The American (2010 film)

The American is a 2010 American thriller film directed by Anton Corbijn and starring George Clooney, Thekla Reuten, Violante Placido, Irina Björklund, and Paolo Bonacelli. The Rowan Joffé screenplay is an adaptation of the 1990 novel A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth. The film opened on September 1, 2010.

Plot

Jack (George Clooney), a gunsmith and contract killer, and his lover, Ingrid (Irina Björklund), are relaxing in Sweden. Jack becomes alarmed by a trail of footprints in the snow and pulls Ingrid towards shelter. Sniper gunshots ring out. Ingrid sees Jack pull a gun from his pocket and shoot the approaching sniper. Knowing his identity is in jeopardy, and with little hesitation, Jack shoots and kills Ingrid. He flees to Rome and contacts his handler Pavel (Johan Leysen), who insists that Jack cannot stay in Rome. Pavel sends him to Castelvecchio (a small town in the mountains of Abruzzo). Jack becomes nervous, and, disposing of the cell phone Pavel gave him, goes to nearby Castel del Monte, Abruzzo, instead.

The American

The American can refer to the following:

Music

Literature

Comics

Films

A Very Private Gentleman

A Very Private Gentleman is a novel written by British author Martin Booth, published in 1990. It is a tragedy following events in the life of a gunsmith who sells his services to assassins. The style is also partly in the form of classic confessional writing, as the protagonist seeks to explain the relevance of his choice of vocation. It was reissued by Bantam Books in 2010 under the title The American (ISBN 978-0553825725), after a film of that title had been made based on it.

Setting

The time of the story seems to be late 20th century, more or less similar to the year of publication. The story is written in the first-person narrative from the point of view of the main character, who is known as Edmund or Signor Farfalla. He lives in a small hill town in the north of Italy.

Plot

The protagonist makes his living custom-making firearms specified for individual assassins' needs. To the townsfolk he puts on the role of a painter of butterflies, which can be found in diverse and rich measures in the hilly and forested areas around the village. The protagonist is reserved and very skilled at keeping his real job a secret. Edmund is a foreigner, and although he does not reveal his origin to anybody (not even the reader), he pretends to be an Englishman. This is not far from the truth, since he admits to having stayed in the English countryside for a very long time at an earlier stage in his career. Although his profession has demanded that he move location from time to time, he has developed a fondness for the Italian village, in particular a young woman, and has decided that he wants to stay. However, a person described as a "shadow-dweller" starts showing up in the mountains spying - or threatening - Signor Farfalla. While finding out who he is, Signor Farfalla must decide whether to face his opponent or escape and leave his home once more.

The American (statue)

The American is a proposed 217 ft (66 m) bronze statue of a Native American, created by sculptor Shan Gray, and currently proposed for construction in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, near Tulsa.

The statue was originally proposed to be built at Holmes Peak in southeastern Osage County, located about 7 miles (11 km) northwest of downtown Tulsa and the highest point in the immediate region with an altitude of 1030 ft (314 m). The site was within the grounds of Tulsa's Centennial Botanical Garden (now called the Tulsa Botanic Garden).

According to the proposal, The American, designed in the image of an American Indian brave with a bald eagle on his shoulder, will rise 60 ft (20 m) taller than the Statue of Liberty, and will be the largest bronze statue in the world with an interior observation deck. The eagle will have an 82 ft (25 m) wingspan.

Gray, who is Osage, and has built a career on large-scale sculptures of Oklahoman sports figures such as New York Yankees pitcher Allie "Superchief" Reynolds and Heisman trophy winner Billy Vessels, conceived The American as an entry for a contest to design a statue for the dome of the Oklahoma State Capitol, which was added to the building in 2001. Initially intended for the outskirts of Oklahoma City, the Tulsa location was selected after investor disinterest. The design was enlarged for the landmark Holmes Peak site and for visitor access, and will include a visitor center and other amenities and underground access to the statue, rather than directly at the base, to preserve the natural setting.