The Sheik and I Page #7

SO, LARA INSISTED

THAT I SIGN A RELEASE FORM

ANNULLING THE RELEASE FORM

THAT ABDUL RAHMAN HAD SIGNED.

LARA, LOOK.

YOU DON'T RESPECT MY DECISION.

NO, NO, I MEAN THIS IS...

YOU'RE MAKING ME--

AND NEGOTIATED.

THIS IS NOT, THIS IS--

BUT IF I... DON'T.

AND THAT'S PRETTY MUCH

THE LAST THING WE SHOT.

WE JUST HAD TO--

WE HAD TO LEAVE.

YOU KNOW,

WE HAD A FLIGHT TO CATCH.

SO, WE CAME BACK TO THE STATES

AND OUR LAST IDEA

WAS TO LIKE PU ON LIKE THE ARAB HEADDRESS

AND STUFF AT THE AIRPOR

AND WALK THROUGH

CUSTOMS AND WE THOUGH

FOR SURE THEY WOULD STOP

US BECAUSE THEY WOULD LIKE

I THOUGHT THEY'D

BE LIKE RACIST AND PREJUDICED

AND THEY WOULD LIKE THINK,

"HEY, WE'RE GOING

TO LIKE SEARCH THESE GUYS.

THESE GUYS LOOK ARAB."

AND NO ONE STOPPED US,

AND I WAS LIKE REALLY

SURPRISED AND IMPRESSED

BY OUR CUSTOMS PEOPLE.

AND ALL THE TAXI GUYS

WERE LIKE TALKING

TO US IN ARABIC.

OKAY.

SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?

UM, WELL WHAT DO YOU THINK

IS THE PROBLEM?

WELL, I THINK MAYBE THE STUFF

ABOUT THE SHEIKH OF SHARJAH?

YEAH.

RIGHT?

THAT'S THE MAIN PROBLEM, RIGHT?

I MEAN, LET'S JUS START WITH THE KIND

OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL THING,

WHICH IS YOU JUST CAN'T DO THAT,

AND IT JUST CAN'T BE DONE.

AND IT'S NOT EVEN

LIKE THIS THING:

WHERE IT'S LIKE OH

IF YOU DO THAT,

YOU KNOW LIKE, SOMEBODY'S GOING

TO GET KILLED OR LIKE MANSOUR

IS GOING TO PUT IN JAIL

OR TORTURED.

IT'S NOT LIKE THAT.

LIKE IT'S REALLY ON A

IT CAN BE AS SIMPLE

AS LIKE MANSOUR JUST LOSING

HIS JOB AND BEING SENT BACK

HOME OR YAZAN LOSING HIS JOB.

RIGHT.

WHICH WE DON'T WANT.

OR LIKE THE MOMEN WHERE LIKE YAZAN

SAYS LIKE THIS IS GOING TO BE

A BIG PROBLEM ESPECIALLY FOR

MANSOUR BECAUSE OF RACISM

LIKE JUST OVER:

KIND OF LIKE YOU KNOW, COMMENTS

ABOUT A SYSTEMATIC, YOU KNOW,

F***ED-UP-NESS OF THE PLACE.

UH-HUH. BUT IF YOU SAID

THAT IN THE UNITED STATES

EVERYBODY WOULD GO, "YEAH,

THERE'S A LOT OF RACISM HERE."

IT WOULDN'T BE A STATEMENT ABOU THE GOVERNMENT OR ANYTHING.

IT'S JUST LIKE A STATEMENT ABOU

PEOPLE'S, YOU KNOW, DEEP-SEEDED,

LONG-STANDING PREJUDICES.

I MEAN, A, IT'S VERY

DIFFERENT FROM THE

UNITED STATES.

THAT IS VERY:

MUCH GOVERNMENTAL POLICY

THAT MAKES FOR THESE

F***ED UP LAWS.

ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC SHOTS

THAT I COULD CU:

OUT THAT WOULD SOLVE THE PROBLEM

OR IS IT LIKE BIGGER THAN THAT?

I WOULD SAY THE MOS SORT OF PROBLEMATIC PART IS

WHEN YOU HAVE THAT GUY

THAT YOU'RE SORT OF TRYING

TO HIRE TO PLAY THE PAR

OF THE SHEIK AND HE'S

GOING TO, YOU KNOW...

THE LABOR LAWS THING.

YEAH, HE'S GOING TO CHANGE

THE LABOR LAWS AND MAKE I

MORE PROGRESSIVE.

I MEAN THERE'S INACCURACIES

IN THAT BUT...

I MEAN I WAS CRINGING

INITIALLY WHEN I WAS WATCHING

THE PRAYER STUFF TOO.

REALLY? WHY THE PRAYER?

I'M SURPRISED BY THAT ACTUALLY.

YOU KNOW WHAT,

I'M JUST GOING TO LAY

THE MINUTE OR TWO OF THE PRAYER

SEQUENCE JUST THAT I CAN KIND

OF PINPOINT MORE SPECIFICALLY.

IS THAT OKAY?

SURE.

[ISLAMIC PRAYER ON LAPTOP]

RIGHT.

SO, THIS MOMENT IS...

I DON'T KNOW.

YOU KNOW, I REALLY WANTED

TO ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNS

SO I TRIED BLEEPING

THE RACISM LINE.

OH. AND ALSO THE LABOR LAWS.

YOU KNOW...

[BLEEP]

YOU COME TO WORK IN SHARJAH?

YEAH.

YOU KNOW THEY CAN'T [BLEEP].

YEAH.

RIGHT?

AND I THINK THE ENDING WAS

REALLY COOL THE WAY IT ENDED.

[ISLAMIC PRAYER PLAYING]

BUT ANYWAY RASHA

FINALLY SAW THE FILM.

SHE DIDN'T LIKE IT AT ALL.

IT'S JUST THINKING NO THAT I DON'T LIKE IT.

IT'S JUST THAT I ALSO

HAVE A SENSE:

THAT THERE'S A BETTER

FILM BEHIND IT.

AND I FELT BAD, YOU KNOW,

BECAUSE I REALLY LIKED HER

AND I REALLY WANTED

HER TO LIKE ME.

I WAS REALLY:

I WAS REALLY BUMMED

ABOUT IT LIKE I WAS DEPRESSED.

AND I WAS LIKE, DID I MAKE

A BAD MOVIE AND I JUS DON'T REALIZE IT?

LIKE, IS SHE RIGHT?

AND LIKE I SEEM:

LIKE I WAS LIKE THIS SPOILED

AMERICAN COMING IN WITH

MY PRECONCEIVED IDEAS

AND TELLING THEM

HOW THEY SHOULD BE,

AND IT WAS LIKE:

REALLY IMPERIALISTIC.

I WAS LIKE, I KNOW.

THAT'S WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT.

LIKE IT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS

YOU KNOW, MAKING

FUN OF IMPERIALISM

OR SORT OF A CRITIQUE

OF IMPERIALISM:

LIKE IN THIS FUNNY SELF

CONSCIOUS SELF REFLEXIVE WAY.

I WAS KIND:

OF EXCITED HONESTLY TO MAKE

A FILM THAT WOULD SOR OF HELP CHANGE STEREOTYPES.

LIKE I REALLY WANT TO MAKE

A FILM THAT WOULD MAKE PEOPLE

THINK THAT ARABS WERE COOL.

BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE

WERE COOL.

LIKE YAZAN WAS COOL

AND CAMILLE WAS COOL

AND RASHA WAS COOL.

LIKE THEY WERE ALL COOL.

COOLER THAN MOST PEOPLE.

LIKE THEY WERE VERY COOL.

AND I FEEL:

LIKE IT WAS ENOUGH JUS

TO HAVE THEM IN THE MOVIE.

LIKE JUST HAVING

THEM IN THE MOVIE WAS ALREADY

LIKE A HUGE IMPROVEMEN ON THE USUAL STEREOTYPES.

LIKE IT WOULD HELP CREATE

PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

LIKE IT WOULD PUSH THINGS

IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION,

TOWARDS GREATER UNDERSTANDING.

I REALLY THOUGHT THA AND I WANTED THAT,

BUT I WAS STILL WORRIED

ABOUT PEOPLE IN THE FILM

GETTING IN TROUBLE.

I MEAN THE PROBLEM IS LIKE EVEN

IF WE SHOW IN THE STATES,

THEY COULD GET IN TROUBLE,

RIGHT?

WE COULD.

THEY COULD.

I DON'T CARE ABOUT US.

WE CAN'T GET IN TROUBLE.

NO, I KNOW.

WELL WHO WILL GET IN TROUBLE?

YAZAN, CAMILLE, RASHA.

IN THE STATES?

LARA. EVERY...

NO, THEY'D GET IN TROUBLE HERE,

LIKE IF THE MOVIE

IS SHOWN PUBLICLY.

SO, I WAS TRYING TO FIND

A WAY OUT OF THE IMPASSE,

AND I COULDN'T REALLY FIND IT.

AND ONE DAY I SPOKE

TO MY FRIEND, ALAN BERLINER,

WHO'S A FILMMAKER,

AND HE SAID,

I SAID, "WELL, I DON' KNOW WHO THAT IS.

I MEAN THAT COULD BE

THE SHEIK I GUESS."

AND HE'S LIKE,

SO, I THOUGHT, "WHOA!

THAT'S A GREAT IDEA."

I KNEW THAT THE SHEIK WAS

GOING TO BE AT THE BIENNIAL,

AND I ASSUMED HE'S GOING

TO WATCH THE MOVIE.

SO, THIS WAS A WAY TO GE TO HIM LIKE I'M GOING TO SAY,

"LOOK, HERE'S WHAT'S GOING

ON AND WE NEED YOUR HELP.

CAN YOU HELP US?"

"DEAR HIS HIGHNESS SHEIKH DOCTOR

SULTAN BIN MOHAMED AL-QASIMI,

MEMBER OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL

OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

AND RULER OF SHARJAH."

LIKE MAYBE HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW

THAT WE NEEDED HIS HELP.

YOU KNOW,

THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT.

I'VE HEARD THAT YOUR HIGHNESS

IS A MAN OF CULTURE AND LEARNING

AND THAT YOU ARE THE AUTHOR

OF MANY BOOKS AND PLAYS.

I'M THEREFORE ASKING

YOUR HIGHNESS TO GRAN

ME PERMISSION TO UNCENSOR

WHAT YAZAN SAYS IN THE CAR,

TO ALLOW TWO POLICE OFFICERS

IN A POLICE VAN TO PRETEND

TO ARREST US IN FRON OF THE SHEIK'S HOUSE,

TO ALLOW THE SAME TWO

POLICE OFFICERS TO PRETEND

TO ROUGH UP MANSOUR,

TO ALLOW ME TO LEAVE

IN THE REFERENCES

TO THE LABOR LAWS,

AND TO ALLOW ME TO LEAVE

IN THE CHOREOGRAPHY SHO

THAT THE SHARJAH ART FOUNDATION

ASKED ME TO REMOVE.

FINALLY, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK

YOUR HIGHNESS'S PERMISSION

TO ALLOW...TO PLAY

YOUR HIGHNESS IN OUR MOVIE

OR EVEN BETTER TO PLAY

THE ROLE YOURSELF.

SINCE THE BIENNIAL IS ABOUT AR AS A SUBVERSIVE ACT, IT JUS

SEEMED LIKE:

THE PERFECT MOVIE IDEA.

LIKE I WAS EXCITED

ABOUT THIS IDEA.

I THOUGHT THIS WAS LIKE GREAT.

UM...

I MEAN FOR THE SAME REASONS

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