New film follows Middle East most elusive person Osama Bin Laden
By Robin Rowe
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 4/19/08 – “If I’ve learned anything from big-budget action movies, it’s that complicated global problems are best solved by one lonely guy,” says ‘Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden’ director Morgan Spurlock. “I was looking for someone who’s supposedly a hero of the people of the Muslim world. I wanted to talk to people directly. What do they really think of this guy? Do they put him on a pedestal? What do they think of America?”
“It was a massive undertaking,” says ‘Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden’ producer Stacey Offman. “At one point there were over 200 individuals overseas working on the project.” The producers worked with local filmmakers who strongly advised Spurlock not to come during Ramadan, when Muslims fast each day. In a reversal of his McDonald’s documentary ‘Super Size Me’, Spurlock fasted during Ramadan, and gained access to people by observing local customs. “So many people are afraid to go into these regions, and ask questions,” says Spurlock. “And honestly, I definitely had a lot of trepidation. I think I was scared every other day.”
Venture capitalist Adam Dell helped finance the film.
“Super Size Me did something that none of us anticipated, which is play in about 75 countries around the world,” says Spurlock. “It went so beyond our borders. That made me realize that my next movie I wanted to cover something that was more of a global issue. I live in New York City. I was there on 9/11. Bush had been elected to a second term and Osama released this tape that asked the question…where in the world is Osama Bin Laden. And I said that’s a good question. I’d like to know that, too. We raised a little money for pre-production from [New York venture capitalist] Adam Dell, the brother of Michael Dell of computer fame. About two months into that process we found out [my wife] Alex was pregnant. At that point the film took a real shift for me personally…to what kind of world am I about to bring a kid into.”
“Somebody once said to me that if the documentary you end up with is the same idea you started with, then you didn’t listen to anybody along the way,” says Offman. “Going along with Morgan to places that most people haven’t been to, we go beyond the banter of politics and pundits, and get closer to understanding what needs to happen to really affect change.”
The director said he was beaten in various locations for asking his controversial questions. “There’s a little Israeli town called Sderot where Hamas militants are firing rockets from the Gaza Strip every day,” says Spurlock. “In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem there are bomb squads that are responding to potential IED’s (improvised explosive devices) every day. Whatever country we were in, suddenly there’d be a rocket attack, or a car bomb or an explosion, and we’d be taken in a new direction.”
“When somebody is talking to you about how terrible your country is, you start to wonder, ‘Am I going to become a scapegoat for someone’s anger at U.S foreign policy?’,” says Spurlock. “You don’t know if a guy riding up beside you on a bicycle is a suicide bomber. I personally also thought that I was going to be met with a lot more hostility, that there would be more resentment, that people wouldn’t want to talk to me because I’m an American. It was completely the opposite. People were eager to sit down and share their feelings.”
Distributor: Weinstein Company
Release Date: April 18, 2008
Genre: Documentary
Running Time: 1 hrs. 33 min.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some strong language
Robin Rowe is a co-founder of ScreenPlayLab (www.screenplaylab.com).
NOTE: THIS FILM WAS FUNDED BY: http://www.impactvp.com/index.html
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 4/19/08 – “If I’ve learned anything from big-budget action movies, it’s that complicated global problems are best solved by one lonely guy,” says ‘Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden’ director Morgan Spurlock. “I was looking for someone who’s supposedly a hero of the people of the Muslim world. I wanted to talk to people directly. What do they really think of this guy? Do they put him on a pedestal? What do they think of America?”
“It was a massive undertaking,” says ‘Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden’ producer Stacey Offman. “At one point there were over 200 individuals overseas working on the project.” The producers worked with local filmmakers who strongly advised Spurlock not to come during Ramadan, when Muslims fast each day. In a reversal of his McDonald’s documentary ‘Super Size Me’, Spurlock fasted during Ramadan, and gained access to people by observing local customs. “So many people are afraid to go into these regions, and ask questions,” says Spurlock. “And honestly, I definitely had a lot of trepidation. I think I was scared every other day.”
Venture capitalist Adam Dell helped finance the film.
“Super Size Me did something that none of us anticipated, which is play in about 75 countries around the world,” says Spurlock. “It went so beyond our borders. That made me realize that my next movie I wanted to cover something that was more of a global issue. I live in New York City. I was there on 9/11. Bush had been elected to a second term and Osama released this tape that asked the question…where in the world is Osama Bin Laden. And I said that’s a good question. I’d like to know that, too. We raised a little money for pre-production from [New York venture capitalist] Adam Dell, the brother of Michael Dell of computer fame. About two months into that process we found out [my wife] Alex was pregnant. At that point the film took a real shift for me personally…to what kind of world am I about to bring a kid into.”
“Somebody once said to me that if the documentary you end up with is the same idea you started with, then you didn’t listen to anybody along the way,” says Offman. “Going along with Morgan to places that most people haven’t been to, we go beyond the banter of politics and pundits, and get closer to understanding what needs to happen to really affect change.”
The director said he was beaten in various locations for asking his controversial questions. “There’s a little Israeli town called Sderot where Hamas militants are firing rockets from the Gaza Strip every day,” says Spurlock. “In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem there are bomb squads that are responding to potential IED’s (improvised explosive devices) every day. Whatever country we were in, suddenly there’d be a rocket attack, or a car bomb or an explosion, and we’d be taken in a new direction.”
“When somebody is talking to you about how terrible your country is, you start to wonder, ‘Am I going to become a scapegoat for someone’s anger at U.S foreign policy?’,” says Spurlock. “You don’t know if a guy riding up beside you on a bicycle is a suicide bomber. I personally also thought that I was going to be met with a lot more hostility, that there would be more resentment, that people wouldn’t want to talk to me because I’m an American. It was completely the opposite. People were eager to sit down and share their feelings.”
Distributor: Weinstein Company
Release Date: April 18, 2008
Genre: Documentary
Running Time: 1 hrs. 33 min.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some strong language
Robin Rowe is a co-founder of ScreenPlayLab (www.screenplaylab.com).
NOTE: THIS FILM WAS FUNDED BY: http://www.impactvp.com/index.html
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posted by Films & Movie Financing at 3:57 PM
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