Burn After Reading (2008) George Clooney Harry Pfarrer Frances McDormand Linda Litzke Brad Pitt Chad Feldheimer John Malkovich Osborne Cox Tilda Swinton Katie Cox Richard Jenkins Ted David Rasche CIA Officer J. K. Simmons CIA Superior Elizabeth Marvel Sandy Pfarrer Olek Krupa Krapotkin Michael Countryman Alan Kevin Sussman Tuchman Marsh Man J.R. Horne Divorce Lawyer Hamilton Clancy Peck Armand Schultz (II) Olson Jeffrey De Munn Cosmetic Surgeon Richard Poe (II) Stretching Gym Patron Raul Aranas Manolo Sandor Tecsy Russian Embassy Escort Brian O'Neill (II) Hal Directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen Produced by: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robert Graf (II) An ousted CIA official's memoir accidentally falls into the hands of two unwise gym employees intent on exploiting their find. ========== Osbourne Cox, a Balkan expert, is fired at the CIA, 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 diskette 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 elective 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. ========== When the CIA gives analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) the boot. Little does Cox know his wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton), is seeing married federal marshal Harry (George Clooney). To get back at the Agency, Cox works on his memoirs. Through a twist of fate, fitness club workers Linda (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt) find the disc and try to wrangle a "Samaratin tax" out of the surly alcoholic. An avid Internet dater, Linda plans to use the money for plastic surgery, oblivious that her manager, Ted, likes her just the way she is.