hollywood movie in Pak

Pearl film shot in Pakistan without permission

Washington: A Hollywood team making a movie about Daniel Pearl recently shot scenes in Karachi and Islamabad, as well as the countryside, without the permission of the government of Pakistan.

Akram Shaheedi, press minister at the Pakistan embassy, told on Sunday morning that no request by the film unit to shoot in Pakistan had been made to the embassy. He said all documentary and feature filmmakers must obtain permission and the right visa from the Pakistan government. Any unauthorized attempt to film without permission and without the knowledge of government authorities was illegal and regrettable, he added. He said he would be making inquiries, starting today, both here and in Islamabad.

The film on the Wall Street Journal reporter, Daniel Pearl – who was lured into a meeting with a shadowy jihadi figure and then murdered – is based on his wife Mariane Pearl's book 'A Mighty Heart'. Dan Futterman will play the slain journalist, while Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie is to play Mariane.

According to a report in the Washington Post on Sunday, "Futterman, director Michael Winterbottom and a skeleton crew went overseas to capture the flavor of the story.

'It was important to shoot in the actual places where things happened,' said Futterman, who agreed to be interviewed only after returning to the United States.

"Winterbottom has become known for making films in hot global spots; his '200 In this World' was about Afghans trying to leave a refugee camp in Pakistan. The crew shot on the streets of Karachi – including the restaurant where Pearl was last seen before his abduction – and in the rural countryside. 'There are lots of little things that were important to (Winterbottom),' Futterman said, not least of all the people and the sound of the language spoken.' Security concerns were so high that all involved were sworn to secrecy. Because they hoped to be perceived as documentary or news crew, the filming took place without any Hollywood trappings. There was also some concern because Futterman, like Pearl, is Jewish."

A Mighty Heart, being made by Paramount, is due to be released in 2007. This year, HBO, an American entertainment channel, will debut the documentary 'The Journalist and the Jihadi: the murder of Daniel Pearl', on October 10, Pearl's birthday.