The Sheik and I Page #8

THAT THEY WERE--

IT WAS PROBLEMATIC FROM

THE GET-GO, RIGHT?

LIKE, PUTTING EMPLOYEES IN A

DIFFICULT POSITION,

ADDRESSING SENSITIVE ISSUES

THAT WE KNOW:

ARE SENSITIVE AND SHOULD

BE ADDRESSED BUT ARE DONE

SO IN A VERY:

STRAIGHTFORWARD WAY,

WHICH IS JUST NOT HOW

IT WORKS HERE.

I JUST, YOU KNOW,

THEY'RE CURATORS.

THEY'RE ART CURATORS.

I WAS LIKE,

COME ON, YOU ASK ME

BECAUSE YOU KNOW MY WORK.

YOU KNOW THE KIND OF STUFF I DO.

THIS IS THE KIND OF STUFF I DO.

I MEAN I CAN SENSE YOU'RE

FRUSTRATED AND I CAN UNDERSTAND

WHY YOU'RE FRUSTRATED, BUT JUS TO SORT OF CONTEXTUALIZE THINGS,

YOU KNOW, DICTATORS ARE FALLING

LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTER.

IT'S A CRAZY TIME IN THE REGION.

I FORGOT SOMETHING.

I FORGOT THE ARAB UPRISING.

LIKE AS SOON AS WE LEF SHARJAH THE WHOLE ARAB

UPRISING HAPPENED.

IF WE DEFINE PRODUCTIVE AS BEING

LIKE ACTUALLY ADVANCING

THE CAUSE OR HAVING SOMEBODY SEE

SOMETHING IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT,

YOU KNOW, LIKE THE TAKE

ON THE LABOR LAW THING IS NO

PARTICULARLY LAYERED OR COMPLEX

AND YOU SAYING SO YOURSELF

BECAUSE THERE'S FACTORS

THAT YOU DON'T KNOW, RIGHT?

LIKE THERE'S ACTUALLY COMPLEX,

I HAVE ZERO INVESTMEN IN THE LABOR LAW ISSUE.

I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

I REALLY DON'T CARE ABOUT IT.

IT'S NOT MY BUSINESS.

YOU KNOW, I'M IGNORANT.

RIGHT.

BUT MY BUSINESS IS JUS

I SHOULD BE ABLE TO SAY

THAT THE LABOR LAW SEEMS F***ED.

WHETHER IT'S F***ED OR NOT,

WHETHER I'M RIGHT OR WRONG,

I FEEL I SHOULD BE ABLE TO SAY

THAT AS AN ARTIST LIKE, "HEY,

MANSOUR'S KID LIVES

IN PAKISTAN."

HE'S 13. HE CAN'T LIVE WITH HIS

FATHER. THAT'S F***ED.

I DON'T KNOW

WHO'S FAULT THAT IS.

MAYBE IT'S NOBODY'S FAULT.

IT'S JUST UNFORTUNATE.

AND I DON'T FEEL

LIKE I HAVE TO BE RIGH

ABOUT THAT EVEN:

TO BE ABLE TO SAY IT.

I THINK HEIN ACTUALLY WAS KIND

OF PERSUADED BY WHAT I SAID

LIKE I THINK HE RECOGNIZED

THE VALIDITY AND THE ABSURDITY

OF WHAT HE WAS DOING.

I THINK HE WASN'T ENJOYING

THE CONSTRAINTS EITHER.

AT ONE POINT I SAID, YOU KNOW,

"WOULD IT ALL BE SOLVED

BY THE SHEIK SAYING IT'S FINE?"

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE SHEIK.

OH IT'S NOT?

NO.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?

I MEAN IT'S ABOUT THEM

GETTING IN TROUBLE, RIGHT?

AND SO I SAID, "LOOK, YOU DON' KNOW THE SHEIK WON'T LIKE IT.

MAYBE THE SHEIK WOULD LIKE IT."

LIKE, YOU KNOW,

WHY NOT SHOW IT TO HIM?

I MEAN WE'RE GOING TO--

WE'RE PLANNING

TO SHOW IT TO JACK.

WE'RE GOING TO SHOW IT TO JACK,

I'M GOING TO ASK HIM IF CAN

ACTUALLY SHOW IT TO SHEIKHA,

THE SHEIK'S DAUGHTER.

JACK PERSEKIAN WAS THE HEAD

OF THE SHARJAH ART FOUNDATION

AND I REALLY JUST CROSSED

PATHS WITH HIM LIKE ONCE.

BUT SO ANYWAY HE WAS VERY CLOSE

TO THE ROYAL FAMILY THEY SAID.

HE WAS THE DIRECTOR--

THE DAUGHTER OF THE SHEIK

WAS THE PRESIDENT.

AND IT WAS HER IDEA.

THE BIENNIAL WAS HER IDEA

BECAUSE SHE WENT TO ART SCHOOL

IN LONDON AND SHE WANTED

TO HAVE AN ART FESTIVAL,

AND SHE'S LOADED AND HER FATHER

SAID, "OKAY, I'LL PAY FOR IT."

SHE'S THE ONE

THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE

THE FINAL CALL.

JACK WON'T EVEN

BE ABLE TO MAKE A FINAL CALL.

HE MIGHT SAY THERE'S NO WAY

I'M SHOWING THIS TO SHEIKHA,

SO WE'LL HAVE TO GO

TO HIM FIRST.

UH-HUH, I SEE.

AND THEN TO SAY IF...

SO IT'S A PROTOCOL THING?

OKAY, WELL THAT SOUNDS

LIKE A GOOD THING TO DO,

DOESN'T IT?

SURE. I MEAN YEAH.

HI, CAN YOU HEAR US?

YES, I CAN.

CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY?

I CAN, I CAN'T SEE YOU,

BUT I CAN HEAR YOU.

THERE I SEE YOU NOW.

OKAY?

HI, BECKETT.

CAN YOU SAY HI?

NO? OKAY.

UMM, HOW'S IT GOING?

OKAY. WHAT,

SO WHAT'S GOING ON?

UM, SO, WE, UM...

I LET JACK WATCH THE MOVIE,

AND HE WAS WATCHING IT A

HIS DESK AND HE WAS, YOU KNOW,

HAVING A GOOD LAUGH ABOUT IT,

AND THEN ALL:

SEEMED WELL AND SHEIKHA

WAS AROUND AND SHE WAS WATCHING

IT AND SHE WAS LAUGHING AS WELL.

I WAS LIKE, "GREAT!

"I KNEW IT. THEY LOVE IT.

THEY LOVE THE MOVIE."

AND THIS MORNING

I SPOKE TO HIM,

AND BASICALLY:

HIS ISSUES WERE MORE

TO DO WITH THE RELIGIOUS

ASPECT OF THINGS.

UH-HUH.

AND HE WAS KIND OF

FREAKING OUT ABOUT I ACTUALLY.

SO, I WAS WORRIED, YOU KNOW.

SO I WAS LIKE ANXIOUS

LIKE WHAT'S GOING ON?

HE JUST WANTS TO BE SAFE.

HE DOESN'T WANT LIKE A DENMARK

SITUATION OCCURRING.

SO, HE'S BASICALLY SENT THE FILM

TO HIS OR THE:

FOUNDATION'S LAWYERS.

OKAY.

SO, I GOT AN EMAIL TODAY

FROM JACK PERSEKIAN,

AND HE BASICALLY SAID

NOT ONLY ARE THEY NO GOING TO SHOW THE FILM,

BUT THEY ARE SENDING

A CEASE AND DESIST ORDER,

AND THEY'RE FORBIDDING

ME TO SHOW IT ANYWHERE

IN THE WORLD.

IT'S TAKEN TO--

REMOVE IT FROM EVERY WEBSITE.

DESTROY EVERY COPY.

AND HE SAYS:

THAT HIS LAWYERS HAVE SAID

THAT IT COULD BE GROUNDS

FOR IMPRISONMENT.

THEN HE LIKE APPENDED

HIS LAWYER'S LETTER TO HIM.

HIS LAWYER SAID...

"THE FILM PRESENTS

UNACCEPTABLE RISKS OF BEING

"DEEMED ILLEGAL UNDER U.A.E.

LAWS PROHIBITING BLASPHEMY."

AND IF IT WAS BLASPHEMOUS,

WHICH HE DIDN'T KNOW

FOR SURE, BUT THEY

COULD WIN THAT ARGUMENT,

THE COURT COULD RULE

THAT IT WAS BLASPHEMOUS,

THEN HE, JACK PERSEKIAN,

WOULD PROBABLY:

BE HELD RESPONSIBLE

AND HAVE A LARGE FINE.

GO TO PRISON FOR SEVERAL YEARS.

AND UPON HIS RELEASE

FROM PRISON HE'D BE DEPORTED.

BUT SO ANYWAY,

WE COULDN'T DECIDE

WHETHER TO GO OR NOT AND PAR OF ME WAS LIKE WE SHOULD

GO BECAUSE LIKE IT'D

BE REALLY DRAMATIC LIKE

THEY'LL TRY TO STOP US.

WE'LL TRY TO GET TO THE SHEIK.

WE'LL TRY TO GIVE

HIM A COPY OF THE FILM

AND IT'LL BE GREAT FOOTAGE.

AND WHAT'S THE WORS THING TO HAPPEN?

THEY PUT US IN JAIL?

I DON'T KNOW.

I JUST DIDN'T THINK

IT'D BE THAT BAD.

BUT MANDY, MY WIFE, WAS VERY,

VERY WORRIED AND SHE SAID,

"I'M NOT GOING.

"I'M NOT GOING.

I'M TAKING MY SON."

LIKE, "IF YOU WANT TO GO,

YOU GO, BUT I'M NOT GOING."

AND THE MORE I FOUND

OUT ABOUT SHARJAH

AND THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES,

THE MORE I REALIZED LIKE PEOPLE

REALLY DON'T HAVE

ANY RIGHTS THERE.

LIKE THERE WERE THESE

VIDEO TAPES ONLINE OF THE

SHEIKH OF ABU DHABI'S BROTHER

BASICALLY TORTURING THIS GUY

AND FILMING IT.

AND IT WAS HORRIBLE.

LIKE HE LIKE BEATS THIS GUY

WITH A STICK THAT HAS NAILS

IN IT AND THEN HE LIKE

POURS SALT IN THE WOUNDS,

AND THEN HE LIKE--

HORRIBLE THINGS.

I CAN'T EVEN SAY

THE THINGS HE DOES.

BUT THEN ONE THING HE DOES

IS HE RUNS HIM OVER

WITH A CAR REPEATEDLY.

TO DATE, THERE HAS BEEN

NO POLICE ACTION

TAKEN AGAINST SHEIKH ISSA,

WHOSE BROTHER,

THE CHIEF OF POLICE,

OPENED, AND THEN CLOSED,

AN OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION.

BUT ONLINE IN WIKIPEDIA I READ

THAT THEY DID HAVE A TRIAL

FINALLY AND THE VERDIC WAS THAT HE WAS INNOCEN

AND THAT THE GUY

WHO HAD RELEASED THE VIDEO TAPES

WAS GUILTY AND WAS SENTENCED

IN ABSENTIA FOR FIVE YEARS.

SO, THIS WAS KIND OF SCARY.

[MANDY]

CAN I BE PART OF THAT POSITION?

IT'S JUST...

THEY CAN SAY I SAW THE MOVIE.

IT'S BLASPHEMOUS.

MY LAWYERS LOOKED AT IT.

HIS CONTEXT OF BLASPHEMY

IS LIKE NOT FAMILIAR CHOICE

AT ALL AND YE:

IT'S LIKE ALIVE AND WELL

IN THOSE COUNTRIES, YOU KNOW.

[WOMAN] TO ME IT JUS SEEMS LIKE THEY WOULD

IF THEY'RE TRYING TO AVOID

A NEGATIVE PRESS THE LAST THING

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes