The Oscar-nominated Charlie Wilson's War hit DVD shelves today, and with that came yet another CIA agent on the big screen -- Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal of real-life maverick agent Gust Avrakotos. It's a role that shows that playing by your own set of CIA rules isn't just a fictional theme picked up by filmmakers. Gust (with a 'T') plays by his own rules, whether that means using bugs to listen in on Charlie Wilson's conversations, or throwing fits at his boss and smashing office windows. He's a bit unhinged, but proves to be the perfect ally for a war championed outside the normal means -- and just so happens to be perfectly played by Hoffman.

But Gust is just one of many, many CIA agents on the big screen -- ones that come from both real and fictional means. There is Dabney Coleman's Cooper in The Man with One Red Shoe, Nathan Muir and Tom Bishop in Spy Game, the retired and sneaky Jack Byrnes who is wary of the Focker family, Agent Bob Barnes in Syriana, Johnny Depp's Agent Sands in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, or wonderfully recruited men like Emmett Fitz-Hume and Austin Millbarge in Spies Like Us.

From comedy to drama, they're out there, but I ask you: Which cinematic CIA agents stand out in your mind? Are they by-the-book men, or rogue dudes like Gust who make things work on their own terms?

Since the only female spies I can think of in the movies are La Femme Nikita, various Bond Girls, or Charlie's Angels, I don't think I'm wrong for thinking that there has never been a terribly realistic portrayal of a woman in the espionage business. Hopefully, that is going to change. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Paramount Vantage has tapped Sex and Death 101 scribe Daniel Waters to adapt Lindsay Moran's memoir, Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy.

Published in 2005, the book covers her time in the CIA, and critiques what she calls "a dysfunctional intelligence organization." Moran joined the CIA in 1998, after graduating from Harvard and working in Bulgaria as an English teacher. After five years as a "case officer," she became disillusioned with her lifestyle and quit. Moran's dissatisfaction with "the life" was also closely tied to her disappointment with the fact she was "far from being a female James Bond." She "discovered that the life was more isolating than anything else, with her not able to tell even her closest confidants or boyfriends what she did for a living."

Surprisingly, she was allowed to speak freely about her time with the organization, and even criticized them for both their slow reaction to the Sept 11th tragedies and their role in the Iraq War. Karen Tenkhoff (The Motorcycle Diaries) will produce. There is no word on a director yet, but considering the amount of spy projects getting the green light, it shouldn't take long. But for those who like their spy films with a little less bureaucracy and a little more glamor, there is always Bond 22. You can always count on 007 to give us our fix of super-model spies and unlikely adventures.

This past weekend, while hunting for movies I never had a chance to see, I decided to pick up Breach on DVD. Inspired by the real-life story of FBI Agent-turned-Russian spy Robert Hanson, the film is one of those rare spring gems that went fairly unnoticed when it hit theaters. Those looking for an excellent drama should definitely check this out and -- wow -- though I never thought it was possible, I might be starting to actually like Ryan Phillippe. I mention Breach because this spy stuff is pretty hot right now, and Variety reports Tom Cruise might be looking to get this feet wet in a film that sort of reminds me of a mix between The Fugitive and The Bourne Whatever. Columbia Pictures is in talks to have Terry George (who helmed the magnificent Hotel Rwanda) direct Edwin A. Salt, with Cruise potentially playing the lead character.

The film follows a CIA officer (Cruise) who is fingered as a Russian sleeper spy, and subsequently sets out on a mission to not only prove his innocence, but also reunite with his family -- all while attempting to elude those who want his head on a silver platter. The script was penned by Kurt Wimmer (The Recruit, Ultraviolet), while Lorenzo di Boneventura and Sunil Perkash are producing. Personally, this looks to be the perfect role for Cuise, who I've always found shines in parts that rely more on drama than non-stop action. And it also goes to show the man is looking to lose himself in some nice-looking films (Lions for Lambs, Valkyrie) instead of opting to jump on couches and offend depressed mothers. No word yet on whether Cruise will take on this film before those other two comedies (Men, Hardy Boys) he has planned, but here's hoping this film adds to a long line of upcoming Cruise vehicles that will definitely be worth our time.

Warner Bros. is developing a new adaptation of David Morrell's novel The Brotherhood of the Rose, which was previously made into a TV miniseries back in 1989. The book tells the story of twin brothers two orphans adopted by the CIA who are raised as perfect assassins and then are themselves hunted by the CIA. I don't remember the NBC version -- if I heard the title back then I probably mistook it for The Name of the Rose -- but I'm now pretty interested. It stars a young David Morse and an old Robert Mitchum, and Morrell is the author of the novel-turned-Rambo-franchise First Blood. Unfortunately, it is only available on VHS, and though I could order it online, I'd rather rent it -- something that isn't an easy option in my neck of the woods anymore. Maybe as the new movie gets closer to arriving in theaters, someone will realize it's a good idea to get the old one onto DVD.

The new project seems to be a hopeful substitute for Universal's similar Bourne movies once that franchise (likely) ends with this summer's The Bourne Ultimatum. It may even try too hard and be an obvious copycat, but if Warners gets a decent duo to play the twins and a quality action director, it shouldn't matter if we feel we've seen it all before. Action thrillers about spies who find out they're being targeted are a very, very old concept, and they never really get tired. Basil Iwanyk, who is producing Brotherhood, is even planning a remake of Spies Like Us, which is in many ways a comedic take on the Bourne/Brotherhood/etc. premise. Once again, it's another unnecessary remake, and it won't have anything as funny as the original's "Doctor, Doctor" scene, but I love any movie involving spies (real or fictional), so I'll probably guiltily see it. That reminds me, when the heck are we going to get the long promised Spy vs. Spy movie?

If you haven't already, you must read Joshuah Bearman's new Wired article about the 1980 hostage rescue involving the creation of a fake sci-fi movie. Here, I'll sum it up quickly: after the CIA and two makeup artists came up with a non-existent movie (it seemed so real that it had the trades fooled), an operative named Tony Mendez traveled to Iran under the guise of the production in order to sneak out six American hostages. And yes, it worked. Well, it didn't take long for a studio to realize the now-unclassified story would make a perfect non-non-existent movie. Warner Bros. has bought the rights to the article and has tapped none other than George Clooney and Grant Heslov to write the screenplay.

The last film Clooney and Heslov wrote together was Good Night, and Good Luck, for which they received Oscar nominations. And considering the fact that Clooney has worked with CIA subject matter before, with his directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and with his Oscar-winning performance in Syriana, the man seems fully qualified. Hopefully Clooney will also direct the film, which will be called Escape From Tehran, or at least appear in it. It would also be perfect if the project, labeled a dramedy, could employ the two makeup artists, but unfortunately one of them is no longer alive. John Chambers, who won an Honorary Academy Award in 1969 for his work on Planet of the Apes, died in 2001. However, his partner on the mission, Robert Sidell, who went on to do the makeup for E.T., may be able to contribute somehow.

Escape From Tehran reminds me of two other films, Wag the Dog and The Last Shot, but it will likely be good enough to make me forget both (especially the latter). The only thing I ask for is a title change. Right now it sounds like it should feature Kurt Russell as Snake Plisskin, or worse, it could confuse people if it comes out anytime close to the Escape from New York remake. Here is my suggestion, which will associate it better with Clooney's and Heslov's work: You May Proceed. Good Luck. Okay, it isn't actually a better title, but if you read the article (do it!), my idea will at least make sense.

Well the only other movie I can think of that was based on a Vanity Fair article was The Insider, and that was a fantastic film that managed to generate box office and Oscar buzz -- what more could you want? I would imagine that Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Jason Blum had similar ideas about adapting a high profile VF article,when they picked up their latest project for Paramount.

Variety reported that Blum and Di Bonaventura have bought the rights to David Wise's article The Shop for Paramount. Wise's article has yet to be published, but already a movie deal is on the table -- wow, they didn't waste any time did they? Wise, an investigative journalist, co-authored the infamous book about the CIA called The Invisible Government. Wise also is remembered for a column in the New York Times in 1981, that attacked Reagan for the pardon of Mark Felt (who's now probably better known as Woodward and Bernstein's Deep Throat).

Details about the project are being kept under lock and key, since the article hasn't even published. Plus, would you expect any less from a project about the intensely secret organization? Kelley Sane has already been hired to adapt the piece, but there is no word of a director yet, I can only assume it will be on a "need-to-know" basis. ...

[via Empire Online]

For Americans to better understand our present conflict with Iran, we need to look at the history of our involvement and interests there. And for that, we need a movie. That is how the award-winning photographer Shirin Neshat sees it anyway. She is planning her feature film debut to be set in 1953, the year the CIA was involved in the overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, and she hopes to show how this event figures into the current relationship between the west and the middle east. It won't be the first time a film maker presents the past as a parallel or a cause for the present, but the subject matter may specifically remind people of the most controversial points of Fahrenheit 9/11, in which Michael Moore insinuates that 9/11 was somewhat America's own fault.

The film, which Neshat has yet to pin a name on (it will be based on the book Women Without Men), will not be the same kind of propaganda that Moore's doc is, and it isn't likely to be all that pro-Iran, either. Neshat, who moved to America in the mid-'70s to attend UC Berkeley and is presently living in New York, has not been to Iran in ten years because her work on gender roles in Islamic society is not very popular back home. Of course, this film could make her just as unwelcome in parts of the U.S. too.