Part 2 The Bonds of War, Niall Ferguson’s Ascent of Money Series.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Film: PMC’s In Film– ‘Knock Out’ Starring Gina Carano, Director Steven Soderbergh
This just popped up on my radar screen and I am interested. Gina Carano is pretty popular in the MMA arena, and she has the potential to really kick ass. She is not an actress, so for Steven to take a gamble with this gal is a bold move. I am not sure how that will translate on the screen. She does get points for actually being tougher than some of her co-actors, and that will actually make things a little more believable on the big screen with fight scenes and action stuff. But then there is that little thing called dialogue and acting, which either you can do, or you cannot. I hope for her sake, she can pull it off.
Now on to the PMC portion. I have not seen the movie, but from the sounds of it, McGregor will probably mimic a Erik Prince type, or with his accent, maybe a Tim Spicer type. Who knows, but more than likely, he will play the bad guy, thus putting his company in a bad light. Nothing new there. But at least the star of the movie, Gina, will be a security contractor that works for a PMC.
By the way, I have a ton of Hollywood folks reading the blog, and a few that have actually contacted me. For you that are just readers, welcome, and if you need any assistance on your project, let me know. Also, Cade Courtley would be a good choice for any roles in this movie involving contractors, seeing how he has a TV show on Spike and is a former SEAL and security contractor. –Matt
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McGregor, Douglas, Fassbender in Soderbergh’s ‘Knockout’
January 7, 2010
Steven Soderbergh promised to surround mixed martial artist Gina Carano with strong actors for her feature debut when he first spoke about his revenge spy movie “Knockout,” and he is now delivering the goods.
Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor and Michael Douglas are in negotiations to join the cast of the production, which is being financed by Relativity. Dennis Quaid is also in negotiations in join the cast.
Written by Lem Dobbs, the story sees a female spy (Carano) working for a Blackwater-style security contractor who is betrayed by one of her teammates.
McGregor would play the owner of the company, a one-time confidant of Carano who switches allegiances.
Fassbender will play a British agent who teams up with Carano but proves untrustworthy while Douglas will play an American executive of McGregor’s company who works with her to take down the company.
The movie is scheduled to go before cameras in February in several locations around the world and will be selling at the European Film Market in Berlin. Lionsgate is distributing the movie domestically.
Fassbender, repped by WME, is coming off Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” where he played Lt. Archie Hicox. McGregor, repped by WME and United Agents, next appears in Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer” while WME-repped Douglas, who worked with Soderbergh on the Oscar-winning “Traffic,” wrapped “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps” last month.
Link to blog here.
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1/07/2010
When the action spy picture “Knockout” was first announced a few months ago, director Steven Soderbergh promised that the lead star, non-actress/ mixed martial arts champion Gina Carano would be surrounded by a name-recognizable cast of supporting talent and he wasn’t kidding.Sources close to the project have confirmed to us that the principal cast members supporting Carano include Michael Fassbender (“Inglourious Basterds,” “Hunger”), Ewan McGregor, Dennis Quaid and Michael Douglas.
However, it looks like the original concept, — a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who is given a second chance to use her skills for constructive purposes — having gone through the gestation/inception stage was eventually rethought and cast aside (both filmmaker and writer felt that it had “been done”). (more…)
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Maritime Security: Maersk Hires War Ship To Protect Tanker
I haven’t heard anything about Guardian GBS Security before, nor do I know anything about this warship they contracted out. But if true, then that is pretty damn cool. Although Blackwater is probably scratching their head right now, as they try to sell the MacArthur while it rusts away in Spain. If any of my Danish readers would like to add more to this story, I am all ears. –Matt
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Maersk hires war ship to protect tanker
Monday, 04 January 2010
Danish shippers are taking more extreme measures to provide safety for the fleets sailing in pirate waters
Danish shipper A.P. Moller Maersk has hired out soldiers and a warship from Tanzania to protect its fleet in pirate-ridden waters off the coast of Africa, and now other shippers are expected to follow suit.
Maersk hired the warship through former special forces soldiers working for firm Guardian GBS security in December 2008. The ship was charged with protecting the Brigit Maersk tanker from pirates. It is unknown how much the shipping company paid for the service.
‘The waters east of Africa are a grey zone because developing countries don’t have resources to fight pirates. It’s a temporary solution that a shipper has hired a warship from another country, but there’s no alternative,’ said Jan Fritz Hansen, vice-president of the Danish Shipowners’ Association.
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Afghanistan: The Road Watchers
Bravo to Mike for being innovative and on the job. No telling how many lives he has saved with his dedication to the mission and this unique program. It also looks like he is sporting the 5.11 plate carrier. –Matt
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SHARANA, Afghanistan – Mike Bowles works as a law enforcement professional for Military Professional Resources International. He helps train Afghan National Security Forces on various investigative techniques he learned while working special investigations for the San Diego Sheriff’s Department for more than 20 years. He started a projected called Road Watchers, where he trains local Afghan contractors on spotting emplaced IEDs. (ISAF Joint Command photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nathan Gallahan)
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ISAF Joint Command
January 6, 2010
By U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nathan Gallahan
SHARANA, Afghanistan – Teams of Afghans are saving countless lives, after one man from San Diego, Calif., noticed their potential and trained them on how to spot and report a deadly threat.
The Afghans are saving lives by finding improvised explosive devices on the roadways and reporting the locations, so international forces can disarm them and the Afghan national security forces can collect evidence to find those responsible.
Mike Bowles, a law enforcement professional for Military Professional Resources International, coordinates a project called Road Watch.
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Maritime Security: Somali Militants Training Pirates
So here we go. This is the trend to watch, and jihadist privateering is now a reality. My guess is that not only will piracy be lucrative for Al-Shabab, but they will soon be front and center with the drug trade and smuggling. And hey, they might even make some time to play holy war in Yemen. Stay tuned. –Matt
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Somali militants training pirates
‘Relationship of convenience’: Canadian report
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Stewart Bell, National Post
The Somali militant group Al-Shabab has been arming and training pirates in exchange for a share of their spoils, says a newly released Canadian intelligence document.
Al-Shabab has formed a “relationship of convenience” with one of the two main pirate networks operating off the Horn of Africa, the “Top Secret” intelligence assessment says.
The report describes an “Islamist extremism-piracy nexus” that involves Al-Shabab providing “weapons, combat training and local protection” to the Mudug pirates of southern Somalia.
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