Foxx says Humanity why ‘Kingdom’ Comes in with $5.6 mil Opening Night
Hollywood Today chats with co-stars Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner
By Juontel White
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/29/07 – A strange thing happened on the way to the war. Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Gardner found a little humanity amidst the action in their new “The Kingdom,” which grossed an estimated $5.6 million on it Friday opening.
It was edged slightly by The Rock’s football comedy “The Game Plan,” which scored $5.7 million, though it won’t have the draw that Disney film will have on Saturday and Sunday with kids, so ‘Kingdom’ will come in No. 2 for the weekend.
Set in the Middle East, the Foxx-Gardner movie is about an elite FBI team sent to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to seek out the Arabian terrorists before they attack American workers in the city. Foxx plays the lead FBI agent overseeing the operation, while Gardner is a member of this elite team.
“Over there we got a chance to see the beauty of the culture,” said Foxx. “I think we should all take trips and go see how everybody lives,” as he focused on relating his visit to Saudi Arabia off the set to the deeper meaning of the movie rather than stressing about the tough job he had to do.
“I think what people got together and talked about is how they show Muslims in the movie,” Foxx continued. “It’s not the intensity that’s going on outside their doors but it was them eating and praying to their gods.”
According to Foxx, in America the media in the US portray the Middle East as where car bombs and hand grenades pop off every minute and there’s constant explosions, cement shards flying and crumbled ruins all around.
To Foxx, this diminishes the human element of the Arabian people because the world thinks of the Middle East as a war zone but fails to recognize that the people there still have to live everyday lives.
“Our views of how things are outside of our country are really based off what we see on TV,” said Foxx.
The movie was an eye-opener to Gardener, who admits that she had no idea how the turmoil began in the Middle East.
“I had to ask Ben, so what’s with the Shiites and the Kurds?,” she said.
Now with a basic understanding of the land dispute between the different ethnicities, thanks to hubby Ben Affleck, Gardner said the movie made her also think about the role of women in third world countries.
“You think about women’s rights and how they have to be a priority for all of us,” said Gardener in regards to the submissive roles women must play in Arabian society.
While shooting the movie Gardner got to act like a kid again, getting bruised and jumping and crashing on the floor.
“I’m thrown against the wall and crash on the floor. You think to yourself I’m a mother now I should be responsible but my stunt double and I are best friends and if she says it fun then I want to do it too,” Gardner said.
Gardener appreciates her upbringing as an American woman as she recalls, “I grew up in West Virginia and my parents didn’t have a lot of money but they made it a priority for us to have what they didn’t—so they shoved culture down our throats.”
From the symphony to the ballet to plays, going to see such things growing up gave Gardner “a real appreciation for theatre,” she said.
More than American culture, Foxx stresses the belief of travel and seeing the world.
“I think we should all take trips and go see how everybody lives,” said Foxx, who says he made an effort to appreciate Saudi Arabian culture during his stay.
He continued, “Less than 15 percent of Americans have passports but when you see how people are living you get a different perspective on life.”
The film is set to release nationally in October and received generally outstanding reviews.