Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video.
Trailer for A Hologram for the King, starring Tom Hanks and Sarita Choudhury.
Cultures collide when an American businessman (Tom Hanks) is sent to Saudi Arabia to close what he hopes will be the deal of a lifetime. Baffled by local customs and stymied by an opaque bureaucracy, he eventually finds his footing with the help of a wise-cracking taxi driver (Alexander Black) and a beautiful Saudi doctor (Sarita Choudhury).
A Hologram for the King is based on the novel by the same name, published in 2012 by author Dave Eggers. Novel became a finalist for the National Book Award.
Though the plot takes place in Saudi Arabia, not only is the film not shot there, but no Saudi nationals were used in the film. Production instead took place in Morocco, Egypt and Berlin.
The A Hologram for the King trailer is odd. It begins with a ton of energy thanks to the help of a cliche salesman commercial -- that has effects similar to Jet.com -- to only spiral into more of a drama and then into a romance. In the end are we watching a guy, played by Tom Hanks, attempting to find himself or are we being given a lesson in cross-cultural relationships?
I've always loved Tom Hanks and the er, witticism he brings to many of his roles, so I can only conclude that this film is going to be almost entirely dependent on him struggling to evolve along with his comedic sidekick chauffeur. Now if we can find out who exactly is playing that part, it would be appreciated, as this side character might end up saving the film.