 By 1979, Dustin Hoffman had signed on to play the role of Kabil's prisoner for $3.5 million, but the project ultimately never advanced past the preliminary stages due to Sadat's assassination.United Studios of Israel approached Kabil to produce the film independent of Egyptian involvement, but he declined.After a visit to Israel in March 1980, Kabil was subsequently blacklisted by the League of Arab States and threatened by radical terrorist groups such as the Abu Nidal Organization.