Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

September 13, 2012

Mideast protests: Origins of inflammatory film murky

The cast and crew of 'Innocence of Muslims' say they were misled as to the nature of the finished film.

By PHIL WILLON and REBECCA KEEGAN Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES - In a run-down theater on a seedy stretch of Hollywood Boulevard this summer, an independent movie made its debut. The acting was amateurish, the dialogue clunky and the costumes no better than those sold for Halloween. Even with a pretty young woman beckoning pedestrians inside, fewer than 10 people attended.

But three months later, the movie -- "Innocence of Muslims" -- would be blamed the world over for inciting mobs in Egypt and Libya. The movie was filmed and first released in Southern California, but much else about its origins remains a mystery.

A man who identified himself as an Israeli American filmmaker claimed in telephone calls to news outlets Tuesday that he made the movie with backing from wealthy Jewish donors, but there were indications Wednesday that the name and story he gave were false and that the movie was tied to a group of Middle Eastern Christians who live in the U.S. and hold extreme anti-Islamic views.

One activist from Riverside County said the film was produced by naturalized Americans who came from Arab countries. Steve Klein, who said he served as a script consultant, said that he and the producers originally called the movie "Innocence of Bin Laden" in hopes of drawing underground Islamic extremists in the Los Angeles area.

"The movie was only supposed to show in Hollywood," said Klein, who described himself as "an unsophisticated James Bond."

He added, "We passed out fliers at mosques around California where we knew there was a small percentage of terrorists. And the idea was to locate ... those folks who believed Osama bin Laden was a great guy and to try to get them to come to the movie."

Klein said the movie was filmed this year, but he would not reveal the shooting location or the names of the producers. "Innocence of Bin Laden" premiered at the Vine Theater in late June, according to three people with knowledge of the event. One said that the movie was notable for its terrible acting but did not seem anti-Muslim.

Less than two weeks later, a 14-minute trailer for the movie -- now called "Innocence of Muslims" -- was posted on YouTube by a user identifying himself as Sam Bacile. The scenes in the trailer portrayed the prophet Muhammad as a buffoon, suicidal, gay, lascivious and condoning of pedophilia.

"Every non-Muslim is an infidel. Their lands, their women, their children, are our spoils," Muhammad says in one scene. Characters refer to him as a "bastard" and in one scene, a veiled woman asks Muhammad to "put your head between my thighs."

A crew member told the Los Angeles Times the cast and crew were told the film was to be a war drama called "Desert Warrior." In his email interview with the Times, the crew member, who asked not to be identified, said the dialogue in the trailer that makes specific attacks against Islam was re-recorded after the actors left the set.

"The original actors said one word, and then the producer and editing team (whom I don't know) dubbed," he wrote. "It's unmistakable that most dubbed portions are a different voice than the original actor."

A statement released on behalf of the cast and crew deplored the movie and the deaths of the four Americans in Libya. It said those involved were duped.

"We are 100 percent not behind this film and were grossly misled about its intent and purpose. ... We are deeply saddened by the tragedies that have occurred," the statement read.

The trailer posted in July appears to have attracted little notice. But last week, a second version of the trailer was posted -- this time in Arabic. Morris Sadek, an Egyptian-American Christian activist who has been a virulent critic of Islam, began promoting the trailer on his Facebook page, saying that it revealed the "truth" about Muhammad's life.

(Continued on page 2)

Tweet