Synopsis

A veteran CIA operative, an energy analyst, a Washington lawyer, and a Pakistani migrant become caught in a widening web of oil deals, political maneuvering, corporate corruption, and covert operations. As powerful interests compete to control energy resources in the Middle East, their seemingly separate lives gradually converge, revealing the human cost of decisions made far beyond their reach.

Factoids & Trivia

• The screenplay was loosely based on former CIA officer Robert Baer's memoir See No Evil, though the film expands its scope into a fictional geopolitical thriller.

• Stephen Gaghan spent about a year researching the project before writing the screenplay, consulting petroleum industry figures and other sources in several countries.

• The title refers to "Syriana," a term used by Washington think tanks for a hypothetical reshaping of the Middle East in accordance with Western interests.

• Production used more than 200 locations across four continents. Casablanca doubled for Tehran and Beirut, while filming also took place in Dubai, Geneva, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Texas.

• George Clooney gained approximately 35 pounds for his role. During production, he suffered a serious spinal injury that caused prolonged pain and later required surgery.

• The Academy initially classified the screenplay as original rather than adapted. The decision allowed Gaghan to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

• Clooney won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film was also selected as one of the American Film Institute's ten Movies of the Year for 2005.