JAMIE FOXX - THE KINGDOM IS A BIG HIT IN THE MIDDLE EAST

JAMIE FOXX film THE KINGDOM has become the year's biggest movie in the Middle East, where the action thriller is set. Director Peter Berg took a huge risk and filmed much of the espionage movie in the United Arab Emirates, becoming the first western filmmaker to shoot extensively in the area. And his decision has paid off - much of the film's success has come from the Middle East market. Berg says, "It's the number one film in every country in the Middle East except Kuwait, who banned the movie. "I don't know who banned it, who their Minister of Cultural Affairs is or whether it was one of their princes or a sheikh there but somebody took offence to it. "But, hey, we just got word it's the number one film in Saudi Arabia, where they don't have movie theatres, just DVDs." And the director is convinced the film has been so well received in the Middle East - because it doesn't vilify Arabs, like other Hollywood movies. He adds, "I think that anytime you make a film that deals with the Muslim religion, the sentiments are high in the Middle East. It's the most balanced film because it has Arab characters trying to fight terrorism."