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A14 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 24 sepTember 2020
Review: 'Agents of Chaos,' from Russia, but not with love

By MARK KENNEDY Committee's emails were
AP Entertainment Writer dumped on the Russian
Let's take a trip back in online front DCLeaks or
American history, but not appeared on WikiLeaks,
too way back. To a time not revealing that Democratic
that unfamiliar — the last officials favored Clinton
presidential election. Do over her rivals. The media,
you remember all the stuff wanting to seem balanced
swirling around in 2016? when it came to Trump,
Fancy Bear. Paul Manafort. seized on the controversy
Julian Assange. Guccifer and elevated it.
2.0. George Papadopou- "It was a three-ring circus of
los. The Steele dossier. The election meddling," the film
"Access Hollywood" tape. concludes.
The FBI's "Crossfire Hurri- The DNC email dump often
cane" investigation. James got conflated with an ear-
Comey and Roger Stone. lier controversy when Clin-
Remember how they all fit ton was accused of misus-
together? No? You're not ing the handling of emails
alone. while Secretary of State,
Enter director Alex Gib- This image released by HBO shows Andrew McCabe in a scene from the documentary "Agents meaning Clinton could
ney with HBO's two-part of Chaos." never escape her name
"Agents of Chaos," a timely HBO via Associated Press associated with an email
yet dispiriting look at how scandal, a controversy in-
a whole bunch of Russian new ground. These days, if ments by former officials miliar? advertently fed by the FBI
dirty tricks helped Donald you come at the king, you at the National Security The film argues that Rus- that ultimately had little
Trump into the White House best not miss. If you just re- Council and Department sian military intelligence heat, much less smoke.
— just in time for a possible count, you missed. of State, as well as journal- used much of that play- The problem with the film is
replay. Part one lays down the ists Michael Isikoff and Mar- book two years later in that — after four hours — it
"I am interested in figuring background, exploring garita Simonyan. Former America. While Trump was can't generate much heat,
out this Trump-Russia thing. the rise of Kremlin-backed Hillary Clinton campaign clearly more pro-Putin than either. "Agents of Chaos"
What was that all about?" trolls, Russia's interference head John Podesta, whose Clinton, the goal was less a gives us a great blueprint of
asks Gibney, who has previ- in Ukraine and then Vladi- emails were hacked, Trump win as much as sow- how all this happened. Too
ously made documentaries mir Putin's spies turning their speaks of the breach, as ing distrust and alienation. often daily revelations are
on Steve Jobs and Scien- attention to America to dis- well as former CIA director Russian trolls were pushing overwhelming and Gibney
tology. (He also did a film rupt the 2016 vote, which John Brennan, former Sen. both Blue Lives Matter and does a superb job linking
about Julian Assange, who Gibney calls "the most Harry Reid and former FBI Black Lives Matter and try- them coherently.
naturally shows up here, chaotic election of our life- deputy director Andrew ing to dampen turnout. But Trump's odd orientation
too, thanks to WikiLeaks). times." McCabe. Page defends Twitter accounts of seem- toward Putin is left to pure
"Every time someone asked Part two — co-directed himself from collusion and ingly solid U.S. citizens were speculation, often getting
me what this movie was with Javier Alberto Botero Trump business associate actually run by a team in no closer than, "on social
about, I'd say, 'Well, how — is how Trump fit into all Felix Sater lays out what he St. Petersburg, often ampli- media, Russian trolls harmo-
much time do you have?'" this, with the subsequent knows. fying contradictory false- nize with the Trump chorus."
Gibney asks at the begin- investigations into shad- The look at Russian med- hoods in a "carousel of lies." Gibney can't go further
ning. It turns out: Almost owy and oddball charac- dling in Ukraine in 2014 is a Some lies — like the murder than saying some things
four hours, which will tax ters: Carter Page, George highlight, explaining how of Democratic staffer Seth in the Steele dossier might
even political junkies. Papadopoulos, Michael trolls created fake news Rich — jumped to shady be true. That's not good
"Agents of Chaos" is a rab- Flynn and Paul Manafort. sites to drive a wedge in online sites like Infowars, enough. He says the presi-
bit hole that's fascinating Remember collusion? that country, sowed dis- and eventually mainstream dent's Russian ties are "pret-
but ultimately frustrating. "Being an agent of chaos trust, used anti-Semitism media. ty obvious" and conducted
It's a well-documented ac- was part of Trump's brand. and painted opponents as While paid trolls were doing with "winks and nods."
count of what seems to More chaos, the better," neo-Nazis. The left and the that, Russian intelligence After such a long trip, it's
have happened in 2016 the film says. right were lost in their own was actively hacking. both too much and not
without breaking much The film has frank assess- internet bubbles. Sound fa- The Democratic National enough.q

Woodward's 'Rage' sells 600,000 copies in first week

By HILLEL ITALIE week sales include hardcovers, audiobooks and e- Solution Sudoku
AP National Writer books.
NEW YORK (AP) — Bob Woodward's "Rage" sold more Despite the ongoing publicity of the Trump tapes,
than 600,000 copies in its first week of publication, con- "Rage" is not the year's fastest selling Trump book — Mary
tinuing a yearlong wave of blockbuster books about Trump's scathing psychological portrait of her uncle,
President Donald Trump. "Too Much and Never Enough," had sold 950,000 copies
Simon & Schuster announced Wednesday that Wood- by the end of its first day of release. "Rage" also hasn't
ward's book will be going into its fourth printing, with to- matched the pace of Woodward's previous Trump
tal books in print to be 1.3 million copies. Featuring 18 book, "Fear," which sold more than 1 million copies its
interviews with President Trump, including one in which first week and has sold 2 million since its 2018 release.
he acknowledges in February the potential severity of Other Trump-related best-sellers in 2020 include John
the coronavirus, "Rage" has topped Amazon.com and Bolton's "The Room Where It Happened" and Michael
other bestseller lists since coming out Sept. 15. The first Cohen's "Disloyal."q Puzzle on Page 13