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CIA now courting Hollywood
HOLLYWOOD - The CIA is attempting to alter its often bad-guy image on television and in the movies by throwing its doors open to Hollywood and appointing a full-time entertainment liaison officer, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported today (Thursday). In particular, the agency has been working closely with scriptwriters for CBS's upcoming drama The Agency, starring Gil Bellows, which will air opposite E.R. next season. According to the Guardian, one episode will describe how the CIA foils a terrorist attack on London's Harrods department store without informing British authorities; another shows how it saves the life of Fidel Castro. Working with the producers is veteran CIA officer Chase Brandon, who described his assignment this way: "It's my job to inform and educate the public about a secret organization and yet not divulge any secrets." He said that he looks at all scripts before deciding whether to cooperate and "when someone wants to do an asinine representation of us, they're free to do so, but I'm not going to support that."