Meriam Al-Khalifa Johnson and Jason Johnson, the real life "Princess and the Marine" whose tale is told in the NBC movie (Sunday, 8 p.m., Ch. 5), are upfront about why they participated in the project. And it has more to do with the publicity than the money.
Not that they want to be famous — they already are. The couple made international headlines when Meriam (a member of the royal family in the Middle East nation of Bahrain) fled her homeland with Jason (a U.S. Marine stationed in her country) and entered the United States illegally. He forged papers to get her out of the country, which became a bit of an international incident.
What they're hoping is that the telefilm will rally public opinion in their favor. Al-Khalifa Johnson (who's portrayed by Marisol Nichols) married Johnson (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) but still faces deportation because of how she entered the country.
Jason Johnson said that they're placing their trust in their attorney but that public pressure certainly wouldn't hurt.
"The media didn't find us, we chose to go to them because we knew that the American press would be a great influence in determining the outcome of Meriam's case," Jason Johnson said. "We want people to know what really happened, the true story."
That story certainly plays like a movie script, albeit one without a definitive ending, pending a final decision by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. And Johnson, a former LDS missionary, admits that, following seven months of silence after he and his wife came to the United States, they alerted journalists shortly before his court martial, which is portrayed in the TV movie.
(The movie also makes Johnson's LDS roots clear — in addition to the almost obligatory polygamy joke made by a fellow Marine, the script also includes references to Johnson's mission and his moral standards.)
"We thought from the interviews that I had with my defense attorney and certain individuals in the Marine Corps, that I was going to be sacrificed to appease Bahrain's anger. So we went to the media," said Johnson, who believes the publicity contributed to his being penalized only by being reduced in rank — and he soon after received an honorable discharge.
"They weren't able to do the unrighteous deeds that they planned to do to me to make Bahrain happy because of the support that the media gave to the both of us."
Johnson isn't complaining about how things turned out.
"I think I deserved more than what I got. From a legal standpoint, what I did was wrong," Johnson said.
He maintains that the corporals and sergeants he approached in Bahrain refused to help, refused to let him talk to superior officers and made the crudest of comments about his relationship with Meriam.
Johnson wanted to take Al-Khalifa's case to the U.S. ambassador to Bahrain.
"If they had allowed her to talk to the ambassador and he said, 'No,' I would've found a different way. I wouldn't have done what I did," Johnson said. "But (the corporal's) words to me were, 'Who gives a (expletive)? If she dies, it's not my problem. She's just another Arab." Sentiments that were echoed by sergeants.
"So now I'm faced with the decision — do I honor the Marine Corps and their decision, which is morally incorrect . . . or do I step up and, if I get caught, throw my whole career away. So I figured it would be better to throw my career away for the sake of another human being whom I care about."
Al-Khalifa Johnson, however, has only temporary asylum in the United States. She said she left Bahrain because she was in love — and because she didn't want to be forced into a loveless, arranged marriage.
"I didn't want to be forced to marry somebody who I had to fall in love with after we were married," she said.
The Johnsons believe that Meriam would be in danger if she returns to Bahrain. "There are things that I'm concerned about, but I don't want to go into details about that," Al-Khalifa Johnson said.
Her husband also didn't want to get specific, but he did say they've had death threats and that they travel with bodyguards for protection. He worried that if he let his guard down "the next thing I know I've got a bullet in my head, and it's because I wasn't more cautious."
Al-Khalifa Johnson refused to talk about the family she left behind in Bahrain. "I'm not going to answer anything that relates to my family because I don't want to talk about that," she said. "Sorry."
At the moment, the Johnsons aren't sure about their future. They've got a book deal in addition to the movie, and they're waiting on the outcome of Meriam's hearing. They plan to have children someday — but not soon — and they haven't talked about how to deal with their religious differences or how they'd raise their kids. And it's all been overwhelming at times. But both said they've been grateful for the support of his family and of LDS bishops and church members.
"The Marine Corps is (ticked) off and they hate me, the Arabs want to kill me, despite what INS thinks," Johnson said. "It's nice to know that there are still a few individuals that you can vent and talk to and cry on their shoulders if you need to and they're not going to pass judgment. They're not going to point their fingers and say, 'Hey, as a member of the church you were wrong — you should be kicked out.' It was, like, 'Hey, what can I do to help you? What can I do to help your wife?'
"And if it ever comes the time when I become active in the church again, then if there's any consequences that I have to face for my actions, I'll be a man just like I was at my court martial. . . . You take your marching orders and you keep going. You deal with it. You make the best of it and repair what you might have ruined."
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com