638

Abstract

This senior project screenplay is a dark political comedy inspired by true events that centers around the many failed attempts of the CIA to assassinate Fidel Castro.

SYNOPSIS: Harvard Student John Cahill, eager to serve his country, is recruited by the CIA in 1960 and assigned to the team put in charge of overthrowing or assassinating Fidel Castro. While John and his team try their best, they are consistently undermined by power jockeying, politics, incompetence and just plain bad luck. After his superior is fired, John is put in charge of the team, and quickly becomes obsessed, fleeing to Miami with his partner Rip to avoid reassignment and the political upheaval of the Nixon Presidency. John’s career-long obsession leads him into increasingly amoral and dangerous actions that, while once the CIA’s bread and butter, are now a severe liability. After several warnings and 638 failed attempts, including one behind the Agency’s back, John is forced to resign under threat of death while Castro remains untouched and in control.