Body of Lies (film)

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House of Lies
Directed by Ridley Scott
Produced by Ridley Scott
Donald De Line
Written by William Monahan
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio
Russell Crowe
Carice van Houten
Music by Marc Streitenfeld
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) October 10, 2008
Country United States
Language English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Body of Lies is an upcoming 2008 American feature film adaptation of the novel Body of Lies by David Ignatius about a CIA operative who goes to Jordan to track a high-ranking terrorist. The film is directed by Ridley Scott, written by William Monahan, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Production took place in Washington D.C., Europe, Morocco and the Middle East. Body of Lies is scheduled to be released in the United States in October 10, 2008.

Contents

[edit] Premise

A CIA operative (Leonardo DiCaprio) is sent to Jordan to find a high-ranking terrorist. While in Jordan, the operative forms an uneasy alliance with the head of Jordan's covert operations.[1]

[edit] Cast

  • Leonardo DiCaprio as Roger Ferris, a CIA operative who is sent to Jordan.[2] DiCaprio chose to pursue the role because he considered it a throwback to political films in the 1970s such as The Parallax View (1974) and Three Days of the Condor (1975).[3]
  • Russell Crowe as Ed Hoffman, a manipulative CIA boss who teams with Ferris.[2] Crowe lost 30 pounds to suit his role.[4] The actor said as a result of the film's exploration of the American government and foreign policy, "I don’t think it will be very popular, but that’s never been part of my project choice process."[5]
  • Carice van Houten as Roger Ferris' ex-wife.[6]
  • Mark Strong as the head of Jordanian secret service. Strong ascribed his acquisition of the role to his performances in the 2005 films Syriana and Oliver Twist.[7]
  • Vince Colosimo in an unnamed role.[8]

[edit] Production

"It's about Islam, where we are and where we're not, and it's a very interesting, proactive, internalized view of that whole subject."
Ridley Scott[9]

In March 2006, Warner Bros. hired screenwriter William Monahan to adapt the novel Penetration by David Ignatius into a feature film, which would be directed by Ridley Scott.[1] In April 2007, with the novel re-titled Body of Lies and the film similarly re-titled, actor Leonardo DiCaprio was cast into the lead role.[10] After DiCaprio was cast, Russell Crowe was courted for a supporting role, to which he formally committed after Monahan's script is revised by Steve Zaillian, who scripted Scott and Crowe's American Gangster.[2]

Production is taking place in Washington D.C., Europe, and the Middle East.[10] Scott sought to film in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, but the federation's National Media Council denied the director permission due to the script's politically sensitive nature. As a result, scenes set in the Middle East were instead filmed in Morocco.[11] Filming began on September 5, 2007 at the Eastern Market, Washington, D.C.[12] It was a part of Capitol Hill neighborhood that was converted to resemble a wintry Amsterdam to film ten to fifteen seconds of a car bombing.[13] Filming took place in Mayo, Maryland to stand in for northern Virginia.[14] Locations in Baltimore also stood in for Manchester, England and Munich, Germany. Production moved to Morocco afterward,[15] where a nine-week shoot took place at CLA Studios in the city of Ouarzazate.[16] Filming wrapped in December 2007.[17]

[edit] Release

Body of Lies is slated to be released in theaters in the United States on October 10, 2008.[18] The film has also been purchased by Turner Broadcasting System to screen on the television networks TBS and Turner Network Television.[19]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Michael Fleming. "Warner sets spy team", Variety, 2006-03-12. Retrieved on 2007-04-29. 
  2. ^ a b c Michael Fleming. "Crowe 'Lies' with DiCaprio", Variety, 2007-06-27. Retrieved on 2007-06-28. 
  3. ^ Larry Carroll. "Leonardo DiCaprio And Russell Crowe Will Be A Good 'Fit' In CIA Flick, Ridley Scott Hopes", MTV, 2007-08-15. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  4. ^ Sally Grover. "No Lies On Russell Crowe's Body", Celebrity News Service, 2007-10-31. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  5. ^ Larry Carroll. "Russell Crowe Says ‘Body Of Lies’ Probably Won’t Be Popular", MTV, 2007-08-24. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  6. ^ Borys Kit. "Van Houten two-timing leading men", The Hollywood Reporter, 2007-10-12. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  7. ^ "Accidental anti-hero", The Independent, 2007-10-19. 
  8. ^ "Hollywood calling Colosimo", The Daily Telegraph, 2007-10-22. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  9. ^ "Ridley Scott, the man who brought us Blade Runner, Alien and Gladiator -- to name a few -- is back, this time with American Gangster", Irish Independent, 2007-11-16. 
  10. ^ a b Michael Fleming. "DiCaprio to star in 'Body of Lies'", Variety, 2007-04-08. Retrieved on 2007-04-29. 
  11. ^ Ali Jaafar. "Dubai rejects Scott's 'Lies'", Variety, 2007-08-03. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  12. ^ Amy Argetsinger; Roxanne Roberts. "Reel Thrills in the Neighborhood", The Washington Post, 2007-09-06. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  13. ^ Gene Weingarten. "Boom Town", The Washington Post, 2007-09-30. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  14. ^ Andrew Childers. "Crowe, crew film here", The Capital, 2007-09-08. 
  15. ^ "Russell Crowe filming in Maryland", USA Today, 2007-09-08. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  16. ^ Ali Jaafar. "Moroccan studios having a mixed year", Variety, 2007-11-09. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  17. ^ Glen Ferris. "Scott On His Upcoming Slate", Empire, 2008-02-11. Retrieved on 2008-02-11. 
  18. ^ Untitled Ridley Scott. ComingSoon.net. Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  19. ^ John Dempsey. "TNT, TBS nab pack of WB films", Variety, 2008-03-27. Retrieved on 2008-03-11. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Works directed by Ridley Scott
Boy and Bicycle (short film) (1962) · The Duellists (1977) · Alien (1979) · Blade Runner (1982) · 1984 (television commercial) (1984) · Legend (1986) · Someone to Watch Over Me (1987) · Black Rain (1989) · Thelma & Louise (1991) · 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) · White Squall (1995) · G.I. Jane (1997) · Gladiator (2000) · Hannibal (2001) · Black Hawk Down (2001) · Matchstick Men (2003) · Kingdom of Heaven (2005)  · All the Invisible Children (anthology) (2005)  · A Good Year (2006)  · American Gangster (2007) · Body of Lies (2008)
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