Moustapha Akkad
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Moustapha Al Akkad | |
---|---|
University of California at Los Angeles, University of Southern California | |
Occupation(s) | Film producer, director |
Years active | 1976–2005 |
Known for | Producing the series of Halloween films |
Spouses | Patricia Al Akkad (divorced)
|
Children | 4 (including Malek Akkad) |
Moustapha al Akkad (
Early life
Al Akkad was born on July 1, 1930, in
Career
In 1976, he produced and directed Mohammad, Messenger of God (released as The Message in 1977 in the United States), starring Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas. Akkad faced resistance from Hollywood, which forced him to make the film in Morocco.
While creating Muhammad, Messenger of God, he consulted Islamic clerics, he wanted and tried to be respectful towards Islam and its views on portraying Muhammad. He got the Approval from Al-Azhar University in Egypt but was rejected by the Muslim World League in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Governments of Kuwait, Libya and Morocco promised to support the film financially, and when it was rejected by the Muslim World League, Kuwait kept its financial support but stopped other kinds of supports. King Hassan II of Morocco gave his full support for the production of the film. The production took one year, Akkad filmed for 6 months in Morocco, but had to stop when the Saudi Government exerted great pressure on the government of Morocco to stop the production. Akkad went to Muammar Gaddafi of Libya for support in order to complete the project, Gaddafi allowed him to move the filming to Libya for the remaining 6 months until the film was finalized.
Akkad saw the film as a way to bridge the gap between the Western and Muslim worlds, stating in a 1976 interview:[4]
I did the film because it is a personal thing for me ... Being a Muslim myself who lived in the west I felt that it was my obligation my duty to tell the truth about Islam. It is a religion that has a 700 million following, yet it's so little known about which surprised me. I thought I should tell the story that will bring this [history] to the west.
In 1978, he helped make low-budget film history when he produced Halloween. Akkad became best known for his key involvement in the first eight Halloween films, as an executive producer (the only producer to participate in all of these films). The series was highly profitable and hugely influential to subsequent horror films.
In 1980 he directed
In the United Kingdom, Akkad once tried to buy Pinewood Studios from The Rank Organisation and also had a studio at Twickenham. At the time of his death, he was in the process of producing an $80 million movie featuring Sean Connery about Saladin and the Crusades, for which he already had the script, that would be filmed in Jordan. Speaking of the film, he said:
Saladin exactly portrays Islam. Right now, Islam is portrayed as a terrorist religion. Because a few terrorists are Muslims, the whole religion has that image. If there ever was a religious war full of terror, it was the Crusades. But you can't blame Christianity because a few adventurers did this. That's my message.[7]
Death
Akkad and his 34-year-old daughter, Rima Akkad Monla, were killed in the 2005 Amman bombings.[3] They were both in the lobby at the Grand Hyatt Amman on November 9 when a bomb exploded; his daughter died instantly, and Akkad died of his injuries two days later in a hospital. He is buried in the Al-Jadidah Cemetery in Aleppo in Syria.[8]
Akkad was survived by his former wife, Patricia Al Akkad and their sons, Taric and Malek, who helped produce most of the Halloween movies, as well as his widow, Suha Ascha Akkad, and their son Zade.
Legacy
He was honoured by his native city of Aleppo, and the Aleppo City Council has renamed a school and a street after Moustapha Akkad. In 2008, a street in downtown Beirut was renamed after Moustapha Akkad. The 2007 remake of Halloween was dedicated to Moustapha Akkad. The 2018 film Halloween, a direct sequel to the 1978 original film, also features a dedication to Akkad in the end credits.
Filmography
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Presenter | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | The Message | Yes | Yes | No | a.k.a. Mohammed, Messenger of God |
1978 | Halloween | No | Executive | Yes | |
1980 | Lion of the Desert | Yes | Yes | No | |
1981 | Halloween II | No | Executive | Yes | |
1982 | Halloween III: Season of the Witch | No | Executive | Yes | |
1985 | Appointment with Fear | No | Executive | No | |
1986 | Free Ride | No | Executive | No | |
1988 | Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers | No | Executive | Yes | |
1989 | Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers | No | Executive | Yes | |
1995 | Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers | No | Executive | Yes | |
1998 | Halloween H20: 20 Years Later | No | Executive | Yes | |
2002 | Halloween: Resurrection | No | Executive | Yes |
References
- ^ ""Hollywood producer, daughter died in bombing"". NBC News. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
- King Abdullah II of Jordan, Our Last Best Chance, New York, New York: Viking Press, 2011, p. 251
- ^ New York Times. November 12, 2005. Archivedfrom the original on November 25, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
- ^ "Moustapha Akkad". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ Film Threat, July 8, 2010, Review by Clint Morris
- ^ "Galaxy To Handle Trancas Features". Variety. October 2, 1985. p. 5.
- ISBN 978-1-4381-0254-2. Archivedfrom the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
- ^ Resting Places: The Burial Sites of Over 14000 Famous Persons by Scott Wilson