Hotel Rwanda: Bringing The True Story Of An African Hero To Film (Shooting Script)
by By George, Terry (EDT) and Pearson, Keir (EDT)
Category: Performing Arts , Film , General

The official companion book, edited by director Terry George, including essays on the history of the genocide, the complete screenplay written by Keir Pearson & Terry George, and more than 70 photographs. A Story That Had to Be Told: In 1994, as his country descended into madness, Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager of a Belgian-owned luxury hotel in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, used cunning and courage to save 1,268 people from certain death while the rest of the world closed its eyes. His real-life story inspired the Oscar-nominated writer of In the Name of the Father, Terry George, to make the extraordinary film, Hotel Rwanda, starring Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, and Nick Nolte, which has received accolades from critics and moviegoers alike, winning numerous awards. Now, in the only official companion book, comes the fascinating filmmaking story, with first-person pieces by Terry George and co-screenwriter Keir Pearson about their three-year struggle to gain support and financing, as well as a brief history of Rwanda with details on the actual events portrayed in the movie. Illustrated with more than 70 historical and contemporary photos and movie stills, the book also includes journalist Nicola Graydon's report on joining Paul Rusesabagina when he first returned to Rwanda on the tenth anniversary of the genocide; writer Anne Thompson's personal journal of her visit to the set in Africa during production in February 2004; and a compelling transcript of the PBS Frontline documentary revealing the afterthoughts of officials who chose not to listen to the cries for help. In addition there is a timeline of the crisis, a further reading and viewing list, and the complete screenplay. "Hotel Rwanda is the most powerful film of its kind since Schindler's List.... Like Oskar Schindler, Don Cheadle's Paul is a politically uninvolved man who becomes a very unlikely hero....This is an important story told with respect and care, and though the subject matter once again is very grave, very serious, this is also one of the most inspirational movies I've ever seen."Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper Report "Courage, Winston Churchill once said, is the virtue that makes all other virtues possible. Hotel Rwanda reminds us of that with dramatic force and compelling poignancy."Richard Schickel, Time