Title of film : Clear and Present Danger
Director Name : Phillip Noyce
Cast & crew :
Producer : Mace Neufeld
Editor : Neil Travis
Cast :
Synopsis : An aggrieved first term President implicitly ("What I would suggest I cannot suggest") authorizes a secret military incursion into Columbia after a personal friend of his is killed by men connected to Ernesto Escobedo, leader of the Cali Cartel. Jack Ryan, temporarily promoted as Deputy Director of Intelligence at the CIA after Jim Greer is diagnosed with cancer is unintentionally mired in the scheme. He was tasked with securing the funding for the operation from Congress, even specifically promising no troops would be used despite that being (unbeknown to Ryan) the whole point of the operation. The military operation is initially successful, striking at drug refining facilities and shooting down drug running aircraft. After the President orders a large amount of laundered drug money seized, Felix Cortez, a former Castro official working as an intelligence officer for Escobedo, retaliates by assassinating a Presidential aide (from which Ryan himself narrowly escapes) sent to Columbia to discuss the seized funds with the Columbian government. After that, the operation is escalated and the US troops are ordered to begin assassinating cartel leaders themselves, who have met to assuage their own suspicions that each other are responsible for the strikes by US troops and avert a gang war. In response, Cortez figures out that American troops have been operating in Columbia and negotiates their betrayal with the President's National Security Advisor (Cutter) who orchestrated the unconstitutional operation. Meanwhile, Ryan has also caught on that something illicit is happening and catches the basic gist of the operation after breaking into a colleague's office computer at CIA. He is too late to prevent the betrayal of the US soldiers in Columbia who are captured after their exact location is given to Cortez and all air support and communications with them are cut off. Ryan personally returns to Columbia to organize a rescue operation, which he cobbles together with the help of a disgruntled CIA operative who had been involved in the military operation itself. Ryan returns to Washington DC, to reveal all details of the operation to Congress even after the President personally tries to entice him to remain silence with offers of future favours.
Director Bio : Born in the Australian outback town of Griffith, New South Wales, Phillip Noyce moved to Sydney with his family at the age of 12. As a teenager, he was introduced to underground films produced on shoestring budgets as well as mainstream American movies. He was 18 when he made his first film, the 15-minute "Better to Reign in Hell," utilizing a unique financing scheme selling roles in the movie to his friends. In 1973 he was selected to attend the Australian National Film School in its inaugural year. Here, he made "Castor and Pollux," a 50 minute documentary which won the award for best Australian short film of 1974. Noyce's first professional film was the 50-minute docudrama "God Knows Why, But It Works" in 1975. This helped pave the way for his first feature, the road movie "Backroads" (1977) which starred Australian Aboriginal activist Gary Foley and iconic Australian actor Bill Hunter who would go on to appear in 2 other Noyce films. In 1978, he directed and co-wrote "Newsfront," which won Best Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the Australian Film Awards, as well as proving a huge commercial hit in Australia. In addition to opening the London Film Festival, "Newsfront" was the first Australian film to screen at the New York Film Festival. In 1982, Heatwave (1982), co-written and directed by Noyce and starring Judy Davis, was chosen to screen at the Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. The success of the Australian produced Dead Calm (1989), starring Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill and Billy Zane brought Noyce to Hollywood, where he directed 6 films over the next decade, including Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994) starring Harrison Ford, and The Bone Collector (1999), starring Oscar© winners Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. In 2002 Noyce returned to his native Australia, where released two films worldwide at almost the same time. The Quiet American (2002) starred Michael Caine in an Academy nominated Best Actor performance and appeared on over 20 top ten lists for 2002, including the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) was based on the true story of three Aboriginal girls abducted from their families by Australian authorities in 1931 as part of an official government policy. The film won Best Picture at the Australian Film Awards, and together with The Quiet American garnered Noyce numerous best director awards including National Board of Review in the US and UK's London Film Critics Circle. In 2006 Noyce directed Tim Robbins and Derek Luke in the South African set political thriller Catch a Fire (2006). 2010 Saw Noyce re-teaming with Angelina Jolie for his biggest box-office hit, the spy thriller Salt (2010), which grossed $295 million worldwide. Noyce's television credits include the Australian mini-series "The Dismissal" as well as "The Cowra Breakout," which he also co-wrote. In the US, Noyce directed the pilots for Fox's "Tru Calling" and Showtime's "Brotherhood" TV series. In 2011, Noyce directed the pilot for ABC Network's current hit series, "Revenge."
Filmography :
