Moustapha Akkad - Biography, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Filmography (Read)

Mustafa Akkad - biography, date of birth, place of birth, filmography, clips, Producer, Director.

Born July 1, 1930, Aleppo, Syria - Syrian American, film producer and director.

Before Mustafa left for the United States to study directing and film production at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), his father, who was a customs officer, gave him $ 200 and a copy of the Koran. Akkad earned his master's degree from the University of Southern California (USC), where he met with director Sam Peckinpah. Peckinpah mentored Akkad in Hollywood and hired him as a consultant for a film about the Algerian Revolution that never made it to the big screen, but he continued to help him until Mustafa found a job as a producer at CBS.

In 1976, Akkad publishes Muhammad - God's Messenger. Mustafa received a rejection from Hollywood to shoot a film in Morocco.

When creating "Muhammad - Messenger of God", he consulted with Islamic clergy and tried to be respectful towards Islam and his views on the image of the Prophet Muhammad. It received approval from Al-Azhar in Egypt, but it was rejected by the Muslim World League in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The governments of Kuwait, Libya, and Morocco promised financial support for the film, but when it was rejected by the Muslim World League, Kuwait withdrew it from funding. The late King Hassan II of Morocco gave him full support for the production of the film. Production of "The Message" took one year. For 6 months filming took place in Morocco, but Akkad was forced to stop production when the government of Saudi Arabia put great pressure on Morocco. Akkad went to Libyan leader Gaddafi in search of support to complete the project. Gaddafi allowed him to complete the remaining 6 months of filming in Libya.

Akkad saw the film as a way to bridge the gap between the Western and Islamic worlds.

In 1978, producing Halloween, he became part of the history of low-budget films. Akkad is best known for his key role in the first eight Halloween films as an executive producer. The series was very profitable, although only the first film became iconic.

In 1980 Akkad directed the film Omar Mukhtar. The film was criticized after receiving negative information in the West that it was partially funded by Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, who invested $ 35 million in cinema. The spread of this negative information may have been the reason for its relatively low box office.

Akkad once tried to buy Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom from the Rank Organization, and also acquired a studio in Twickenham.

All Information About: Moustapha Akkad - Biography, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Filmography.
Author: Jane Watson