The ASU Polytechnic campus can claim contribution to the critical acclaim and financial success of "The Kingdom," as the Universal Pictures movie garnered an estimated $17.7 million at the box office during its opening weekend.
"The Kingdom," starring Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner opened in theatres across the country Friday, and while the story takes place in Saudi Arabia, much of the filming took place at the Polytechnic campus during 2006.
Universal Pictures started building sets on the campus in January 2006 and began filming in the summer, said Christine Lambrakis, ASU Polytechnic director of marketing and media relations.
"The people from Universal [Pictures] were wonderful," Lambrakis said.
The studio did well in communicating their schedules so the students and faculty were made aware when battle scenes would take place or when explosions would go off, she said.
Much of the filming took place on the southern part of campus in an open field and many times the films shooting went unnoticed, Lambrakis added.
Filming movies in Arizona has become more popular in recent years, said Linda Essig, director of ASU's School of Theatre and Film.
"It's become more attractive because of a tax incentive program that was passed two years ago, which makes Arizona more competitive with states like Louisiana and New Mexico that have a lot of film production," she said.
Increased motion picture presence in Arizona can also provide opportunities to students like ASU journalism student Charles Choueiri.
Choueiri said he heard about "The Kingdom" casting call from a friend, as Universal Pictures was looking for extras that looked to be from Middle Eastern decent.
He played a Saudi Arabian soldier and his job was to supervise the Americans so they don't get out of line, he said.
Choueiri made $100 per day on the set, working 14 hours per day for five days in August 2006.
Although it was the middle of the summer, he said he didn't mind the heat.
"I didn't care — they could have paid me $10 per day," Choueiri said.
"We were really close to the actors as they would bump into us or walk past us," he said. "I was star struck."
Reach the reporter at: jeffrey.mitchell@asu.edu.
