With all those explosions, swanky locations and overpaid movie stars blockbusters cost many, many millions to make. So when Hollywood studios are offered seductive cash-back packages from the Abu Dhabi Film Commission to film here in the UAE, it can prove rather tempting.
The latest product of these enticements can be seen in the new trailer for War Machine, a post 9/11 Afghanistan military drama starring heavy hitters Brad Pitt as General Dan McMahon (character based on real life General Stanley A. McChrystal) and Sir Ben Kingsley as Hamid Karzai. A black comedy, the film is based on actual events, so if your memories of that time are a little hazy then we suggest you head over to Wikipedia and brush up on your geopolitical knowledge beforehand.
Due to continuing security concerns in the Afghan region, the film was shot on our sandy back yard, primarily Ras Al Khaimah & Abu Dhabi; a village in the former and a mosque in the latter convincingly double as Afghanistan, so we’re told.
Of course cold hard cash isn’t the only reason Hollywood has chosen the UAE over and over again for some of its biggest productions. We’ve got some of the best deserts, dramatic buildings and let’s not forget the incredible skyline. Scroll through the pics for other Hollywood blockbusters shot in the UAE.
War Machine is distributed by Netflix and hits the screens on 26 May, the cast includes Emory Cohen, Topher Grace, Anthony Michael Hall, Will Poulter, Lakeith Stanfield, Meg Tilly and Tilda Swinton.
