USA: Film thriller about Middle East politics and the global oil industry, "Syriana" premieres in New York City

Record ID: 219500

  • Title: USA: Film thriller about Middle East politics and the global oil industry, "Syriana" premieres in New York City
  • Date: 23rd November 2005
  • Summary: ACTOR ALEXANDER SIDDIG GIVING AN INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) ALEXANDER SIDDIG, ACTOR WHO PLAYS A GULF PRINCE IN "SYRIANA", SAYING: "There's a need in me to show that Arabic people are not necessarily these soundbite, sort of disparaged nation of ethnic people that sometimes when we go to war with a country, we tend to demonize the people that we go to war with because we have to. So, it was a good chance to put that right, to redress the balance."
  • Embargoed: 8th December 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAUH91W2Z44RV5ERU0Y3DTXV08
  • Story Text: "Syriana", a new political thriller that unfolds against the backdrop of the global oil industry, had its U.S. premiere in New York City on Sunday (November 20).
    Stephen Gaghan, who wrote Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic," a movie about the international drug trade, takes on a different kind of addiction, oil, with "Syriana," his second directing effort. His approach is similar. The movie, which he also wrote, moves back and forth among several story lines involving the global oil industry, Middle East politics and terrorism, all of which intersect at key moments.
    Gaghan started pondering about the machinations of the global oil industry while researching "Traffic". Then he was introduced to "See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism", a memoir by former CIA agent, Robert Baer, which chronicles his experiences working in the Middle East as a case officer for the CIA between 1976 and 1997. Baer's experiences became a "jumping-off point" for the larger, fictional story that Gaghan and his team wanted to tell. Baer even accompanied Gaghan on his research trips to the Middle East, introducing him to many figures in the global oil industry.
    George Clooney essays the role of Robert Barnes, a CIA operative in "Syriana" who at the tail-end of his career begins to uncover the disturbing truth of the work he has devoted his life to. Clooney believes it is important to raise political questions, initiate debate and said "Syriana" does exactly that.
    "Any form of dissent or any form of questioning of power has to be a constant. It is a battle that is waged constantly and never completely won, and that you must always be allowed to ask those questions. So we thought it was important but there was a period of time certainly, couple of years ago when we were getting this (Syriana) made when any sort of questioning of anything made you unpatriotic and that's ridiculous," said. Clooney.
    To portray the role of a CIA operative at the end of his career, Clooney gained 35 pounds, because of which he suffered a spinal injury while doing a stunt for the film. He said that he was fine now and that the discomfort was worth it because Syriana turned out well.
    The film appears to support the view that America's addiction to oil drives all its Middle Eastern policies; the superpower will stop at nothing, not corruption, war or assassination, to tie up oil rights.
    While answering a question about the relevance of the film in today's scenario, Gaghan said: "We are in a standing war in the Middle East and in Asia, that's going on. Right now today four Americans were probably killed if average holds. We have General Odon, Reagan's National Security Advisor saying he thinks that this war in Iraq will turn out to be the single biggest mistake, strategic error in the history of the United States. I mean this is going on, you see in the wake of hurricane Katrina exactly our dependence on these really basic things. And you realize it's fragile, you take a lot of stuff for granted and its fragile. I like to think that maybe Syriana examines some of these issues from a really human perspective."
    In the film, actor Matt Damon plays Bryan Woodman, an energy analyst with a Geneva-based energy trading company, who is asked by an idealistic Gulf Prince, Nasir, (played by Alexander Siddig) to consult on on maximizing oil profits so Nasir might reform his corrupt country. Bryan's willingness to accept the offer drives a wedge between him and wife Julie (Amanda Peet).
    Damon spoke about the experience of having worked in "Syriana". "Stephen Gaghan gave me a really big reading list before we started and I made it about half way through. So, it was more like going to class which I really enjoyed. I used it as an excuse to kind of get to know a little bit more about the world that I'm living in and that was really fun," said Damon.
    Meanwhile, Baer clarified that he did not serve as a consultant on the film but was glad that the film went beyond his book to explore larger issues. He thinks the film has an important message.
    "How much oil do we have in the Middle East? If you ask Shell, they'll lie to you. If you ask Exxon, who knows? Are we running out? Chinese get on market, we are going to run out of oil. All I can tell you is if there's any message in this movie it's the system's broken, we're all responsible. This isn't against Republicans or Democrats. We got to fix it," Baer said.
    For Siddig, his role as the idealistic Prince Nasir in "Syriana" gave him a chance to portray another important message. "There's a need in me to show that Arabic people are not necessarily these soundbite, sort of disparaged nation of ethnic people that sometimes when we go to war with a country, we tend to demonize the people that we go to war with because we have to. So, it was a good chance to put that right, to redress the balance," the actor said.
    The sprawling production contains more than 70 speaking roles and locations in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. Despite the presence of stars such as George Clooney and Matt Damon, some reviewers believe that the film might play more comfortably to older viewers in major markets rather than the under-25 crowd.
    "Syriana" opens in selected cities on November 23 and nationwide in the United States on December 9.
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