Breaking: In a move that gives the ICM Partners publishing division a foothold in D.C., the agency has established what it is calling a “strategic alliance” with Raphael Sagalyn’s The Sagalyn Agency. The D.C. outpost will now be called ICM/Sagalyn. The alliance melds Sagalyn’s strong non-fiction author list and ICM’s list dominated by fiction authors. Sagalyn has long run a one-man shop in D.C., where he represents over 100 authors, journalists and business and political experts. His list includes National Book Award finalists Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Steve Olson, Pulitzer Prize finalist Robert Wright and New York Times bestselling authors Dan Pink, Claire Shipman, Katty Kay, Franklin Foer, David Ignatius, Daniel Suarez, Howard Kurtz, David Simon, Ross Douthat, Del Quentin Wilber, Ian Bremmer, NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty, Vanity Fair editor Cullen Murphy, MIT economist Simon Johnson, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, and Harvard professor Robert Putnam.
- 11/28/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING JR.
- Deadline
Breaking: In a move that gives the ICM Partners publishing division a foothold in D.C., the agency has established what it is calling a “strategic alliance” with Rapahael Sagalyn’s The Sagalyn Agency. The D.C. outpost will now be called ICM/Sagalyn. The alliance melds Sagalyn’s strong non-fiction author list and ICM’s list dominated by fiction authors. Sagalyn has long run a one-man shop in D.C., where he represents over 100 authors, journalists and business and political experts. His list includes National Book Award finalists Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Steve Olson, Pulitzer Prize finalist Robert Wright and New York Times bestselling authors Dan Pink, Claire Shipman, Katty Kay, Franklin Foer, David Ignatius, Daniel Suarez, Howard Kurtz, David Simon, Ross Douthat, Del Quentin Wilber, Ian Bremmer, NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty, Vanity Fair editor Cullen Murphy, MIT economist Simon Johnson, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, and Harvard professor Robert Putnam.
- 11/28/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING JR.
- Deadline TV
ICM Partners is hitting the books. The agency is expanding its publishing concerns, forming a partnership with Washington, D.C.-based lit firm The Sagalyn Agency. Sagalyn, which is owned and operated by Raphael Sagalyn, will be renamed ICM/Sagalyn, and agents from ICM Partners and Sagalyn will co-sign authors and journalists. ICM will rep film, TV and other media rights to the titles, past and present. Sagalyn reps reps more than 100 award-winning and bestselling journalists, academics, business thinkers and novelists in the writing field. Among the clients are National Book Award Finalists Rajiv Chandrasekaran (whose book
read more...
read more...
- 11/28/2012
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paul Greengrass's Iraq war thriller is excessively earnest, but its interpretation of events has been substantiated by new evidence
Green Zone (2010)
Director: Paul Greengrass
Entertainment grade: B+
History grade: B–
In 2003, the United States and Britain insisted that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (Wmd). The alleged existence of these was the principal justification given for the invasion of Iraq. It was later found that intelligence about an Iraqi Wmd programme was faulty.
Research
The film claims to be "inspired by" Rajiv Chandrasekaran's 2006 book Imperial Life in the Emerald City, which documented life in the Green Zone, the American enclave in the centre of Baghdad. The accurate depictions of Americans at play in Saddam's Republican Palace, splashing around in the pool and drinking imported beer, are drawn from the book. The character of Ahmed Zubaidi, a returning political exile and Pentagon pet, is a barely fictionalised version of Ahmed Chalabi,...
Green Zone (2010)
Director: Paul Greengrass
Entertainment grade: B+
History grade: B–
In 2003, the United States and Britain insisted that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (Wmd). The alleged existence of these was the principal justification given for the invasion of Iraq. It was later found that intelligence about an Iraqi Wmd programme was faulty.
Research
The film claims to be "inspired by" Rajiv Chandrasekaran's 2006 book Imperial Life in the Emerald City, which documented life in the Green Zone, the American enclave in the centre of Baghdad. The accurate depictions of Americans at play in Saddam's Republican Palace, splashing around in the pool and drinking imported beer, are drawn from the book. The character of Ahmed Zubaidi, a returning political exile and Pentagon pet, is a barely fictionalised version of Ahmed Chalabi,...
- 9/1/2011
- by Alex von Tunzelmann
- The Guardian - Film News
Paul Greengrass, director of United 93, has another controversial, 9/11-related offering in Green Zone, released in Australia on DVD and Blu-ray this month. The British-born Greengrass has re-teamed with his Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum leading man, Matt Damon, for the film, which also stars Damon's Stuck on You co-star Greg Kinnear and Oscar nominee Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone). Greengrass first approached Damon with the idea of making a film about the war in Iraq during the filming of The Bourne Ultimatum when Greengrass discovered Rajiv Chandrasekaran's book Imperial Life in the Emerald City. "We were in Tangiers when he told me: ‘You have to read this!
- 7/19/2010
- FilmInk.com.au
Few modern film-makers can combine visceral thrills and intelligent substance as dextrously as Paul Greengrass. Having refined his trademark faux-vérité style through such gripping docudramas as Bloody Sunday, this astonishingly energetic director successfully infiltrated the mainstream with his action-packed Bourne sequels, giving the then-flagging Bond franchise a run for its money. Now with Green Zone he deftly dovetails the disparate strands of his career to conjure a nail-biting war movie (inspired by Rajiv Chandrasekaran's book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone) that is big on crowd-pleasing excitement while still packing a popularist political punch.
Posted to Iraq to seek out invasion-justifying weapons of mass destruction, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) finds only dead ends and duff information. When complaints to his superiors fall on closed ears (even the media seem to be carelessly complicit in a would-be cover-up), Miller goes off-message, discovering...
Posted to Iraq to seek out invasion-justifying weapons of mass destruction, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) finds only dead ends and duff information. When complaints to his superiors fall on closed ears (even the media seem to be carelessly complicit in a would-be cover-up), Miller goes off-message, discovering...
- 7/10/2010
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Some might be elated to see director Paul Greengrass, who directed two of the Jason Bourne films, and Matt Damon (Invictus) reunited for an action film. However, as a result of that, we get an entertaining political film that just turns out to be a decent Hollywood action film.
The film takes place in 2003 during the war in Iraq and is based on the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. We follow Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon), an American military officer. Miller's team are to find the so-called weapons of mass destruction (Wmd) produced by the Iraqi government. Besides, the Pentagon, who is represented in Iraq by Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear), intends to use these WMDs as evidences to justify the USA's military presence in Iraq.
However, all efforts by Miller's team to find the WMDs have failed and...
The film takes place in 2003 during the war in Iraq and is based on the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. We follow Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon), an American military officer. Miller's team are to find the so-called weapons of mass destruction (Wmd) produced by the Iraqi government. Besides, the Pentagon, who is represented in Iraq by Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear), intends to use these WMDs as evidences to justify the USA's military presence in Iraq.
However, all efforts by Miller's team to find the WMDs have failed and...
- 7/4/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Green Zone is a fast-paced political thriller with a great ensemble cast and a director who is at home in the genre. Your enjoyment of the film might depend on how well you can handle director Paul Greengrass. shaky camera style of filming and the film.s slant on the Iraq war. Based on Rajiv Chandrasekaran novel Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, the film features a screenplay written by Brian Helgeland (Robin Hood, Mystic River), and stars Matt Damon (who worked with Greengrass on two of the Bourne films), Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Khalid Abdalla, Jason Isaacs, and Yigal Naor. It benefits from the cinematography work of Barry Ackroyd (who also...
- 6/24/2010
- by Patrick Luce
- Monsters and Critics
Hey everyone! Hope everyone's week is going well! Lots of good stuff coming out this week. For the record I guess Weeds does not come out until August. I posted last week that it started that week but I was Wrong and now I am sad. Ahh well at least True Blood started! Now to the movies this week.
She's Out of My League
When he starts dating drop-dead gorgeous Molly (Alice Eve), insecure airport security agent Kirk (Jay Baruchel) can't believe it. As his friends and family share their doubts about the relationship lasting, Kirk does everything he can to avoid losing Molly forever. Kyrsten Ritter, Lindsay Sloane, Jasika Nicole and Andrew Daly also star in this charming romantic comedy about unlikely lovers.
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve
Director: Jim Field Smith
I really liked this movie! It was so funny and oddly more realistic then I thought it would be for some reason.
She's Out of My League
When he starts dating drop-dead gorgeous Molly (Alice Eve), insecure airport security agent Kirk (Jay Baruchel) can't believe it. As his friends and family share their doubts about the relationship lasting, Kirk does everything he can to avoid losing Molly forever. Kyrsten Ritter, Lindsay Sloane, Jasika Nicole and Andrew Daly also star in this charming romantic comedy about unlikely lovers.
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve
Director: Jim Field Smith
I really liked this movie! It was so funny and oddly more realistic then I thought it would be for some reason.
- 6/22/2010
- by Mars
- GeekTyrant
Remember Me
Robert Pattinson's first big mainstream starring role away from the supernatural, Remember Me is a divisive feature that many love, but just as many loathe. A story of romance and tragedy, Dawn Taylor wrote in her review: "that Remember Me is literate, sensitive, often quite funny, and altogether engaging, despite its formulaic underpinnings." It's ending is controversial, indeed, though I argue just as it should be. Rent it and check it out for yourself on DVD or Blu-ray.
Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon
Green Zone
Reality gets a taste of fiction with Paul Greengrass' spin on Rajiv Chandrasekaran's experiences in Iraq's Green Zone, with Matt Damon leading a search for weapons of mass destruction. Jeffrey M. Anderson writes: "Green Zone turns out to be a rather routine thriller. But on the upside, it's more fun than most other Iraq war movies, and there...
Robert Pattinson's first big mainstream starring role away from the supernatural, Remember Me is a divisive feature that many love, but just as many loathe. A story of romance and tragedy, Dawn Taylor wrote in her review: "that Remember Me is literate, sensitive, often quite funny, and altogether engaging, despite its formulaic underpinnings." It's ending is controversial, indeed, though I argue just as it should be. Rent it and check it out for yourself on DVD or Blu-ray.
Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon
Green Zone
Reality gets a taste of fiction with Paul Greengrass' spin on Rajiv Chandrasekaran's experiences in Iraq's Green Zone, with Matt Damon leading a search for weapons of mass destruction. Jeffrey M. Anderson writes: "Green Zone turns out to be a rather routine thriller. But on the upside, it's more fun than most other Iraq war movies, and there...
- 6/22/2010
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
Green ZONEUniversal Home Entertainment2010/Rated R/115 minsList Price $39.98 – Available June 22, 2010The sense of realism director Paul Greengrass brought to his documentary style recreation of the events of Northern Ireland Bogside Massacre in Blood Sunday was a much needed shot in the arm for adaptation of Robert Ludlum's Bourne series. What began as your typical amnesiac spy caper with The Bourne Identity soon became something deeper when Greengrass came aboard to direct its two sequels. He gave the series a sense of urgency and purpose, enabling star Matt Damon to put in some of his finest work as a tortured assassin who shared an identity crisis with Frankenstein's monster. With Green Zone, the two have reunited to employ much of that style in telling the true life story of the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as a form of entertainment. Though the picture reworks the events in...
- 6/22/2010
- LRMonline.com
Blu-ray Rating: 3.5/5
Writers: Brian Helgeland, Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Director: Paul Greengrass
Cast: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan, Brendan Gleeson, Khalid Abdalla
DVD Distributor: Universal Home Entertainment
Like it or not, the era of the Iraq War movie is upon us. While most of the previous films to tackle this topic chose to focus on specific aspects of the war, and how it affected American soldiers, no film had really come along trying to pass itself off as a simple popcorn flick with broad appeal, until Green Zone. Unlike the previous films Stop-loss and The Hurt Locker, Paul Greengrass takes America’s eventual skepticism over the existence of Iraqi Wmd and places it in the context of an action-packed war thriller in Green Zone.
Read more on Blu-ray Review: Green Zone (2-Disc Limited Edition)…...
Writers: Brian Helgeland, Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Director: Paul Greengrass
Cast: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan, Brendan Gleeson, Khalid Abdalla
DVD Distributor: Universal Home Entertainment
Like it or not, the era of the Iraq War movie is upon us. While most of the previous films to tackle this topic chose to focus on specific aspects of the war, and how it affected American soldiers, no film had really come along trying to pass itself off as a simple popcorn flick with broad appeal, until Green Zone. Unlike the previous films Stop-loss and The Hurt Locker, Paul Greengrass takes America’s eventual skepticism over the existence of Iraqi Wmd and places it in the context of an action-packed war thriller in Green Zone.
Read more on Blu-ray Review: Green Zone (2-Disc Limited Edition)…...
- 6/22/2010
- by Jon Davis
- GordonandtheWhale
Tentatively perpetuating his volatile relationship with Universal Pictures after disagreements over a possible fourth installment in the Matt Damon-as-super-spy “Bourne” franchise, director Paul Greengrass, with the studio’s blessing, has decided take his ball and go home — er, I mean to Iraq.
After scoring massive hits with the second and third “Bourne” installments, “The Bourne Supremacy” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” which made a combined $730 million worldwide, Greengrass managed to lure Damon to over to his pet project, “Green Zone,” which (very) loosely adapts Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s 2006 book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City,” about life in Baghdad’s Green Zone.
The pitch sounds interesting enough. Take the international espionage, mystery, paranoia, intensity and frenetic energy of Jason Bourne’s fictional universe and insert it into one of the most disgraceful and costly scandals of the last hundred years — George W. Bush’s unscrupulous and illegal wars, both of which...
After scoring massive hits with the second and third “Bourne” installments, “The Bourne Supremacy” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” which made a combined $730 million worldwide, Greengrass managed to lure Damon to over to his pet project, “Green Zone,” which (very) loosely adapts Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s 2006 book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City,” about life in Baghdad’s Green Zone.
The pitch sounds interesting enough. Take the international espionage, mystery, paranoia, intensity and frenetic energy of Jason Bourne’s fictional universe and insert it into one of the most disgraceful and costly scandals of the last hundred years — George W. Bush’s unscrupulous and illegal wars, both of which...
- 3/28/2010
- by Eric M. Armstrong
- The Moving Arts Journal
Can Matt Damon's half-fiction set the benchmark for a popular history of the Iraq war?
Now is the moment for the Iraqi war film. Less than a week after the low-budget The Hurt Locker won Oscars for best picture and best director, Paul Greengrass's big-budget Green Zone has hit the screens. Following a series of Iraq war flops, the latest efforts show how the fictional Iraq has the potential to overshadow the reality.
Indeed, last week BBC News at Ten featured an interview with Matt Damon about his portrayal of Warrant Officer Miller, a soldier looking for WMDs in Iraq, while not reporting on a multiple bombing in Baghdad that killed more than 30 people.
It can be argued that such adrenaline-fuelled dramatisations of the conflict distance people from any ability to understand actual events. And yet, effective filmmaking can unearth the guilt at the heart of the Iraq...
Now is the moment for the Iraqi war film. Less than a week after the low-budget The Hurt Locker won Oscars for best picture and best director, Paul Greengrass's big-budget Green Zone has hit the screens. Following a series of Iraq war flops, the latest efforts show how the fictional Iraq has the potential to overshadow the reality.
Indeed, last week BBC News at Ten featured an interview with Matt Damon about his portrayal of Warrant Officer Miller, a soldier looking for WMDs in Iraq, while not reporting on a multiple bombing in Baghdad that killed more than 30 people.
It can be argued that such adrenaline-fuelled dramatisations of the conflict distance people from any ability to understand actual events. And yet, effective filmmaking can unearth the guilt at the heart of the Iraq...
- 3/14/2010
- by James Denselow
- The Guardian - Film News
Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass team up again for a blistering thriller about the conspiracy over WMDs
Hollywood has made a habit of buying bestselling books on the strength of their catchy titles and then hiring writers to provide them with plots and dialogue. Joseph Heller undertook the task of giving flesh and wit to Helen Gurley Brown's self-help manual Sex and the Single Girl. Woody Allen performed a similar, rather more successful job on Dr David Reuben's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask. Written by the Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, is an eye-opening account of the blundering operation of the Coalition Provisional Authority in its first year. It was optioned on publication four years ago, and the producers came together with director Paul Greengrass, writer Brian Helgeland...
Hollywood has made a habit of buying bestselling books on the strength of their catchy titles and then hiring writers to provide them with plots and dialogue. Joseph Heller undertook the task of giving flesh and wit to Helen Gurley Brown's self-help manual Sex and the Single Girl. Woody Allen performed a similar, rather more successful job on Dr David Reuben's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask. Written by the Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, is an eye-opening account of the blundering operation of the Coalition Provisional Authority in its first year. It was optioned on publication four years ago, and the producers came together with director Paul Greengrass, writer Brian Helgeland...
- 3/14/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass are together again, but not on another Jason Bourne adventure. Rather, the star-director tandem has teamed up once more for Green Zone (2010), an action-thriller that casts Damon as Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller. Set in 2003, right after America has invaded Iraq, Miller and his team are on the ground and hunting high and low for weapons of mass destruction. The problem? They're not finding any, and Miller doesn't understand why. Every bit of intel pointed to its existence. Worse, certain people who don't wear uniforms order Miller's fellow soldiers to take him out when he comes to close to the truth. And with that, Miller goes rogue, kicking, blasting, stabbing, and basically doing everything and anything necessary both to survive and to expose those who deserve exposing. Far, far, far from a love letter to former president George W. Bush or his inner circle, Green Zone...
- 3/12/2010
- by ianspelling@corp.popstar.com (Ian Spelling)
- ScreenStar
Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass are together again, but not on another Jason Bourne adventure. Rather, the star-director tandem has teamed up once more for Green Zone (2010), an action-thriller that casts Damon as Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller. Set in 2003, right after America has invaded Iraq, Miller and his team are on the ground and hunting high and low for weapons of mass destruction. The problem? They're not finding any, and Miller doesn't understand why. Every bit of intel pointed to its existence. Worse, certain people who don't wear uniforms order Miller's fellow soldiers to take him out when he comes to close to the truth. And with that, Miller goes rogue, kicking, blasting, stabbing, and basically doing everything and anything necessary both to survive and to expose those who deserve exposing. Far, far, far from a love letter to former president George W. Bush or his inner circle, Green Zone...
- 3/12/2010
- by ianspelling@corp.popstar.com (Ian Spelling)
- ScreenStar
When reviewing The Bourne Ultimatum in the summer of 2007, I praised it for "channeling the undeniably sketchy political and technological climate of this day and age and allowing one angry American to right all of the wrongs, on our behalf and by his own visceral means." Cut to 2010, and director Paul Greengrass and star Matt Damon have re-teamed to put another scorned soldier on the front lines with Green Zone.
The problem is, "amnesiac assassin vs. shady agency" is a bit more cut-and-dry than the multi-faceted political quagmire inherent to our invasion of Iraq, and perhaps sensing that Rajiv Chandrasekaran's "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone" was denser than Hollywood would allow, Greengrass, Damon and writer Brian Helgeland have conspired to ensure that the good guys and bad guys on each side of the conflict are glaringly apparent from the get-go.
It's April of...
The problem is, "amnesiac assassin vs. shady agency" is a bit more cut-and-dry than the multi-faceted political quagmire inherent to our invasion of Iraq, and perhaps sensing that Rajiv Chandrasekaran's "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone" was denser than Hollywood would allow, Greengrass, Damon and writer Brian Helgeland have conspired to ensure that the good guys and bad guys on each side of the conflict are glaringly apparent from the get-go.
It's April of...
- 3/12/2010
- by William Goss
Known for The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, Paul Greengrass brings more nonstop action to the screen in the historical action drama Green Zone, inspired by the novel "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone" by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. From April 2003 to October 2004, Chandrasekaran was The Washington Post's bureau chief in Baghdad, covering the American occupation of Iraq and supervising a team of correspondents. He lived in Baghdad for much of the six months before the war, reporting on the United Nations weapons-inspections process and the build-up to the conflict.
Director Greengrass joins forces with Hurt Locker cinematographer Barry Ackroyd and re-teams with Bourne lead Matt Damon, who plays Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller. The story begins in the first month of the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, when Miller and his team are dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in various Iraqi locations,...
Director Greengrass joins forces with Hurt Locker cinematographer Barry Ackroyd and re-teams with Bourne lead Matt Damon, who plays Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller. The story begins in the first month of the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, when Miller and his team are dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in various Iraqi locations,...
- 3/12/2010
- by Debbie Cerda
- Slackerwood
Matt Damon on patrol in a muddled war story.
Director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon
Photo: Universal Pictures
It's only been seven years since the U.S. led a multinational invasion of Iraq that deposed the dictator Saddam Hussein (which was good), but then failed to find the weapons of mass destruction that had supposedly invited our visit (which was very bad). It was a period rich in intrigue and contending characters — the Western intelligence hotshots, the Republican Guards and Ba'ath loyalists, the scheming weasels like Ahmed Chalabi. Who could forget?
Well, anyone could. And so "Green Zone," the new movie by director Paul Greengrass, may be hard for some viewers to digest. Because not only does the picture re-stir that chunky political stew, it thickens it with fiction. And Greengrass, who forged a powerful action style out of hand-held camera work in the second and third "Bourne" movies (among...
Director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon
Photo: Universal Pictures
It's only been seven years since the U.S. led a multinational invasion of Iraq that deposed the dictator Saddam Hussein (which was good), but then failed to find the weapons of mass destruction that had supposedly invited our visit (which was very bad). It was a period rich in intrigue and contending characters — the Western intelligence hotshots, the Republican Guards and Ba'ath loyalists, the scheming weasels like Ahmed Chalabi. Who could forget?
Well, anyone could. And so "Green Zone," the new movie by director Paul Greengrass, may be hard for some viewers to digest. Because not only does the picture re-stir that chunky political stew, it thickens it with fiction. And Greengrass, who forged a powerful action style out of hand-held camera work in the second and third "Bourne" movies (among...
- 3/12/2010
- MTV Movie News
The Oscar nominated British director Paul Greengrass seems drawn to "issue" movies. His feature directorial debut was the disease-of-the-week movie The Theory of Flight (1998), and he found acclaim with the explosive Bloody Sunday (2002) and the gripping, grueling United 93 (2006), though none of those exactly resulted in a bonanza of ticket sales. He seemed to come closer to his true calling with the second two Bourne films, The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), bringing his gift for tense action as well as uncommon intelligence to a pair of summer action films. If there were any "issues" in those movies, they were buried deep in the kinetic plots.
Now we find Greengrass at a crossroads. Clearly the issue movies bring more glory and more personal satisfaction, but the action movies bring in happier customers and more riches. It's a conundrum many artists have faced since the days of Sullivan's Travels (1941), when...
Now we find Greengrass at a crossroads. Clearly the issue movies bring more glory and more personal satisfaction, but the action movies bring in happier customers and more riches. It's a conundrum many artists have faced since the days of Sullivan's Travels (1941), when...
- 3/12/2010
- by Jeffrey M. Anderson
- Cinematical
Think of it as ‘The Bourne Locker’. Director Paul Greengrass (United 93) and his action muse Matt Damon have teamed up a third time to bring us The Green Zone, a frenzied, fast-paced war thriller that races through the turbulent streets of Baghdad looking for elusive WMDs.
It’s probably fortunate for Damon and the gang that this is opening in the wake of Bigelow’s Oscar win, because they are going to need that initial interest. Once you’ve seen The Green Zone, you aren’t likely to think much on it either way.
The Green Zone is a fictional adventure based off of the details collected in Imperial Life in the Emerald City, a book by former Washington Post writer Rajiv Chandrasekaran. Chandrasekaran’s book and Greengrass’ film return to the milieu of Iraq in 2003 and casts a long look at the invasion itself and the faulty intel that brought it about.
It’s probably fortunate for Damon and the gang that this is opening in the wake of Bigelow’s Oscar win, because they are going to need that initial interest. Once you’ve seen The Green Zone, you aren’t likely to think much on it either way.
The Green Zone is a fictional adventure based off of the details collected in Imperial Life in the Emerald City, a book by former Washington Post writer Rajiv Chandrasekaran. Chandrasekaran’s book and Greengrass’ film return to the milieu of Iraq in 2003 and casts a long look at the invasion itself and the faulty intel that brought it about.
- 3/12/2010
- by Nathan Bartlebaugh
- Atomic Popcorn
Check out our primer on the action thriller before you hit the theater.
By Eric Ditzian
Matt Damon in "Green Zone"
Photo: Jonathan Olley/ Universal Pictures
Call it Jason Bourne in the real world. Or the third big-screen iteration of Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass' lone-man-on-a-life-threatening-quest nail-biters. Or a run-and-gun, shaky-cam thriller about war, nation building and the dangerous search for truth.
However you want to label "Green Zone," some simple facts remain: The film is a loose adaptation of the 2006 book, "Imperial Life in the Emerald City," by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran. Damon plays a military man named Roy Miller tasked with locating weapons of mass destruction following the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. When the Wmd don't turn up, Miller's mission becomes much different: get to the bottom of exactly how the U.S. became embroiled in a war rapidly descending into chaos.
MTV News has been conducting...
By Eric Ditzian
Matt Damon in "Green Zone"
Photo: Jonathan Olley/ Universal Pictures
Call it Jason Bourne in the real world. Or the third big-screen iteration of Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass' lone-man-on-a-life-threatening-quest nail-biters. Or a run-and-gun, shaky-cam thriller about war, nation building and the dangerous search for truth.
However you want to label "Green Zone," some simple facts remain: The film is a loose adaptation of the 2006 book, "Imperial Life in the Emerald City," by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran. Damon plays a military man named Roy Miller tasked with locating weapons of mass destruction following the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. When the Wmd don't turn up, Miller's mission becomes much different: get to the bottom of exactly how the U.S. became embroiled in a war rapidly descending into chaos.
MTV News has been conducting...
- 3/12/2010
- MTV Movie News
Matt Damon in Green Zone
Photo: Universal Pictures Paul Greengrass's Green Zone would have best been left to videogame developers. Adapt the action that makes up nearly 80% of the film into a first person shooter and add a few cut scenes to keep hammering home the film's irrelevant political point and you've got a multi-million dollar game franchise. But no, instead we get a monotonous and unnecessary movie. Bad luck I guess.
Green Zone takes place in Baghdad in 2003 with Matt Damon starring as Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller who, along with his team, has been assigned the duty of finding weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled throughout the Iraqi desert. Unfortunately, all of their missions are coming up empty and with a couple of recent casualties on fruitless missions Miller wants to know why they're coming up empty and where the bad intel is coming from.
Photo: Universal Pictures Paul Greengrass's Green Zone would have best been left to videogame developers. Adapt the action that makes up nearly 80% of the film into a first person shooter and add a few cut scenes to keep hammering home the film's irrelevant political point and you've got a multi-million dollar game franchise. But no, instead we get a monotonous and unnecessary movie. Bad luck I guess.
Green Zone takes place in Baghdad in 2003 with Matt Damon starring as Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller who, along with his team, has been assigned the duty of finding weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled throughout the Iraqi desert. Unfortunately, all of their missions are coming up empty and with a couple of recent casualties on fruitless missions Miller wants to know why they're coming up empty and where the bad intel is coming from.
- 3/12/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Director: Paul Greengrass Writers: Brian Helgeland (screenplay); Rajiv Chandrasekaran (book: Imperial Life in the Emerald City) Starring: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla, Jason Isaacs Set in Iraq of 2003, Green Zone follows the story of Roy Miller (Matt Damon), a warrant officer in the Us army commissioned to search for the weapons of mass destruction that were the justification for the just-approved invasion of Iraq. Intertwining the storylines of Miller’s squad and the remnants of the Iraqi military/government (now forced into hiding), the audience is allowed to trace the independent choices of both sides as the future of Iraq is determined. More than anything, the film centers around the issue of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), and the Us search for the truth about them. Growing increasingly frustrated with missions that are simultaneously risking the lives of his men, as well as are turning up no WMDs,...
- 3/12/2010
- by JP Chapman
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
I knew Alice in Wonderland was going to do well but I seriously underestimated just how well. Alice had the biggest March opening ever, as well as the strongest opening for a 3D movie and had the best opening in history for a non-sequel. Here's the top five:
1. Alice in Wonderland: $116.1 million
2. Brooklyn's Finest: $13.4 million
3. Shutter Island: $13.2 million
4. Cop Out: $9.2 million
5. Avatar: $8.1 million
We've got a whopping four new releases this week:
The Green Zone
What's It All About: Based on a novel by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, this one is about a U.S. soldier's hunt for weapon's of mass destruction in Iraq during which he learns that factions on both sides of the issue are spinning the truth for their own ends.
Why It Might Do Well: Matt Damon stars, United 93's Paul Greengrass is directing and the film is getting a 71% Fresh rating over at Rottentomatoes.
1. Alice in Wonderland: $116.1 million
2. Brooklyn's Finest: $13.4 million
3. Shutter Island: $13.2 million
4. Cop Out: $9.2 million
5. Avatar: $8.1 million
We've got a whopping four new releases this week:
The Green Zone
What's It All About: Based on a novel by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, this one is about a U.S. soldier's hunt for weapon's of mass destruction in Iraq during which he learns that factions on both sides of the issue are spinning the truth for their own ends.
Why It Might Do Well: Matt Damon stars, United 93's Paul Greengrass is directing and the film is getting a 71% Fresh rating over at Rottentomatoes.
- 3/11/2010
- by Matt Bradshaw
- Cinematical
On the heels of Karl Rove's improbable assertion that George W. Bush would not have gone to war with Iraq if he had thought there were no Wmd comes another narrative about our missteps into war and the confusing months following the invasion. Paul Greengrass' new movie, Green Zone, makes no bones about its loose relationship with the truth, even though it is adapted from a nonfiction book, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran (2006). It's a high-octane, high-budget, Bourne-esque thriller brimming with sweaty cinematic detail, but there's no mistaking its loud agenda. At the center of the action is Matt Damon, who plays U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller. His assignment to evacuate a string of would-be Wmd sites near Baghdad leaves him obsessed with uncovering the truth instead. It's...
- 3/8/2010
- by Katy Hall
- Huffington Post
His new film about Iraq was made out of a sense of affront and anger
If this was a Paul Greengrass film, it would start like this. An aerial shot over central London. Digital letters flash up at the bottom of the screen saying: "London, 1400 GMT". A few cellos begin stirring ominously on the soundtrack. Then a hand-held camera tracks an oblivious reporter walking through Mayfair. Somewhere, a man with an earpiece looks at a flashing dot on a screen and says, "Subject proceeding east towards Claridges." Drums start up on the soundtrack. A short clip of Greengrass himself, perhaps finishing off his lunch. The shaky camera follows the reporter into Claridges, pitching through the revolving door to chase him up the stairs. The drums get heavier. The camera dashes down corridors after him. Greengrass strolls casually towards his suite. The drumming reaches a deafening frenzy, as if a tribal...
If this was a Paul Greengrass film, it would start like this. An aerial shot over central London. Digital letters flash up at the bottom of the screen saying: "London, 1400 GMT". A few cellos begin stirring ominously on the soundtrack. Then a hand-held camera tracks an oblivious reporter walking through Mayfair. Somewhere, a man with an earpiece looks at a flashing dot on a screen and says, "Subject proceeding east towards Claridges." Drums start up on the soundtrack. A short clip of Greengrass himself, perhaps finishing off his lunch. The shaky camera follows the reporter into Claridges, pitching through the revolving door to chase him up the stairs. The drums get heavier. The camera dashes down corridors after him. Greengrass strolls casually towards his suite. The drumming reaches a deafening frenzy, as if a tribal...
- 3/8/2010
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Clearly the only way to really promote Green Zone was to use the word Bourne in as many places possible, in the trailer, on posters in interviews and of course it’s the best way to promote Green Zone because the lead character looks him and according to the trailer acts like him but it’s just the familiar look where the similarities between this and Bourne end. Which is a good thing.
United 93 and Bourne Supremacy/Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass takes us on a more political adventure and explores the aftermath of the Iraq invasion that is based on the of Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s novel Imperial Life in the Emerald City. Greengrass and screenwriter Brian Helgeland use Chandrasekaran’s story as the basis for the story of an officer who joins forces with a senior CIA officer to unearth evidence that weapons of mass destruction are not actually located in Iraq.
United 93 and Bourne Supremacy/Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass takes us on a more political adventure and explores the aftermath of the Iraq invasion that is based on the of Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s novel Imperial Life in the Emerald City. Greengrass and screenwriter Brian Helgeland use Chandrasekaran’s story as the basis for the story of an officer who joins forces with a senior CIA officer to unearth evidence that weapons of mass destruction are not actually located in Iraq.
- 3/8/2010
- by Gary Phillips
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
13 years ago, Matt Damon managed to shoot himself into the A-list thanks to writing partner Ben Affleck, and collaboration Good Will Hunting. Or so he thought. Despite critical acclaim, and an Academy Award for the screenplay, Damon’s door wasn’t exactly being beaten down. He picked up some big parts here or there, but was struggling to make the big breakthrough to solid A-list. He was dogged by the label of Ben Affleck’s sidekick, and maybe also by that ill advised public break-up. You know the one.
It wasn’t until Steven Soderbergh picked up the phone and offered Damon a part in Ocean’s Eleven that his career really took off. It was during production of Ocean’s that Damon agreed to take on the role of Jason Bourne in the Bourne Identity. The movie proved popular, and grew into a series. Director Paul Greengrass took the...
It wasn’t until Steven Soderbergh picked up the phone and offered Damon a part in Ocean’s Eleven that his career really took off. It was during production of Ocean’s that Damon agreed to take on the role of Jason Bourne in the Bourne Identity. The movie proved popular, and grew into a series. Director Paul Greengrass took the...
- 3/6/2010
- by Barry Steele
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Previous attempts at doing an Iraq war move have largely bombed at the box office. Even the Oscar-nominated Hurt Locker hasn't exactly brought in blockbuster receipts. If it wins this weekend, it will be the lowest-grossing best picture in the history of the Academy Awards.
In an interview with Coming Soon, director Paul Greengrass explains how Green Zone's Bourne-appeal just might help it break the curse:
I wanted to make a film with broad appeal. Why? For this simple reason that you couldn't make a Bourne film ... without being very aware that ... that audience was exactly the audience that was being asked to fight this war. The young boys who were being asked to go and fight this thing, were going to see Bourne movies. On the other hand, right around the other side of the spectrum, the young kids who were most opposed to this war were also going to see Bourne movies,...
In an interview with Coming Soon, director Paul Greengrass explains how Green Zone's Bourne-appeal just might help it break the curse:
I wanted to make a film with broad appeal. Why? For this simple reason that you couldn't make a Bourne film ... without being very aware that ... that audience was exactly the audience that was being asked to fight this war. The young boys who were being asked to go and fight this thing, were going to see Bourne movies. On the other hand, right around the other side of the spectrum, the young kids who were most opposed to this war were also going to see Bourne movies,...
- 3/5/2010
- by Bill Stouffer
- Reelzchannel.com
We have footage including interview clips from the premiere of Universal Pictures' "Green Zone." This includes video with Jason Isaacs, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan and others. The Paul Greengrass-helmed project opens on March 12th. Brian Helgeland wrote the screenplay based on the book by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. The intense thriller stars Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Yigal Naor and Khalid Abdalla. Greengrass and Damon re-team for their latest electrifying thriller in Green Zone, a film set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War when no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences. During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next,...
- 3/2/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Universal Pictures' "Green Zone" directed by Paul Greengrass has eight new clips as well as a behind-the-scenes look and a featurette. We also have interviews with Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Jason Isaacs, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan and Greengrass. The screenplay is adapted by Brian Helgeland from the book by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. Opens on March 12th and is produced by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. Damon and Greengrass re-team for their latest electrifying thriller in Green Zone, a film set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War when no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences. During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the...
- 2/26/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Universal Pictures & Smells Like Screen Spirit Invites you to enter for your chance to win passes to a Special Advance Screening in Austin, TX of Green Zone Screening is on Tuesday March, 9 @ 7:30pm Screening is on Tuesday March, 9 @ 7:30pm Opens nationwide March 12 Genre: Thriller Cast: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla and Jason Isaacs Directed by: Paul Greengrass Written by: Brian Helgeland Inspired by the book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City” by: Rajiv Chandrasekaran Produced by: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lloyd Levin, Paul Greengrass Executive Producers: Debra Hayward, Liza Chasin Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93) re-team for their latest electrifying thriller in Green Zone, a film set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War when no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences. During the U.S.-led...
- 2/15/2010
- by Dave Campbell
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Universal has debuted a behind-the-scenes featurette for Paul Greengrass-directed “Green Zone” starring Matt Damon.
Green Zone – Matt Damon
Greengrass (Bourne Supremacy, United 93, Bourne Ultimatum) directed from the script written by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential, Conspiracy Theory, Mystic River, Man on Fire).
The screenplay is inspired by the book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City” by Rajiv Chandrasekaran.
During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert.
Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.
The movie which also stars Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs and Khalid Abdallawhich among others is set for a March 12, 2010 release.
Green Zone – Matt Damon
Greengrass (Bourne Supremacy, United 93, Bourne Ultimatum) directed from the script written by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential, Conspiracy Theory, Mystic River, Man on Fire).
The screenplay is inspired by the book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City” by Rajiv Chandrasekaran.
During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert.
Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.
The movie which also stars Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs and Khalid Abdallawhich among others is set for a March 12, 2010 release.
- 1/15/2010
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
Paul Greengrass's Matt Damon-starring film of the award-winning book by Rajiv Chandrasekaran may well be a subtle, nuanced examination of the Us occupation of Iraq. But that's not what the trailer is selling
The world needs a hero. The world often does. And when Matt Damon hears that, he's always willing to step up.
And that is why we find Damon, returning to his buff Bourne action mould after a tubby, 'tasched turn in The Informant, in the very second frame of the trailer. He's in uniform, with the name "Miller" on his chest (showing that this is probably not another Bourne instalment).
Unless Bourne is undercover, of course.
But maybe I'm being unfair. Comparing everything Damon does to Bourne seems mean. And, after all, this is a trailer for a totally different film, with no relation whatsoever to those previous, very successful films.
Oh. Apart from those relationships,...
The world needs a hero. The world often does. And when Matt Damon hears that, he's always willing to step up.
And that is why we find Damon, returning to his buff Bourne action mould after a tubby, 'tasched turn in The Informant, in the very second frame of the trailer. He's in uniform, with the name "Miller" on his chest (showing that this is probably not another Bourne instalment).
Unless Bourne is undercover, of course.
But maybe I'm being unfair. Comparing everything Damon does to Bourne seems mean. And, after all, this is a trailer for a totally different film, with no relation whatsoever to those previous, very successful films.
Oh. Apart from those relationships,...
- 11/17/2009
- by Anna Pickard
- The Guardian - Film News
Check out these new photos from “Green Zone” which stars Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs and Khalid Abdallawhich among others.
Matt Damon In “Green Zone”
The movie is directed by Paul Greengass (Bourne Supremacy, United 93, Bourne Ultimatum) from the script written by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential, Conspiracy Theory, Mystic River, Man on Fire).
The screenplay is inspired by the book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City” by Rajiv Chandrasekaran.
Matt Damon In “Green Zone”
During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert.
Matt Damon In “Green Zone”
Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.
Matt Damon In “Green Zone”
The movie is directed by Paul Greengass (Bourne Supremacy, United 93, Bourne Ultimatum) from the script written by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential, Conspiracy Theory, Mystic River, Man on Fire).
The screenplay is inspired by the book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City” by Rajiv Chandrasekaran.
Matt Damon In “Green Zone”
During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert.
Matt Damon In “Green Zone”
Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.
- 11/9/2009
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
See the first poster for Universal Pictures' "Green Zone," starring Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Yigal Naor and Khalid Abdalla. The Paul Greengrass-directed war drama is screenwritten by Brian Helgeland based on the book by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission...
- 11/5/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The first poster for the upcoming war film “Green Zone,” based on Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s nonfiction book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone,” has been released.
“Green Zone” Plot: “During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.
Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, Miller must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil for answers that will either clear a rogue regime or escalate a war in an unstable region. And at this blistering time and in this combustible place, he will...
“Green Zone” Plot: “During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.
Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, Miller must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil for answers that will either clear a rogue regime or escalate a war in an unstable region. And at this blistering time and in this combustible place, he will...
- 11/4/2009
- by Allan Ford
- Filmofilia
Avatar
A paraplegic marine from Earth has his consciousness transferred into an alien body so he can infiltrate the native people of a distant planet. More so than the teaser, this one gives a better idea of what the story is all about rather than just showing off the digital effects (which Are pretty awesome). James Cameron's latest hits theaters on December 18.
Green Zone
Military action flick starring Matt Damon as a U.S. soldier searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The story is inspired by the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. The bit about Damon's character wanting to know why things are happening seems kind of heavy handed and I half expected Jack Nicholson to pop up and tell him "you can't handle the truth." Still, this looks like it's got a lot going for it.
A paraplegic marine from Earth has his consciousness transferred into an alien body so he can infiltrate the native people of a distant planet. More so than the teaser, this one gives a better idea of what the story is all about rather than just showing off the digital effects (which Are pretty awesome). James Cameron's latest hits theaters on December 18.
Green Zone
Military action flick starring Matt Damon as a U.S. soldier searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The story is inspired by the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. The bit about Damon's character wanting to know why things are happening seems kind of heavy handed and I half expected Jack Nicholson to pop up and tell him "you can't handle the truth." Still, this looks like it's got a lot going for it.
- 11/1/2009
- by Matt Bradshaw
- Cinematical
[Update: The international trailer of Green Zone is now available courtesy of MSNBC (via Collider). This trailer is cut much less like a Bourne film and doesn't emphasize the same fonts and interstitials of that series. See both trailers after the jump and let us know which one you like better in the comments. The original post follows.] One of the movies I've been increasingly curious about in the last year has been Green Zone, the Paul Greengrass-directed semi-adaptation of Rajiv Chandrasekaran's book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone. Universal has just released the first trailer. Check it out and let us know what you think of the latest political actioner from the guy behind United 93, Bloody Sunday and the last two Bourne movies. Yahoo has the trailer debut. After watching the trailer a couple of times, what I'll say is this: I hope the film ...
- 10/28/2009
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
The brand new European trailer has been released for Paul Greengrass‘ latest offering, Green Zone. The film stars Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan, Antoni Corone and Nicoye Banks and invades UK theatres from 12th March 2010.
United 93 director Paul Greengrass explores the aftermath of the Iraq invasion in this feature adaptation of author Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s literary exposé of the same name. A one-time Baghdad bureau chief of the Washington Post, Chandrasekaran was present as American forces attempted to set up a provisional government on the grounds surrounding former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s opulent palace. The resulting governing body, according to critics, existed in a bubble so far removed from the grim realities of the Iraq War that it failed to properly assess the needs of the people. In this fictional thriller set during the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad, director Greengrass and screenwriter Brian Helgeland...
United 93 director Paul Greengrass explores the aftermath of the Iraq invasion in this feature adaptation of author Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s literary exposé of the same name. A one-time Baghdad bureau chief of the Washington Post, Chandrasekaran was present as American forces attempted to set up a provisional government on the grounds surrounding former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s opulent palace. The resulting governing body, according to critics, existed in a bubble so far removed from the grim realities of the Iraq War that it failed to properly assess the needs of the people. In this fictional thriller set during the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad, director Greengrass and screenwriter Brian Helgeland...
- 10/28/2009
- by Craig Sharp
- FilmShaft.com
Judging by the new trailer for Green Zone, the latest collaboration between Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass is Jason Bourne 4 in all but title.
Presented as a balls-out conspiracy action thriller, we can't help but think that this first look at the adaptation of Rajiv Chandrasekaran's book Imperial Life In The Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone is rather misleading as we've been expecting a far more cerebral film about the trials and tribulations of a bunch of Us soldiers camped within Baghdad's militarised quarter. That said, anything that can appeal to a wider audience and convince the great unwashed to part with their hard-earned cash for what is sure to be a great re-teaming from this successful duo can only be a good thing.
Green Zone is scheduled for release early in 2010. Take a look at the trailer below and don't forget to give us your opinions in the usual place.
Presented as a balls-out conspiracy action thriller, we can't help but think that this first look at the adaptation of Rajiv Chandrasekaran's book Imperial Life In The Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone is rather misleading as we've been expecting a far more cerebral film about the trials and tribulations of a bunch of Us soldiers camped within Baghdad's militarised quarter. That said, anything that can appeal to a wider audience and convince the great unwashed to part with their hard-earned cash for what is sure to be a great re-teaming from this successful duo can only be a good thing.
Green Zone is scheduled for release early in 2010. Take a look at the trailer below and don't forget to give us your opinions in the usual place.
- 10/28/2009
- Screenrush
The trailer for Paul Greengrass’ latest offering Green Zone has landed. The film is based on the book ‘Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone’ by Rajiv Chandrasekaran which appears to be an account of much of the Us administration’s failings there.
From the trailer, possibly due to the presence of Matt Damon, it seems like Greengrass has used the central idea of the book (living and working in the Green Zone) and spun it out to Bourne Does Iraq. It seems to be shot in a very similar style, with a similar emphasis on action and conspiracy. I’m sure Greengrass and Damon can pull it off and deliver an entertaining film but the question is whether we are saturated with Iraq war films to the extent that this one gets lost in the shuffle.
From the trailer, possibly due to the presence of Matt Damon, it seems like Greengrass has used the central idea of the book (living and working in the Green Zone) and spun it out to Bourne Does Iraq. It seems to be shot in a very similar style, with a similar emphasis on action and conspiracy. I’m sure Greengrass and Damon can pull it off and deliver an entertaining film but the question is whether we are saturated with Iraq war films to the extent that this one gets lost in the shuffle.
- 10/28/2009
- by Dom Duncombe
- Movie-moron.com
Universal Pictures has brought forth the first trailer for its forthcoming thriller "Green Zone". Debuted at Yahoo! Movies, the promo video features glimpses of Matt Damon as Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller, Greg Kinnear as CIA officer Clark Poundstone and Amy Ryan as The Wall Street Journal's foreign correspondent Lawrie Dayne.
Set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War, Roy Miller and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Going from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men stumble upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission instead of finding deadly chemical agents.
Soon, Miller finds himself in a world where no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences. Still, he faces the danger head on. And, through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil,...
Set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War, Roy Miller and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Going from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men stumble upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission instead of finding deadly chemical agents.
Soon, Miller finds himself in a world where no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences. Still, he faces the danger head on. And, through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil,...
- 10/28/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
The trailer for Iraq War film “Green Zone” has debuted.
“Green Zone” synopsis: During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.
Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, Miller must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil for answers that will either clear a rogue regime or escalate a war in an unstable region. And at this blistering time and in this combustible place, he will find the most elusive weapon of all is the truth.
The film, inspired by the book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City” by Rajiv Chandrasekaran,...
“Green Zone” synopsis: During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.
Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, Miller must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil for answers that will either clear a rogue regime or escalate a war in an unstable region. And at this blistering time and in this combustible place, he will find the most elusive weapon of all is the truth.
The film, inspired by the book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City” by Rajiv Chandrasekaran,...
- 10/27/2009
- by Allan Ford
- Filmofilia
Bourne in Iraq... that's the three word summary that's going to sell this movie for most people, but with any luck the latest collaboration between Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon will be something even more than that. Green Zone is inspired by the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, a non-fiction look at the American attempt to set up a transitional government in Iraq. The movie uses this as a jumping off point for a fictional thriller about a group of army inspectors in search of weapons of mass destruction. When I first heard about this film, it was being described in the same vein as Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, but after seeing the trailer it seems more reminiscent of Ridley Scott's Body of Lies... which to me, is a lot less exciting. Still, with a cast that includes Matt Damon,...
- 10/27/2009
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Jason Bourne franchise producer Frank Marshall has taken to updating fans of the next installment in the Bourne franchise via his Twitter account with two recent posts. The first came late Sunday night saying, "Bourne4 is in the works for Summer 2111." He quickly noticed his error correcting it to Summer 2011 as well as posting a follow-up saying, "George Nolfi is the writer of Bourne4, should have a draft by June." Nolfi was first announced as the writer back in October of 2008 and at the same time it was confirmed director Paul Greengrass and star Matt Damon were also attached to the project. Damon and Greengrass will have another film together coming out later this year from Universal titled Green Zone, an Iraq based thriller based on Rajiv Chandrasekaran's nonfiction book "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone" that still does not have a confirmed release date.
- 4/13/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Fresh from trying to count the Dark Knight's takings and having to give up at a gajillion, producer Charles Roven has announced plans to adapt political thriller Damascus Gate for Sony and bring a big helping of Middle Eastern intrigue to our screens.Damascus Gate, a 1998 novel by Robert Stone, follows journalist Christopher Lucas into the colourful heart of Jerusalem, where he stumbles upon an extremist plot to sabotage the peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. The titular gate is part of Jerusalem's old city walls, originally built by Suleiman The Magnificent.We've got fingers crossed Damascus Gate will deliver a suitably byzantine thriller, following in the footsteps of the two recent book adaptations to delve into the murky world of Middle Eastern politics, ex-cia agent Bob Baer's See No Evil (Syriana) and Washington Post journo Rajiv Chandrasekaran's Imperial Life In The Emerald City (the upcoming Green Zone...
- 2/4/2009
- EmpireOnline
- If there is one thing that I do like about the self-congratulatory Golden Globes is witnessing new faces invited to the star-studded filled, Wolfgang Pucks' served dinner tables. This year we would have seen Amy Ryan (Keane) rub elbows with million dollar smiles. But with the writer's strike that ain't happening. How much does a couple of seconds on Live television worth to the future purse of an up-and-coming actor? Not sure... but I imagine it does help the agent's ego. The actress who got tons of kudos for Gone Baby Gone is now (along with Greg Kinnear) taking up a role a major role in Paul Greengrass's take on Imperial Life in the Emerald City. Shooting today in Spain for Universal Pictures.Based on Rajiv Chandrasekaran's book this is drawn from his own experiences as Baghdad bureau chief of the Washington Post, deals with the chaotic
- 1/10/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.