Fan CastingThe Insider

A prologue establishes the journalistic bona fides of 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman (Pacino) and host Mike Wallace (Plummer) as they prepare to interview Sheikh Fadlallah for 60 Minutes. Later, Bergman approaches Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe)—a former executive at the Brown & Williamson tobacco company—for help translating technical documents. Wigand agrees, but intrigues Bergman when he refuses to discuss anything else, citing a confidentiality agreement. B&W later coerce Wigand into a more restrictive agreement, leading Wigand to accuse Bergman of betraying him. Bergman subsequently visits Wigand to defend himself and investigate the potential story. Wigand, though apparently possessing very damaging information, is hesitant to jeopardize his severance package with B&W by revealing anything.