Actor in 9/11 film denied entry to US: report -United93 actor in Iraq army

[Barrett808]

LONDON (Reuters) - An Iraqi actor who plays a hijacker in a new film about the September 11 attacks on the United States has been denied entry into the country for the movie's premiere, he told a newspaper on Friday.

Lewis Alsamari, who has lived in Britain since 1995, stars in "United 93," which premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York next week.

Directed by Briton Paul Greengrass, the film about the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania has sparked debate about whether Americans are ready to see an on-screen portrayal of the events.

Alsamari, 30, said he may have been denied entry by the U.S. embassy in London because he served in the Iraqi army in the early 1990s.

"I think this was because I am still an Iraqi citizen and fought in the army -- but that was only because I was forced to," he told London's Evening Standard newspaper.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060421/us_nm/britain_iraq_actor_dc

[Candide]

1. Odd

To cast an Iraqi as a hijacker....

[Barrett808]

2. Yeah. n/t

[IndianaGreen]

4. Casting an Iraqi reinforces the belief system of the sheep

Many of which still believe that Saddam was behind 9-11 and that WMDs were hidden in the vast Iraqi desert.

I find the timing of the movie rather peculiar.

[noonwitch]

11. I'm sure his ethnicity helped get the part more than his citizenship

Because he's from that general part of the world, has an accent from that part of the world, and looks like the people from the middle east-those are the reasons he got picked, not to lind Saddam to 9-11.

Not everything is some kind of plot. Hopefully, the actor will be able to work it all out in the long run.

[alarimer]

19. If they can cast Chinese actresses as Japanese Geishas

I think they can cast Iraqis as Saudi hijackers. I think movie producers must say "What the hell, it's close enough".

Yet, considering that it is a 9/11 movie, you'd think they would get the details right. Unless (and let me set my tinfoil hat on for a minute) this is a propaganda film. Maybe Richard Mellon Scaife is the producer??

[Pastiche423]

15. From what I have read and heard about this film

I find it to be a propaganda movie. And yes, the timing is odd.

[Drifter]

3. Where was the movie filmed ?

I would assume here in the US.
If so how did he get in then.

Cheers
Drifter

[Blue_Tires]

8. not necessarily

could have just have easily been filmed in Canada or the UK, and been just as convincing...

[no_hypocrisy]

5. A little too ironic IMO.

First, the movie casts an IRAQI actor when the hijackers were 90+% Saudi nationals. And * started this mess by equating Iraq with Al-Quaeda.

Next, the ACTOR, not an Al-Quaeda operative, is refused entry into this country. He theoretically comes from a country this country "freed" from tyranny and (again), he is an actor.

Finally, surrealistically the ACTOR who was depicted as a TERRORIST, is denied entry into the U.S., which forebearance would have stopped 9-11 or maybe postponed it if the original hijacker whom he portrayed was denied entry to begin with.

[Norquist Nemesis]

10. Not to mention that this story gets press coverage

which, to the casual reader/observer, subliminally reinforces the Iraqi/9-11 connection.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

14. interesting post

:hi:

[David__77]

6. Sad for that actor.

He rejects him own country and no matter how he would beg, he won't be accepted by the West instead...

[zbdent]

7. What, did they hire Dan Quayle to monitor the airports?

[RaRa]

9. Hmmm

"I'm not a terrorist, but I play one on t.v." guess that makes him a terrorist :sarcasm:

[sofa king]

12. Reality is a little bit difficult for some people.

I once met this guy who produced episodes of "America's Most Wanted," or "Tank Top Tirades," or whatever the hell it was. Doesn't matter. The guy was with his father, and together the two of them told me this hilarious story.

Son was shooting an episode about a criminal at large who superficially resembled son's father, so what the heck, thought the son, I'll have Dad play the bad guy. He did, and the episode aired, and they had some laughs.

Then one day several months later the father was in a small town in Tennessee on business, getting a shave in a barbershop, when suddenly two cops burst in and hauled Pops off to jail. A fan of the show was walking by the barber shop and spotted the father. The witness apparently had a great head for faces, but was a little shaky on the concept of "dramatization." So too were the cops, and it took him half a day to get let out of the can.

They both told me that this happens all the time, and actors who go on those shows have to sign releases which exempt the studio from the actions of people who can't distinguish between what's real and what's fake. So I suspect that this actor's troubles are only just beginning.

If you ask me, it serves him right for having the bad taste to appear in such a film.

[katty]

13. o yea bushie is keepin' us safe-don't let the actor in

[antonialee839]

16. I understand people have to make a living, but why would any

Iraqi want to play the part of a 911 hijacker?

[HuffleClaw]

17. more racial profiling harrassment

and very likely related to the movie of course. its certainly not the first time they've harrassed someone for such things.

[truthisfreedom]

18. good ol' America, land of the free.

freedom is on the frog march!