Talk:American Made (film)

Opening
The opening summary is incorrect. It says "In order to avoid jail time, Seal approached United States government officials and served as an informant for the DEA." In this movie, Seal was approached by the CIA to take photos and arm the Contras, but ended up arming the drug cartels. After he was arrested, he didn't approach anyone; the White House intervened and sent him on their own mission. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.153.108.90 (talk) 06:39, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

Release dates
As this is an American film, release dates for other countries are irrelevant. Stop adding them to the article. ---  The Old Jacobite  The '45  14:39, 25 August 2017 (UTC)

Seeing that the film has already been released in August here in Australia, while the entry here says it will be released in September it might be worth noting or maybe someone should get reliable info. Czarnibog (talk) 12:39, 26 August 2017 (UTC)

WP:FILMRELEASE says "Release dates should therefore be restricted to the film's earliest release, whether it was at a film festival, a world premiere, or a public release, AND the release date(s) in the country or countries that produced the film, excluding sneak previews or screenings." (my emphasis). So in this case, the film should have two release dates listed: 17 August 2017, which was the first release in the Netherlands, AND 29th September 2017, the US release. --Shimbo (talk) 11:00, 1 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Indeed. It was released all over Europe in August. September festival dates in France are irrelevant. The Dutch date is August 31st though, not 17th. —  Film Fan  14:40, 29 September 2017 (UTC)

Plot
Given that the film hasn't been released, how is someone able to write a plot summary? The source for the plot is apparently a nonnotable film blog, which would not pass muster as a source. ---  The Old Jacobite  The '45  12:55, 27 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Indicating that the film is based on a true story, the official website states: "In Universal Pictures’ American Made, Tom Cruise reunites with his Edge of Tomorrow director, Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith), in this international escapade based on the outrageous (and real) exploits of a hustler and pilot unexpectedly recruited by the CIA to run one of the biggest covert operations in U.S. history." Unfortunately, that distorts/ignores the fact that Seal was not recruited by the CIA, DEA, or anyone else. It was Seal who approached the DEA and became a snitch in order to avoid jail time. The CIA simply installed the cameras that were on the plane that he flew to Nicaragua. The current plot summary seems to mix the fiction of the film with a mistaken view of history, but I have updated the lede to reflect more accurately what were the actual circumstances involving Seal. -Location (talk) 15:09, 27 August 2017 (UTC)
 * The film portrays Seal as being recruited by, and then working for, the CIA. The plot section should reflect that I'd have thought, though perhaps the article needs a 'Differences from reality' section too --Shimbo (talk) 20:22, 27 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Re: "Seal's role in this major CIA covert operation led in turn to his involvement with the Medellin cartel, which ultimately embarrassed the Reagan White House after the Iran-Contra scandal became public." Does the movie actually state or show the "CIA cover operation" embarrassing the Reagan administration? If not, it should be left out of the plot because it would be a mixture of fiction with someone's take on what really happened. -Location (talk) 22:48, 27 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Nevermind. It looks like this was just edited out of the article. -Location (talk) 22:53, 27 August 2017 (UTC)
 * I restored my plot summary, which doesn't mention Iran-Contra. IIRC there's very little mention of Iran-Contra in 'American Made' - just a very brief mention at the end of the film - which ends with Seal's murder and then a brief summary of what happened to the other characters. IMO my plot summary is a fair summary of what the film shows. How accurate the film is in its depiction of reality I don't know. --Shimbo (talk) 23:01, 27 August 2017 (UTC)


 * It has been released in many countries, including the UK where I'm based. I've seen the film and the summary I added and that you deleted is AFAIK, accurate. Maybe it could be improved, likely it will be when more people have seen the movie, but there's no basis in wikipedia policy for deleting my work rather than improving it. --Shimbo (talk) 19:58, 27 August 2017 (UTC)
 * The only source you provided was for a nonnotable blog and you gave no explanation of the basis of the plot. That is why I reverted it. ---  The Old Jacobite   The '45  20:01, 27 August 2017 (UTC)
 * OK, so now I've explained, we're good then? If I put that summary back in you will wait for it to be improved rather than deleting it? It does say in WP:FILMPLOT that a basic description of the plot doesn't need citing BTW. --Shimbo (talk) 20:06, 27 August 2017 (UTC)
 * As you've not responded I'm going to restore the plot summary. Please do not delete it without further discussion.--Shimbo (talk) 22:41, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

IMAX 3D?
at the time of this posting, the fandango page lists availability in imax 3d: https://www.fandango.com/american-made-199153/movie-times. not that it's the most accurate of a data source, but just thought it was an interesting data point, even with no apparent showtimes that i could find.

Historical accuracy
The section on the film's historical accuracy cites the History Vs. Hollywood website. This in turn cites Del Hahn's biography of Seal, Smuggler's End. Both of these sources say that Seal denied working for the CIA when questioned in court. I have revised the section to reflect their content. Rgr09 (talk) 16:11, 4 November 2017 (UTC)

The article was recently revised to add the following text:


 * In 1986, Los Angeles sheriff's deputies arrested a man who claimed to be a CIA employee during a raid targeting money-laundering associated with the illegal drug trade. "Officers discovered films of military operations in Central America, technical manuals, information on assorted military hardware and communications, and numerous documents indicating that drug money was being used to purchase military equipment for Central America."

There is no connection to Barry Seal or the Tom Cruise movie in this revision to the article. The Jim Newton article cited is part of the coverage of Gary Webb's "Dark Alliance" series. Newton's article does not mention Barry Seal or anything relating to him. I have therefore removed all of this. Rgr09 (talk) 01:02, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Who is Pete?
In the "Plot" section, who is "Pete" who "becomes a changed man"? I cannot find any other mention of him. 202.142.52.94 (talk) 09:12, 11 September 2021 (UTC)

I cannot find any mention of either "Pete" or "Seal" in that article. This is an article about a movie, not directly about any CIA involvement with drug smuggling. 202.142.52.94 (talk) 09:27, 11 September 2021 (UTC)

... in the JIM NEWTON reference below, which has somehow got underneath my response. 202.142.52.94 (talk) 09:28, 11 September 2021 (UTC)

It's not a comedy it's a true story stop calling it a comedy
Would you stop calling it a comedy it's a true story why are you trying to make people think it's a comedy it actually happened 100.8.147.106 (talk) 10:47, 5 October 2022 (UTC)


 * It can be both. A quick search engine test shows reliable sources calling it a comedy. You can have a film based on a true story that takes dramatic license to be funny. Erik (talk &#124; contrib) (ping me) 12:22, 5 October 2022 (UTC)