'Clayton' screenplay is a script Bourne of suspense

Our suspicions were correct: whoever wrote the screenplay for "The Bourne Supremacy" was a big fan of "The Manchurian Candidate." When we finally learned the dark secret to Jason Bourne's brainwashing/indoctrination/identity, it looked a lot like the dark secret harbored by

Frank Sinatra

and

Laurence Harvey

in

John Frankenheimer

's 1962 classic.

A movie that happens to be one of the favorite films of screenwriter Tony Gilroy, one of the guiding lights behind the profitable Bourne series and writer-director of the new George Clooney movie "Michael Clayton." (See Gary Thompson's review on Page 48.)

"Any screenwriter has to love that movie. It's one of the most complicated and yet slick movies ever made. Every time I watch it, I get something new out of it. I think I know it, and then it gives me something different," said Gilroy.

"Manchurian Candidate" is one of the first great paranoia thrillers, and that's obviously been a huge influence on Gilroy. He specializes in stories of hunted men who ultimately find that they are running from themselves.

"There seems to be some need or attraction for me, when presented with an interesting character, to put the villain inside. There's a lot of external paranoia in Jason Bourne and Michael Clayton, but in the end they are really wrestling with something inside," said Gilroy, who also scripted "The Devil's Advocate" and "Delores Claiborne."

"Clayton," his latest, features Clooney as a fixer at a big New York law firm who's brought in for damage control when a brilliant litigator handling the firm's biggest corporate client goes bonkers.

The movie is an unusual mix of strong character work and thriller plotting, and though it's very good, it may be a tough sell for the studios. (Locally, "Michael Clayton" is opening at a handful of theaters today, then much wider next week, hoping to build on word of mouth.)

"There used to be a lot of movies in that category. How do you sell 'The Verdict?' How do you sell 'The Last Detail?' How do you sell 'Save the Tiger?' In our case, we're lucky to have George. He brings a lot to the table," Gilroy said.

For Gilroy, "Michael Clayton" was a chance to sit in the director's chair and control one of his scripts for the first time. He thinks that his years as a typewriter-for-hire helped contribute to shaping the character of Clayton, the guy brought in to clean up the mess.

"No one should feel any sympathy whatsoever for a successful screenwriter, but the truth is, there can be some relatively tough times in that life. You're often brought in to solve other people's problems, and the outcome isn't always the one you want." *