What Are The Critics Saying?

"How could the Pentagon, which allegedly "fixed the intel around the policy," get it so wrong? Were they so arrogant, so obtuse, that they couldn’t foresee the deadly forces they were about to unleash? "Hell, yes!" avers Paul Greengrass’s tumultuous conspiracy thriller. As in his Bourne movies, his handheld camera shimmies and swerves, using battlefield vérité to drive home the faux realism." David Edelstein NEW YORK MAGAZINE "Greengrass understands the action framework like few others, locking you into his central figure's cause and dynamism from the git go. His action moves with near frantic drive, logically, smartly and with trim intensity. Though we may in time forget the falsifications and the incredible lack of judgement that prevailed after 9/11, we are close enough to it now to recall the daily strategies to mislead. Kudos to the makers of this film for helping to preserve the truth." CINEMA SIGNALS "Greengrass has married politics with popcorn. Yes, Green Zone has substance, but it is, first and foremost, a breakneck action film: tense, frenetic and exciting. A wham-bam actioner, but its pointed political subtext ensures Damon and Greengrass deliver their most provocative mission yet. 4 STARS." Mark Dinning EMPIRE MAGAZINE "Employing his customary whiplash style of shooting and editing, he wants to plunk the viewer right down in the hellish anarchy that Baghdad soon became in 2003 after the Americans rolled in and were faced with far greater challenges on the ground than they anticipated." Todd McCarthy VARIETY "Set against the most expansive, otherworldly backdrop this side of James Cameron's Pandora, it's an appropriately spooky experience. Director Paul Greengrass airlifts Jason Bourne to war-torn Baghdad in this Iraq-occupation thriller that casts Matt Damon as a crusading soldier uncovering evidence of lies and misdirection in the American war on terrorism." Bryant Frazer DEEP FOCUS

"Better late than never; a bang-bang pulse-pounder predicated on the Bush administration's deliberate fabrication of WMD in Iraq. Had the movie been released during the 2008 election season, it might have been something more than entertainment. From the opening frenzy of hopped-up shock and awe panic to the frantic final chopper chase through the back alleys of downtown Baghdad, the movie is nonstop havoc. You catch your breath only to have the wind knocked out by the mirage of the carefree scene around the Green Zone swimming pool." J. Hoberman VILLAGE VOICE "This is a movie which, given a stronger sense of purpose, might have recounted exactly those failings and shown in stark relief how we were hoodwinked into war. Then again, there hasn’t been an Iraq war movie yet that found an audience by telling the truth about government mendacity. This isn’t a movie about politics, despite its message that, in fact, the government purposely lied about WMD. Rather, it’s an action-thriller, something Greengrass could do with his eyes closed." Marshall Fine HOLLYWOOD & FINE "To pretend that the film doesn't make a political statement is silly. Of course it does. It wouldn't be effective at all if it didn't. In fact, it's easy to begin to work up a good deal of righteous bile and anger watching "Green Zone," as we are again reminded of what led us to war. But then a mortar whizzes by and the camera shakes and an explosion rocks the frame." Bill Goodykoontz ARIZONA REPUBLIC "From the opening scenes, which first depict Iraqi officials' flight in the wake of "shock and awe," then Miller's initial mission as his men take out a sniper firing from an alleged WMD hideaway, Greengrass again asserts himself as the foremost practitioner of "you are there" filmmaking. Production designer Dominic Watkins deserves a special salute for the verisimilitude of what's onscreen at every moment." Todd McCarthy VARIETY "A gritty thriller set on a backdrop of the Iraq war in 2003, when Shock and Awe covers Baghdad like a fearsome blanket, Green Zone tells a now familiar story with a new twist, about war punctuated by idealism, control and politics. Acclaimed screenwriter Brian Helgeland ("LA Confidential") has penned a proficient story in the thriller genre that combines tension with political relevance." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE

The Making of Green Zone As he contemplated wading into the world of Green Zone, director/producer Paul Greengrass knew he wanted his next film to grab people by their shirts with a high-stakes thriller, drenched in the authentic details of a war zone. "This is not a movie about the war in Iraq," Greengrass emphasizes. "It’s a thriller set in Iraq, and that’s a very different proposition. In my experience, thrillers are at their best when they’re in extreme environments where the moral challenges are acute." Over the course of the past decade, Greengrass has become renowned for his pulse-pounding action-thrillers. The last two 'Bourne' films ("Die Bourne Verschwörung" & "Das Bourne Ultimatum") he helmed achieved a rare feat: the ability to impress critics and worldwide audiences alike. But the filmmaker is equally well known for his hard-hitting and meticulously researched dramatic movies. With 2006's "United 93", the story of the brave passengers and crew who rallied against terrorist hijackers on September 11, Greengrass not only honoured the memories of the heroes lost that day, he created a powerful dramatic thriller that invested audiences in their lives. Many moviegoers may not be aware that three time BAFTA recipient Greengrass began his career covering global conflict for Britain’s ITV. During that ten year span, he travelled to war-torn countries and reported upon powerful stories. After shifting his focus to fictional dramatic fare, he still found himself drawn to creating films that explored timely social events. By blending a documentarian’s rigorous discipline with a dramatic filmmaker’s sense of structure and plot, he heightened the impact of his projects. "Paul has a very keen sense of how to bring each beat of a story to life. He creates the most dramatic version of reality he can," producer Lloyd Levin ("Field of Dreams" & "Boogie Nights") explained. The initial idea that Greengrass discussed with screenwriter and 1997 Oscar ® winner Brian Helgeland ("L.A. Confidential") was to develop a thriller about the failed hunt for weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Along the way, they sought the active collaboration of many participants in the Iraq drama, including key figures in the WMD hunt, two dozen US combat vets who served in Iraq, a half-dozen ranking former CIA officers with first-hand experience and an elite CIA paramilitary team leader who captured several of Iraq’s 'Most Wanted'. Inspiration would also come from former Washington Post Baghdad bureau chief Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s best-selling non-fiction book "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone." Chandrasekaran, who reported first hand from Baghdad on the weapons-inspection process, won the Overseas Press Club book award, the Ron Ridenhour Prize and Britain’s Samuel Johnson Prize, and became a finalist for the National Book Awards. His much-acclaimed book served as a window into the world of the Green Zone. 1998 and 2004 Golden Satellite Award winner Helgeland ("L.A. Confidential" & "Mystic River") Helgeland imagined a screenplay in which a WMD hunter comes to Iraq with one objective: to find weapons and save lives. Helgeland developed a story in which his protagonist begins to question the intel behind this list of potential weapons locations: the warrant officer finds that site after site yields nothing. Chief Miller receives no answers through official channels, but off the record encounters with a veteran CIA operative, an Iraqi civilian and a journalist point him toward the elusive source Magellan and lead him into conflict with a civilian Defence Department intelligence head, as well as a Special Forces officer and a shadowy group of formerly influential Iraqis with conflicting agendas. The opportunity to partner again with his long-time friend wasn’t Damon’s only motivation in signing on to "Green Zone". "Besides working with Paul, who I admire and whose movies I really like, the big thing for me was the chance to work with a bunch of veterans who had just come back from Iraq and Afghanistan. They were the ones who really made our cast. They helped create an environment that felt very authentic. To be around people who are alert and who have been in those situations before is invaluable as an actor." 1997 & 2006 NBR Award winner Damon ("Good Will Hunting" & The Departed") was cast as Chief Miller, a career soldier who served in the 1990 Gulf War and is now doing duty in a very different Iraq. Much like Jason Bourne, Roy Miller wants only to find out the truth in his precarious situation. "Miller becomes obsessed with figuring out what’s going on and getting to the bottom of all this," Damon says of his character’s motivations. Greengrass was happy the actor he’d almost run down with subway cars in the London’s Waterloo Station and sent freewheeling through rooftop windows in the Medina area of Tangier was willing to trust him for their third time together. "Matt drives this movie with a great performance. This is the kind of role people want to see him in. He’s one of the world’s great physical actors. If you put Matt in a big action-thriller, he commands attention because you know he’s going to go to exciting places to be, absolutely determined to get to the truth and exhibit courage. He’s going to be running and jumping and chasing and fighting and doing all those things that you want to see Matt Damon do. But he does them with class and integrity and also tells a great story." 2007 Screen Actors Guild Award winner Greg Kinnear was cast as Miller’s nemesis, Defence Intelligence agent Clark Poundstone. The actor quickly adapted to Greengrass’ unique shooting style of allowing his actors situational improv, and Kinnear’s co-star was a big help in achieving that skill. "Matt advised me on how all this would work. It’s a big change from most traditional movie sets. As you adjust, you start to realize that it’s exhilarating and very unpredictable." The Defence Intelligence agent has ostensibly come to Iraq to repair the damage that’s been done to it; he will achieve this goal by any means necessary. "Poundstone believes this place can be put back together very quickly, and that it’s all about the end game, not the means of getting there. "This story has multiple points of view," Kinnear revealed. "Everybody’s argument is given space." 2009 Emmy Award winner ("The General") Brendan Gleeson was cast as Martin Brown, the CIA station chief to whom Roy Miller turns when he believes there is no one else he can trust. "From my point of view, it’s good to have a CIA character that’s a good guy, after the Bourne movies," Greengrass said. The journalist who finds herself unknowingly serving as Poundstone’s mouthpiece is prominent Wall Street Journal writer Lawrie Dayne. Chosen to play the newswoman was performer Amy Ryan, introduced to many audiences in her much awarded breakout role as Helene McCready in Ben Affleck's acclaimed film, "Gone Baby Gone". By the spring of 2003, Dayne has become an expert on the subject of chemical warfare and is embedded in the Green Zone, where she is unwittingly being fed stories by the duplicitous Poundstone. "Lawrie spent the majority of her career writing about WMDs. Now, she is in a situation in Iraq where she’s searching for answers to something she’s believed in her whole professional life. This will be the biggest moment in Lawrie’s career, if she can be there when, and if, the WMDs are found." Khalid Abdalla ("The Kite Runner"), born in Glascow, Scotland to Egyptian parents (both are Doctors) was cast as Freddy, an unemployed Iraqi veteran who struggles with a prosthetic leg and a battered Toyota Corolla. Abdalla first worked with Greengrass when he gave everything in the role of hijacker Ziad Jarrah in "United 93". "The first time I heard about 93, I wanted nothing to do with it. I heard it was a film about 9/11, and thought, 'No, thank you.' But then I found out it was Paul, and I saw "Bloody Sunday" and I met him. It was clear to me that he wanted to make a film in the right way, and that he was an extraordinary person I could trust. Working with Paul is like being on a volcanic island, and I absolutely love it." Freddy eventually becomes MET D translator for Miller’s men. Still, translating the highly technical terms and regional-specific lingo was a challenge even for an actor who speaks fluent English, French and Arabic speaker. "The world that this film is situated in is very real," Abdalla offered . "You get to see Iraq in a way that most people haven’t. My advisor was brought up in Iraq and was in Baghdad for a good portion of the war, so stories have come to us through him in ways that we didn’t expect." British performer Jason Isaacs who played Mr Darling and Captain Hook in 2003's "Peter Pan" was cast as Lt Col Briggs, the Special Forces team leader who is out to rein in Miller. The actor appreciated the disciplined academic work that goes into a Greengrass film. "Paul’s films are meticulously researched," says Isaacs, who was bitten by the acting bug while at Bristol University where he graduated in 1985 with a Law Degree. "He has an incredible team around him who gave me a big package of documentary footage, YouTube clips, audio clips and books for my research. Useful as that was, though, it didn’t compare to the human resources on set." For those involved with making the film, the opportunity to work with the Iraq War veterans who portrayed MET D soldiers and other military personnel was one of the highlights of the shoot. The former soldiers took to the work like natural performers. For the fastidious Greengrass, nothing less would suffice. "Having the real soldiers was fantastic. It created a bedrock of believability and gave our central actors: Matt, Brendan, Greg, Amy, Khalid and Jason; the confidence to believe they’re in a very real situation." "These guys made it very easy for me," Damon notes, "because they know exactly what to do and they make it look like I’m delegating responsibility appropriately." Damon passed muster with his troops as well. "Matt’s just like us," commends first-time performer Paul Karsko, who went to Iraq in 2004 with the Air Force Reserves. Stationed in Tikrit, he worked convoy security in Iraq. Co-producer Michael Bronner ("United 93") reached out to American veterans groups to secure the appropriate people for the MET D team and other military roles. Bronner travelled to California, Illinois, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma and Washington DC, interviewing vets about their service in Iraq, as well as their interactions with Iraqi civilians. Marine Michael Dwyer, who fought in Fallujah in 2006 and was redeployed to Iraq in 2008, got into the mix by accident. "I just happened to be in the building when one of the casting sessions was going on in New York, and I thought I was signing up for membership in a veterans organization. I filled out a form, and the next thing you know, they say, 'Mr Bronner will see you now.' It was a pretty confused conversation. Fortunately, the vets got on with Greengrass as well as they did their new chief, Damon. "They have no tolerance for BS," says the 2002 Golden Berlin Bear winning director. What's The Story

Baghdad, Iraq 2003 in the immediate wake of the U.S. 'shock and awe' attack. The U.S. led occupation of Baghdad is now taking effect. Chief Warrant Officer Miller and his team of Army inspectors have been dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction, believed to be stockpiled in locations around the city. Looters, snipers, narrow alleyways and booby-traps are ever present. Mileer and his teams search for deadly chemical agents but instead, stumble upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission. Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, With the help of a Iraqi war verteran from the Iranian war named Freddy, 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. In this combustible setting, he will find the most elusive weapon of all is the truth.

The Verdict "Even if it is only inspired by real events from the US Armed Forces search for those elusive WMD'S, it's a breath of fresh air to at least be able to watch a film that cuts through the bullshit and says the bloody obvious, before history is re-written to justify the actions of those who invaded Iraq and left its population at the hands of madmen worse than Saddam Hussein. And Kudos to Greengrass for casting real US Iraq war veterans in the roles of MET D team members. Once again the highly decorated director teams with his go-to man and action hero, Matt Damon. Now, if you thought the pace in what we all thought was the last edition of the 'Bourne' franchise was frenetic at times, then buckle-up because "Green Zone" is twice as frantic and some cinemagoers may find their heads spinning a little from motion sickness. Thats because acclaimed 2010 Evening Standard British Film Award winning "The Hurt Locker" Cinematographer, Barry Ackroyd B.S.C., films much of the action with hand held cameras. And just in-case you think I might be feeding you a load of bullshit (like our illustrious leaders did regarding Saddam's WMD'S) about how far they went to ensure authenticity on the set: Chief Warrant Officer 4 Richard 'Monty' Gonzales, a twenty year veteran of the US Army and former WMD hunter, who came on-board as the production's military advisor; spent most of his days huddled at the monitor with the Greengrass and Damon hashing out what a real soldier would do in a given situation. The end result is a highly entertaining, engrossing and realistic cinematic experience. SOLID 4 STARS." Who's Playing Who?

Matt Damon Brendan Gleeson Greg Kinnear Khalid Abdalla Nicoye Banks Jerry Della Salla Sean Huze Michael O'Neill Allen Vaught Antoni Corone Tommy Campbell Raad Rawi Bijan Daneshmand Amy Ryan Driss Roukhe

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Miller Martin Brown Clark Poundstone Freddy Perry Wilkins Conway Colonel Bethel Colonel Jonathan Vaught Colonel Lyons Chopper Comms Commander Ahmed Zubaidi Zubaidi's Aide Lawrie Dayne Tahir al-Malik

The Production Team

Director Writer Producers Original Music Cinematography Film Editor Casting Art Direction Production Designer Set Decoration Costume Design

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Paul Greengrass Brian Helgeland Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Lloyd Levin John Powell Barry Ackroyd Christopher Rouse Daniel Hubbard/John Hubbard Amanda Mackey Johnson/Cathy Sandrich Mark Bartholomew/Jordan Crockett Frederic Evard/Mark Swain Dominic Watkins Lee Sandales Sammy Sheldon

Run Time 115 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2010 - Universal - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2010 The Movie Pages & impact Internet Services. All Rights Reserved. Protected by Australian and International Copyright. Trademark Laws and Intellectual Property Rights apply.