::: George Christy ::: From the Beverly Hills Courier

Enthusiastic responses embraced Khaled HosseiniÕs evocative The Kite Runner, immediately appearing, as it did, on the New York Times bestseller list in 2003. Not only were there early admirers of the novel, more and more readers enthused, and word-of-mouth enlisted devotees among the thousands. The Kite Runner continues to remain on bestseller lists around the globe, both in hardcover and paperback Ð a stratospheric four-year sales record for a work of lyrical fiction. Born in 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan, where his father was a diplomat and mother a high school teacher, Hosseini immigrated with his parents to the United States in 1980, studied medicine in San Diego, and practiced at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center before moving to San Jose, where other Afghani compatriots live. His second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, published this year, soared onto bestseller-dom Ð his storytelling magic again establishing emotional realities that grab the reader. The Kite Runner illuminates the distinctive cultures of Afghanistan during the Õ70s, a narrative of nearly 30 years suffused with guilt, friendship, forgiveness, loss, the yearning for atonement. It reflects universal experiences that rise above ethnic, cultural or religious differences. ÒPowerful ... and one of the most cinematic pieces of literatureÓ was the consensus of producers William Horberg and Rebecca Yeldham, who read The Kite Runner before publication, with author Isabel Allende assessing that Òeverything I read after that seemed bland.Ó Horberg and Yeldham soon invited Walter Parkes, who was stepping down from DreamWorks, to be their producing partner. They then filmed The Kite Runner on location in Western China, which substituted for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and in San Francisco. Twenty-eight countries were represented with the cast and crew, with dozens of languages spoken that sometimes necessitated charades for communication. Skillfully directed by Marc Forster, gracefully adapted from the novel by David Benioff and masterfully photographed by Roberto Schaefer, The Kite Runner looms as a likely candidate for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Paramount Vantage releases it in mid-December Ð the delay is prompted by the studioÕs concern for the safety of the several Afghan families, whose fifth-grader sons are in the movie. With the school semester ending next month, the studio is relocating those families to Dubai. A rape scene by a brutal bully with one of the young actors could spark disturbances from fanatics. The night before the Paramount Vantage screening at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre, public relations veteran Dale Olson took over the Raleigh Theatre for an intimate, meet-the-cast screening and light supper, assisted by the studioÕs special events planner Elizabeth Tramontozzi. The author and the adults from the cast greeted Renee Taylor and Joe Bologna with their son Gabe, Florence Henderson, Sandra Moss, Neile Adams McQueen, Doris Roberts, Roxanne and Jack Carter, Lainie Kazan, Marvin Paige, Karen and Kat Kramer, 42 WestÕs Lauren Robinson, who IÕll walk down the aisle on her wedding day, Paramount VantageÕs Chelsey Summey, Natasha Pietruschka (in hot Gucci shoes), Adam Wu. All were quietly moved by HosseiniÕs tale of soaring kites and class tensions that inflame the plot. They praised the fine performances by Khalid Abdalla as the adult Amir, Homayoun Ershadi as his father Baba, Atoosa Leoni as AmirÕs wife, Zekiria Ebrahimi as the young Amir, Elham Ehsas and Abdul Salam Yusoufzai as the young and adult Assefs, Shaun Toub, Nabi Tanha. This Herculean task of casting is credited to Kate Dowd, who searched schools, orphanages and playgrounds of bomb-scarred Kabul to find the talented youngsters. ÒThe studio planned to shoot the film in English,Ó says Marc Forster, Òbut I just didnÕt see two 11-year-olds in Afghanistan in the Õ70s speaking English to each other.Ó Marc next helms Bond 22 with Daniel Craig. YouÕll be won over by the charismatic 11-year-old Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada, as natural and engaging an actor as one could hope for. He was discovered after school, working behind the counter in his fatherÕs sweets shop. Like other classmates, Ahmad practices kite-flying Ð it seems to be in the Afghani genes, along with a passion for soccer. Khalid Abdalla, a Londoner of Egyptian heritage, winningly plays the adult guilt-ridden author Amir, who returns to Afghanistan from San Francisco while there still is Òa way to do good.Ó Preparing for his role, Khalid spent a month in Afghanistan, immersing himself in the customs of the country and the Dari language, which he speaks fluently in the film. ÒI even received first-hand lessons in kite-flying, a major sport, as the audience observes in the movie.Ó American Gangster packs a wallop of a punch, best described as a Harlem Godfather, and destined to be a contender for Best Picture. The film mines Oscar gold, with anticipated nominations for Best Actors. Denzel Washington is commanding in a bravura role as HarlemÕs heroin king, Frank Lucas, smuggling the cheaper-but-more-potent drug from Thailand in the caskets of American soldiers who lost their lives in Vietnam. Russell Crowe stands out as the New Jersey police officer Richie Roberts who nails the entrerprenurial Lucas, and years later becomes his defense attorney and releases him from prison. Ridley ScottÕs suspenseful direction and quicksilver pacing that allows the three hours to pass quicker than you think is Oscar-level stuff. (Unlike Robert RedfordÕs exhaustingly talky Lions for Lambs with Tom Cruise, who in several scenes curiously looks like presidential hopeful John Edwards.) Both Steven ZaillianÕs American Gangster screenplay, which captures the rampant corruption of that time and place, and Harris SavidesÕ hand-held cinematography merit Oscar consideration. Kudos to music supervisor Kathy Nelson for what she acknowledges as Òone of the richest eras in music, exploding with R & B and funk É Harlem at that time was as much about music as it was about drugs.Ó Producer Brian Grazer has every reason to be proud, having spent seven years of dogged determination to get the movie green-lighted. Inspired by Mark JacobsonÕs compelling Frank Lucas profile, The Return of Superfly, in New York magazine, the $100 million movie, filmed on location in New York and Thailand, spans those years during the height of the Vietnam War, 1968-1974. BrianÕs produced more than 50 films, 42 of them nominated for Oscars, many for Universal, including his Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind. He and Ridley corralled an impressive cast with Ruby Dee as Mama Lucas, Carla Cugino, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Armand Assante, John Ortiz, Common, and a top-notch performance by Josh Brolin as Òthe criminal with a badge,Ó and who could be Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actor. (Josh turns in another memorable performance as the greedy army veteran in Ethan and Joel CoenÕs No Country for Old Men, based on Cormac McCarthyÕs bestseller about the cross-border drug trade.) Corruption in that Narcotics Special Investigations Unit begat corruption, according to Mark JacobsonÕs profile Ð 52 out of 70 officers who worked in the unit ended in jail or were under indictment. Richie Roberts was the exception, with Richie claiming that if Òjudges, lawyers, cops, politicians stopped bringing dope into this country, about 100,000 people would be out of jobs.Ó Online at www.bhcourier.com. ?