A new Tom Hanks movie, A Hologram For The King, stars the actor as a troubled businessman who goes to Saudi Arabia in an attempt to close a big deal. However, he ends up finding his journey something more akin to a vision quest.
It is an adaptation of the Dave Eggers novel of the same name. Tykwer was impressed by Eggers’ novel, which he told the New Yorker is about “a society without ever being in it.”
The German filmmaker aimed to shoot in Saudi Arabia, but he met with a difficult reception from local authorities, who refused permission to film on location at King Abdullah’s Economic City near Jeddah.
But rather than letting the project fall apart, director Tom Tykwer took a different approach to get the film made. He enlisted Production Service Company Kasbah Films to work with local crews, who used a number of locations that were not traditionally seen in cinemas to create a story set in the Middle East.
For example, a large sandy expanse that Alan Clay (Tom Hanks) discovers while on his journey is based on a ghost town formally known as King Abdullah’s Economic City in the Middle East.
The city is being developed in the middle of the desert, with the idea that it will become a thriving city within a decade. But when Alan gets there, he is confronted with local customs and bureaucracy that quickly overwhelm him. It is with the help of a wise-cracking taxi driver and a beautiful Saudi doctor that he finds his footing.
