FILM: Rajiv Chandrasekaran's Baghdad account headed for screen (CORRECTION)

CORRECTION: Rajiv Chandrasekaran wrote us to say that there is no budget for the film adaptation of his book, and that there isn't even a formal deal between Universal and director Paul Greengrass. We'd cited a $50 million budget as per an article in India Abroad.

Revised post follows, without a budget (or certitude)...

SAJAer and Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran's highly acclaimed "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone" may be turned into a film, to be directed by Paul Greengrass (United 93). Currently, Greengrass is working on the $100 million Bourne Ultimatum, with Matt Damon. From Variety:

According to insiders, pic will be "more scripted" in advance than "United 93," whose screenplay evolved from Greengrass' treatment during production.

Greengrass is on the record as scathingly critical of what he sees as the U.S.' blunders in Iraq, describing the invasion as "the most calamitous decision of our generation."

Rajiv isn't saying too much about the project, but he told SAJAforum he's "thrilled that a director as accomplished as Paul Greengrass wants to turn 'Imperial Life in the Emerald City' into a movie. Paul is a brilliant guy, and he has a very compelling vision for the project."

In Rediff, Arthur Pais says Greengrass is well-suited for the material:

Four years ago, his low-budget film Bloody Sunday, a dramatisation of the Irish civil rights protest march in Northern Ireland and subsequent massacre by British troops in 1972, became an art-house hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland and North America. It also had a good run in Europe after winning the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival. And United 93, which was made for about $25 million, received some of the best reviews last year and grossed an impressive $70 million worldwide.

Pais also predicts many little roles for Indian and Pakistani actors, especially for kitchen scenes. A Hollywood crossover for a sultry but sensitive cook, played by Shilpa Shetty perhaps?

 

Check out SAJAforum's earlier interview with Rajiv Chandrasekaran.