Guillermo Jimenez joins us for this episode to talk about Robert De Niro – a man whose relationship with the CIA spans two decades. We look at four films – Wag the Dog, Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers and The Good Shepherd, the latter three of which have documented CIA assistance in their production. We discuss Robert De Niro’s transformation from a serious dramatic actor into a kooky comedy figure, and the CIA’s apparent involvement in that. This led to us asking whether the three comedy films are trojan horses for a sneaky CIA agenda, and talking about how The Good Shepherd has many flaws but this did not stop the CIA themselves from praising it as ‘probably as good as any film on the Agency’.
Download The CIA and Hollywood ep. 2
Show notes:
Chase Brandon (personal website)
ClandesTime 021 – Wag The Dog
Wag the Dog (1997)
Meet the Parents (2000)
Meet the Fockers (2004)
The Good Shepherd (2006)
CIA roundtable discussion on The Good Shepherd
Robert De Niro interview on The Good Shepherd
Milt Bearden interview on The Good Shepherd