Premiering Sept. 7 on HBO, "My Trip to Al-Qaeda" is a documentary based on journalist and author Lawrence Wright's one-man show of the same name. Composed largely of Wright performing his piece in front of an audience, "My Trip to Al-Qaeda" chronicles his personal experience researching and investigating al-Qaida and Sept. 11 for his Pulitzer Prize–winning book, "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11"—a tome that has since become the go-to reference on the subject. Wright had previous experience with filmmaking: He had written screenplays for political films such as "Noriega: God's Favorite" and the 1998 Denzel Washington–starrer "The Siege." That film's plot revolved around terrorist attacks that lead the U.S. to declare martial law and place Arab-Americans in detention camps.Imbued with personal reflections as well as a journalist's eye, "My Trip to Al-Qaeda" offers invaluable insight into the historical occurrence, telling the tale in an intimate and humane way.
- 9/1/2010
- backstage.com
For better or worse -- but mostly for better -- we're living in the age of the stage documentary. It's been pelting us like a hailstorm ever since Anna Deavere Smith introduced Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities, which examined an inflammatory New York City inter-racial incident. By now, the list is long -- featuring, prominently, Smith's recent Let Me Down Easy about the healthcare issue and a series of David Hare pieces, including his Israeli-Palestinian monologue, Via Dolorosa, and his investigative look at the current financial crisis, The Power of Yes. In the past, we've had The Exonerated and Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom. Coming our way from London is Lucy Prebble's Enron. And that's hardly the entire roster. Although billed as plays, these theatrical entries aren't that. They're news reports outfitted with theatrical...
- 3/11/2010
- by David Finkle
- Huffington Post
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