So I just saw the trailer for The Terminal , the new Tom Hanks movie. I also just read this classic column from the man himself.
But I’ve got a couple of questions…
What’s up with Merhan Nasseri now? The latest update I could find was from a few years ago. Is he still living in the airport?
And wherever he is… is he getting paid for this movie? Or is he enough of a public figure that they can go ahead and make it without his permission?
thwartme
The New York Times Magazine published a piece about Nasseri in September of last year entitled Waiting for Spielberg . The film is indeed based on Nasseri’s story, and he did receive some compensation:
While Bourguet confirms that Spielberg’s company, DreamWorks, has in fact bought the rights to his client’s life story, Spielberg himself would not discuss ‘‘The Terminal,’’ its plot nor Nasseri’s contract. Marvin Levy, a DreamWorks spokesman, confirms that a financial agreement was signed. However, he cautions, ‘‘Mr. Nasseri’s story was an inspiration for the original treatment for ‘The Terminal.’ The film is not his story.’’
Rumors of a $275,000 fee for the rights to Nasseri’s life story and certain consulting duties have circulated. ‘‘It’s less than $1 million,’’ Bourguet says, adding that the money hasn’t changed the predicament of his client. ‘‘While he became a bit richer, Alfred is extremely paranoid and confused.’’
He is apparently free to leave (from the same article):
Nasseri cannot be forcibly moved or repatriated. He is protected by a number of international refugee statutes. According to Bourguet, he is legally free to leave the airport. All Nasseri has to do is sign the identity papers the French provided him in 1999. But the papers identify him as Iranian and don’t recognize his adopted name of Sir, Alfred. And so he can’t – or won’t- sign them: a testament to either patience, or madness.
Thanks Quixotic .
I’d heard the thing about him not wanting to sign the pares but, man, that was five years ago!
Standing on principle is one thing, but I can’t help but think that bureaucracy and circumstance have crushed this man. Sad.
thwartme