Hotel Rwanda - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Hotel Rwanda or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Hotel Rwanda

[edgar]

The screenwriter spent one year writing the first draft of the script. During the process, he called the Rwandan embassy in DC. The woman who picked up the phone was a survivor who stayed at the Milles Collines Hotel.

[liam]

Director Terry George had Don Cheadle in mind for the lead part from the beginning of his involvement. During pre-production, potential investors and interested studios wanted Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Mekhi Phifer and even Will Smith because of their suggested bigger drawing capacity at the box office. But due to ultimately producing the film independently and coming up with the money himself, George was able to go back to his original choice.

[eli]

When Paul says goodbye to the refugees at the hotel, US President Bill Clinton can be seen as Man of the Year on the cover of Time Magazine.

[jesus]

Cuba Gooding Jr. declined a leading role.

[terry]

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

[stephanie]

It was later revealed by one of the survivors of the hotel, Pasa Mwenenganucye, that Paul Rusesabagina, was not as heroic as he was depicted to be. The people who sought shelter at his hotel were made to pay for their stay, with priorities given to the wealthier people. The backlash was so bad, that Rusesabagina was pressured into cancelling an appearance at a Canadian festival by members of Toronto's Rwandan community, who accused him of being "genocide revisionist and denier." The head of the UN's peacekeeping force in Rwanda at the time, Canadian Romeo Dallaire, addressed the controversy by simply calling the movie "okay". Despite all the allegations, Paul Rusesabagina has stood by the movie and denied all claims of any wrongdoing on his part.

[sara]

At around 1h 10 mins of the movie, UN Peacekeeping Troops were shown with Pakistani flag bands on their arms. In 1994, Pakistan was by far the largest contributor to the UN Peacekeeping force with contribution of 9210 troops out of 73210 total force (12.5%) ahead of France being the second largest contributor with 6243 troops. Till date, Pakistan is among the top contributors of UN Peacekeeping force.

[kristen]

The real Paul Rusesabagina and Tatiana Rusesabagina returned to Rwanda with director Terry George for research. Many people came to welcome them at the airport.

[marc]

This film was originally given an R rating (Restricted: no one under 17 without a parent or guardian) by the MPAA. Upon appeal by the producers, the film was re-rated as PG-13 - one of very few films that have ever been re-rated without additional editing.

[phyllis]

Actor Jason Saldaña has stated that when Netflix had its DVD by Mail service, he rented Hotel Rwanda for so long that it cost him $135.

[francisco]

The real Paul Rusesabagina met with Don Cheadle.

[liam]

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

[francisco]

Nick Nolte's character (Col. Oliver) is modeled in part on Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire, the Canadian commanding officer of the UN Peacekeeping mission in that country who attempted to interfere with the Rwandan Genocide despite his superiors' indifference to the atrocity. Dallaire was also the subject of Sundance audience award documentary Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire (2004), and witnessed such horrible acts in Rwanda that he later suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Other than Oliver, there was another fictionalized character: Jack Daglish, who is based off of the Polish photojournalist Stefan Stec, who recorded the Gikondo massacre.

[lynn]

Nick Nolte played David Banner in Hulk (2003), based on Marvel Comics. Don Cheadle played James Rhodes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.