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Lateif Jorephani: I'm retired now, but I ran a film production company and we had many clients overseas who we provided technical and creative services for, including a lot of clients in the Middle East, in particular a film studio owned by the Iraqi government. At the end of the 1970s – about '79 – the country of Iraq was ruled by Saddam Hussein. With the increase of the oil price, quadrupling in some cases, these countries suddenly had more money than they knew what to do with. Part of the Iraqi leadership drive was to use this money to modernise the country, and they thought the arts should do its bit to build the country as well. This official government studio had already been working on Arabic projects for the Middle-Eastern market, but the new leadership said, "No, you need to go out into the world so that international film-makers come and make projects here."
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Well, we'd worked on a series of projects with them before, but eventually said, "Look fellas, if you want to get into the international business you need to a lot more money." Their entire budget wouldn't cover one actor from Hollywood. So they went to the government, who said, "If you need the budget, fine." From that point on we had the go-ahead to do whatever it took. Unfortunately, having started in the late 70s, we hadn't counted on a full war breaking out in the exact location where we were making a war film.
When the Iraq-Iran war started, the leadership and the people thought it would be a couple of weeks. The Iranians had a different idea. They were going to fight. So we started the film, and then this thing happened and we said, "Look, it is absolutely impossible." They agreed at first and we stopped, but then suddenly we had the instruction from our client to carry on. We asked how, and they said, "Whatever it takes." The leadership of Iraq wanted it to appear that things were going on – business as usual. From my point of view, when my client tells me, You've got a contract; carry on," I can't refuse. Then I'm in the middle of families who are asking for their husbands and dads back.What other practical difficulties did the conflict present?
The practical difficulties of shooting in the middle of a war were huge. I had lorries leaving Shepperton studios full of war materials. They'd get as far as Turkey, who would say, "There is no way you are coming through." Customs officers would open lorries and see them full of guns, and the drivers who'd been driving for days would have to explain they were props that only fire blanks. It's very funny, really.
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I've been in this business 60 years and never done interviews, but over the past couple of weeks I have done a few about this film and all anybody wants to talk about is Saddam Hussein! Saddam Hussein was the leader of the country and he was dictator and he said yes or no to everything.But he was giving the go-ahead to decisions involved with the production?
Spending a lot of the country's money would have required him to say yes or no. But he was not a producer or anything like that. I need to make that clear.
Oh yes, and he loved it. Saddam Hussein was very interested in the arts. It wasn't a pet project, but it was part of his vision for his regime. He tried to infuse this into all areas of the country.The other presence that looms very large throughout the film is Oliver Reed. He's described at one point during the documentary as "a weapon of mass destruction". How great of a challenge did working with him actually present?
Oliver Reed – good old Olly, God rest his soul. You've read enough about him, I'm sure. He went off on his off days, and when he was in the public eye. It's the same as the way that Kylie Minogue puts on a skimpy dress and shows her vital statistics; it's a way of being in the public eye. I've known actors all my life, and there are some who are professional, do their job and go home. They don't want to become a celebrity, and I admire that. Then, for some, like Olly Reed, celebrity is unpaid publicity. You act silly and everyone will write about you. Next time someone hires you, you can ask for more money. It's the same old story. As an actor he was absolutely brilliant. He would be such a nuisance at nights, but come morning he was on set, on time, word perfect. He would even tell the director what to do on occasion.
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On the 2nd of August, 1990, the world woke up and the Iraqi army had taken Kuwait in six hours. That was the Gulf War number 2. Then Iraq occupied Kuwait. On the same day, the UN issued a sanction which made it illegal to contact Iraq, send anything there or receive anything from them. This made it impossible to promote the film, despite it having appeared at so many major film festivals – London, Venice, Cannes. Those sanctions lasted all those years, up until the third Gulf War and the occupation of Iraq. Because of this I couldn't risk pursuing anything to do with the film.Finally, was there any point throughout this wild process when you thought about cutting ties with the project?
Not really. You get infected with a kind of enthusiasm. Plus, British film technicians are incredible. Put them anywhere and they get on with it.Saddam Goes to Hollywood is on Channel 4 on Sunday 24th July at 8PM@a_n_g_u_sMore from VICE:The Meaning of Studio Ghibli's 'Spirited Away', the Best Animated Film of All TimeArise Sam Allardyce, England's Post-Brexit Saviour of ChoiceWhat Do Prisoners Think of the Labour Leadership Contest?