The key to the story is the informant himself, mark whitacre, the president of one of adms largest and most successful divisions. Indeed, at the end of the movie he ends up in jail. Mark whitacre, a top executive of adm, is the informant. These whistleblower movies get to play off that kind of clashing set of. That ending naturally wouldnt make a cinemascorefriendly the rock movie, which is why david fanning producer of snitch and frontline admits that with true stories when confronted with the. The actual subject matter corporate misdeeds may only appeal to teens, however, because it stars matt damon. The true story of mark whitacre matt damon who worked for a giant firm that produced lysine. Eichenwald does a masterful job to get the reader through the twists and turns of an emotionally complicated and unstable central figure, mark whitacre, who becomes the fbi informant and then the target of justice deptfbi probes. The true story of barry seal, a twa pilot who became a drug smuggler and government informant, played by tom cruise in american made. I dont think the informant ultimately succeeds either at what it set out to do. He ended up with a prison sentence three times longer than any of the criminal executives he exposed. Based on a bizarrely true story, this is the tale of mark whitacre, a young executive at a food processing corporation who one day tells the fbi that he would like to blow the whistle on illegal.
Parents need to know that this engaging steven soderbergh comedy received an r rating principally for language. The true story of waco is still one of contention a new miniseries hopes to humanize those in and outside the doomed compound. Informant extra credit 040417 the movie the informant is. The morning after the raid, whitacre accepts a company lawyer who spends all day with whitacre listening to the.
The fluorescent fixture on the ceiling above her head buzzed loudly, and sounded like a flys futile efforts at escape against a closed window. In late 1992, the fbi was called to investigate a bizarre extortion scheme at the decatur, illinois, headquarters of archer daniels midland, the countrys largest producer of food and grain additives. Mark whitacre was the highestranking executive in u. The case was against archer daniels midland adm where several companies colluded to keep prices high, so that they could maximize their profits. Burns, the film stars matt damon as the titular informant named mark whitacre, as well as scott bakula, joel mchale and melanie lynskey.
What are the top spy movies that are based on a true story. The adm pricefixing case was a landmark in global antitrust. Set squarely in the american heartland, delving into the inner sanctum of a global corporation, it explores the shifting boundaries of truth and deception, loyalty and betrayal. The movie is based on a true story and sends some mixed messages about corporate ethics. The infiltrator true story reveals that john leguizamos character, emir abreu is based on mazurs reallife partner. The movie the informant is based on a true story of a lysine pricefixing case. The story of the fbi agent who strangled his informant. A rising star at agriindustry giant archer daniels midland adm, whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. With the documentary informant, lets start with what is known. The infiltrator movie vs true story of robert mazur, emir. And because its based on a true story, its dramatic potential is limited. Hollywood went to work making a film version of white boy ricks life, while an hbo documentary crew moved into the prison to film a tellall about his story.
Mark, a top level executive at a fortune 500 company, became a whistleblower to a huge price fixing scandal in the early 1990s that led. White boy rick whitewashes the real story of richard. Mark edward whitacre born may 1, 1957 is an american business executive who came to public attention in 1995 when, as president of the decatur, illinoisbased bioproducts division at archer daniels midland. Is there anything more satisfying than watching a movie thats based on a true story. Pictures, participant media and groundswell productions offbeat comedy the informant.
National bestseller soon to be a major motion picture from warner bros. The movie concerns itself with mark whitacre damon, an employee of adm, a food production company. Matt damon portrayed adm whistleblower mark whitacre in the film. After strangling his informantand pregnant lovermark putnam became the first active fbi agent convicted of murder.
Kurt eichenwald, a seasoned whitecollarcrime reporter for the new york times, opens his gripping book with a quote from pirandellos six characters in search of an author, the first. Age revealed in their darkened ends, the long pair of luminous tubes flickered, and one of the bulbs burned dim orange rather than the bright white of its twin. The stark reality of the story is not very funny, and the ending doesnt give viewers much hope. The informant, starring matt damon as mark whitacre, is a thriller about the. In researching the white boy rick true story, we learned that wershes activities as an offthebooks confidential fbi informant were kept under wraps at the trial, which ended with him being given a life sentence. Even as he exposes his companys multinational price. The basic story, that the large agribusiness archer daniels midland adm was caught in an international pricefixing scam for food additives would merit coverage in business week but little else. Kurt eichenwald talked about his book the informant.
Even so, this is an important movie about the sinful nature of man as manifested in lying, embezzlement and greed. In the movie, the character of whitacre is portrayed as exhibiting bizarre behavior, including delusions, mania, and compulsively lying. However, the movie ends where mark goes to prison, but mark says that is not where the story should end. A charismatic turn by star matt damon and a consistently ironic tone boost this quietly funny satire about a corporate whistleblower. Matt damon stars as mark whitacre in a scene from, the informant the opening title card of the informant. A true story and millions of other books are available for instant access. But the whistleblowers story has a second actand here it is. The true story of white boy rick, the fbis youngest informant. Brandon darby once worked with a collective in postkatrina new orleans to provide basic services for the populace. This story in itself promises a potent account of corporate espionage, but in the informant, thats not the half of itor even an eighth, for that matter. I think this is the kind of story i would rather read a book about instead of seeing a movie on it. The true story behind the movie american made time.
If youre looking for engrossing, factbased films to get caught up in, check out some of the best basedonatruestory movies of 2019. It is based on a true story first described by journalist kurt eichenwald in his 2000 nonfiction book of the same title. Matt damon, scott bakula, melanie lynskey, joel mchale. The informant is superb reporting in the service of a great story, one with the drama and suspense of a le carre novel. The real story of the infiltrator is still ongoing. I often find fiction films more inspiring than documentaries when it comes to structure, style and texture, and this. The old adage that the best stories are true couldnt be better supported than by the real life experiences of mark whitacre played by matt damon in this movie, infamously known as the highestranking executive to ever become a whistle blower in us history.
Whitacre assisted the fbi in compiling hundreds of audio and video tapes, documenting adms price fixing this book was a tradeout between me and a friend. With matt damon, tony hale, patton oswalt, lucas mchugh carroll. Spy movies based on true stories that are reasonably close to the known facts munich 2005 spielberg israeli assassination of munich terrorists fair game 2010 starring sean penn about valerie plame and joe wilson case breach 2007 rober. The infiltrator is a true story, but its also a movie with a beginning, middle and an end.
The informant is a true story about archer daniels midland adm and their alleged price fixing in a variety of agricultural markets. A corporate culture cornfed on greed in steven soderbergh. Coming to it on its own terms however this is an engaging story told with a comic air that works and makes the film as entertaining as it is interesting. Although the movie is sometimes played for laughs, the real story was no laughing matter. Burns is based on kurt eichenwalds book, the informant, with most of the filming done in central illinois blue mound, moweaqua and decatur. The film, directed by steven soderbergh and produced by george. He got to read the world is flat by thomas friedman and i got to read the informant. The informant, which opens friday, is based on a true story of the. Mark whitacres largerthanlife role as an fbi mole is forever memorialized in the movie the informant. The true story was the fbi had discovered through surveillance and informant tips that a young white kid named rick wershe was a frequent visitor to the home of the curry brothers, a family of. Matthew mcconaughey raises americas youngest drug dealer. Set in 1980s detroit at the height of the crack epidemic and the war on drugs, white boy rick is based on the moving true story of a. Adm is so powerful that it calls itself, not unreasonably. The serious story behind the informant the informant opened in theaters on friday.
It guarantees postwatching reading material, as youre likely to scour wikipedia to read up about the true. In the informant, awardwinning investigative reporter and new york times bestselling author kurt eichenwald tells the outrageously true story of greed, corruption, and conspiracy that left the fbi and justice department counting on the cooperation of one man. Stories from this american life stories of hope and fear. It truly was a team effort, says mazur, and my brother emir. Twelve and thirteen might tell you everything you need to know about the sales pitch for steven soderberghs the informant. The disturbing story of the fbi agent who strangled his informant. Discover the full story behind his crime of passion in above suspicion. Once the raid is over, brian learns that whitacre compromised the raid by warning his secretary and two colleagues but continues with the case. For the first time in 30 years, white boy ricks name was back in the headlines but this time, the real story was printed underneath. The conspiracy was an organized effort that toke place in the mid1990s designed to raise the price of the animal feed additive lysine. Theres a responsibility to the truth and what really happened, scafaria says, and its not a black and white story, after all.
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