Letters Blogatory

The Blog of International Judicial Assistance
By Ted Folkman

Lago Agrio: Brad Pitt Options Paul Barrett’s Book

Back in September, when I reviewed Paul Barrett’s book, Law of the Jungle, I rued my lack of appreciation for the market for popular treatments of the Chevron/Ecuador case:

As I was reading Paul M. Barrett’s new book, Law of the Jungle I was kicking myself. There’s obviously a market for popular treatments of the Chevron/Ecuador case. Barrett’s book is not the only one: Michael Goldhaber’s Crude Awakening has just been published, too. I coulda been a contender!


Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt. Credit: Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Now my feeling is rue times two. Paul has sold the film rights to Brad Pitt’s production company, which, according to Roger Parloff’s article in Fortune, beat out George Clooney’s company.

Surely Pitt won’t have been surprised that the news sparked a Twitter hashtag, #BradDoTheRightThing, urging him to reconsider. Even Ecuador’s President Correa has called on Pitt to rethink his plans.

I think Paul’s book is too cinematic for someone in the business of movies to pass up, whatever the politics.

Ted Folkman

2 responses to “Lago Agrio: Brad Pitt Options Paul Barrett’s Book”

  1. Karen Hinton

    There are many, many books catching dusts in the movie treatment bin that will never see the light of day. Many of them bought for $5,000 and less.

    Brad Pitt went to Ecuador to see the pits. We took him to the pits that Chevron said Texaco cleaned but remain contaminated today.

    We told him about how Chevron manipulated evidence during the trial, undercounted hydrocarbons, lied about the Texaco remediation and conducted pre-inspections to find clean spots.

    He knows the complete story, not just the one that Barrett told.

    Reply
    1. Ted Folkman

      I don’t know, but I’ll bet you Brad Pitt paid more than $5,000, and I’ll bet you this story eventually is made into a movie.

      Reply

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