CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE POLITICS, RELIGION, BLOCKBUSTER ACTION HOLD THE KEYS TO THIS 'KINGDOM'.

Byline: >STORIES BY BOB STRAUSS

>FILM WRITER

So far, most movies about the post-9/11 war on terror have been somber, sensitive pieces, even at their most intense and horrific moments.

Not the case with "The Kingdom." Very loosely inspired by the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996, this fictionalized story about FBI agents investigating an attack on an American workers' compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, certainly takes geopolitics and terrorist violence seriously.

But it's also a visceral action movie that isn't afraid to have a little fun with an extreme fish-out-of-water cop film concept.

"It was important to me that this film not lead with its politics," says Peter Berg, the actor whose directing efforts before "The Kingdom" include the gritty high-school football drama "Friday Night Lights" and the nihilistic comedy "Very Bad Things." "If I want to be politically educated, there are other ways I would do that than go to a Hollywood film.

"So, to me, the film had to work as an exciting and dynamic procedural. At its core, this movie is about FBI agents trying to investigate homicides in a complicated environment. That's it. But, obviously, politics and religion do play a strong role, and I wanted to make a film that responded to the times that we're living in."

Jamie Foxx plays the leader of the American investigators (Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper and Jason Bateman are the rest of his team).

Not surprisingly, they find the restrictions of the devoutly Muslim kingdom frustrating and absurd, breaking the ever-present tension with gallows humor. The target of most of their jokes and complaints is their by-the-book Saudi police liaison/minder, played by Israeli-Arab actor Ashraf Barhom.

Eventually, the two top cops bond through professionalism and complementary sets of values. But mainly they've got each other's backs as the investigation heats up, culminating in a chaotic kidnapping/car chase/urban shootout to rival any fantasy blockbuster's big-money sequence.

"Peter wanted to catch things on the fly and flash," Foxx says, "to keep the movie organic and quick.

"But I think the beauty in this movie is the relationship between Ashraf's and my characters, how they share human things. ... I think it's beautiful how Peter shows the Muslims in their natural life; eating, playing with their kids. At the same time, it's entertaining."

Foxx got a first-hand taste of American-Arab cooperation when he spent 10 days shooting on location in the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi. "Kingdom" was the first Hollywood movie to film in the oil-rich sheikhdom, and Foxx says it was a blast.

"I didn't experience any anti-Americanism at all," the Oscar-winning actor reports. "They have satellite TV, watch a lot of 'Access Hollywood'; they were definitely into Western culture and at the same time peacefully enjoying theirs."

Setting up the film wasn't easy. Extensive negotiations and bureaucratic arm-wrestling were required to bring in weapons, FBI uniforms and actors with Israeli passports, who are essentially banned from entering most Arab nations.

"It was thrilling, but scary," the half-Jewish Berg explains.

"You're in the middle of a Muslim city and there was a war between Israel and Lebanon going on at the time. It's disorienting; the culture is so different. It takes a while to look someone in the eye before they smile. But I made great friends with many Arabs while I was there, which reinforced my belief that the great majority of Muslims are not violent religious extremists."

Ironically, it was when the production returned to its primary location in the Arizona desert last summer that things really got tough. Of course, shooting outdoors in 120-degree heat was physically and mentally draining for all involved.

But three deaths among the crew were just devastating. Lance Gunnin, a member of the construction gang, was killed in a fatal motorcycle accident. Prop maker Tom Aguilar succumbed to prostate cancer. And then an SUV Berg was a passenger in hit a golf cart carrying prop master Nick Papac, 25.

"He died in front of the whole crew; that was horrible," Berg says. "It was a tragic freak accident. When something like that happens, it galvanizes us all to appreciate each other, and out of respect to make the best film that we possibly could."

Which meant various things to different participants.

Garner, no stranger to intrigue-laden entertainment from her stint on the TV show "Alias," tried to keep politics out of her "Kingdom" performance.

"I did read several books and did some research, just to be as familiar with the situation as possible," she says. "But I am not a particularly, outwardly political person; I leave that to the other half of my family (husband Ben Affleck is a well-known Democratic Party activist). So I focused as much, if not more, on being a forensics expert and what it would be like for her being in that circumstance."

And Foxx reasons that the film is mostly "about these guys trying to do their jobs."

In the end, though, you don't make a movie like "The Kingdom" unless you have something to say about the current world situation.

"I would hope that people might gain an appreciation from this film that there are moderate Arabs who, without kowtowing to the United States, are as interested in stopping religious extremism as we are," Berg says. "And that, certainly in my lifetime, military attempts to solve these problems don't seem to be working. Violence is just not going to work."

Bob Strauss, [phone]

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Sure Jennifer Garner can take a punch ...

Here's how tough Jennifer Garner is. Just seven months after giving birth to her first child, the "Alias" ass-kicker was running around the scorching Arizona desert firing guns and wearing fake Kevlar for her role as an FBI investigator in "The Kingdom."

Of course it landed her in the hospital with heatstroke a couple of times, but as soon as she rehydrated, she went right back out and took it like a man -- when she wasn't nursing her daughter, of course.

"Arizona in July, August and September; you do see the heat shimmering on screen, and you can't fake that," Garner says.

"You just use as little movement and energy as you possibly can until you're shooting. Even the air conditioning in our trailers couldn't keep up. Everywhere you went, you felt like you were melting."

Add to that misery a director like Peter Berg, who wanted everything to have a sense of chaos -- fight scenes weren't rehearsed so much as spontaneously ignited -- and who also seemed bent on testing just how strong the one girl in his very masculine ensemble could be.

"I was in shape -- I was ready for it," Garner insists.

"But one day, Pete punched me. Hard. And he's a big guy who boxes. Somehow, this idiotic man made this movie; I don't see the connection. He's such a fool that he thought:

"A) the Kevlar vests we were wearing were real. They're costume! They're not actually bulletproof vests, they're things that we put ice packs up inside to try to keep us cool.

"And mine had a huge space cut out across the chest because I couldn't be smushing my boobs 'cause I was breast-feeding.

"That's A.

"B) A Kevlar vest doesn't protect you from getting punched. It protects you from bullets. You still feel impact. So that dodo hit me as hard as he could, and it knocked the wind out of me. I just looked at him and thought, 'Pete, have you lost your mind? I am the actress in your movie, you cannot hit me for fun. It doesn't work like that.'

"But somewhere deep inside of him is an incredibly focused, intelligent person. He just doesn't let that person show if he can help it."

Crazy as he is, Garner says she can't wait to work with Berg again.

But what does her husband, Ben Affleck, have to say about it?

"Ben said, 'My wife can take care of herself. If you mess with her, she's gonna give it back to you."'

Jamie Foxx on politics, pit bulls and partying

Since his new movie, "The Kingdom," is about international affairs and all, we thought we'd hit up world renaissance man, high-school quarterback and world-class party host Jamie Foxx for some opinions on current events.

Tell us why you're supporting Barack Obama.

He brings stability in the way he talks. In debates, people find opportunities to sort of preach and wow the crowd. But Obama's not like that; he talks about a new way of approaching things. And I believe the next president has to address the new world, a new America. When you see white people who are normally middle class going through severe changes in their finances, that's when there's a problem.

Any thoughts on your QB Michael Vick?

I believe he wasn't paying attention. I don't think he needs to go to jail, but I believe his punishment could be to be suspended and to pay a lot of money toward animal shelters and dogs. You're not going to get anything by putting anybody in jail.

Even when the Don Imus situation happened, myself and Nelly were talking, and we figured, suspend him maybe, but don't fire him. Because if you do that, then you're firing me, because I'm an artist. They should have had him give to the Negro College Fund. So, to Michael Vick and to every young star out there -- from the Lindsay Lohans to the Nicole Richies and to all of us -- I think people are tired of us getting away with things, and it's time for us to pay attention.

Says the king of Encino house parties.

The neighbors are cool with it. We invite 'em!

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) CSI goes to WAR

In 'The Kingdom' they use more than guns

(2) Diplomat Damon Schmidt (Jeremy Piven, left), explosives expert Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper) and FBI team leader Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) meet with Saudi Prince Khaled (Omar Berdouni) in "The Kingdom," a fictionalized story of U.S. agents investigating an attack on an American workers' compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

(3) no caption (Jennifer Garner)

(4) no caption (Jamie Foxx)

Box:

(1) Sure Jennifer Garner can take a punch (see text)

(2) Jamie Foxx on politics, pit bulls and partying (see text)