SITE

Wild Things is a 1998 erotic thriller which is usually seen as a tacky, trashy sex movie set in the glossy upper class world of Blue Bay, Florida. This week we take a closer look at this film, examining its complex plot as a clue to what lies beneath the bikini-clad surface. We examine various aspects of the film that are hallmarks of classical theatre, from the soundtrack as a Greek chorus to the theme of water as a form of catharsis that runs throughout the film.

I was recently invited onto one of my favourite podcasts - Themes and Memes - to discuss The X-Files season 10. We discussed how the new series goes overboard in trying to appeal to the conspiracy subculture and what this might mean. (Read more...)

Chase Brandon was the CIA's first Entertainment Industry Liaison. From 1996 to early 2007 he was the CIA's man in Hollywood, working on a dozen major movies and numerous high-profile TV shows. In this episode we examine the background of the CIA in the entertainment industry and how they founded their Entertainment Liaison Office and appointed Brandon in charge of it. We also discuss Brandon's career, especially his attempts to downplay and disguise his influence on entertainment including ghost-writing The Recruit.

Have you ever wondered about the relationship between UFOs or aliens in movies and the real-life experiences of people who report contact or abduction or witnessing these things? Have you ever wondered whether the government is using UFO movies to influence people's perceptions of these fringe but popular and captivating phenomena?

Phil Strub has been the Pentagon's Hollywood liaison since 1989, in which time the entertainment liaison offices have helped produce over 100 films. In this episode we take a closer look at Phil Strub, his background, how he came to be the DOD's Hollywood liaison and his curious habit of downplaying or minimising the role of the Pentagon in the entertainment industry.

Disney are one of the world's largest movie studios and producers of entertainment. They have enjoyed this status for decades, recently acquiring both the Star Wars and Marvel franchises, among the most profitable in the cinema industry. The relationship between the corporation and government agencies has been almost continuous for more than half a century.

Since 2003 the US Customs and Border Protection agency has become part of the Department of Homeland Security. They have their own entertainment liaison office - the DHS Office of Public Affairs Multi-Media Division. While the DHS are not very forthcoming about the productions they have worked on the CBP recently provided me with a list of projects they have assisted since 2003.

In June 1997 Hollywood screenwriter Gary Devore disappeared while driving home through the middle of the Mojave desert. Devore had connections to the Pentagon and CIA and was working on a screenplay that threatened to reveal devastating truths about the 1989 US invasion of Panama. His disappearance left no trace - of him, of his car, of his work. Just over a year later his car was found at the bottom of an aqueduct with what appeared to be Devore's body inside, but his hands were missing.

Tom Clancy's books are known for their technical accuracy, their political realism and their curious ability to foreshadow future events. In this episode we explore his government connections - to the FBI, CIA, Pentagon and the White House. We examine whether these connections are what enabled Clancy to write such prophetic fiction, and the impact of that on his readers.

As is being widely reported in the media today, the CIA accidentally left explosives on a Virginia school bus for several days after a training exercise. During this time the bus continued its regular job of ferrying kids to and from school, all the while with 'explosive training material' in the engine block.