Hotel Rwanda

The screenwriter spent a year writing the first draft of the screenplay. During the process, he called the Rwandan embassy in DC. The woman who answered the phone was one of the survivors who had stayed at the Hôtel des Mille Collines.

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Paul Rusesabagina and Tatiana Rusesabagina returned to Rwanda with director Terry George for research. A large number of people came to meet them at the airport.

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General Augustin Bizimungu was sentenced to 30 years in prison on 17 May 2011 for his role in the genocide.

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Nick Nolte's character (Colonel Oliver) is partly modeled on Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire, the Canadian commander of the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda who tried to intervene in the Rwandan Genocide even though his superiors were indifferent to the slaughter. Dallaire was also the subject of the Sundance audience award-winning documentary Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire (2004), and he witnessed such horrific acts in Rwanda that he later suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Besides Oliver, there was one more fictionalized character: Jack Daglish, based on the Polish photojournalist Stefan Stec, who recorded the Gikondo massacre.

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The film was first given an R rating by the MPAA (Restricted: no one under 17 admitted without a parent or guardian). After the producers appealed, the film was re-rated PG-13, making it one of the very few films to be re-rated without any additional edits.

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(At about 1 hour 10 minutes) UN peacekeeping troops are shown with Pakistan flag armbands. In 1994, Pakistan was by far the largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping force, with 9,210 soldiers out of a total force of 73,210 (12.5%), ahead of France, the second-largest contributor with 6,243 soldiers. To this day, Pakistan remains among the countries that have contributed the most to UN peacekeeping.

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Director Terry George had Don Cheadle in mind for the lead role from the start of his involvement. During pre-production, potential investors and the studios involved wanted Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Mekhi Phifer and even Will Smith, as they suggested these actors had greater box-office draw. In the end, however, because George independently took on producing the film and raised the money himself, he was able to return to his original choice.

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Paul Rusesabagina met with Don Cheadle.

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On 31 August 2020, Paul Rusesabagina was arrested upon arriving in Kigali and charged with nine terrorism offenses related to his ties to the FLN (National Liberation Front). Rusesabagina stated that he intended not to take part in the court proceedings because he believed justice could not be served, and accused the court of failing to respect the right to a fair trial.

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On 20 September 2021, Paul Rusesabagina was found guilty of terrorism charges in a Kigali court. Many people believe the conviction, and indeed the entire arrest and trial, were politically motivated. Paul was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Kigali.

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On 24 March 2023, Paul Rusesabagina's request for a pardon was granted after intervention by the United States and Qatar. His sentence was commuted to the time he was scheduled to be released on 25 March 2023. He later returned to the United States and was reunited with his family after being detained for more than two years.

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In April 2010, then-UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown admitted that the film had made him cry.

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As Paul bids farewell to the refugees at the hotel, US President Bill Clinton can be seen on the cover of Time magazine as Man of the Year.

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Paul Rusesabagina is often called the African Oskar Schindler.

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Jason Saldaña stated that when he had Netflix's DVD-by-mail service, he rented this film for so long that it cost him $135. Netflix had no late fees based on delays; a customer was allowed a certain number of discs at any one time and could not get a new one until one was returned. There was a fixed monthly fee.

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Cuba Gooding Jr. turned down the lead role.

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Don Cheadle had previously played a hotel manager in the television series Golden Palace (1992).

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Don Cheadle and Nick Nolte appeared in Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

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