This blog is about the book 'CONFIDENTIAL: The Life of Secret Agent Turned Hollywood Tycoon Arnon Milchan.' The biography of a legendary Hollywood producer.
Cover image: Milchan embraces Arafat. A James Bond fan, Arafat thought he was embracing a film producer who had just introduced him to one of the original Bond's, Sean Connery. Arafat never realized he was schmoozing a top Israeli intelligence asset. - SCROLL DOWN:
Congratulations to Producer Arnon Milchan for receiving the well deserved 'Best Producer' title at the Lacarno Film festival this summer... where his masterpieces King of Comedy, Once Upon a Time in America, and Brazil will all be shown. Lacarno's bio of Mr. Milchen, found here, is mildlyamusing in what it left out. None the less, a well deserved award.
"There is another side to his creativity that is not that flamboyant, that is dead serious, that has to stay secretive, and we all know how hard that is for Arnon. And I know some of the people here are movie-makers, and therefore, by definition, story tellers, people of imagination. So if you have an imagination, think of the things you do know about Israel's capabilities that are not to be discussed, and then think of all the creative ways to get those abilities, and then take out your notebooks and laptops, and imagine what you like. Still, you won't begin to scrape the surface of the things that Arnon has done for Israel. So everybody came here to thank Arnon for the things that we do know; I came to thank Arnon for the things we don't."
Yair Lapid was a longtime news anchor on Israeli TV's channel 2, he worked for a short period for Arnon Milchan at New Regency's television division in Hollywood, and is currently a candidate for Israel's Knesset (Parliament), heading up a secular centrist party. As previously reported by this blog, Lapid has as sought the behind-the-scenes support of Arnon Milchan. UPDATE: Yair Lapid has announced that Arnon Milchan's daughter, Elinor Milchan, is a "strategic advisor" and one of the "founders" of his new political party "Atid" which means "Future" in Hebrew. Analysis: It is highly unlikely that Elinor would have involved herself in this kind of political endeavor in Israel without the knowledge and blessing of her politically active father.
Of course, Russell Crowe got his breakthrough roll in Arnon Milchan's L.A. Confidential, a title that inspired the title of the book Confidential: The life of Secret Agent Turned Hollywood Tycoon Arnon Milchan, so there is a history there. The photo above, which has never been published, is reflective of the close relationship between the mega-producer and the a-list actor, No surprise that Crowe would sign up for Noah, a complicated production of the biblicalcharacter.