the show on multiple occasions. Tolson’s involvement led to a reduction of violence for The F.B.I.’s final three seasons.

In 1967, information was revealed about the funding of various academic, cultural and publishing organisations by the Central Intelligence Agency, leading to cutbacks to the Propaganda Assets Inventory division.

In 1971, the Central Intelligence Agency stopped supporting Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. The Central Intelligence Agency was able to support these organisations through two front organisations, the Free Europe Committee and the American Committee For Liberation.

On December 26, 1977, The New York Times published the article “Worldwide Propaganda Network Built By the C.I.A.”

In mid-January 1980, Tony Mendez created the fictional organisation Studio Six as a front for the Central Intelligence Agency to rescue a number of hostages in Iran. During the time the studio was open, Steven Spielberg sent in a script.

In 1981, Tommy Lee Jones married Kimberlea Cloughly, where two of his best men were Gary DeVore and Chase Brandon, who met for the first time.

On October 1, 1984, the book The Hunt For Red October was published by Tom Clancy.

After October 1, 1984, the Central Intelligence Agency invited Tom Clancy to their headquarters. Clancy was invited to the headquarters on multiple other occasions afterwards.

Before 1986, Jerry Bruckheimer and Paramount Pictures worked with the United States Department of Defence on the movie Top Gun.

Before 1989, Phil Strub was hired as the entertainment liaison at the United States Department of Defense.

In 1996, the Central Intelligence Agency decided to push for a more positive reception to their identity to counter-act the numerous Hollywood projects with an anti-intelligence agency slant, which led to the creation of the Entertainment Liaison Office. Chase Brandon, a 25-year clandestine services division veteran officer and former C.I.A. Chief in Houston at the Central Intelligence Agency and a cousin of Tommy Lee Jones, was hired as the first official liaison to Hollywood to portray the agency in a positive light.

In relation to Houston, this is an aside, but Chase Brandon also listed himself as the Vice President and Chief of Operations of the fictional Patriot Petroleum in Baytown, TX, which was just a front for the Central Intelligence Agency, and stated he knew numerous oil executives in Texas.

Before October 13, 1990, Robert W. Cort, a former official at the Central Intelligence Agency, became a producer for the film In the Company of Spies.

Before 1991, Ed Saxon acted as the liaison between the filmmakers of The Silence of the Lambs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation hoping that more female agents would be recruited due to the movie while Saxon had reservations about working with the organisation.

In 1994, Milton Bearden retired from his 30-year clandestine services role in the Central Intelligence Agency. Bearden had ran the Central Intelligence Agency’s covert support of Afghan resistance against the Soviets, and the Soviet-East European Division at the Central Intelligence Agency.

“When I came out of thirty years in the C.I.A., I said, ‘that’s it, I’m done. I am going to write books and make movies.’ Why? If I don’t tell this story, it will be told by Oliver Stone.” — Milton Bearden

Before 1996, the United States Department of Defence refused to assist with the movie Courage Under Fire.

Before 1997, the United States Department of Defence requested a number of changes to the script of Contact in order to civilianise the military.

On May 6, 1997, Gary DeVore wrote a note in his day planner.

“Undersecretary for int’l narcotics makers. Chase. Crime and narcotics center. CNC. Largest center in CIA. Espionage agents work with local police, gov’t, etc. Do cover work on problems locals won’t handle. Airfields, burn labs, fuel storage.” — Gary DeVore

In June 1997, Gary DeVore worked on an action movie screenplay set in the American invasion of Panama in 1989, discussing Manuel Noriega’s regime and the United States narcotics programmes in Latin America with Chase Brandon. Individually, DeVore learned about the money laundering through Panamian banks and American government money laundering.

On June 23, 1997, Gary DeVore travelled to Santa Fe, NM to work on a screenplay for a remake of The Big Steal, staying at the ranch of Marsha Mason.

On June 27, 1997, at 10:15 P.M., Gary DeVore stopped for gas.

On June 28, 1997, at 01:15 A.M., Gary DeVore contacted his wife, Wendy DeVore, outside of Barstow, returning from Santa Fe, NM to California, who became concerned he was under duress and that somebody else was in the car with him. Gary DeVore was never heard from again, with no body found.

Between January 1997 and the summer of 1997, Robert De Niro was introduced to Milton Bearden through former ambassador Richard Holbrooke, as Holbrooke provided De Niro the telephone number of Bearden after De Niro asked about meeting K.G.B. agents for his movie, The Good Shepherd. Holbrooke had become acquaintances with Bearden while Bearden was the Station Chief in Bonn, Germany.

In the summer of 1997, Robert De Niro attended the Moscow Film Festival to collect an award, then left for a few days to meet with a number of former K.G.B. agents and generals, including Gennady Vasilenko and Leonid Shebarshin, at an old K.G.B. social club, at a stadium and the Gromov Flight Research Institute, arranged by Milton Bearden who also attended the meeting. Bearden arranged this through Jack “Cowboy” Platt (a former agent at the Central Intelligence Agency) and Gennady (a former member of the K.G.B.), both of whom were members of an unofficial trio known as the Three Musketeers. De Niro and Platt were aware of each other through Platt’s sister, an executive producer named Polly Platt.

”Like anything, relationships are the whole thing. A person puts their life in the handler’s hands. So the handler has to have the ability to make the asset feel comfortable… the KGB and CIA guys were brothers under the skin.” — Robert De Niro

“Throughout the years of Shepherd development, De Niro would meet with over 40 CIA officers and over 20 KGB. But his lasting relationships would be those with Bearden, Cowboy and Gennady. For the Musketeers, it was a friendship that would soon have dramatic repercussions.” — The Daily Beast

Between 1997 to 1998, a representative at the Central Intelligence Agency visited the DeVote household to request access to Gary DeVore’s computer.

At some stage, Hollywood private investigator Don Crutchfield was hired to investigate Gary DeVore’s disappearance, and later stated that Gary DeVore’s script about Panama had been deleted from his computer. The script was also apparently on a laptop in the Ford Explorer, but the laptop had disappeared.

Before 1998, Robert De Niro worked with Milton Bearden on the movie Ronin.

On June 29, 1998, Robert W. Welkos published the article “Without a Trace” in The Los Angeles Times, which was about the disappearance of Gary DeVore.

“Yet despite an extensive air and ground search, despite help from private eyes, professional trackers, bloodhounds and psychics, and despite public appeals on ‘America’s Most Wanted’ and numerous TV news programs, the mystery of Gary Devore has only deepened with the passing calendar.” — The Los Angeles Times

On July 3, 1998, Douglas Crawford retraced the last known route of Gary DeVore, finding evidence of DeVore’s car wreck at the point where the Antelope Valley Freeway crosses the California Aqueduct.

“Crawford declined to discuss the case, saying he had agreed to an exclusive paid interview with the television program ‘Extra’.
‘I didn’t know the guy, that’s all I’ll say’, Crawford said.
He refused to state his age or his occupation.” — The Los Angeles Times

On July 5, 1998, Douglas Crawford sent an e-mail to DeVore’s publicist, Michael Sands, with the evidence of DeVore’s car wreck.

On July 7, 1998, the Santa Barbara County sheriff’s detectives began their search for Gary DeVore.

On July 8, 1998, underwater investigators using Crawford’s information discovered DeVore’s submerged white Ford Explorer and his body in the California Aqueduct near Palmdale.

“The most farfetched of the theories was that Devore had been recruited for a secret mission with the Central Intelligence Agency — based on several conversations he had with a friend who works in public affairs at CIA headquarters in Langley, VA.” — The Los Angeles Times

Before December 12, 1998, Milton Bearden had taken Robert De Niro to Afghanistan and Berlin. Bearden also took De Niro to Pakistan.

It should be noted that Milton Bearden was involved in the Aldrich Ames scandal, being scapegoated for it by the Central Intelligence Agency.

On December 12, 1998, Vernon Loeb published the article “Undercover to Hardcover” in The Washington Post, which was about Milton Bearden and his wife, Marie-Catherine.

Between January 1999 and October 13, 1999, Tim Matheson was given permission to record footage of the interior of the Central Intelligence Agency’s headquarters for In the Company of Spies, with 60 off-duty employees participating as extras for one Saturday.

On October 13, 1999, the Central Intelligence Agency hosted the premiere of In the Company of Spies at their headquarters, which was attended by Director George Tenet, his family, Tom Berenger and Ron Silver.

Before 2000, the Central Intelligence Agency requested for Robert De Niro’s character in Meet the Parents to not possess a number of intimidating Agency torture manuals. In the interim, De Niro was also working with Milton Bearden on Meet the Parents.

In 2000, the Federal Bureau of Investigation pushed to have their agents be interviewed for a DVD extra on the movie Donnie Brasco.

In January 2000, the documentary “On the Inside: The CIA” was aired on the Discovery Channel, which allowed a person access to the grounds of the Central Intelligence Agency, as well as The Farm, and included the dramatisation of an American citizen held in a Panamanian prison during the reign of Manuel Noriega.

On March 18, 2000, Laurence Zuckerman published the article “How the C.I.A. Played Dirty Tricks With Culture” in The New York Times.

Before 2001, the producers of the movie Jurassic Park III contacted Phil Strub, the entertainment liaison for the United States Department of Defense, for advice.

On May 21, 2001, the movie Pearl Harbor premiered on the aircraft carrier Stennis.

Before September 2001, Chase Brandon, a veteran officer at the Central Intelligence Agency, was hired as the first official liaison between the Central Intelligence Agency and Hollywood in order to portray the Central Intelligence Agency in a positive light, which worked for the television series 24, Alias and The Agency. Brandon worked with The Agency’s executive producer, Wolfgang Petersen, and The Agency was written by a former officer at the Central Intelligence Agency. The show creator, Michael Beckner, met with Chase Brandon and allowed him to record parts of the pilot at Central Intelligence Agency headquarters.

“I guess you could say I’ve become the first overt spokesman for the covert side of the agency. I figured that if I gave out a name and a phone number, people would call. And it worked. Suddenly the phone started ringing.”
[…]
“We’ve always been portrayed erroneously as evil and Machiavellian. It just took the agency a long time to follow what the F.B.I. and the Pentagon have done, and engage filmmakers and support projects that portray us in the light we want to be seen in.” — Chase Brandon

“Their support is a strictly case-by-case basis. If they don’t like the script, we won’t have their support that week.” — Shaun Cassidy

“The Hellfire missile thing, they suggested that. I didn’t ccome up with this stuff. I think they were doing a public opinion poll by virtue of giving me some good ideas.” — Michael Beckner

The Central Intelligence Agency’s outreach also affected, in some forms, Salt (2010), The Parsifal Mosaic, an untitled Bin Laden movie, Top Chef and Covert Affairs.

Also before September 2001, Chase Brandon worked as a technical consultant for the films Bad Company and Sum of All Fears. Brandon worked directly with the director of Sum of All Fears, Phil Alden Robinson, and was stationed on the set in Montreal. Brandon used unclassified materials from the Central Intelligence Agency to help replicate sets for the Central Intelligence Agency’s Russia desk.

Also before September 2001, Ben Affleck sat with Russian intelligence assets from the Central Intelligence Agency for one day in preparation for his role in Sum of All Fears. This was arranged due to the Central Intelligence Agency’s positive relationship with Tom Clancy, with Director George Tenet providing a tour of the headquarters to the makers of Sum of All Fears. The United States Department of Defence also provided an extremely wild amount of military equipment for the makers of The Sum of All Fears for the cost of $1 million. The aircraft carrier Stennis was also used during filming, although the United States Department of Defence changed how the Stennis was treated in the movie — instead of being completely destroyed, only their aircraft capabilities were damaged.

Before September 11, 2001, the Central Intelligence Agency planned to premiere The Agency at their headquarters.

In September 2001, the television series Alias started to air.

After September 11, 2001, the Central Intelligence Agency cancelled their planned premiere of The Agency at their headquarters, while the pilot episode in question was shelved by the television network due to it being about a terrorist attack by Osama bin Laden. It was replaced with an episode about preventing Fidel Castro’s assassination.

Before September 29, 2001, Chase Brandon declined to cooperate with the movies The Bourne Identity and Spy Game, although Brandon met with director Tony Scott.

On September 29, 2001, Patrick Goldstein published the article “The CIA Spins Itself” in The Los Angeles Times.

Before December 2001, the United States Department of Defence requested for Ridley Scott to remove the background of John Stebbins from the movie Black Hawk Down who was convicted via military tribunal of raping his 6-year-old daughter in an attempt to present the United States military as a force of good. Because hiding child rape convictions makes you the good guy or something, I don’t know. They renamed John Stebbins into John Grimes anyway, played by Young Obi-Wan Kenobi. Black Hawk Down was of personal interest to Chairman Hugh Shelton.

“All these people that run studios — they go to Washington, they hang around with Senators, they hand around with C.I.A. Directors, and everybody’s on board.” — Bob Baer

Before 2002, the makers of Windtalkers were given access to military locations by the United States Department of Defence.

On November 18, 2002, Bob Sullivan published the article “Bond gadgets: fact, fiction, fun” in NBC News, which featured quotes from Chase Brandon.

Before 2003, an agent at the Central Intelligence Agency was hired as a consultant to the movie The Recruit, where he provided advice and allegedly (according to an anonymous journalist — and we all know how reliable that is — so make of that what you will) misdirected filmmakers. An agent at the Central Intelligence Agency was also part of the DVD extras to explain that a scene featuring a trainee being beaten in a mock interrogation was fiction.

Also before 2003, the United States Department of Defence requested for a number of script alterations to the movie Hulk in order to disassociate their name from laboratories creating monsters and the code name “Ranch Hand”.

On June 1, 2003, David Wise published the article “Of Moles and Men” in The Los Angeles Times, which was about Bearden’s history with the Central Intelligence Agency.

On August 23, 2003, Hollywood Reporter revealed that Jennifer Garner had been hired by the Central Intelligence Agency’s Chase Brandon to record a recruitment video for university graduates due to her work on Alias.

Before 2005, Bob Baer consulted for the movie Syriana starring George Clooney, who played the character Bob Barnes based on Baer.

On August 25, 2005, Gennady was beaten, arrested and hauled into a Russian gulag.

Soon after, Robert De Niro learned of Gennady being taken into custody from Jack Platt, who visited De Niro in New York as he prepared to finally create The Good Shepherd. De Niro decided to send an annual Christmas card to Gennady through his friend, Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov, due to Mikhalkov’s connections to the Kremlin, with a photograph of De Niro and Gennady together, which resulted in Gennady being treated better in prison.

On November 29, 2005, ABC News published the article “The Secret Life of a Female Spy” about Lindsay Moran which featured a quote from Chase Brandon.

Before 2006, Milton Bearden, a former 30-year clandestine services agent at the Central Intelligence Agency, became an advisor for Robert De Niro’s The Good Shepherd.

The Central Intelligence Agency were ultimately not fans of The Good Shepherd.

On December 23, 2006, Patrick Goldstein published the article “Veteran CIA spook sheds his cloak for Hollywood limelight” in The Chicago Tribune.

Before 2007, Milt Beardon became an advisor for the movie Charlie Wilson’s War, advising Mike Nichols.

Also before 2007, Michael Bay requested and received military equipment ranging from helicopters to F-22 stealth fighters for the movie Transformers from the United States Department of Defence.

Also before 2007, the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted with the movie Live Free or Die Hard.

In 2007, Paul Kelbaugh, the former associate general counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency and an associate professor at Lynchburg College of Law in Virginia, spoke on the Central Intelligence Agency’s relationship with Hollywood, which was attended by an anonymous journalist.

The same year, Angelina Jolie became a member of the Council On Foreign Relations.

At some stage, George Clooney and Warren Beatty became members of the Council On Foreign Relations.

In the spring of 2007, Laura Rozen met with Milton Bearden (advisory board member of Conflicts Forum, founded by Alistair Crooke, pushing for dialogue with Hamas and Hezbollah) at the Ritz-Carlton near the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters.

On June 5, 2007, Chase Brandon left his position as the entertainment liaison for the Central Intelligence Agency, where he was replaced with Paul Barry.

In December 2007, Laura Rozen published the article “Hollywood and the CIA: The Spook Stays In the Picture” in Mother Jones.

In early December 2007, Milton Bearden met with Yossi Melman at the members-only The Cosmos Club in Washington, DC, where Bearden blamed America for 9/11 despite being the one in charge of arming the Afghanistan rebels due to Representative Charlie Wilson’s lobbying. I don’t really know what Bearden’s deal is, he is pretty insane.

In February 2008, Angelina Jolie met with David Petraeus in Baghdad, Iraq for talks and photographs while Petraeus was the top commander in Iraq.

On November 13, 2008, Matthew Alford and Robbie Graham published the article “An Offer They Couldn’t Refuse” in The Guardian.

Before 2009, the Central Intelligence Agency established the National Resources Division in Los Angeles, CA in order to recruit civilians to spy abroad.

Also before 2009, the United States Air Force (through liaison Lt. Col. Francisco “Paco” Hamm) and the United States Department of Defence enlisted their help to Michael Bay for the movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which included usage of the aircraft carrier Stennis.

Also before 2009, the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted with the movie Public Enemies.

Before 2010, the Central Intelligence Agency had an unspecified amount of involvement in the movie Salt, which included providing a tour of the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters to the director, Phillip Noyce, and the actress, Angelina Jolie, with Noyce and Jolie having a video conference with active agents.

In 2010, Director Leon Panetta participated in an episode of Top Chef, where the chefs served Director Panetta and allies in a private dining room at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters.

In April 2010, Director Leon Panetta met with Kathryn Bigelow at a dinner in Washington, where they discussed Bigelow’s project Tora Bora.

In May 2010, at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, Director Leon Panetta warned Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow (they were all sat at the same table) to tell the Central Intelligence Agency if he ever visited Afghanistan during Boal’s time working on Tora Bora.

In July 2010, the Central Intelligence Agency added a screenplay to their website titled “The Vilification and Vindication of Colonel Kuklinski”.

In 2011, Homeland premiered, which became a favourite for national security employees and led to the Homeland cast and crew receiving an invitation from the Central Intelligence Agency to visit the headquarters. During the visit, Mandy Patinkin met with Director John Brennan in his office, and only Americans were allowed further into the building in order to protect undercover agents.

On April 21, 2011, Mark Boal contacted the Central Intelligence Agency and informed them that he would be travelling to Afghanistan.

On May 1, 2011, President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed in a raid on his complex. At the same time, the Central Intelligence Agency was in touch with Mark Boal working on the script for Tora Bora to give information about Osama bin Laden’s escape from the Tora Bora cave complex. Soon after, Mark Boal abandoned the Tora Bora script for Zero Dark Thirty.

Between May 1–22, 2011, Mark Boal and Michael Feldman met with counterterrorism officials at the Central Intelligence Agency to discuss Zero Dark Thirty, and learned about a classified awards ceremony for those involved in the raid on June 24, 2011.

In June 2011, Director Leon Panetta gave permission to Mark Boal to attend a meeting at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters, giving him secret information of names involved in the mission to kill Osama bin Laden and shared classified information with filmmakers.

“The pair also were taken into a room at CIA headquarters called ‘the vault,’ where tactical planning for the Bin Laden raid had taken place. A CIA spokesman said that the term is agency jargon for any secure room, and that it was empty the day they visited.” — The Los Angeles Times

During the production of Zero Dark Thirty, Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow met with officials at the Central Intelligence Agency in both Hollywood and at a hotel near the headquarters. A female agent at the Central Intelligence Agency mentioned a preference for Prada, which led to Boal offering tickets to a Prada fashion show. The female agent met with Boal and Bigelow in the Ritz Carlton in Washington, DC, where Bigelow handed over fake pearl earrings from Tahiti. Boel handed another Central Intelligence Agency agent a $100 bottle of tequila. Both of these gifts were handed into the Central Intelligence Agency instead of kept on their person.

“According to the ethics report, one CIA officer who met with Boal at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, DC had decided to relocate the meetings from CIA headquarters to Boal’s hotel suite in late June 2011 to ‘minimise the talk and avoid jealousy’ in the counterterrorism center. The meetings lasted two to four hours, and the officer recalled that she ordered grilled cheese, French fries, and a soda while they worked.” — VICE

On June 7, 2011, Marie Harf sent an e-mail internally to the Central Intelligence Agency to push for the agency to back Zero Dark Thirty.

On June 24, 2011, Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow attended a classified awards ceremony for the people involved in the Bin Laden raid. After the ceremony, Boal met with Admiral William McRaven.

In July 2011, Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow met with a female agent (the basis of Maya in Zero Dark Thirty) at the Central Intelligence Agency in the Ritz-Carlton in Georgetown, where Boal handed her a pair of fake Tahiti earrings.

On July 20, 2011, Mark Boal sent an e-mail to Director of Public Affairs, George Little, thanking him for pushing for Boal, while Little thanked him for the premiere tickets to Zero Dark Thirty.

After July 20, 2011, the filmmakers of Zero Dark Thirty somehow gained access to the floorplan of the Abbottabad compound.

In August 2011, the female agent at the Central Intelligence Agency met with Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow while on vacation at the members only Soho House in Los Angeles, CA.

In November 2011, the female agent at the Central Intelligence Agency met with Mark Boal and shopped and dined with him for eight hours, where Boal offered tickets to a Prada fashion show after the agent mentioned a preference for Prada products.

Before 2012, Richard Klein was hired as a consultant to connect Hollywood with American intelligence agencies.

Before 2012, Ben Affleck secured permission to film within the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters for the movie Argo, the first time in 15 years.

“These are extraordinary, honourable people at the C.I.A. Make no mistake about it.” — Ben Affleck to Bill O’Reilly

Before 2012, Peter Berg was given permission to use five United States Navy warships and a cameo from Navy Secretary Ray Mabus for the movie Battleship. Duncan Henderson worked with Phil Strub during this time. Secretary Mabus then hosted a premiere of Battleship for the United States Navy brass and service members in Washington, DC.

“Berg clearly has good relations with the Navy. He embedded for a month with Navy SEALs in western Iraq as research for an upcoming military film, ‘Lone Survivor.’ Few journalists have gotten that access.” — The Los Angeles Times

Also before 2012, Phil Strub was hired as the entertainment liaison at the United States Department of Defense.

Also before 2012, Phil Strub refused assistance from the United States Department of Defense to the Warner Bros. movie Man of Steel due to its cartoonish feeling, which led to Warner Bros. flying Strub to meet with David Goyer. Goyer then altered his script to suit Strub’s desires.

In 2012, Henry-Alex Rubin reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for assistance for his drama, Disconnect, which led to Rubin changing a scene of two agents interrogating a journalist on their request.

The same year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation established the Investigative Publicity and Public Affairs Unit, which is focused on Hollywood. The Chief (as of 2017) is Christopher Allen.

After 2012, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had some form of involvement in Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House, So Undercover, and Fatal Encounters. The consultations are apparently free for the requestee but not for the taxpayer, so Hollywood wins again.

In January 2012, the movie Man of Steel was recorded on Edwards Air Force Base, with assistance from the United States Army, after receiving Strub’s green light.

On January 11, 2012, Angelina Jolie met with Director David Petraeus at the Central Intelligence Agency’s headquarters, which was the same day Jolie and Brad Pitt met with President Barack Obama. An unofficial photograph was taken of Jolie and Director Petraeus, which was then posted by Paula Broadwell onto Facebook.

In February 2012, a male agent at the Central Intelligence Agency had his final contact with Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow.

On April 27, 2012, the Federal Bureau of Investigation denied a request to use their logo for the movie Empire State due to the negative portrayal of their fictional agents.

In May 2012, Angelia Jolie started to work with the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office on a campaign against wartime sexual violence.

The same month, the female agent at the Central Intelligence Agency was told by the agency to end all contact with Mark Boal, which she informed him about.

On May 3, 2012, the filmmakers of Zero Dark Thirty informed the Central Intelligence Agency that they would be unable to film at the headquarters until late summer / early fall.

On May 26, 2012, Ken Dilanian and Rebecca Keegan published the article “Hollywood a longtime friend of the CIA” in The Los Angeles Times.

After December 16, 2012, Alex Gansa offered a consulting position to former Deputy Director at the Central Intelligence Agency, John MacGaffin (cousin of Henry Bromell, an original writer for Homeland, whose father Leon was an agent at the Central Intelligence Agency).

“For three days, nine or ten hours a day, I run people through them who are retired from the agency and the FBI and the State Department. I brought an array of people who can talk, and told them there is no money in this for you guys, but if you believe in what we do as an agency, here’s a chance to spend some time working on the best and most-watched story on our old business. Every one of them has said that’s worth doing.” — John MacGaffin (a longtime friend of David Ignatius, who has friendly ties with the Central Intelligence Agency from the Lebanese Civil War)

On December 31, 2012, the Office of the Inspector General completed their report, “CIA Processes For Engaging with the Entertainment Industry”.

On March 1, 2013, Tom Hayden published the article “When the CIA infiltrated Hollywood” in Salon.

“Hollywood is the only way that the public learns about the Agency.” — Paul Barry

In August 2013, a presentation was hosted at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which discussed the effects of popular culture on the perception of their organisation.

“If we don’t tell our story, then fools will gladly tell it for us. Most people form their opinion of the FBI from pop culture, not a two-minute news story.” — The Federal Bureau of Investigation

Before August 5, 2013, Steven Spielberg met with Phil Strub to discuss the production of American Sniper.

“It’s not just true stories of military valor that get government assistance. Comic book and other big budget franchises including Iron Man, Godzilla, Transformers, and television shows such as Army Wives, Hawaii 5–0, and NCIS — all receive support from the DoD war chest.” — Fortune

On December 19, 2013, Soo Youn published the article “Hollywood’s military complex” in Fortune.

On May 13, 2014, John Rizzo published the book “Company Man: Thirty Years of Controversy and Crisis In the CIA”, which detailed in part the relationship between the Central Intelligence Agency and Hollywood.

“He did, however, provide some detail about the types of help the agency has solicited from Hollywood. At times, Rizzo said, film makers will be asked to allow a CIA operative to pose as a member of their crew, particularly if a movie is being filmed in a country where the spy agency has difficulty operating.

The CIA also recruits actors to give more visibility to propaganda projects abroad, such as a documentary secretly produced by the agency, Rizzo said. And the agency sometimes takes advantage of the door-opening cachet that movie stars and other American celebrities enjoy. A star who met a world leader, for example, might be asked for details about that meeting.” — The Los Angeles Times

On July 7, 2014, Dave McNary published the article “Sylvester Stallone to Star in Mob Tale ‘Scarpa’” in Variety.

Soon after July 7, 2014, an agent at the Federal Bureau of Investigation contacted Nicholas Pileggi to offer input, which Pileggi was receptive toward.

On July 29, 2014, Jamie Tarabay published the article “Hollywood and the Pentagon: A relationship of mutual exploitation” in Al Jazeera.

On September 10, 2015, Jason Leopold and Ky Henderson published the article “Tequila, Painted Pearls, and Prada: How the CIA Helped Produce ‘Zero Dark Thirty’” in VICE.

On October 28, 2015, Judicial Watch published the press release “Judicial Watch Obtains Previously Classified CIA Inspector General Report Strongly Condemning Agency Handling of Briefings and Interviews with the Entertainment Industry”.

On April 6, 2016, Jason Leopold published the article “The CIA Helped Produce An Episode of ‘Top Chef’” in VICE.

On June 14, 2016, Nicholas Schou published the article “How the CIA Hoodwinked Hollywood” in The Atlantic.

At some stage, the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted Peter Woodward with one of his movies. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also assisted with Captain Phillips and Parkland.

In June 2017, the Federal Bureau of Investigation hosted an FBI 101 workshop at the Writers Guild of America to allow for screenwriters to engage with agents, which is apparently a semi-regular occurrence.

On September 3, 2017, Matthew Alford published the article “Washington DC’s role behind the scenes in Hollywood goes deeper than you think” in The Independent.

“Files we obtained, mainly through the US Freedom of Information Act, show that between 1911 and 2017, more than 800 feature films received support from the US Government’s Department of Defence (DoD), a significantly higher figure than previous estimates indicate. These included blockbusters such as Transformers, Iron Man and The Terminator.

On television, we found over 1,100 titles received Pentagon backing — 900 of them since 2005, from Flight 93 to Ice Road Truckers to Army Wives.” — The Independent

Before October 2017, the showrunners contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation for direct input on their television series Mindhunter.

At some stage, the people behind Criminal Minds contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation for input.

On October 9, 2017, Ariane Lange and Jason Leopold published the article “How The FBI Shapes Its Image Through Movies” in BuzzFeed News.

On June 26, 2018, Daniel Craig visited the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters, where he met with agents and leadership.

Before April 2019, the Central Intelligence Agency invited both Daniel Craig and Jennifer Lawrence to their headquarters.

In April 2019, the Central Intelligence Agency created an Instagram account, where they followed 11 actors and actresses, including Ben Affleck (Sum of All Fears, Argo), Pierce Brosnan, Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Claire Danes (Homeland) and John Krasinski (Jack Ryan).

In October 2020, Angelina Jolie interviewed Sir Alex Younger for TIME about his time at the Secret Intelligence Service, as Sir Younger was leaving to be replaced with Richard Moore.

On January 11, 2021, Emma Parry published the article “Secret meetings with the CIA, interview with MI6 boss, the ‘evidence’ that convinced expert Angelina Jolie is a SPY” in The Sun, with the expert in question being Tom Sicker.