Cyrus Nowrasteh (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: سیروس/کوروش نورسته ; ; born September 19, 1956) is an American-Iranian
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
,
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
, and
producer of film and television. He has worked on numerous television series and
made-for-TV movies
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
including ''
The Day Reagan Was Shot
''The Day Reagan Was Shot'' is a 2001 American made-for-television film drama film directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and co-produced by Oliver Stone. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss as Alexander Haig and Richard Crenna as Ronald Reagan, and co-stars Mi ...
,
Falcon Crest
''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the California ...
,
Into the West,'' and the controversial docudrama ''
The Path to 9/11
''The Path to 9/11'' is a two-part miniseries that aired in the United States on ABC television on September 10–11, 2006 and in other countries. The film dramatizes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the events lead ...
.'' He has also directed the theatrical features ''
The Stoning of Soraya M.
, image = The Stoning of Soraya M. US Poster.jpg
, alt =
, caption = U.S. theatrical release poster
, director = Cyrus Nowrasteh
, producer = Stephen McEveety John ShepherdTodd BurnsDiane Hendricks
, ...
'' (2009), ''
The Young Messiah
''The Young Messiah'' is a 2016 American biblical drama film directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and co-written by Betsy and Cyrus Nowrasteh, based on the novel '' Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt'' by Anne Rice. The film stars Adam Greaves-Neal, Sean Bean, ...
'' (2016), and
''Infidel'' (2020).
Early life and education
Nowrasteh was born on 19 September 1956, in
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...
, and grew up in
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...
. He is of
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
descent, and graduated from
Madison West High School
Madison West High School is a comprehensive four-year high school in Madison, Wisconsin, founded in 1930. Its athletics teams compete in the WIAA Big Eight Conference.
Madison West serves students from four municipalities: Madison, the town of M ...
in 1974 and was a city boys high school tennis champion. Nowrasteh attended
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...
on an athletic scholarship and later transferred to the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
to attend the
School of Cinematic Arts
The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Sc ...
, graduating in 1977.
Career
In 1986, Nowrasteh began his career by writing for the CBS television series ''
The Equalizer''. He went on to work on ''
Falcon Crest
''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the California ...
'' as a producer and story editor, and wrote the pilot for the
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
show ''
La Femme Nikita'' (1996). He made his directorial debut with the ''Veiled Threat'', a 1989 independent film based on the real-life murder of an Iranian journalist living in Orange County. The film was pulled from the
AFI Film Festival
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
after organizers received bomb threats, allegedly due to the film's criticism of anti-
Khomeni themes. Nowrasteh subsequently accused the AFI of buckling to "censorship" and claimed their pulling the film "killed" its chances at distribution.
He also worked on independent films such as the American/Brazilian production
''The Interview'' (1995), which played at
Sundance and on the
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
network; and ''Norma Jean, Jack and Me'' (1998), a film that was not theatrically released but played the festival circuit and aired on HDNet.
In 2001, Nowrasteh wrote and directed the highly rated, award-winning Showtime presentation ''
The Day Reagan Was Shot
''The Day Reagan Was Shot'' is a 2001 American made-for-television film drama film directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and co-produced by Oliver Stone. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss as Alexander Haig and Richard Crenna as Ronald Reagan, and co-stars Mi ...
'', which starred
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (; born Dreyfus; October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Jaws'' (1975), ''Close Encounters of the T ...
as
Alexander Haig
Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; December 2, 1924February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these c ...
and was executive produced by
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...
. The following year he wrote ''
10,000 Black Men Named George
''10,000 Black Men Named George'' is a 2002 Showtime TV movie about A. Philip Randolph and his coworkers Milton Webster and Ashley Totten. The title refers to the custom of the time when Pullman porters, all of whom were black, were addressed as ...
'', the story of the Pullman strike of the 1930s, for Showtime.
For both of the above films, Nowrasteh received the Pen USA West Literary Award for Best Teleplay—the only writer in the history of the Pen awards to win two years in a row in the same category. ''The Day Reagan Was Shot'' also received the Eddie Award and the Golden Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture for Television, 2001, as well as a SAG nomination for Best Actor (Richard Dreyfuss).
Nowrasteh wrote the "Manifest Destiny" episode of the highly regarded (16 Emmy nominations) Steven Spielberg and TNT miniseries presentation, ''
Into the West''.
Nowrasteh wrote and produced the controversial ABC miniseries ''The Path to 9/11''. He then went on to co-write (with his wife, Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh), and direct the film ''The Stoning of Soraya M.'', released in 2009 by Lionsgate Films.
''The Path to 9/11''
The 2006 ABC miniseries ''
The Path to 9/11
''The Path to 9/11'' is a two-part miniseries that aired in the United States on ABC television on September 10–11, 2006 and in other countries. The film dramatizes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the events lead ...
'' aired under much controversy. Critics said it fictionalized the lead-up to the
11 September 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
in order to direct blame to the Clinton administration. Although Nowrasteh's screenplay for ''
The Path to 9/11
''The Path to 9/11'' is a two-part miniseries that aired in the United States on ABC television on September 10–11, 2006 and in other countries. The film dramatizes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the events lead ...
'' was billed by the ABC network as having been "based on the
9/11 Commission Report
''The 9/11 Commission Report'' (officially the ''Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States)'' is the official report into the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was prepa ...
", there were accusations that the screenplay evidenced political bias because of its allegedly contrafactual portrayal of events.
[Edward Wyatt, ''New York Times''](_blank)
/ref>
Nowrasteh admitted dramatic license in the movie. However, he maintained that a certain amount of dramatic license must be allotted in the process of writing a dramatic script with a historical underpinning (see docudrama
Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event".
Docudramas typic ...
and biopic
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
). Although the precise conversations depicted in the script may never have taken place, he alleged that the general tone and content of events depicted in ''The Path to 9/11'' were true. When asked if he thought of the script as a "historical document," Nowrasteh has responded:
No, but I stand by the original version of the movie, and I stand by the edited version. ... There has to be conflation of events. The most obvious problem any dramatist faces is that of sheer length. I had to collapse the events of eight and a half years into five hours. I don't know any other way to do it except collapse, conflate, and condense.
Critics, including 9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks", includin ...
member Richard Ben-Veniste
Richard Ben-Veniste (born January 3, 1943) is an American lawyer. He first rose to prominence as a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. He has also been a member of the 9/11 Commission. He is known for his pointed questions and criti ...
pointed out that some scenes in the film were complete fabrications. Richard Miniter
Richard Miniter (born 1967) is an investigative journalist and author whose articles have appeared in Politico', ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Times'', ''The Washington Post'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The Atlantic Monthly'', ''N ...
, a conservative author and critic of the Clinton administration, said that a key scene with Sandy Berger
Samuel Richard "Sandy" Berger (October 28, 1945 – December 2, 2015) was an attorney who served as the 18th US National Security Advisor for US President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001 after he had served as the Deputy National Security Adviso ...
was based on "Internet myth": "If people wanted to be critical of the Clinton years there's things they could have said, but the idea that someone had bin Laden in his sights in 1998 or any other time and Sandy Berger refused to pull the trigger, there's zero factual basis for that."
Nowrasteh wrote about his work on ''Path To 9/11'' in an opinion piece in the opinionjournal.com
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
on 18 September 2006. He stated:
''The Path to 9/11'' was set in the time before the event, and in a world in which no party had the political will to act. The principals did not know then what we know now. It is also indisputable that Bill Clinton entered office a month before the first attack on the World Trade Center. Eight years then went by, replete with terrorist assaults on Americans and American interests overseas. George W. Bush was in office eight months before 9/11. Those who actually watched the entire miniseries know that he was given no special treatment.
Critics—including President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, Sandy Berger
Samuel Richard "Sandy" Berger (October 28, 1945 – December 2, 2015) was an attorney who served as the 18th US National Security Advisor for US President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001 after he had served as the Deputy National Security Adviso ...
, Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...
, former Clinton aides, an FBI agent who quit as a consultant to the film, 9/11 Commission co-chair Lee H. Hamilton, and some conservatives, including Bill Bennett
William Richards Bennett, (April 14, 1932 – December 3, 2015) was the 27th premier of British Columbia from 1975 to 1986. He was a son of Annie Elizabeth May (Richards) and former Premier, W. A. C. Bennett. He was a 3rd cousin, twice removed, ...
and John Fund
John H. Fund (born April 8, 1957) is an American political journalist. He is currently the national-affairs reporter for National Review Online
and a senior editor at ''The American Spectator''.
Life and career
Fund was born in Tucson, Arizona. ...
—asserted that the film contained inaccuracies such as its depiction of Clinton as so distracted by the Lewinsky scandal that he neglected the terrorism issue (although the 9/11 Commission Report states that "we have found no reason to question" the testimony of Clinton aides who claimed that the Lewinsky scandal had no bearing on national security considerations). Nowrasteh is quoted in the documentary ''Blocking the Path to 9/11'' as saying that his intention in depicting Clinton as "somewhat hamstrung" in his response to terrorism was, ironically, to make Clinton a more sympathetic figure.
In 2008, talk show host John Ziegler and producer David Bossie
David Norman Bossie (born November 1, 1965) is an American political activism, political activist. Since 2000, he has been president and chairman of conservative advocacy group Citizens United (organization), Citizens United and in 2016, Bossie w ...
of Citizens United
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
premiered a documentary co-produced, written and directed by Ziegler entitled ''Blocking The Path to 9/11'',[''Blocking The Path To 9/11'' - Credits](_blank)
''Blocking The Path To 9/11'' official website (accessed 21 September 2008)[Premiere of John Ziegler's Film Announced!!](_blank)
John Ziegler official website (accessed 2008-09-21)[Premiere of JZ's Film Ends With Standing Ovations](_blank)
John Ziegler official website (accessed 2008-09-21) revisiting the controversy behind the ABC miniseries.
''The Stoning of Soraya M.''
''The Stoning of Soraya M.
, image = The Stoning of Soraya M. US Poster.jpg
, alt =
, caption = U.S. theatrical release poster
, director = Cyrus Nowrasteh
, producer = Stephen McEveety John ShepherdTodd BurnsDiane Hendricks
, ...
'' ( fa, .سنگسار ثريا م) is a 2008 American drama film adapted from French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam
Freidoune Sahebjam (Persian language, Persian: ) (1933–2008) was a French-Iranian journalist, war correspondent, and novelist who resided in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France.
He gained international recognition for his novel ''La Femme Lapidé ...
's 1994 book of the same name based on the true story of a woman falsely convicted of adultery in Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and subsequently stoned to death. The film version was directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and written by Nowrasteh and his wife, screenwriter Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh. It stars Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo
Shohreh Aghdashloo ( fa, شهره آغداشلو, ; née Vaziri-Tabar (); 11 May 1952) is an Iranian and American actress. Following numerous starring roles on the stage, she made her film debut in ''Chess of the Wind'' (1976). Her next two film ...
, as well as James Caviezel
James Patrick Caviezel Jr. (; born September 26, 1968) is an American film and television actor who played Jesus Christ in ''The Passion of the Christ'' (2004) and starred as John Reese on the CBS series ''Person of Interest'' (2011–2016). He ...
and Mozhan Marnò
Mozhan Marnò (born May 3, 1980) is an Iranian-American film and television actress. She is known for her roles in ''The Blacklist'' and ''House of Cards''.
Early life and education
Marnò was born in Los Angeles. Her parents are from Iran an ...
.
Because of its highly critical attitude toward the Iranian legal system, the controversial book, an international bestseller, was banned in Iran. Likewise, the film version of The Stoning of Soraya M.
, image = The Stoning of Soraya M. US Poster.jpg
, alt =
, caption = U.S. theatrical release poster
, director = Cyrus Nowrasteh
, producer = Stephen McEveety John ShepherdTodd BurnsDiane Hendricks
, ...
, even before its release, made its way onto a list of American films that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدینژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956), deemed offensive and for which he demanded an apology. But the film's release also drew enough attention to the issue of stoning in Iran that it sufficiently embarrassed the Iranian authorities into announcing consideration of a ban on stoning and other harsh legal punishments.
Writing in ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', John Jurgensen said the film was shot over six weeks in a mountain village in Jordan. The stoning sequence itself took six days to shoot. Jurgensen reports that "some human-rights advocates call the film inaccurate and sensationalistic," but that director Cyrus Nowrasteh responds, "A movie like this needs to be absolutely uncompromising in its approach. The subject demands it."
The film had its world premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
, where it won Runner-up for the Audience Choice Award. It also won Second Runner-up for the Cadillac People's Choice Award, as well as the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival
The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...
. The film also won the Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award, and the 2009 Ghent Film Festival's Canvas Audience Award. At the 2009 Satellite Awards
The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...
, it was named one of the year's Top Ten Films and nominated for Best Drama Film, while its star Shohreh Agdashloo won Best Actress in a Drama.
In 2010, the film was hailed as one of Movieguide
Millard Robert E. Theodore Baehr (born 1946) is an American media critic and chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, a division of Good News Communications, Inc. He is publisher and editor-in-chief of ''Movieguide'', a website ...
's Ten Best 2009 Movies for Mature Audiences and was the co-winner, with Invictus
"Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''.
Backgr ...
, of Movieguide's Faith and Freedom Award for Promoting Positive American Values for 2009. It also shared, with "Women in Shroud," the Cinema for Peace
The Cinema for Peace Foundation is a registered, non-profit organization based in Berlin, Germany. It supports film-based projects dealing with global humanitarian and environmental issues, and coordinates the Cinema for Peace awards.
History
The ...
Award for Justice in conjunction with the Berlin Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
and won Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards
The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...
.
''The Young Messiah''
Nowrasteh directed the biblical drama ''The Young Messiah
''The Young Messiah'' is a 2016 American biblical drama film directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and co-written by Betsy and Cyrus Nowrasteh, based on the novel '' Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt'' by Anne Rice. The film stars Adam Greaves-Neal, Sean Bean, ...
'', which was released on 11 March 2016. The story was adapted by Cyrus and Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh from Anne Rice's ''Christ the Lord'', and was produced by 1492 Pictures
1492 Pictures is an American film production company founded by Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe and Michael Barnathan in 1994. The name is a play on Columbus's more famous namesake, Christopher Columbus, and his 1492 landing in the Americas. In a ...
and Ocean Blue Entertainment in association with CJ E&M Film Division. The film was distributed by Focus Features. The project had a jump start in early 2013 but was shut down in preproduction and was seemingly dead. Then in late 2014, the project was resurrected thanks to the efforts of Tracy K. Price and Bill Andrew, along with Italian producer Enzo Sisti. Filmed in Matera
Matera (, ; Materano: ) is a city in the region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy.
As the capital of the province of Matera, its original settlement lies in two canyons carved by the Gravina River. This area, the Sassi di Matera, is a comple ...
and Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, the plot follows Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
at age seven, when he returns to Nazareth and learns about his true place as the son of God.
On 10 December 2015, Nowrasteh was interviewed on EWTN
The Eternal Word Television Network, more commonly known by its initials EWTN, is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic-themed programming. It is not only the largest Catholic television network in ...
by Raymond Arroyo. Nowrasteh said of the film: "This is really a movie about a family and we take you inside the Holy Family."
''Infidel''
Nowrasteh's wrote, directed, and produced the 2020 film ''Infidel'', a political thriller about an American journalist (played by Jim Caviezel
James Patrick Caviezel Jr. (; born September 26, 1968) is an American film and television actor who played Jesus Christ in ''The Passion of the Christ'' (2004) and starred as John Reese on the CBS series ''Person of Interest'' (2011–2016). He ...
) held captive by the Iranian regime. Nowrasteh cited several real world instances of American nationals imprisoned by the Iranian government, including Xiyue Wang and Robert Levinson
Robert Alan Levinson (March 10, 1948 – presumed death before March 25, 2020) was an American former Drug Enforcement Administration (1970–1976) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (1976–1998) agent who disappeared on March 9, 2007, in Kish ...
. One of the film's producers was right-wing pundit Dinesh D’Souza
Dinesh Joseph D'Souza (; born April 25, 1961) is an Indian-American Right-wing politics, right-wing political commentator, author, filmmaker, and conspiracy theorist. He has written over a dozen books, several of them The New York Times Best S ...
, who had previously produced several political documentaries including '' 2016: Obama's America'', '' Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party'', and '' Death of a Nation''. ''Infidel'' is his first narrative film.
The film was shot on-location in Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, where Nowrasteh previously shot ''Soraya M.'' On his website, Nowrasteh stated the Jordanian film commission kept its filming secret for fear of objections from the Iranian government, and the film had heavy security. When the Iranian government did become aware of Nowrasteh being in Amman to film and voiced its displeasure to the Jordanian government.
The story centers on a Christian underground inside Iran, led primarily by women. They work together in the film with Muslims who are also in opposition to the Iranian regime, by helping the main character, Doug Rawlins (portrayed by Jim Caviezel) and his wife, Liz (played by Claudia Karvan). Another actress was set to play Liz but left the film only weeks before filming due to a conflicting commitment. Karvan was recommended by Caviezel who worked with her on ''Long Weekend'' (2008).
Upcoming projects
Among Nowrasteh's upcoming projects were reportedly to be film adaptations of Thomas Tessier's book ''The Nightwalker'' and ''The Last Campaign'', Thurston Clarke
Thurston Clarke (born 1946) is an American historian, author and journalist.
Education and career
Clarke was educated at Yale University, Columbia University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
Clarke is the author of thirt ...
's account of Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
's 1968 presidential campaign.
His most notable other project is a film about Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
entitled ''The Battle of New Orleans
"The Battle of New Orleans" is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood. The song describes the Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier; the song tells the tale of the battle with a light tone and provides a rather comical ver ...
''. He is partnered with producer/manager Alan Siegel and Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as ''Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never Di ...
has expressed interest in portraying Jackson who led a ragtag army in defeating the British at on January 8th, 1815.
Personal life
Nowrasteh is married to screenwriter Elizabeth ("Betsy") G. Nowrasteh (born 1953). They have two sons, Alex
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis.
People
Multiple
*Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
* Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...
and Mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Fi ...
.
Nowrasteh is a Christian.
Political orientation
Nowrasteh received criticism from conservatives for an alleged "liberal bias" in his Showtime film, ''The Day Reagan Was Shot
''The Day Reagan Was Shot'' is a 2001 American made-for-television film drama film directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and co-produced by Oliver Stone. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss as Alexander Haig and Richard Crenna as Ronald Reagan, and co-stars Mi ...
''. Former Reagan National Security Advisor, Richard Allen, led the charge with a piece in ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' (14 December 2001), accusing Nowrasteh and Executive Producer Oliver Stone of "yet another dubious Oliver Stone production" and referring to it as "The Day They Shot the Truth." Mr. Allen based his piece on tapes he had kept from that day, releasing only six minutes to support his position. Nowrasteh responded in the ''Los Angeles Times'' (24 December 2001) and a letter to the editor in the ''Wall Street Journal'' (2 January 2002), "the clear solution is to have Allen release the entire unedited tape and allow anyone to make the comparisons and draw whatever conclusions seem warranted." Nowrasteh concluded his ''Los Angeles Times'' piece by writing, "''The Day Reagan Was Shot'' provides the first-ever dramatization of a constitutional crisis and government cover-up (both amply supported by facts) and the threat they pose to a nation when a president becomes incapacitated. This is important and relevant and raises issues that should be discussed openly."
''Los Angeles Times'' TV critic Howard Rosenberg, in a review entitled, "Film on Reagan Shooting Plays Loose With Facts," wrote that Nowraseth's script "in some key areas collides head-on with other accounts." Rosenberg added:
In the movie, also, the perceived Soviet nuclear threat turns out to be a harmless simulation by the North American Aerospace Defense Command. However, NORAD conducted no such operations that day, ational security advisor Richard V.Allen says in one of the documentaries. When apprised of that, Nowrasteh said he had based that part of his script on "circumstantial" evidence.
As for the hospital intruder who reaches Reagan's bedside, Nowrasteh said he's certain that happened and that he read of it in ''Washingtonian'' magazine. Even if didn't happen, though, it plays well, which is all that really matters.
Nowrasteh was likewise criticized by liberals for an alleged "conservative bias" in his controversial ABC docudrama ''The Path to 9/11
''The Path to 9/11'' is a two-part miniseries that aired in the United States on ABC television on September 10–11, 2006 and in other countries. The film dramatizes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the events lead ...
'', which he wrote and co-produced. Nowrasteh describes himself as more libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
than either conservative or liberal.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
Film Fest Gent
Film Fest Ghent, spelt Film Fest Gent in Flemish and also known as International Film Fest Gent, is an annual international film festival in Ghent, Belgium. The festival held its first edition in 1974, under the name Internationaal Filmgebeuren ...
* 2009 Grand Prix for Best Film: ''The Stoning of Soraya M.'' (nominated)
LA Film Festival
The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...
* 2009 Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature: ''The Stoning of Soraya M.'' (won)
PEN Center USA
PEN Center USA was a branch of PEN, an international literary and human rights organization. It was one of two PEN International Centers in the United States, the other being the PEN America in New York City. On March 1, 2018, PEN Center USA unifi ...
* 2002 Literary Award for Best Teleplay: ''The Day Reagan Was Shot'' (won)
* 2003 Literary Award for Best Teleplay: ''10,000 Black Men Named George'' (won)
Prêmio Guarani
* 1996 Best Screenplay: ''The Interview'' (nominated)
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
* 2008 People's Choice Award
The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...
: ''The Stoning of Soraya M.'' (nominated)
References
Bibliography
The Path to Hysteria
– Nowrasteh's response to critics
Dissection of Nowrasteh's "response" to critics
* Nico Pitney Nico Pitney (born 1981) is an American journalist, editor and media executive who has helped lead several prominent left-leaning media outlets, including ''HuffPost'' and ''NowThis.''
Pitney was born in Tokyo and attended the University of Californ ...
,
Writer of ABC's 9/11 'Docudrama' Is Avowed Conservative Activist
" Think Progress, 1 September 2006.
* Doug Moe,
West grad's 9/11 film stirs storm
" ''The Capital Times'' (Madison, Wisconsin), 2 September 2006.
* Cyrus Nowrasteh,
The Path to 9/11: Committing the Truth
" Written By (WGA)
* Cyrus Nowrasteh,
A Path to 9/11
" ''Wall Street Journal''
*
TORONTO ‘08 DISCOVERY INTERVIEW, 'The Stoning of Soraya M' Director Cyrus Nowrasteh
*
''Persian Heritage'' Magazine Interviews Cyrus Nowrasteh
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nowrasteh, Cyrus
1956 births
American male screenwriters
Living people
Writers from Madison, Wisconsin
New Mexico State University alumni
USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni
American writers of Iranian descent
Writers from Boulder, Colorado
Film directors from Colorado
Film directors from Wisconsin
Screenwriters from Wisconsin
Screenwriters from Colorado
Madison West High School alumni