Egyptian actress Yusra will travel to the United States in May after she was nominated to be one of the members of the judging committee for the New York Film Festival. Egyptian director Yousuf Shahin decided to take advantage of this opportunity to set May as the date for all the cast of his upcoming film "Al Ghadab" (Anger), which includes Yusra, to travel to the US in order to shoot the final scenes.
According to the Egyptian weekly, Al Nogoom, Shahin had shot most of the scenes for the film in Europe and Cairo and has halted the filming of the final scenes until he and the crew of the film reach the US.
In the film, Yusra plays the role of an American woman, Angy, who is the lover of an Egyptian film director Yahia. The theme of the film revolves around an Egyptian director who has lived in the United States from the beginning of his film education up to the September 11th attack. It also portrays the relationship the two have and how all of the sudden the life of the director turns into a nightmare during the attacks on the US. At this moment Yahia begins to experience feelings of anger and hate towards his American girlfriend and finds himself hating everything in America. The movie will be shot between France and the US with scenes from Paris, New York, and California.
Yusra was on the verge of pulling out of the new film "Al Ghadab", when the managing producer of Shahin's company refused to accept the wage she requested for her role. Yusra had requested a total of 400 thousand Egyptian pounds for her role in the film due to the fact that she has become a prominent actor and is in strong demand.
The managing producer was shocked and told her that they cannot afford to even pay half the wage asked. Yusra not willing to settle for less than what she deserved went strait to Yousif Shahin who in turn demanded she return to his managing producer and sign a contract for only 100 thousand Egyptian pounds.
Yusra decided to accept saying that every actor who works with Shahin settles for one quarter of his/her wages, adding that the local and international recognition she will receive from acting in his films is worth more than all the money in the world.
Yusra denied circulating rumors of ending her acting career. The actress expressed her anger at one of the tabloids for spreading lies about her career, which she feels she is at a turning point with all the recent success she has achieved.
Close friends to the actress tried to convince her of filing a lawsuit against the paper that wrote about her abandoning her acting. Yusra refused to put herself in such dilemmas with lawsuits and courts and decided the best way for her to get back at the paper is by continuing in her upcoming film.
On a different note, Yusra had recently recovered from a sever case of depression and sadness over the death of Egyptian actor Alaa Wali El Din. The actress had confined herself to her home refusing to leave it under any circumstance.
Yusra was completely destroyed when she heard the news of Alaa's death. It was noted that Alaa, whom Yusra was costarring with in the play "Lama Baba Yenam" (When Father Sleeps), had brought back from his trip to Brazil presents for Yusra and the cast of the play, and was to give them out during the Islamic Eid Al Adha. Fate had it that the presents would never be given by Alaa personally. –Albawaba.com
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
