The depth of the Celluloid Curtain selections resulted from a two year project by the festival’s curators, Nikolaj Nikitin and Oliver Baumgarten, encompassing archives throughout Europe in the search for rare spy films. Their most important find, and the centerpiece of the festival, is the long banned Russian film “Skvorets i Lira.” It dealt with two operatives who infiltrate business circles in West Germany and its release in 1974 coincided with the Guillaume scandal in that country, whereby it was revealed that Chancellor Willy Brandt’s closest aide, Gunter Guillaume, had been working undercover for the Stasi, the infamous East German secret police. According to Nikitin and Baumgarten, the ban on the movie stemmed not only from its inopportune timing and strong parallel to the Guillaume affair, but its grim ideological tone was ill fitting in the emerging climate of détente. The Berlin leg of the festival, following on the heels of a great response in London, concludes on June 22.

A word of caution: The pace is what it is, measured and intentionally so. Indeed, Rubicon’s pace, focus and intellectual appeal have been compared to those of Mad Men, which many believe is the best show on TV at the moment, while others can’t sit through an episode without getting drowsy. Rubicon‘s focus is on complexity, vagueness and smart people trying to figure out what’s what in their world of espionage, where ‘not every conspiracy is a theory.’

Will Travers (James Badge Dale) works for a New York spy agency. When his boss (and father-in-law) dies in an accident, Travers is promoted and suddenly manages three people who were once his same-level colleagues. Each have their personality quirks, their skeletons, and a big part of the show revolves around their interaction with each other, and the interplay of private life and professional spy life.

Although Travers is up a notch on the security clearance ladder, sometimes he gets the feeling he’s being kept in the dark. Something about the behavior of his secretary, and that of his new boss…

Tapping into the paranoia and intrigue that conspiracies elicit, Rubicon premieres on Sunday, August 1. To preview the full first episode, click here.

The film, which starts shooting next month, is about a spy who works for a security contractor not unlike Blackwater. One of her teammates betrays her, and…well for the rest you’ll have to wait and see. The movie’s not due out until 2011.

Gina Carano plays the female lead, joined by Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor and Dennis Quaid. The two actors currently in negotiations to join Knockout’s cast are Channing Tatum and Michael Angarano. The former – who will train with a Mossad agent for the part – will be a member of Carano’s spy cell. The latter will play a teenager who helps Carano gets out of a tight spot and in doing so, inadvertently becomes her partner.

The budget for the film’s not huge ($25 mill) and the shooting will take place in Spain and Ireland to make full use of tax incentives and rebates offered in those countries.

The second movie you’ll want to be on the lookout for is still unnamed, but seems to be going by the pet name Wichita for the time being. Tom Cruise (who was actually originally up for the lead in Salt until Jolie expressed interest and the character underwent a sex change) plays a secret agent who makes his way in and out of the life of an unsuspecting single gal played by Cameron Diaz. Apparently she falls in love, completely oblivious to his undercover occupation, and then gets embroiled in one of his operations…but it’s all hearsay at this point seeing as the movie’s not due out until July 2010, and the studios like a little suspense and anticipation, especially when it comes to spy thrillers…

Sounds like it will be a mix of action-packed spying and romance though…following somewhat in the footsteps of this year’s corporate spy flick Duplicity. What’s a good spy movie without a little romance after all…?

Filming for Wichita began Tuesday at the Worcester Regional Airport, which has been transformed into a working set of the Wichita Airport (the real one’s just too big a hub to close down for filming, even with a 20 Century Fox budget).

It seems that when global crisis hits, ISIS agents, instead of working together to put a stop to the forces of evil, use the opportunity to turn on each other. Bad for international security, but good for laughs.

The show is named for the agency’s top spy, Sterling Archer, codename Duchess, whose micromanaging mother, Malory, is spy chief. Of course, Archer’s ex is none other than co-spy Lana Kane, whose new love interest is also an ISIS employee and the secretary — why are we not surprised — has a not-so-secret crush as well. Starting to sound a little more like a love triangle than a spy agency? Well, that’s the point. One spy satire coming right up.

“Archer” writer Adam Reed has penned successful animated series for Adult Swim/Cartoon Network, and he seems excited about this new gig, saying, “I’ve been a fairly rabid fan of FX’s original programming for a long time, so I’m thrilled by the opportunity to become a part of it, and to bring our style of animation and comedy to such a fantastic line-up.”

The voice crew won’t leave you disappointed…with Jon Benjamin as Archer (Dr. Katz, professional therapist and Carl from “The Family Guy”) and Jessica Walter from “Arrested Development” as Malory.

Make no mistake, this cartoon is for adults – lots of gun happy people, interracial porn jokes and Archer answering phone calls from his mommy dearest even when he’s, er, very busy in bed. Still, spy fans will appreciate the setting, and the show has been referred to as this fall’s can’t-miss TV.

Their motto? Where the routine gets shaken and stirred. Their goal? To give women a confidence boost while giving them an exciting, non-spa escape from their regular, routine lives. Check out the website, which promises: “From Samurai sword skills to stunt driving; from Martini mixology to seductive dance, you’ll master skills you didn’t know you had.”

Even if you don’t plan on starting a covert life of sexpionage, it seems like participating women will pick up a few worthwhile life skills, especially from self-defense and snag-a-guy perspectives!

The organizers believe that every woman has a daring, confident and gorgeous secret agent inside (play along, it’s fun), and it’s the Stiletto Spy School’s experts’ job to help ladies discover their inner agent. With a wide array of classes, from “Elegance & Sophistication” and “Sizzling Argentine Tango” to “Knife Fighting Skills” and “Precision Shooting,” this school is part finishing school, and part finishing-off-your-opponent school.

You’ll be able to transfer the skills you pick up to real-life situations. As per the website, “Hitting targets at Spy School can help you hit targets in business. Survival skills will teach you to look for opportunities in unusual places. And while you may not need any stunt driving tips to park your car in the garage, they may just help you next time it snows. From poker to pool, from seduction to staying calm, you can learn almost anything at Spy School.”

Instructors are experts in their fields and come from varied and accomplished backgrounds.

Seems pretty cool to us…

images courtesy of stilettospyschool.com

Ben (Zach Galifianakis), the low-level government scientist who’s in charge of training and outfitting the furry spook crew with their spy paraphernalia, has also figured out how to train flies to carry teeny video cameras into small places. Ben’s got the g-force team investigating the über-wealthy industrialist Saber (Bill Nighy) who may have devilish plans to take over the world, but a few misadventures and the FBI steps in and sends the critters to live out a more fitting existence at the pet shop.

There the spies meet a kooky hamster (Steve Buscemi, part ferret?) and a gassy guinea pig (Jon Favreau) who escape with them and join the mission to stop Saber from taking over the world.

Apparently kids under 8 will enjoy the 90-minute distraction, but adults (spy-caper-loving or otherwise) may want to bring earplugs and take the op to snooze, as boiled down, the dialogue’s generic, the jokes are flat and the plot’s just your spy movie standard.

Incentive to play (and learn in the process) is a slew of prizes ranging from laptops to digital cameras to game consoles. All players have to do is access the game at the following link: www.nis111.co.kr between June 22 and July 21 to have a shot at being one of 200 prize winners. But even more importantly, players will (at least in theory) leave the game with a better understanding of how to identify the North Korean spies and sympathizers milling about South Korea. Bloggers who link to the game have been promised free watches.

An NIS spokesperson told an AFP reporter that the purpose of the game is to “promote public awareness about security” and that it primarily targets “young people who do not know North Korea well.” The game’s animated characters and somewhat simplified situations are clearly geared to appeal to a younger demographic.

The game requires that players identify as spies people who act suspiciously by posting propaganda online and then quickly fleeing the Internet café, by encouraging violence at anti-U.S. and anti-government gatherings, by taking photos at sensitive military and industrial sites, by covering their mouths with their hands when they speak, etc.

Some have ridiculed the intelligence agency’s approach, saying that the game simplifies the issue. Real spies are not nearly so easy to spot as the game suggests, critics contend.

Liberal groups, meanwhile, have expressed concern that the game depicts those in favor of unification as spies. The concern is legitimate, as the game specifically requests players to be weary of those who praise North Korea, including reunification activists who speak of economic collaboration and family get-togethers between the North and South.

images from NIS website

The casting’s less star-studded than that of spy flicks Duplicity (2009) and Salt (scheduled for a 2010 release), but the acting is good and the twists and turns rather compelling.

The movie spans a quarter century and weaves in black and white flashbacks to Thomas Sparrow’s active CIA days. As a Berlin-based agent during the Cold War, Sparrow (David Rasche) is involved in a money transfer case that goes bad, and even though he’s now retired, living out his days in Seattle, the CIA and Russian mafia are still trying to figure out where the cash landed up.

And from the family-side, Sparrow’s trying to make amends. His daughter Josephine (Elisabeth Rohm), whom he hasn’t seen since she was a little girl, is not the most well-adjusted of individuals. An alcoholic mother with a young kid, she gets by on meaningless sexual encounters, and it seems that a lot of her issues can be traced to her father’s absence. Daddy Sparrow wants now to make up for lost time…get a little parenting in before it’s really too late.

We explore Josephine’s relationships with her shrink (Eric Roberts) – also ex-CIA, her custody battle lawyer (Chad Lindberg), and her self-destructive self, not to mention her repentant father.

Lots of anger, torment, remorse – with an ex-spy at the heart of it. Looks like a winner for folks into their espionage, but it may be hard to come by depending on where you live. Producers are currently seeking distribution for the movie.

Lagerfeld will do the voice of bad guy Fabu in the action-packed cartoon feature based on the TV show by the same name that’s been captivating French audiences for five seasons. The fifth season is to be the last of the show about three high school girls (good start right?) who become secret agents (even better). Although European, the show is set in Cali, and the girls are American: Clover, Sam and Alex. Sounds very Charlie’s Angels-esque, except their Charlie is called Jerry.

High school students by day, the girls  work undercover to fight international crime with special spy gadgets provided by their boss, who heads up the World Organization of Human Protection agency (WOOHP). The girls must, of course, figure out how to keep their secret lives under wraps while they juggle the usual difficulties of American high school life.

The film is scheduled to open in July in France.

image courtesy of wikipedia.org

It seems to be a rather unnecessary precaution in this day of mass cyber espionage networks and high-tech spy gadgets, but the spokeswoman for the Jiangsu National Security Education Museum could not have been more clear on the rationale behind the policy, as shared with the Associated Press: “We don’t want such sensitive spy information to be exposed to foreigners, so they are not allowed to enter.”

She added that the visitors they have turned away thus far “are pretty understanding since this is not your average museum.” Since the museum’s opening on April 13, approximately 500 citizens a day have walked the four halls that tell the story of Chinese security and intelligence methods since 1927, when the communists began their revolt. People who look Western are turned away without delay, but those who have recognizably Chinese features enter without having to show documented proof of nationality.

As per the Associated Press, the collection includes maps that pass for decks of cards; hollowed-out coins for carrying secret docs; guns that look like pens, lipsticks, and tobacco pipes; and a radio mic posing as a fake pocket calculator, as well as once confidential documents and other security service relics.

Seeing as the press has got wind of this much, it wouldn’t be too difficult to infiltrate the museum itself. From the sound of it, you won’t find anything that would be of any value to contemporary intelligence operations! But we have to admit that the exclusivity does add somewhat to the spy museum’s allure. In fact, we reckon it’s very possible the no-foreigners rule is a marketing ploy to entice the Chinese populace to “get in on the secrets” that only they have access to…

Officially, the base is used to supply foreign troops in Afghanistan, but when Kyrgyzstan got a $2 billion economic support package from Russia, they asked the U.S. to close the base. The request was made in February, and the Americans are, as things stand now, scheduled to leave in August. Obviously having to close the base would be a setback for the U.S., especially as it gets ready to send more troops into Afghanistan.

The documentary – simply called Base – reports that Manas base has a high-tech surveillance system hidden on the premises, which can “eavesdrop on the whole world – every fax, every e-mailed letter. Every call from a mobile or landline phone is being recorded and processed. Billions of messages are being intercepted.”

Following Friday’s clip, a U.S. defense official commented that the accusations are not only absurd but also conveniently timed to coincide with the revival of discussions between the U.S. and Kyrgyzstan over the base’s future.

The documentary accuses the U.S. of using the base as an intelligence headquarters “in a treacherous way, without being endorsed by the Kyrgyz authorities.”

In addition to showing a two-storey building with no windows – allegedly home to an advanced intelligence surveillance system at Manas, the film shows images of a woman who supposedly works at the U.S. embassy in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek but is in reality an undercover CIA agent. She is later shown dressed (read: disguised) as an older woman. According to the documentary, the Americans have a team of spies in Bishkek whose aim is to keep Kyrgyz counterintelligence in the dark about CIA agents operating in the area.

The film was made by Arkady Mamontov, who has a history of making accusatory documentaries of this nature. In 2006, he was responsible for tensions between London and Moscow over a documentary that claimed to show British spies in the process of gathering information electronically with a fake rock.

Rossiya is known to be the media outlet of the Russian government, so the fact that it’s chosen to air a documentary so clearly anti-American so soon after Russian President Medyedev’s first meeting with Obama has people wondering about divisions within Russia’s ruling class.

image courtesy of www.centralasiatravel.com

Director Nadav Schirman is also a Bond enthusiast, but in The Champagne Spy – his first film – he gives viewers a glimpse into the real life of an undercover intelligence operative who also got a taste of the high life, but in a very different way. Schirman also delves deeper, showing us how his spy subject’s double life had a huge impact on the lives of his family.

Even though the story of undercover operative Ze’ev Gur-Arie begins in the mid-20th century, Schirman first heard of his exploits from his son Oded. Oded had never breathed a word of his father’s involvement in the Mossad (he was sworn to secrecy by his dad in 1960) until Ze’ev passed away. He then took the story to Schirman, who was able to unearth excellent archival footage to complement the rather unbelievable tale of the spy’s career.

Ze’ev Gur-Arie’s real life was based in Paris with his wife and son. His career forced him to spend large chunks of his time in Cairo, however, where he rolled with the city’s high flyers. His unlikely cover? An ex-Nazi millionaire and horse breeder whose job was to get tight with his ‘fellow’ German expats – especially the Nazi scientists who the Israelis suspected of creating weapons whose express purpose was the obliteration of Israel.

Ze’ev Gur-Arie’s assignment in Cairo was no short-term mission. He was in it for long-term espionage and not only adopted, but effectively became Wolfgang Lotz. His moniker – the Champagne Spy – came from the perks of his cover. A convincing multimillionaire needs to lead a life fit for well, a multimillionaire. He even married a German socialite, Waltraud, and his Aryan looks combined with his skill as a spy allowed him to keep his cover and hinder the Germans’ nuclear pursuits for many years.

Oded and his mother didn’t know about Wife #2 until Ze’ev was busted – not by German and Egyptian officials funnily enough, but by his servant, who reported a transmitter he found in the house to the authorities. The Egyptians arrested the Lotzes as German spies working for Israel, never discovering that Gur-Arie was actually an Israeli. Their oversight got him a lifetime prison sentence instead of immediate execution. Waltraud – wholly oblivious to his true identity – was sentenced to three years in prison.

More than just a cover, Ze’ev/Wolfgang was very much devoted to his second wife, and it was this fact that made Oded and his mother’s discovery of Waltraud’s existence all the worse. After the Six Day War, Israel arranged to exchange Egyptian prisoners for Wolfgang and Waltraud’s release.

Wolfgang’s champagne-dappled days were over, and the complexities that his spying life had led to left neither him nor his family footloose and fancy free upon his return. It is this murkier side of espionage that Schirman does not fail to address in his award-winning documentary.

images courtesy of www.spywise.net and www.jewcy.com

It was avid James Bond paraphernalia collector Peter Nelson who came up with the idea of having a public museum dedicated to James Bond. Nelson has collected Bond items for 20 years and has amounted the largest private collection of its kind the world over.

Fans will be able to view several of the Aston Martin and Lotus cars used in the Bond movies in addition to other vehicles like the Russian T55 main battle tank used in Goldeneye and a Bell Jetranger helicopter. Many of the vehicles the museum will feature have never been seen by the public. Also on display will be many film props, including the original Colibri golden gun and lots of cool Q gadgets.

Nelson, like many Bond enthusiasts, first got his hands on Ian Fleming’s Bond books when he was a schoolboy. The films cemented his love for the spy. Nelson was almost unable to complete the museum project due to the vast cost involved and briefly considered auctioning his Bond collection off. He couldn’t bear the thought of splitting up a collection amassed over two decades, however, and has (we’re very excited to hear) managed to get the museum ready for its imminent grand opening.

photo courtesy of www.carenthusiast.com

Haggai Carmon is a full-time attorney who was employed for twenty years by the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal agencies to gather intelligence in multi-million dollar, white-collar fraud cases. His assignments took him to over thirty foreign countries, and he traveled so frequently that he often had to think about what country he was waking up in. Carmon now has an international law practice and continues to represent the U.S. in its civil litigation matters in Israel, which he has been doing since 1985.

Join him as he discusses all of the above and more at the Friedberg JCC (15 Niel Court, Oceanside, N.Y. 11572) at 7:30pm on Thursday, March 26, 2009. Click here to view map.

For more information on The Chameleon Conspiracy, visit www.chameleonconspiracy.com, and to find out more about Dan Gordon and the other novels in the gripping series, visit www.SleepWithOneEyeOpen.com.