Thursday, November 5, 1998
‘The Siege’ assails audience with reality-based action
FILM: Stars defend movie from charges that Arabs portrayed
stereotypically
By Tristan Thai
Daily Bruin Contributor
Hollywood studios sure have a knack for releasing films at the
right time in congruence with the public consciousness. A
presidential sex scandal? Enter "Primary Colors" and "Wag the Dog."
An asteroid heading dangerously close to a collision course with
Earth? Well, here’s "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon." And the latest
film to come right on the heels of front page news is 20th Century
Fox’s "The Siege," which will undoubtedly elicit reminders of Osama
Bin Laden’s terrorist attacks on U.S. embassies.
With a star-studded cast including Denzel Washington, Annette
Bening and Bruce Willis, "The Siege" takes place in New York City,
where a group of Arab terrorists sets off a series of bombings.
Martial law is soon imposed on the metropolitan city and leads to a
battle between the FBI, CIA and the Army over control of the
territory as they search for the party responsible for the
terrorist attacks.
"It’s a millennial fear," said veteran producer Lynda Obst
("Contact") at a recent press junket in New York. "We all go in a
panic when there is a terrorist bombing; we’ve seen other cities
induce this, but not on American soil. It’s new for us. Part of the
purpose of this movie is to be a cautionary tale that helps
instruct us in a debate about what we do should this become a
reality."
As expected, the film has been met with controversy among such
Arab-American organizations as the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR). In addition to the portrayal of Arab terrorists,
a subplot involving the internment of Arab-Americans by the U.S.
Army in "The Siege" raised some eyebrows, even before the film’s
release.
"I think it was in response to the trailers," said Denzel
Washington about the controversy. "I think they were sensitive to
certain things that the trailers showed, and I think they sat down
and talked to the people at the studio and changes were made."
Washington plays the chief of an FBI terrorism task force who
goes head-to-head with Bening’s CIA agent and Willis’ army general.
The actor defends the film, because military authority, dictated
upon U.S. citizens and leading to civil unrest, can actually
occur.
"It happened in 1992 after the Rodney King verdicts. It can
happen," Washington said. "That’s the interesting thing about the
film. It confronts you, this ‘What if? What would you do?’
Hopefully we won’t have to answer that question."
Director Ed Zwick ("Glory," "Courage Under Fire") agrees with
Washington about the rush to judgment. After many meetings and a
recent screening of the film, one of the concerned Arab-American
organizations decided not to protest "The Siege." Instead, they
will be handing out informational leaflets about Islam and about an
open mosque policy once the film premieres.
"I think that protest was before the fact. It was before seeing
the movie," Zwick said. "I think once the movie’s been seen now,
it’s been revealed not to be monolithic and not inflammatory, but
rather somewhat thoughtful about these issues."
Sensitive to the concerns raised by Arab-Americans, Zwick went
back and edited minor words and phrases in the film that he felt
might be offensive. For instance, in a piece of dialogue where the
word "mosque" is used, it is replaced with "market." But, according
to Zwick, the changes he made were very cosmetic, and did nothing
to change the outcome or tone of the film.
"I will never compromise a movie for the sake of political
correctness," he said. "And we did nothing substantive to the movie
to change it."
Tony Shalhoub ("Big Night," "Wings"), an actor of Lebanese
descent who plays Washington’s partner in the film, believes that
"The Siege" is actually fair in its portrayal of Arab-Americans.
After playing a terrorist on a television episode more than twelve
years ago, Shalhoub vowed not to do so again.
Because of his ethnicity, however, Shalhoub continued to receive
scripts with one-dimensional Arab villains such as the ones seen in
films like "Executive Decision" and "True Lies." "The Siege,"
however, provided something different for the character actor.
"This was a chance to play an Arab, a character that’s presented
in a really positive light. A well-rounded character with a sense
of humor, not a goody-goody, but a man who has his shortcomings,
but is a real human being and is on the side of right," Shalhoub
said.
When questioned about the protests of organizations like CAIR
over the film, Shalhoub felt that much of the hoopla was just a
natural reaction before seeing the film due to the extreme nature
of the subject matter.
"I think their latest perception of the movie is that it’s
pretty balanced and that they’re kind of relieved to see that it’s
going to open up dialogue, rather than just flat out perpetuate
these stereotypes," Shalhoub said. "This movie is going to have
more of a positive effect, and I think they realize that now."
Another aspect of "The Siege" that interested the actors was the
insight they gained into the inner workings of the FBI and CIA.
What intrigued Bening most was how the script dealt with real
issues, such as the CIA’s past involvement with Osama Bin
Laden-type militant groups that now oppose the United States.
"It is worthy to bring up in a picture, this sort of problem
that we posed for ourselves," Bening added. "I think the fear is a
real fear."
In addition to the insight into the CIA’s past, Bening also
found herself interested in the ambiguous nature of her character,
somebody who is not necessarily easy to like or dislike.
"This character’s vulnerabilities and the fact that she’s made
bad choices maybe, or found herself in a situation that she was
compromising herself … interested me. That’s human," Bening said.
"This character interested me because she’s alone, and I think most
female characters are defined by their problems in relationships.
She is not. She is more defined by her problems
professionally."
While questions may arise about Bening’s character, Washington’s
role is more clearly that of the FBI agent and hero.
"Denzel’s character in this movie turns out to be the kind of
moral authority that we are so sorely missing and crying out for in
various stripes all over the country," Obst said. "It is about what
was and what is right about the American character, and knowing
right from wrong."
After researching for his part with the FBI, Washington came
upon a newfound respect for the organization.
"Having seen what I’ve seen and the work I did with the FBI, we
should all be writing them letters and saying thank you,"
Washington said. "Because you have no idea what they’re out there
doing. Not just the FBI, but their cooperation with the CIA and the
INS and with airport security. Because they’re making it easy for
us to walk around and not have to think about things this film
makes you think about."
Though Washington plays the lead in "The Siege," he explains
that his character takes a backseat in the film to the strong
subject matter it brings up.
"It shouldn’t just be about the character you’re playing,"
Washington said. "Once we blow up older people on this bus, it is
not about our personal problems, because who’s going to care?"
Even with such a volatile story line, the filmmakers behind "The
Siege" have no qualms about a studio film tackling issues that are
bound to offend.
"As an artist, I’m not interested in movies about aliens or
asteroids or sea monsters," Zwick said. "I’m interested about what
we really fear. And I think to talk about what you fear in a
culture is a very important thing to do. I don’t have the fear of
putting it out there in the dialogue, it’s there in the culture.
There is fear, there is prejudice, there is racism. There’s a
history in this country of repression. Let’s talk about it."
FILM: "The Siege" opens nationwide this Friday.Photos courtesy
of Twentieth Century Fox
Annette Bening, left, is a CIA operative who collaborates with
the FBI’s Denzel Washington as he investigates attacks in New York
City.
Denzel Washington (left) plays an FBI chief who finds himself at
odds with the Army general played by Bruce Willis.
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