Actor Brad Pitt (R) speaks at a hotel in Pune,
about 200 km (125 miles) southeast from Mumbai, October 6, 2006. Angelina Jolie
says she and Pitt are disappointed they are not shooting 'A Mighty Heart,' a
film about U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl, in Pakistan where he was abducted and
murdered in 2002. (Stringer/Reuters)
LOS ANGELES - Angelina Jolie says she and Brad Pitt are disappointed
they are not shooting "A Mighty Heart," a film about U.S. journalist Daniel
Pearl, in Pakistan where he was abducted and murdered in 2002.
Security concerns there caused officials to suggest they work elsewhere. So
with the exception of a few background scenes shot in Pakistan, "A Mighty Heart"
will be made in the western Indian city of Pune.
The Oscar-winning actress plays the slain reporter's wife, Mariane. Pitt,
Jolie's partner, is the movie's producer.
"I am disappointed that we could not shoot the film in Pakistan, a country
that I love and have visited three times," said Jolie in a statement issued on
Saturday by Trevor Neilson, an adviser to the couple.
"They talked with people from all levels of the Pakistan government and
there's certainly no hard feelings. But it became clear that it was preferable
to film in India," Neilson told Reuters by telephone.
He said there was no release date set for "A Mighty Heart," which is being
made by Pitt's production company, Los Angeles-based Plan B.
The film is based on a book by Mariane Pearl, "A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life
and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl."
Pearl, a 38-year-old reporter with The Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped in
Karachi in early 2002 while researching a story in the aftermath of September
11. A videotape of Pearl having his throat cut was later circulated by his
killers.
English filmmaker Michael Winterbottom, famed for such war-based films as
"Welcome to Sarajevo" and "The Road to Guantanamo," is directing the movie.
In her statement, Jolie said "A Mighty Heart" is about "cross-cultural
understanding and the values that people of all faiths share. This is not a film
about terrorism or conflict, it is a story of people of all faiths working
together to find the truth."
Pune, a metropolitan area with more than 4 million people, is in Maharashtra
state, about 80 miles southeast of Mumbai.