Syriana: Reviews
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 10:27 AM
The entire production staff of the BL Show attended a 'Syriana' screening last night (at the Times Square Ewalk, just few blocks from the star-studded New York Public Library premiere, as we found out this morning - Thanks, Campbell Robertson!)
Syriana is based on 'See No Evil', the memoir of former CIA agent (and BL Show guest) Bob Baer, who worked in the Middle East for more than two decades. The movie is also promoting Oil Change, an advocacy group that's trying to create a movement to wean America off of foreign oil.
What the producers said:
Jim: Digged the film. Kind of like a believable Bourne Identity. I felt privileged going to the advance screening until I saw today's Boldface Names about the star-studded premier at the New York Public Library. Did something like this actually happen to Bob Baer? Did Jon Lee Anderson really do a cameo? Here's another reason why I liked it (no point linking since it's Times Select):
''I could have concentrated on George Clooney's character,'' Mr. Gaghan (the director) said, reflecting on the challenges involved in such a labyrinthine narrative. ''I could have had him in every scene and told the entire story from his point of view. That certainly would have made my life a lot easier over the last several years. But the canvas was too large. These days, if you make a movie about East and West and turn it into a simple piece of disposable entertainment, that seems to me criminal.''
Priya: I think George Clooney looked a bit like Tom Friedman and that Friedman may be a spy.
Ilya: Gripping, did not register as a long movie (2 hous +). On the other hand, all the stock characters were there: the renegade agent, the agency higher-ups shutting him out, the corrupt oilmen and the morally-tainted lawyers.
Seen Syriana, or anything else you want to share? Email us!
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