Burn After Reading (2008)

A disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.

Directors:

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Writers:

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Stars:

Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, George Clooney

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 8 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Clooney	...	Harry Pfarrer
Frances McDormand	...	Linda Litzke
Brad Pitt	...	Chad Feldheimer
John Malkovich	...	Osborne Cox
Tilda Swinton	...	Katie Cox
Richard Jenkins	...	Ted
Elizabeth Marvel	...	Sandy Pfarrer
David Rasche	...	CIA Officer Palmer DeBakey Smith
J.K. Simmons	...	CIA Superior (as JK Simmons)
Olek Krupa	...	Krapotkin
Michael Countryman	...	Alan
Kevin Sussman	...	Tuchman Marsh Man
J.R. Horne	...	Divorce Lawyer (as JR Horne)
Hamilton Clancy	...	Peck
Armand Schultz	...	Olson

Storyline

Osbourne Cox, a Balkan expert, resigned from the CIA because of a drinking problem, so he begins a memoir. His wife wants a divorce and expects her lover, Harry, a philandering State Department marshal, to leave his wife. A CD-ROM falls out of a gym bag at a Georgetown fitness center. Two employees there try to turn it into cash: Linda, who wants money for cosmetic surgery, and Chad, an amiable goof. Information on the disc leads them to Osbourne who rejects their sales pitch; then they visit the Russian embassy. To sweeten the pot, they decide they need more of Osbourne's secrets. Meanwhile, Linda's boss likes her, and Harry's wife leaves for a book tour. All roads lead to Osbourne's house.

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Plot Keywords:

dark comedy | stupidity | farce | internet dating | black comedy | 

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Taglines:

Intelligence is relative.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content and violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Harry (George Clooney) goes to stay at Katie Cox (Tilda Swinton)'s house after she breaks up with Osborne (John Malkovich), he brings along a purple "ramp", a sex tool from the Liberator line. After they collide he leaves the house only taking the "ramp" away.

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Goofs

Olive St. is depicted to be a one-way street, from the way the cars are parked. But the "SCHOOL ZONE" paint on the pavement faces the opposite direction to the supposed one-way traffic.

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Quotes

CIA Officer: We'll... interface with the FBI on this dead body.
CIA Superior: No, no. God no. We don't need those idiots fucking everything up. Burn the body. Get rid of it.
CIA Officer: OK.

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Crazy Credits

As usual, the Coen Brothers edited this film under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes

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Connections

Referenced in TableTop: Fiasco, Part 1 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Funny Farm
(2001)
Written by Patrick Dawes (as P. Dawes)
Performed by Patrick Dawes

User Reviews

Do people not get the humor in this?

This is one of the funniest movies to date. It moves quickly, it's witty, and funny, and nothing is more entertaining than Brad Pitt acting like an adolescent egging on an ex CIA member. This goes up there with Big Lebowski and Fargo for me. Quirky excellence.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Burn After Reading

Filming Locations:

Greenpoint, Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$37,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,128,001, 14 September 2008

Gross USA:

$60,355,347

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$163,728,902

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, StudioCanal, Relativity Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1