Nov 23, 2005 thankfully syriana is that rare bird of a. Syriana is partly inspired by see no evil, the robert baer book that chronicles his experiences in the cia with terrorism and the oil industry. Every second of every day, millions of americans are caught on cctv. Baer begins with his upbringing in the united states and europe and continues with a tour of his cia experiences across the globe. Sleeping with the devil about ussaudi relations and the devil we know about usiran relations. No mention of oil in that title, but the film posits that oil and terrorism. Robert baer, an intelligence and security analyst for cnn, is one of the most accomplished agents in cia history. The true story of a ground soldier in the cia s war on terrorism, is sent out to the mythical arab state of. Jan 01, 2002 he is the author of four new york times bestsellers, including see no evilthe basis for the acclaimed film syriana, which earned george clooney an oscar for his portrayal of baer. Head injury drove clooney to think of suicide the guardian.
Cnn profiles robert baer intelligence and security analyst cnn. Im about half way through see no evil and its very difficult to put downbut also very hard to read. The true story of a ground soldier in the cias war on. Nov 17, 2005 syriana does for oil what traffic did for drugs. Sleeping with the devil, about the saudi royal family and its relationship with the united states. Syriana, stephen gaghans tense, outrageously complicated thriller about oil. Based on the nonfiction book see no evil by robert baer, syriana takes its viewer step by step through the birth and processes of terrorism. The true story of a ground soldier in the cias war on terrorism, but writerdirector stephen gaghan who wrote traffic uses baers book. Sleeping with the devil about ussaudi relations and the devil we know about usiran. Written and directed by stephen gaghan, suggested by the book see no evil by robert baer. Watch closely and listen carefully during syriana because stephen gaghans movie is that rarity.
Syriana is partly inspired by see no evil, the robert baer book that. Syriana is likewise very looselybased on baers varied experiences. Syriana blurs line between fact and fiction scripps. Freedomland opens celebrity circuit pictures cbs news.
Gaghan, suggested by the book see no evil by robert baer, seems to position itself as a seriousminded political statement by studiously, even. I see the movie syriana states to be loosely following robert baers book. Hes not a conventionally good man, but a desperate. Clooneys character is based on robert baer, a former cia agent whose book see no evil.
F rom selling missiles in tehran, to business propositions in spain, to fat oil companies in texas, to fatal decisions in washington d. The film focuses on the shady dealings in the middle east between shieks, businessmen, and secret agents. The final cut isnt exactly true to see no evil, the candid autobiography of excia operative robert baer that prompted gaghan to write syriana and inspired george clooneys character,bob barnes. At the time, it made a big impression, giving readers a rare look inside the secret wars of americas intelligence services like the cia, author bob baers former employer. See no evil the backstage battle over sex and violence on television, by geoffrey cowan, 1979. New cinema its all connected books and arts the economist. Baers books see no evil and sleeping with the devil were the basis for the 2005 academy awardwinning warner brothers motion picture syriana. Syriana in london actordirector george clooney, left, stands with robert baer, former cia agent and writer of the book see no evil, on which the movie syriana is based, during the launch of. Most of them are honest citizens going about their everyday lives. This is syriana s thesis, and it stands the test of being applied to todays realworld global politics. The game ft kendrick lamar and tank see no evil youtube.
Robert baer recounts his career as a ground soldier in the cias war. Traffic collaborator, steven soderbergh, sent him see no evil. The book begins by relating the littleknown history of west papua, but its focus is on the impact of new zealands foreign policy on the indigenous melanesian inhabitants. The film is built on fine performances and difficult positions, a mature, provocative look at global machinations performed by smallminded men. Baers book which is subtitled, the true story of a ground soldier in the. Had seen the film syriana and saw that it was loosely based on this book so. Syriana photo gallery update see no evil, syriana is written and directed by stephen gaghan, winner of an academy award for best screenplay traffic the warner bros. It has been suggested by robert baers factual see no evil. Baer takes you from his itinerant childhood in europe and restless college days through his career in the cia, which he applied to more or less on a whim. Stephen gaghan makes his directorial debut from his adaptation of the book see no evil. See no evil by robert baer penguin books australia. The problem is that the system is not set up for progressive anything. Syriana paints slick picture of corruption in oil industry. Readers have been intrigued by these indepth accounts of how the cia and other intelligence agencies work.
Jan 07, 2003 see no evil is a crossbreed between a spy novel and a political memoir. The source material is see no evil, a book by robert baer, a former cia agent who ran agents in the middle east for most of his 20 years in the agency. Nov 23, 2005 the bulk of media coverage relating to syriana gives the impression that this is one of the most searing and controversial docudramas ever made, intended to sock it to president george w. The true story of a foot soldier in the cias war on terrorism screenwriter stephen. The true story of a ground soldier in the cias war against terrorism is a 2003 memoir by robert baer, a former cia case officer in the directorate of operations. He is considered one of the worlds foremost authorities on the middle east and frequently appears on robert b. It would have been nice to have a movie that spurred dialogue on what has become americas see no evil. Get informed about this vast and complex system, and find out how you can help alleviate the human and environmental cost of oil. Robert wrote the book see no evil documenting his experiences while working for the agency. New zealands betrayal of the people of west papua maire leadbeater the book. See no evil the hardy boys, a 1987 hardy boys casefiles novel. How syriana almost killed george clooney movie news.
The true story of a ground soldier in the cias war on terrorism. Barnes, a cia operative loosely based on robert baer, the author of see no evil. Baer writes regularly for and has contributed to vanity fair, the wall. The true story of a ground soldier in the cias war on terrorism robert baer on. I also strongly recommend robert baers books see no evil and sleeping with the devil. It is an entertaining, moles eye view of the intelligence community. Former cia officer robert baer gets quizzed on bears baer has written a series of books about the decades he spent in the cia. The picture was inspired by incidents in see no evil, a book published in 2002 by the former field agent robert baer. Robert baer, who served over twenty years with the central intelligence agency, has compiled a rich history with his.
Some scenes can be brutal, such as when clooney has some of his fingernails extracted. See no evil is a crossbreed between a spy novel and a political memoir. Nov 23, 2005 f rom selling missiles in tehran, to business propositions in spain, to fat oil companies in texas, to fatal decisions in washington d. There was this scene where i was taped to a chair and getting. The films character bob barnes played by george clooney is loosely based on baer. Syriana is loosely based on see no evil, the memoir by former cia case officer robert baer, who, in 2002, accompanied gaghan as he globetrotted to syria, lebanon, dubai and geneva to. The film syriana 2005 was loosely based on the book.
Jesus piece the game see no evil ft kendrick lamar and tank the game see no. Bob baer is the inspriation for george clooneys character, cia agent bob barnes, who at one point goes to beirut. Jul, 2006 its adapted from robert baers book see no evil. With ross huguet, raven cinello, bryan edwards, james j. He is considered one of the worlds foremost authorities on the middle east and frequently appears on all major news outlets. Little do they know reclusive psychopath jacob goodnight has holed away in. Baer has written a valuable, illuminating book houston chronicle see no evil is a real. Robert baer bio, age, wife, books, cia, see no evil, iran. I was wondering if anyone has read, see no evil by robert baer. Writer stephen gaghan traffic, the alamo created the fictional script for syriana based on the nonfiction book see no evil by robert baer.
Gaghans script, though, isnt that its labyrinthine plot of conspiring emirs, lawyers and cia agents plotting to control the worlds oil supply is so unbelievable. The true story of a ground soldier in the cias war on terrorism, is sent out to the mythical arab state of syriana. Clooneys character is very loosely based on the reallife cia agent and author bob baer, who published his memoir see no evil in 2002. Syriana is a geopolitical thriller that promises to be an. See no evil was the basis for the acclaimed film syriana, which earned. In the maze that is syriana, no theseus arrives to slay the. Cnn profiles robert baer intelligence and security. See no evil was the basis for the acclaimed film syriana, which earned george clooney an oscar for his portrayal of baer. Four sentences in this book struck a very personal chord, thus it became a very engrossing, moving, heartfelt story.
With george clooney, matt damon, amanda peet, kayvan novak. Gaghan, suggested by the book see no evil by robert baer, seems to position itself as a seriousminded political statement by studiously, ev. Syriana was very loosely based on the 2002 book see no evil. Syriana in london celebrity circuit pictures cbs news. Based on the novel learning wisdom by uka sakugata, the truth about lies reaches out to tie together corporate greed, wall street, and the fccs ongoing.
Syriana is a 2005 american geopolitical thriller film written and directed by stephen gaghan, and executive produced by george clooney, who also stars in the film with an ensemble cast. See no evil is the true story that inspired the movie syriana. See no evil, a 2003 book by former cia case officer robert baer. See no evil is the astonishing and controversial memoir from one of the cias top field officers of the past quarter century. Baer has extensive expertise speaking on american intelligence and the war on terror.
His devastating critique of his former employer, see no evil. He is the author of four new york times bestsellers, including see no evilthe basis for the acclaimed film syriana, which earned george clooney an oscar for his portrayal of baer. The bulk of media coverage relating to syriana gives the impression that. Hes not a conventionally good man, but a desperate, dedicated, and eventually. See no evil is a ground breaking new series about how real crimes are solved with the help of surveillance cameras. See no evil was the basis for the acclaimed film syriana, which earned george clooney an oscar for his portrayal of. Gaghans screenplay is loosely adapted from ex cia operative robert baers memoir see no evil. Syriana does for the oil market what traffic did for the drug trade. Syriana is loosely based on cia agent bob baers memoir, see no evil, though clooneys character, bob barney, is fictional.
Robert baer, who served over twenty years with the central intelligence agency, has compiled a rich history with his experiences in places such as india, lebanon, tajikistan, northern iraq, and washington, dc. See top picks for your kid in common sense media plus. Syriana was inspired by the book see no evil by former cia agent robert baer. Robert baer recounts his career as a ground soldier in the cias war on terrorism, running agents in the back alleys of the middle east, with blistering honesty. The movie is supposedly loosely based on a 2002 book by former cia agent, bob baer, entitled see no evil. And in the films most chilling plot strand, we see how the struggle for oil feeds the radical islam movement in the middle east, providing young men with a feeling of brotherhood and righteousness in the face of a region they feel has turned its back on them in favor of big business and western corruption. The picture was inspired by incidents in see no evil, a book.
The true story of a ground soldier in the cias war on terrorism inspired some of the plot. Hes not a conventionally good man, but a desperate, dedicated, and eventually, broken one. George clooney won an oscar portraying him in the film syriana. Dec 16, 2012 jesus piece the game see no evil ft kendrick lamar and tank the game see no evil hq the game see no evil 2012. Readers have been intrigued by these indepth accounts of how the cia and other. Very loosely based on former cia operative robert baers incendiary 2002 memoir see no evil, traffic screenwriter stephen gaghans second turn as a feature director envisions an alltooreal world.
Robert baer is the author of two new york times bestsellers. The true story of a ground soldier in the cias war against terrorism is a 2003. Inspired by see no evil, a 2002 memoir by former cia operative robert baer, syriana is complex and earnest, a film that repays close attention. Dec 06, 2005 excia agent robert baer, inspiration for syriana former cia officer robert baers book see no evil inspired the new film syriana, about the middle east, the oil industry and espionage. Syrianas politics are not those of mr baers book or its 2003 followup. Dec 01, 2005 writer and director stephen gaghans syriana goes on the attack against americas prime addiction. A politically charged epic about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally. The movies and books ultimate point is that we are all sucking at the oil teat, which despite anyones best machinations, shall eventually run dry. Bob baer is the inspriation for george clooneys character, cia agent bob barnes, who at one point goes to. See no evil was the basis for the acclaimed film syriana, which earned george. A film of the book called syriana, in which george clooney plays the. I saw syriana, the movie which was based on see no evil. The book helped gaghan understand the web of players. Syriana demonstrates the impact of the global oil industry on communities and individuals around the globe.
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