Updated: May 5, 2008
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Directed by Ridley Scott Written by William Monahan Leonardo DiCaprio - Ferris |
"In 6 weeks...I actually have to go to Washington DC and then to Morocco to do something called "Penetration [House of Lies] " with Ridley Scott"
Ferris was on assignment in the Middle East most of the time, so it fell to his boss, Ed Hoffman, to manage the details. Hoffman didn’t trust his colleagues to locate a body without thinking they had to notify a congressional committee or otherwise botching the job. But you could find someone in the military who was willing to do almost anything these days, so Hoffman contacted an ambitious colonel on the J-2 staff at Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida who had been helpful on other matters. He explained that he needed a favor, and an odd one at that. He required a white male, approximately six feet tall, early middle age, muscular enough to be believable as a case officer, but not so muscle-bound that he looked like a trigger-puller. The ideal candidate would be uncircumcised. --- And he had to be dead.
This scheme binds friend and foe in a web of extraordinary subtlety and complexity, and when it begins to unravel, Ferris finds himself flying blind into a hurricane. His only hope is the urbane head of Jordan's intelligence service--a man who might be an Arab version of John le Carré's celebrated spy, George Smiley. But can Ferris trust him? (fantasticfiction.co.uk)
5/6/08 - The film's title has changed to "House of Lies"
4/16/08 - Tamara's Preview report
4/16/08 - The IMDb BOL Board: "I just came back from that Pasadena screening and I gotta say, my friend and I both thoroughly enjoyed the film. Leo was great. As he usually always is. But, in my opinion, I really couldn't distinguish his character in this one to the one he played in Blood Diamond... except maybe a bit different in accent wise. Was it Oscar worthy? Definitely. But I doubt he'll win it. As for Russell Crowe, his screen time wasn't as much as Leo's but when he was on, he did entertain us. But not enough to even deserve a nomination. My friend and I both agreed that Mark Strong deserves a Supporting Actor nomination for his role and definitely deserves to win it [ed note: bolding mine. I love Mark Strong since Fever Pitch and our Friends in the North](well, depends on other nominees). The character probably had more to do with it but he definitely made his presence shown on screen. As for the movie itself... it was very well present[ed]. There were a lot of times when the whole audience was sitting at the edge of their seats. Movies about 150 minutes long but seriously, we didn't feel it, And yes, this movie will definitely be rated-R. Some scenes were... pretty gruesome. I do highly recommend the movie though. Definitely catch it on opening weekend." - Thanks, Cindy
Images of Russell and Leonardo on set at a German Leo EZ Board - Thanks, Penny - 9/20/07
9/1/07 - The SMH: Crowe and DiCaprio in new body of work - RUSSELL Crowe is teaming up with Leonardo DiCaprio in a new film about the Iraq war. Crowe, who was unable to watch his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs play in Sydney last night, is on set with DiCaprio in the United States. A spokesman for Crowe confirmed the Oscar winner has begun filming Body Of Lies, a film based on the story of a former war correspondent hired by the CIA to track down an al-Qaeda leader. "He couldn't be at the game because he's on set with DiCaprio - they're filming, " the spokesman said. -- (Error in the article on the two working together) - Thanks, Ivani
8/15/07 - MTV.com: Leonardo DiCaprio And Russell Crowe Will Be A Good 'Fit' In CIA Flick, Ridley Scott Hopes - Director plans to start shooting yet-untitled flick in Morocco soon. - Going head-to-head with DiCaprio, Russell Crowe has signed on to play a right-wing suit in the CIA who clashes with the young agent. "You'll see something different," Scott promised, referring to Crowe's knack for transforming himself. "We're still circling and deciding. I'll leave a lot to him and say, 'What do you want to do? Do you want to go thin? Glamorous? Fat? [Do you want to] eat too much or eat very little?' "We have that kind of conversation," Scott said of the star, who has previously been his leading man in "Gladiator," "A Good Year" and November's "American Gangster." "You give the audience a long list that's absolutely definitive as to who this character must be but, for the most part, that's bullsh--. What I think makes [Crowe] most engaging is that he can fit into anything. It's the same with Leo." - Thanks, Maria
Filming will take place at The Eastern Market in Washington DC
April 2007 - The Dallas Morning News (on the book) - Terrorists are in for a ruse awakening -- SPY THRILLER: Hell hath no fury like a CIA agent ambushed - "A CIA bureau chief named Hoffman and his Middle East field operative Roger Ferris are talking, about a third of the way through this masterly new spy novel by Washington Post journalist David Ignatius, about their plan to create a fictitious American spy who is found dead in al-Qaeda territory with documents on his body suggesting that the CIA has penetrated the terrorist organization. "Do you remember the KGB mastermind guy Karla in the le Carré novels?" Hoffman says. "Well, I've decided that Suleiman [the terrorist master planner who is the target of their plot] is al-Qaeda's Karla ... "After finishing this book, the sixth (and finest) by one of the country's most gifted journalists, I'd like to turn that statement around and say that David Ignatius is Suleiman's John le Carré. He has written a spy thriller so terrific that it will both chill you with the murderous inevitability of its convincing plot and cheer you with the hope, because the novel ends on a positive, fablelike note, that life might also be like that."
8/10/07 - The Washington Post: Lights! Camera! Capital! A Starry Season in D.C. - (Scroll) Thanks, Ivani
7/9/07 - Body of Lies at DiCaprio's site: "Leonardo recently signed on to the production of 'Body of Lies,' an upcoming Warner Brothers movie due to start filming in Morocco and Washington DC in late 2007. This will be Leonardo's first time working with director Ridley Scott. William Monahan is writing the screenplay for the movie which is based on a novel by David Ignatius. This will be Monahan's second project with Leonardo, fresh off of his Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay for 'The Departed.' 'Body of Lies' is about a journalist (DiCaprio), injured in the Iraq war, who is hired by the CIA to track down an Al Qaeda leader in Jordan who is suspected of planning a terrorist attack on the United States. 'Body of Lies' is due for release in 2008." (Russell is looking forward to working with him again (TQATD))
7/9/07 - Related (Body of Lies) Leonardo has a MySpace page for the environment - Here is his personal site
6/28/07 - Hollywood Reporter: Crowe joins the pack for Lies - "Twelve years after working together in the "The Quick and the Dead," Russell Crowe is in negotiations to reteam with Leonardo DiCaprio in "Body of Lies," a spy thriller that Ridley Scott is directing for Warner Bros. Pictures. (So what is it to be called? Penetration or Body of Lies?) - Thanks, Cindy
Cinema Blend: "...Body of Lies once had the unfortunate title of Penetration. Body of Lies is probably a better choice, but I'm disappointed that this is the last time I'll be able to use Penetration in a story title." - Thanks, Cindy
Thanks to an Oz fan - Two on Body of Lies (SPOILERS) - Whose lies are these? and an excerpt from the book
Russell will be playing a small supporting role in Body of Lies, which is to star Leo DiCaprio. He will portray Ed Hoffman.
In late August Russell will go to Washington DC and then Morocco to film Penetration, a Ridley Scott film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and based on the novel "Body of Lies." (Hear his talk with John Laws)
Washington Post review of the Novel Body of Lies.
Variety 3-12-06: While Monahan most recently drafted the Hong Kong hit "Infernal Affairs" into Martin Scorsese-directed drama "The Departed," he got his start as a screenwriter by scripting the Middle East-set pics "Tripoli" and "Kingdom of Heaven"' for Scott. With "Penetration," they reteam on a thriller that sends a CIA operative to Jordan to track a high-ranking terrorist. The spy is aided by the head of Jordan's covert operations in an uneasy alliance that leads to cultural and moral clashes between the men. WB exec veep Lynn Harris will shepherd the drama along with Scott Free's Michael Costigan.
Crowe - Upcoming films: Tenderness - Body of Lies - Nottingham - State of Play