The Manhattan Beach Project

Barely four years after winning an Oscar, Charlie has sunk into the ranks of Hollywood bottom-feeders. But one day at his Debtors Anonymous meeting, he meets a mysterious ex-CIA agent who proposes to resuscitate his foundering career in the beyond-surreal world of reality TV. Charlie puts his tap shoes on to sell a show about a ruthless Uzbek warlord and his family--"The Osbournes meets The Sopranos." When Warlord becomes a breakout hit, it not only sends one of America's largest entertainment conglomerates into full damage-control mode, but shifts the balance of power in Central Asia.