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thekingdom_l
JENNIFER GARNER
Frank Connor
By Christine Spines
Christine Spines
Christine Spines

Of all the things that fill a filmmaker with dread, huge applause at the end of a test screening isn't usually one of them. But director Peter Berg started to worry when he showed his new movie, The Kingdom, to an audience in California farm country. About two hours into the high-voltage political thriller — about a group of FBI operatives (played by Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, and Jason Bateman) investigating a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia — the packed house went completely bonkers, erupting in cheers when the Americans gun down a group of jihadists. Most directors would have started popping the champagne. But Berg was thoroughly freaked. ''I was nervous it would be perceived as a jingoistic piece of propaganda, which I certainly didn't intend,'' says the actor- turned-director, hunched over an outdoor table at a shabby Santa Monica coffeehouse. ''I thought, 'Am I experiencing American bloodlust?'''

Forgive Berg if he seems a little war-weary. He has spent the past four years in The Kingdom's trenches, battling heat that sent his actors to the hospital, a complicated Middle Eastern shoot, and the unexpected deaths of three crew members. Any one of those hurdles could have threatened the $70 million production. But ultimately, Berg managed to navigate a minefield of complexities, both political and practical. ''It was Shakespearean in its emotional ups and downs,'' he says. ''The most extraordinary experience of my life.''

Making post-9/11-themed films is turning into one of Hollywood's toughest proving grounds. Recently, high-caliber directors like Steven Spielberg (Munich), Oliver Stone (World Trade Center), Paul Greengrass (United 93), Stephen Gaghan (Syriana), and Michael Winterbottom (A Mighty Heart) have sought to capture the complicated geopolitical landscape we've inhabited for the past six years. But for all their critical acclaim and Oscar nominations, none of those movies found much commercial traction.

This fall, at least five movies will explore conflict in the Middle East, including Paul Haggis' In the Valley of Elah; the John Cusack-produced Grace Is Gone; Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs; the Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts starrer Charlie Wilson's War; and Rendition. With The Kingdom being one of the first in theaters, Hollywood will be watching closely to see if Berg can bridge the divide between popcorn and prestige by serving up flashy mainstream entertainment that addresses current events with sophistication and sensitivity. ''It's kind of like tricking a kid to do his homework,'' says Berg, whose track record of unlikely crowd-pleasers includes Friday Night Lights and The Rundown. ''You've got to make it fun.''

On paper, The Kingdom's plot, which kicks off with a large-scale terrorist attack that kills American contractors and their families, doesn't sound so enjoyable. But Berg was interested in terrorism primarily as a setup for a fast-paced procedural thriller. The film is loosely based on the FBI's investigation of the 1996 bombings of Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, which Berg read about in former Bureau director Louis Freeh's memoir, My FBI. Berg first ran the idea by his neighbor, director Michael Mann (The Insider), who liked it so much he signed on to produce. (Former Universal production head Scott Stuber would eventually come on as a second producer.) The pair then enlisted Matthew Michael Carnahan, who also penned November's Lions for Lambs, to concoct a socially relevant story that wouldn't play like an episode of Frontline.

NEXT PAGE: Keeping the onscreen action fun, then dealing with death on the set


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