Attacks force Hollywood out of Morocco
Production of a major Hollywood film starring Nicole Kidman and Leonardo DiCaprio will be pulling out of Morocco due to last week’s bombings in Casablanca that killed 41 people
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| Actors could become targets of attacks according to Hollywood report |
According to the entertainment industry’s daily, Variety, the filming of “Alexander The Great” will be moving from Morocco to Australia amid fears that actors in the high-profile film may become targets of future attacks.
Producer Dino De Laurentiis plans to shift the Baz Luhrmann-directed epic from the studio, built specially for it in Ouarzazate less than 500 kilometres from Casablanca, because “political conditions are too precarious”.
“Unless the situation changes in five or six months, any important American actor could be a target,” De Laurentiis was quoted as saying. “That is a risk I cannot take.”
The movie, which is currently in the pre-production stage, will begin shooting in November and will begin rehearsals with “Titanic” superstar DiCaprio in January, the producer told Variety.
The decision came as another Hollywood filmmaker, Wolfgang Petersen, cancelled plans to shoot scenes from his new classic-themed movie “Troy” in the North African country following the devastating attacks on 16 May.
“Troy” will instead be shot in London, Malta and Mexico, Variety said.
In recent years Morocco has lured major Hollywood movies with high-profile productions, such as “Black Hawk Down,” “Gladiator” and “Four Feathers”. Morocco’s unique landscapes and cheap labour are incentives for major film productions’ houses.