LAHORE: Liev Schreiber is a straightforward actor — if he likes the script, he will do it but if the story doesn’t lure him in, he will not be a part of it.
He is currently in India promoting his project, The Reluctant Fundamentalist — a tale of a young Pakistani chasing corporate success on Wall Street — a film he describes as a thriller. It will tickle the viewers’ minds and give them something to think about, he says. The movie is slated for release in Pakistan, finally, on May 24.
“I don’t want to minimise the impact of 9/11; 99% of the reactions to the tragedy seemed reasonable, but there was a level of prejudice,” says Schreiber, giving some background to the issue the movie is based on. “Witnessing some of the decisions that were taken, I think if anything, this film will shed a different light [on this event] and encourage conversation.”
The actor feels Pakistan has been misrepresented to the world — it’s been shown as a dangerous place that shares a border with a terrorist hub like Afghanistan. “I would have liked to visit Lahore because it was the place we represented in the movie,” he says, adding that he is no expert on the country’s political situation and has never visited the land.
“I grew up in Canada, which has a huge Pakistani population and my hometown itself, was about 90% Pakistani,” he admits. “There are thousands of Pakistanis I knew growing up and with whom I went to school with.” He strongly believes that “people are people” and this is why he chose to do this film. “We have to take time out and understand each other; build better friendships and relationships,” he adds.
The film’s director Mira Nair has brought together actors from different ethnicities onto one screen and that is what makes the project special for Schreiber. “When we were shooting in Delhi, the idea that we as actors have an understanding even though we don’t speak the same language, was somehow reinforced in my mind,” he continues. “We do exactly the same things, as far as our work goes.”
“What I found unbelievably comforting is that for actors, there is a common thread regarding culture and about how we go about our work — it excludes political ideals,” adds the actor.
In his shoes
Schreiber doesn’t really need any introduction — he started off his career as an indie actor but went on to be a part of numerous acclaimed movies such as Hamlet, Twilight and the X-Men Origins: Wolverine, to name a few.
He feels that if you want to make a film that will spark a conversation amidst a group of people on that specific topic, then you need to be able to connect with those people on the same level. After that, “the internet can take care of it,” he laughs. “And if no one makes them [these kind of movies], then no one will see them.”
“The global nature and direction that this business is going in, the seamlessness in which films can be shown in the US, then in Pakistan and India at the same time, is fantastic,” he says. “For us, it’s an unbelievably exciting journey. Growing up, I remember we would always hear about the amount of films that were coming out of Pakistan and India and that the industry had doubled the output North America was producing.” He admits it seemed “exotic and wondered what they might be doing different.”
Liev Schreiber is set to host Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival, when it returns to New York City this summer. The event will be held June 22 at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.
Tropfest began 21 years ago in Sydney, Australia, and now attracts more than 150,000 people annually. It has since expanded into a worldwide event with screenings held in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. Last year’s debut U.S. event brought more than 10,000 film fans to New York’s Bryant Park.
The move to Brooklyn will allow for an expanded festival that, in addition to a lineup of top-notch short films, will feature music, food, and art installations.
“Tropfest New York is an incredible opportunity for emerging filmmakers to have their work seen by a huge audience, along with a judging panel that shares their passion for film,” Schreiber said. “I’m very pleased to host this year’s New York event, and to be part of bringing Tropfest across the bridge to Brooklyn.”
Many of Australia’s most notable actors act as industry ambassadors for the festival, including Schreiber, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Anthony LaPaglia, Charles Randolph, and Geoffrey Rush.
Stage and screen star Liev Schreiber lends his formidable chops to the cast of the forthcoming film THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST, also starring Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson and Kiefer Sutherland.
“Looks can be deceiving, I am a lover of America,” says Changez (Ahmed), a Pakistani man with big dreams. “You say guilty people hide. So do people who feel hunted.”
“Yes, I am Pakistani. Yes, I am Muslim. But, that is not all I am,” Changez resolutely proclaims at the trailer’s conclusion.
Exploring the volatile political landscape of both pre- and post-9/11 America, THE REULCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST looks to be a particularly applicable film for the topics and issues most needed to be addressed today insofar as racism and racial profiling are concerned.
IFC Films describes THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST as such:
“We begin in 2011 in Lahore. At an outdoor café a Pakistani man named Changez (Riz Ahmed) tells Bobby (Liev Schreiber), an American journalist, about his experiences in the United States. Roll back ten years, and we find a younger Changez fresh from Princeton, seeking fortune and glory on Wall Street. The American Dream seems well within his grasp, complete with a smart and gorgeous artist girlfriend, Erica (Kate Hudson). But when the Twin Towers are attacked, a cultural divide slowly begins to crack open between Changez and Erica. Changez’s dream soon begins to slip into nightmare: profiled, wrongfully arrested, strip-searched and interrogated, he is transformed from a well-educated, upwardly mobile businessman to a scapegoat and perceived enemy. With time, he begins to hear the call of his own homeland. Taking us through the culturally rich and beguiling worlds of New York, Lahore and Istanbul, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a story about conflicting ideologies where perception and suspicion have the power to determine life or death.”
THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST was directed by Mira Nair, based on the best-selling novel Mohsin Hamid. It is set for release on April 26.
View the newly-released trailer for the film below.
Liev and Naomi attended the 85th Academy Awards last night, and Liev was gracious enough to send some tweets as they were on their way to the red carpet!
Liev and Naomi attended the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on the 27th January 2013. Naomi was nominated for an Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and the couple also got the chance to present some awards on the night.
Liev and Naomi arrive at the Audi Golden Globe 2013 kick off cocktail party held at Cecconi’s Restaurant on January 6, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.
Liev looked drool-worthy in a shiny, sharp suit as he posed for pictures.
Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman is honored at the Museum of the Moving Image’s 27th annual Salute Dec. 11 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York.
Scheduled to appear at the Salute are Anne Hathaway, former MMI Salutee Mike Nichols, Rachel Weisz, Liev Schreiber, Universal’s Ron Meyer, Fox’s Jim Gianopulos and many of Jackman’s fellow cast members from the upcoming film adaptation of Les Misérables.
Carl Goodman, the Museum’s executive director, said in an earlier statement, “We are thrilled to be honouring one of the world’s most beloved and talented performers.”
'To see a world in a grain of sand,
And heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.'
William Blake
Sonnet No. 130
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks:
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go,
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
And yet by heaven I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
No Pap Crap!
This is a Paparazzi-free site. We respect the right for Liev and his family to have some measure of privacy. We humbly encourage others to do the same.
LAHORE: Liev Schreiber is a straightforward actor — if he likes the script, he will do it but if the story doesn’t lure him in, he will not be a part of it. He is currently in India promoting his project, The Reluctant Fundamentalist — a tale of a young Pakistani chasing corporate success on […]
Liev Schreiber stars as the titular character in Showtime’s newest original drama Ray Donovan, playing a fixer for the Hollywood elite forced to juggle his demanding (and often violent) job as he navigates the land mines that exist within his own family. When his father, Mickey (Jon Voight), is unexpectedly released from prison, Ray’s life […]
Liev Schreiber is set to host Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival, when it returns to New York City this summer. The event will be held June 22 at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Tropfest began 21 years ago in Sydney, Australia, and now attracts more than 150,000 people annually. It has since expanded into a […]
Stage and screen star Liev Schreiber lends his formidable chops to the cast of the forthcoming film THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST, also starring Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson and Kiefer Sutherland. “Looks can be deceiving, I am a lover of America,” says Changez (Ahmed), a Pakistani man with big dreams. “You say guilty people hide. So do […]
Liev and Naomi attended the 85th Academy Awards last night, and Liev was gracious enough to send some tweets as they were on their way to the red carpet! Check out the gallery here for all the pics! http://lievschreiber.net/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=7780 Also, check out Liev’s twitter @LievSchreiber for his update, or look to the right column further […]
On the 30th January, Liev was finally verified on twitter! For those who wish to follow him, his username is @LievSchreiber, changed from @rossrhea1. He is also still in LA filming Ray Donovan, and tweeted this picture of himself training! […]
Liev and Naomi attended the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on the 27th January 2013. Naomi was nominated for an Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and the couple also got the chance to present some awards on the night. […]
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