Arnon Milchan, ‘Pretty Woman’ Hollywood producer, admits he was Israeli spy

Arnon Milchan, the famed Hollywood producer who’s the cinematic brains behind the Julia Roberts flick, “Pretty Woman,” admitted in an interview with an overseas network that he worked for years as an Israeli spy.

Mr. Milchan, who was born in Israel and worked as a businessman for many years, also produced “Fight Club” and “L.A. Confidential,” The Associated Press reported. He said to Israel’s Channel 2 TV in a broadcast that aired Monday that he spent years buying arms for Israel to help boost the nation’s nuclear program.

“I did it for my country, and I’m proud of it,” he said, in the AP report.

And he did it while working in Hollywood, for a time, he said. Mr. Milchan worked for the Bureau of Scientific Relations, also called Lekem, an Israeli agency that’s no longer in existence but that touted a secret defense program mission. It broke up in 1987 — after authorities tied it to the Jonathan Pollard-U.S. Navy spy scandal, AP reported.

Mr. Milchan also said other big names in Hollywood helped with his spy work, too.

“When I came to Hollywood, I detached myself completely from my physical activities to dedicate myself to what I really wanted – filmmaking,” he said, in the AP report. “But sometimes it gets mixed up.”

He owns New Regency Films, which has produced 120-plus movies in the past 45 or so years. Moreover, the 68-year-old producer schmoozes with the likes of Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski and Oliver Stone, AP reported.

Hollywood acting legend Robert DeNiro said of Mr. Milchan’s admission, AP reported: “I had heard, but I wasn’t sure. I did ask him once and he told me that he was an Israeli and, of course, he would do these things for his country.”