What is Lawrence Wright's book about?
Lawrence Wright's remarkable book is based on five years of research and hundreds of interviews that he conducted in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, A sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans and the Western intelligence failures ...
Where was Osama bin Laden born?
Osama bin Laden was born in 1957 to a successful family of developers in Saudi Arabia. King Saud had ended a rebellion of religious fanatics in 1931, and established Salafism as the fundamentalist creed of the land. Oil boomed in 1950 and the bin Laden's became rich through construction for the king.
Who was Ayman al-Zawahiri?
The author then describes the life of Ayman al-Zawahiri (like Qutb an Egyptian) who also became an Islamist favouring a Sharia state. Lawrence Wright then moves on to Bin laden’s early life in Saudi Arabia and events there. Ayman al-Zawahiri came to influence Osama Bin Laden.
How many episodes are there in The Looming Tower?
The 10-episode drama series was created and executive produced by Dan Futterman, Alex Gibney, and Wright.
What is the looming tower?
The Looming Tower traces the "rising threat of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda in the late 1990s and how the rivalry between the FBI and CIA during that time may have inadvertently set the path for the tragedy of 9/11. It follows members of the I-49 Squad in New York and Alec Station in Washington, D.C., the counter-terrorism divisions of the FBI and CIA, respectively, as they travel the world fighting for ownership of information while seemingly working toward the same goal – trying to prevent an imminent attack on U.S. soil."
Who was the hijacker on September 11?
Dhaffer L'Abidine as Mohamed Atta , an Egyptian hijacker and one of the ringleaders of the September 11 attacks. He served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11 and crashed the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks.
Who is the creator of the show My Trip to Al-Qaeda?
The pair met with filmmaker Alex Gibney, who had already adapted Wright's one-man show, My Trip to Al-Qaeda and book Going Clear for HBO. Wright said about the collaborations with Gibney, "He's a documentarian, and he understands the importance of truth. We’ve been in the trenches. I came to trust him, and that's what I wanted — someone I felt could handle and negotiate these really difficult moral questions." Following that partnership, the team began to interview potential showrunners. They soon landed on screenwriter Dan Futterman after one meeting, and then decided to work on their pitch for the series. After refining their pitch, they approached HBO, Netflix and Amazon with the project. As a courtesy, they also reached out to Hulu without really placing them into consideration due to the perception of the streaming service as merely a place to stream episodes of network television shows. However, during their meeting with Hulu they were offered a straight-to-series order, an abbreviated development process, a promise not to cave under pressure from the federal agencies portrayed in the series, and the largest financial commitment of any service or network they had previously met with. It was due to these terms and conditions that the producers ultimately decided to sign with the company.
Who plays John O'Neill in I-49?
Jeff Daniels as John O'Neill, the chief of the New York FBI's Counterterrorism Center known as "I-49". He is convinced that the United States has been targeted for attack by al-Qaeda but is faced with hostility from other federal agencies, particularly the CIA.
What is the book The Looming Tower about?
The Evolution of Al Qaeda and the Intertwining Paths Leading to 9/11. “The Looming Tower,” the title of Lawrence Wright’s remarkable new book about Al Qaeda and 9/11, refers not only to the doomed towers of the World Trade Center, but also to a passage in the Koran, which Osama bin Laden quoted several times in a speech exhorting ...
Is truth stranger than fiction?
Truth is definitely stranger than fiction in the latest true crime books . (Think jewel thieves, mysterious disappearances and a murderous babysitter.) If your idea of escape involves time travel, try any of these historical novels, which take you to 1930s Italy, 19th-century England and beyond. Advertisement.
Overview
The Looming Tower is an American television miniseries, based on Lawrence Wright's 2006 book of the same name, which premiered on Hulu on February 28, 2018. The 10-episode drama series was created and executive produced by Dan Futterman, Alex Gibney, and Wright. Futterman also acted as the series's showrunner and Gibney directed the first episode. The series stars an ensembl…
Premise
The Looming Tower traces the "rising threat of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda in the late 1990s and how the rivalry between the FBI and CIA during that time may have inadvertently set the path for the tragedy of 9/11. It follows members of the I-49 Squad in New York and Alec Station in Washington, D.C., the counter-terrorism divisions of the FBI and CIA, respectively, as they travel the world fighting for ownership of information while seemingly working toward the same goal – trying to …
Cast and characters
• Jeff Daniels as John O'Neill, the chief of the New York FBI's Counterterrorism Center known as "I-49". He is convinced that the United States has been targeted for attack by al-Qaeda but is faced with hostility from other federal agencies, particularly the CIA.
• Tahar Rahim as Ali Soufan, a Muslim Lebanese-American FBI agent on John O'Neill's I-49 counterterrorism squad who eventually becomes his protégé. Soufan is infuriated by the perversion of Islam by enemies of th…
Production
The project emanated from Ali Soufan and Lawrence Wright's realization that both of them were fielding offers from various studios and production companies regarding the rights to their books about the lead-up to the September 11 terrorist attacks. The pair met with filmmaker Alex Gibney, who had already adapted Wright's one-man show, My Trip to Al-Qaeda and book Going Clearfor HBO. Wright said about the collaborations with Gibney, "He's a documentarian, and he understan…
Release
On December 19, 2017, Hulu released the first preview of the series through a collection of images and a "first-look" video featuring interviews with the cast and crew. On January 11, 2018, Hulu released the first official trailer for the series.
On February 13, 2018, The Washington Postheld a screening of the first episod…
Reception
The Looming Tower was met with a positive response from critics. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an 88% approval rating with an average rating of 7.44 out of 10 based on 60 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Well-acted and powerfully written, The Looming Tower delivers gripping counter-terrorism drama rendered even more soberingly effective through its roots in real-life events." Metacritic, which uses a weighted avera…
Potential sequel
It has been reported that if the limited series is sufficiently successful, a sequel series could possibly be ordered. Early discussions among the producers have begun; their concept revolves around the birth of the Muslim Brotherhood.
See also
• List of original programs distributed by Hulu