The siege of Gaza is to get the Hollywood treatment this autumn in a rare Tinseltown venture into possible controversy. The feature film is to be directed by Ridley Scott, with Russell Crowe in the star role as a Turkish campaigner. The fictionalised account of the siege of Gaza, tentatively named 'Siege of Gaza', is billed as a 'heartrending tragedy of our times'.
"We will not shy away from showing the heartrending reality of the siege from all sides," said Ridley Scott. "But this isn't a film about politics, it is a film about opposing philosophies of violence and peace, and the human struggle against adversity.” The film reportedly culminates in a long and tragic scene on the Mavi Marmara in which Russell Crowe will die.
When asked whether a Turkish actor might not have been more suitable for the lead role the director said, "But don't you get it? Russell Crowe dies! It will be tragic and people will care!” Later during an interview on the set he went on to say, “Listen, I know how to engage American audiences. This film will probably end the siege or something. Okay, let me put it this way: I'm not planning a sequel. That's partly because in the film the death of Russell Crowe will cause the siege to be lifted, but there are other reasons too. Come on now, are you not entertained?” He then raised his voice and roared, “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!? I love doing that. It really annoys Russell." A passing sound engineer who had dropped his microphone in fear at the shout hurriedly said he was very entertained. “You'd better be,” came the reply from Scott. “It's costing 600 million dollars so a lot of people will be disappointed if you aren't.”
No comments:
Post a Comment