In the wake of the recent Harvey Weinstein debacle, a new scandal is happening in Hollywood. This time, rather than some major executive male serving as the predator, it is a female predator specifically targeting male military veterans working inside the industry.
Prior to disclosing this recent scandal, it is important to stress that I do not know why or who is exactly involved in this recent debacle targeting male military veterans. I look at this however as a potential national security threat but equally and possibly more critical as a threat related to personal security.
To explain the national security threat side of things, I will keep this short.
Contrary to popular belief, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of veterans working in Hollywood. The veteran community in Hollywood has reached unprecedented levels over the past ten years. Today, a few organizations such as "Veterans in Film and Television" have been created to help support such talent.
Unfortunately, as the veteran community in the film industry grows, we need to take greater caution every day due to unforeseen potential threats within.
The film world is an international market full of international players. Some are everyday performers while others are major financiers. For most, that doesn’t appear to be a threat however it is paramount to understand these international players and realize not all are there “just to make art.”
Hollywood has been used by the intelligence community in the past. If you ever watched the movie "Argo," you already know this. But, you would be gullible to believe the US Intelligence community is the only national security apparatus inside Hollywood. Yes, foreign nations have players within ranging from friendly nation to those considered our enemy.
This is not about the deep dark world of national security threats founded within Hollywood. This is about personal security in an attempt to bring awareness to veterans working in Hollywood who may be targeted.
Let me explain.
This past July, while away on a mini-vacation, I received a phone call. The person on the other end was a female with a very mature voice making me believe she was in her late 50’s or early 60’s. She provided her alleged name, asked me if I knew who she was, told me to do some quick open source on her and that she would call back in twenty minutes.
Of note, the name she gave is actually one of the most influential behind the scenes females in all of Hollywood with a family rich in philanthropy and politics.
Twenty minutes later, she called and began discussing a film project to take place in South America. She was looking for real military and intelligence officers to not only serve as actors but also technical advisors. Most alarming, she was quick to belittle specific veterans who already made a name for themselves in the industry.
She wanted new names to create new opportunities for veterans seeking work in Hollywood.
Something was off. However, she knew Hollywood inside and out. She even claimed she received my personal information from a major producer from a previous television show I worked on in the past.
But, as the saying goes, “if it seems too good to be true, it likely is.”
She tried hard to get me to speak about folks, more interesting, she tried even harder for me to give out names of the more lesser known veterans I knew in Hollywood as well as those NOT working in Hollywood.
Our phone call lasted about fifteen minutes. But a few days later, she called back.
Immediately after our initial phone call, I reached out to the producer whom she claimed provided her with my number. I also reached out to a friend who works for the federal government whom I knew would assist me in ways few could simply with his knowledge.
The producer swore he never gave out my number and informed he has never spoken to this woman as “she is way above me and would likely never speak with me unless we were at some private event.”
My buddy in the fed provided me with a very small, VERY SMALL, amount of information which I used during my later elicitation to verify the caller. Needless to say, as suspected, she didn’t have the answers and was quick to play dumb or try to shift focus on other subjects.
The entire debacle was more than strange.
A few weeks ago, a friend in the stunt community who just happened to be a former special operator called me saying he had a potentially great opportunity from a major female producer working inside Hollywood.
I listened closely to what he was saying and again, “it’s too good to be true” was in the back of my mind.
He informed me she was going to call him back in a day or so and after that conversation, we began to compare notes. It turned out, the female caller speaking with him played an almost identical game previously played with me—belittle other veterans already established in Hollywood, seek new names of veterans in the industry, etc.
But what was most intriguing was the fact this woman appeared to passively elicit sexual tactics to both of us in an almost identical manner.
Just last week, another veteran who happens to be the President of an up and coming production house released a Facebook post about a similar event of a strange phone call coming from Hollywood which sounded intimately familiar.
Of course, I am leaving out some details to this piece and for specific reasons. However, of interest, is how harmless these phone calls appear.
Unlike phishing scams where people eventually try to get money from you, that doesn’t happen. Personal details aren’t actively targeted. But what is targeted is a network.
The caller wants names.
Based off what I encountered and based off what two other individuals encountered, I believe this person is simply seeking names of individuals in an attempt to build a network. In the back of my mind, I can actually see the caller building a link diagram of veterans in Hollywood.
So, the question begs, “Why?”
I could go online and find, through an array of online platforms, names of military veterans working in Hollywood. Most veterans with an IMDB page have their prior service listed. Stunt performers have access to put their material up on specific stunt pages which again often shows military service. Different guilds have name data banks with profiles. The list of open source collection tools is virtually endless.
But again, “Why?”
Unfortunately, I do not have any specific answer as to why any individual would make these phone calls. I could think of several reasons ranging from national security threats to those involving personal security. But my thoughts would genuinely be mere speculation--speculation including that which is similar to Harvey Weinstein using his power to promise a jump start career for females who performed sexual favors.
What is most important and the main reason for writing this is to expose the events in an attempt to bring awareness to veterans in Hollywood so they can ensure they maintain a proper security footprint.
Now if only I had the means to personally reach out to the producers and executive producers who are having their names thrown out there so they too can heed a bit of warning.