A true story paperback january 1, 2001 by kurt eichenwald author. Martell, 39, said in court on wednesday that jontele goodwin, 26, and his mother, lakeisha goodwin, 43, attempted to hire him to kill three people who were witnesses in a. Meanwhile, the polices own code of silence is put to the test when upton is asked about. Damons latest film landed on dvd, bluray and digital download february 23, and sheknows has your inside scoop.
Host liane hansen speaks to investigative writer kurt eichenwald, whose book, the informant. It documents the mid1990s lysine pricefixing conspiracy case and the involvement of archer daniels midland executive mark whitacre, inspiring a film adaptation starring matt damon as whitacre. It is a modern retelling of pride and prejudice set in cincinnati, ohio. The informant is superb reporting in the service of a great story, one with the drama and suspense of a le carre novel. The truth is the informant is more deceitful and more spellbinding, than many works of fiction. The informant is a 1997 cable tv movie produced by showtime, starring cary elwes and timothy dalton. Even as he exposes his companys multinational pricefixing conspiracy to the fbi, whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion. John gotti elevated the publics notion of a mob boss to near mythic status.
The book reads like john grisham on acid, and once begun, you cant put it down. The informant by kurt eichenwald penguin random house canada. Mark whitacre was the highestranking executive in u. This is the third and final book in the butchers boy series. It depicts whitacres involvement as a whistle blower in the lysine pricefixing conspiracy of the mid1990s as.
A charismatic turn by star matt damon and a consistently ironic tone boost this quietly funny satire about a corporate whistleblower. The breaks, a single from his 1980 selftitled debut album, is the first certified gold record rap song. The informant is a true story about archer daniels midland adm and their alleged price fixing in a variety of agricultural markets. The protagonist, liz, is one of five sisters who have perplexed their mother by not marrying. With jason beghe, jon seda, jesse lee soffer, tracy spiridakos. Kurt eichenwald has written for the new york times for more than 17 years. This real, live nephew of his uncle sam grew up to become an fbi agent, spending his first six years of service in new york city. Then, through a series of events that became fodder for two books and a movie, his world of power and privilege blew apart.
The phantasmagoric story behind the socalled supermarket to the world rocked decatur and much of the world, and it will certainly change the way you. The trailer for steven soderberghs new project, the informant. Oftentimes, when i start a new book my initial enthusiasm gets me through the first chapter or two. To his credit, perry has allowed characters to mature and become more interesting with timeparticularly elizabeth, the investigator who is the butchers boys so, another decade passes and perry. As head of the gambino crime family in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he cut a colorful and extremely public figure. The author, kurt eichenwald, has obviously done a considerable amount of research to present the details of the. The film is based on the 2000 non fiction book the informant by journalist kurt eichanwald and tells the reallife story of mark whitacre, a whistleblowing executive who informed on the dirty tricks of the agricultural company he worked for. And atwater discovers a personal connection to the case. 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 adm, he became the highestlevel corporate executive in u. Matt damon is the informant matt damon stars as audiences have never seen him in the truelife story of the informant. The actual subject matter corporate misdeeds may only appeal to teens, however, because it stars matt damon. Find books like the informant from the worlds largest community of readers.
Ross johnson, and brian mulroneyto the biggun washington lawyers. 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 of mine. With matt damon, tony hale, patton oswalt, lucas mchugh carroll. Matt damon scott bakula joel mchale 2009 fbi agents receive an unpleasant surprise when they rely on adm executive mark whitacre. Adm was scheming to steal millions from its customers. Parents need to know that this engaging steven soderbergh comedy received an r rating principally for language. While investigating a drugrelated homicide, intelligence is stonewalled by the nosnitch culture of the neighborhood. By activating, you agree that you want to enable cloud technology to access your xfinity stream subscription on additional supported devices like computers and tablets, as well as the tv connected. This debut crime thriller hits all the cliches you can think of from mind blowing psychological crime thriller and a page turner. The informant is the stunning debut crime thriller from by susan wilkins a former screenwriter for british tv, who has brought her experience from screenwriting to bear on this excellent thriller. With anthony brophy, cary elwes, timothy dalton, maria lennon. It was directed by jim mcbride and written by nicholas meyer based upon the book field of blood by gerald seymour. When seal was convicted of smuggling charges, he became an informant for the drug enforcement administration and testified in several major drug trials. He ended up with a prison sentence three times longer than any of the criminal executives he exposed.
The truth is a complicated matter, and in the case of the informant, much stranger than fiction. Brian shepard was born on the 4th of july, 1949 in kankakee, illinois. In adapting exnew york times reporter kurt eichenwalds nonfiction book the informant, screenwriter scott z. Mark whitacre, a top executive of adm, is the informant. The informant is better than sleeping dogs 1992, but uneven pacing, confused motivation, and unclear plot direction continue to bog down the story.
Goodreads members who liked the informant also liked. Kurtis walker born august 9, 1959, professionally known by his stage name kurtis blow, is an american rapper, singer, songwriter, recordfilm producer, bboy, dj, public speaker and minister. The movie is based on a true story and sends some mixed messages about corporate ethics. But before all that can happen, the fbi needs evidence. A true story by kurt eichenwald and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Discover other books like this, author exclusives, and more. A booklength war of nerves that accentuates the best of mr. He is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major record label. Burns, based on the book the informant a true story by kurt eichenwald. I purchased this as i have recently finished reading the book the film was based on as the book was excellent. Mother, son heading to trial in conspiracy to kill case. Eligible was published on april 19, 2016 by random house.
Janet maslin, new york times maybe youve heard of him. Forsyth after kurt eichenwald captivated an audience with a humorfilled routine at waldenbooks, a woman commented that she could see. 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. Not only are they set a decade apart, they were written a decade apart. A rising star at agriindustry giant archer daniels midland adm, whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. He returned to his home state in 1983, assigned as the sole agent in decatur. Starring william mcinnes, stephen curry, colin friels, leeanna walsman and don kountouris.
A pageturning true story of international scandal and corruption at. It depicts whitacres involvement as a whistle blower in the lysine pricefixing conspiracy of the mid1990s as described in the 2000 nonfiction. The books protagonist kate is an identical twin with psychic powers. The informant is a marvel of tight, thoughtful construction. Perrys gift for using pure logic and gamesmanship to generate breathless nonstop suspense. This is the true tale of how one man, mark whitacre, became a secret goverment witness in the archer daniel midland conspiracy. Meticulously researched and richly told by new york times senior writer kurt eichenwald, the informant recreates the drama of the story, beginning with the secret recordings, stakeouts, and interviews with suspects and witnesses to the power struggles within adm and its boardincluding the highprofile chairman dwayne andreas, f. I wont spoil the plot, but lets just say that like in a lot of instances, the film did not do the book justice. The informant is a nonfiction whitecollar crime book written by journalist kurt eichenwald and published in 2000 by random house. 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 of mine from work. Ross johnson, and brian mulroneyto the biggun washington lawyers hired by adm and on up through the ranks of the justice department to fbi director louis. Burns, the film stars matt damon as the titular informant named mark whitacre, as well as scott bakula, joel mchale and melanie lynskey. Executives there were accused of orchestrating a worldwide conspiracy to fix prices.