This is random, and probably nothing we didn't already know, but seems those "big budget blockbuster" movies we've been reading about perpetually all our lives are just bookkeeping tools for bribes and corruption.

Background: Started watching the movie "Sahara" today over coffee. Am in the habit of checking IMDB for movie trivia when watching movies, and this little nugget jumped off the screen:

"In 2007, the film's full, 151-page line-item budget, entered as evidence in the lawsuits and supposedly confidential, was leaked to the Los Angeles Times. This rare look into the detailed finances of a film, especially a notoriously expensive bomb, showed the production benefiting from cheap Moroccan labour and European tax credits on one hand, but wasting the money on a plane crash that was cut and paying Penélope Cruz's hairstylist and dialect coach over a quarter of a million dollars. More seriously though, it even included expenses for what were explicitly labelled as bribes to Moroccan officials, some of which may have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act…

For years, the author of the novel on which this film is based, Clive Cussler wanted Salma Hayek to play Eva Rojas. However, the film's producers chose Penélope Cruz for the role, a decision which was primarily made for monetary reasons. As Cruz is from Spain, the film qualified for $20.4 million in cash incentives for shooting in Europe, which would not have been possible if Hayek had been cast, as she is Mexican.

A plane crash which lasted just 46 seconds on screen, yet cost $2 million to film, ultimately had to be cut from the finished film in order that contracts with advertisers who had paid millions to have their products featured in the film could be honored.

( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318649/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv )

The movie was inspired by Clive Cussler's book of the same name. Cussler got so fed up dealing with the (((producers))) that he sued them, saying his deal had promised control over the script… there's much more detail, but seems Cussler had their number all along.

Sorry for the departure– back in the 80's, I was devouring Cussler and Tom Clancy constantly, basically my first redpills. Both of 'em had the agency's number. Highly recommend to anons under 40 who haven't had the chance to enjoy them yet. Get the whole collection, practically free, at thrift shops or garage sales :)