Word: sierras
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...there in the public about what conflict diamonds were, and how people suffered as a result of natural resources being taken out of Africa. But I never understood the full story until I got this script and started doing research. I was pretty horrified about what went on in Sierra Leone in the late 1990s and how diamonds funded these warlords. Amnesty International projected around four million people lost their lives as a result of these diamond sales...
...actors aren't the only ones getting a rough ride in Blood Diamond, an action thriller about the illegal gem trade set during Sierra Leone's brutal civil war. The Warner Bros. film, due for release on Dec. 8, has the diamond industry concerned that moviegoers may walk out of cinemas with the idea that all diamonds are tainted. The gem folks, including...
During an on-set interview, Zwick is quick to emphasize that "first and foremost, this is intended to be an entertaining and dramatic movie." At the same time, the man behind thirtysomething and The Last Samurai takes a storyteller's pleasure in his exploration of Sierra Leone's bloody conflict, which ended in 2002, and the way illegal diamond mining fueled that war. "The issues it evokes are universal, both personally and politically. You can't tell a story about Sierra Leone without thinking about child soldiers. You can't tell a story about Sierra Leone without thinking about refugees...
...also can't tell a story about Sierra Leone without hiring some really big stars to get people to come see it. And luckily for Zwick, it's the kind of tale that draws in actors looking for an Important Subject. "There was something really authentic about the story," says DiCaprio, who agreed to play mercenary Danny Archer after meeting twice with Zwick and watching a 4-min. DVD featuring child soldiers and the aftermath of their battles that the director had patched together. Before shooting began, DiCaprio spent a month in South Africa meeting former mercenaries, undergoing military training...
...gaining leverage. Before the Iraq war, Blair's foreign-policy speeches were worth listening to: brilliant evocations of a world order enhanced through global coalitions mobilized to fight poverty and extend the rule of law - and willing to fight too if necessary. And he delivered results, over Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and aid to Africa. But now he is stymied, because his war in Iraq has made his grand vision much less attainable, and strengthened the terrorists he abhors. He knows it, but will not publicly admit it. (Last week, when he started a long answer to a question from...