Three Kings
Short description
Three Kings takes place in Iraq in March 1991, as American troops wait to go home after the Gulf War. Four soldiers, led by Special Forces captain Archie Gates, get hold of a map showing where gold looted from Kuwait has been hidden. They set out on their own secret expedition to take it, expecting an easy score. Instead, their trip through the Iraqi desert forces them to confront what the war has done to the country and its people.
David O. Russell wrote and directed the film, his third feature, following Spanking the Monkey (1994) and Flirting with Disaster (1996). George Clooney plays Gates, with Mark Wahlberg as Troy Barlow, Ice Cube as Chief Elgin and Spike Jonze as Conrad Vig. Cliff Curtis appears as Amir Abdullah and Nora Dunn as Adriana Cruz. The production, backed by Atlas Entertainment and Village Roadshow Pictures among others, cost about 75 million USD and took roughly 108 million USD worldwide.
Audience response was solid rather than enthusiastic: on IMDb the film holds 7.1/10 from around 187,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.6/10 from a far smaller base of 2,376 votes. A critics' rating of 8.2/10 from 131 reviews places professional assessment clearly above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- On the original film posters, director David O. Russell was also credited as the sole screenwriter, which caused great dissatisfaction from John Ridley, who had written the main elements of the plot in his version. As a result of a legal process, his rights were restored, and his name was included in the film’s credits. He wrote the screenplay with the sole purpose of testing his abilities, how quickly he could do it and then sell it. It took 7 days to write, and another 18 days later the screenplay was purchased by Warner Bros. studio.
- The film was officially banned from screening in Iraq.
- The author of the original screenplay, John Ridley, banned the publication of a novelization accompanying the film's release.
- The character of Archie Gates was written with Clint Eastwood in mind, but the director wanted a younger actor. George Clooney persistently offered his services, but Nicholas Cage was ultimately preferred, and his efforts were successful only after he signed a contract for another project.
- George Clooney combined work on the film with filming the series "ER". As a rule, he worked on the film set four days a week, with the remaining three days dedicated to the series.
- The voice of the helicopter pilot at the beginning of the film belongs to director David O. Russell.
- Director David O. Russell planned a re-release of the film in connection with the second Iraq War, but the studio abandoned the idea at the last moment in November 2004. The re-release was to be accompanied by a documentary short film, “Soldiers Pay,” which he had filmed specifically for the occasion.
- Sayed Mustafa Al-Kazwini, who played the fugitive Iraqi selling stolen cars from Kuwait to Major Gates, was actually tortured by Iraqi secret services in real life, as a result of which he lost an eye. He, like many other consultants and extras, was a refugee from Iraq, fleeing persecution by the Saddam Hussein regime.
- Matt Damon and Matthew McConaughey turned down the offer to play the role that ultimately went to Mark Wahlberg.
- The role of Major Archie Gates was offered to Nick Nolte, but the actor declined, stating that he was too old for it. Jeff Bridges also wanted to play this character, but was rejected due to the low box office receipts of his previous film, 'The Big Lebowski'.
- The propaganda leaflet with pictograms, held by the officer with a megaphone, was actually used during the Persian Gulf War, distributing appeals to Iraqi soldiers to surrender without resistance.
- Filming took place from November 12, 1998 to February 15, 1999.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
