TORONTO 鈥� Between the five languages spoken on set, bureaucracy issues and speedy month-long shoot during Ramadan when Muslim crew members were fasting, producers on the new hostage drama Beirut 鈥渕oved mountains鈥� to shoot in Morocco, says star Jon Hamm.
Much has been made of the fact that filming took place in Morocco to tell the story of a U.S. diplomat, played by the former Mad Men star, who flees Beirut after tragedy strikes at his home in 1972.
His character reluctantly returns 10 years later, during the Lebanese Civil War, in a bid to negotiate for the release of a colleague kidnapped by the fictional Militia of Islamic Liberation. Rosamund Pike plays a CIA operative who helps him.
When the trailer came out, some viewers and news organizations criticized the film for being shot outside of Lebanon and lacking actors of Lebanese descent.
But Hamm says the film that hits theatres Friday 鈥渨as exceedingly well researched鈥� and shot in Morocco not because it was easy, but out of necessity.
鈥淚f people are wondering why a movie isn鈥檛 cast with all Lebanese people, that鈥檚 not how movies are made, at all,鈥� said Hamm, who won two Golden Globe Awards for playing enigmatic Manhattan advertising exec Don Draper on Mad Men.
鈥淲hy it wasn鈥檛 shot in Beirut is because you can鈥檛 get insurance issued in Beirut and because Beirut doesn鈥檛 look like Beirut did in the 1970s and 鈥�80s.
鈥淭here are just practicalities of moviemaking that I think a lot of people either don鈥檛 understand or they鈥檙e a part the outrage machine that just exists to create controversy and therefore either create clicks or page views or what have you,鈥� continued Hamm, in a phone interview from Los Angeles.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the world we live in now. If you鈥檙e not outraged by something, it鈥檚 like you鈥檙e not even trying. So it鈥檚 a shame, because I think it devalues actual, legitimate anger and outrage, it seems.
If everything is a 10 on the 鈥業鈥檓 serious鈥� scale, then what鈥檚 the measure, really?鈥�
Hamm noted the story was told from an American perspective rather than that of someone in Lebanon because that鈥檚 the nationality of himself as well as screenwriter Tony Gilroy and director Brad Anderson.
鈥淲e live in interesting times now when people talk about: 鈥榃ell, what perspective are you coming from and why isn鈥檛 it told from this and why isn鈥檛 it told from that?鈥濃�� Hamm said.
鈥淵ou can go down that rabbit hole until you spin yourself dizzy or you can accept that we as storytellers can really only tell the story from our own perspective.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 adopt a Lebanese persona or a Middle East persona. That鈥檚 for someone in Lebanon to do, and I鈥檓 sure there are films that are doing that. But I didn鈥檛 get offered those films.鈥�
Hamm said Gilroy wrote Beirut on spec after penning 1992鈥檚 The Cutting Edge. It went through various stages of development before this incarnation.
The story looks at the beginnings of institutionalized terrorism, which Hamm feels is 鈥渘ot an unsolvable problem.鈥�
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 never a bad time to remind people that when the talking stops, that鈥檚 when the fighting starts,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an interesting time anyway, obviously, with the situation in the White House and with the situation on social media, and the confusion as to what鈥檚 real and what鈥檚 fake and people playing into those fears and playing into that confusion.
鈥淚nstead of trying to clarify, it seems like the impetus is on trying to muddy it further to further your own political agenda and that just seems to be completely counter-productive. But I think
there鈥檚 never a bad time to have a conversation about 鈥楲et鈥檚 solve the problems, let鈥檚 not add to them.鈥� 鈥�
Hamm鈥檚 other latest projects include a guest role in the Canadian digital comedy series The Amazing Gayl Pile, which airs on NBCUniversal鈥檚 Seeso and CBC Comedy.
鈥淚 read it and I was like: 鈥榃ell, this is about as weird as it gets and I like it,鈥� 鈥� said Hamm, who鈥檚 become as much a star in the comedy world as he has in drama, on projects including 30 Rock, Bridesmaids and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
鈥淪ometimes, I get offered things and I think: 鈥楾his will be fun or this will be interesting or weird. Let鈥檚 just do it.鈥� 鈥�
