Tom Hanks in Egypt

Tom Hanks has finished shooting scenes for “A Hologram for the King “in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Hurghada. He left Egypt July 21, 2014. The film, based on the novel by Dave Eggers, is about a struggling U.S. businessman who travels to Saudi Arabia in a desperate attempt to secure an I.T. equipment contract with the King Abdullah Economic City being built near Jeddah.

Kamal Abdel Aziz, president of the Egypt’s National Film Center as well as a director of photography, confirmed that everything went well and that shoot had used underwater cameras in the Red Sea, a popular diving resort that has seen its international visitors number decline in recent years following Egypt’s 2011 revolution.

“We need to show that shooting film in Egypt is easy for foreign productions,” said Abdel Aziz. “We want to welcome international films to shoot by the Pyramids, the Nile, the Red Sea, the desert, Alexandria. We have a variety of locations.”

In addition to Hanks’ shoot, Egypt recently welcomed a team from Ridley Scott’s upcoming biblical epic “Exodus: Gods and Kings” to film in Luxor.