| 
Story by: Jack Foley
OSCAR-winning director, Clint Eastwood, has been asked by the
governor of Tokyo to respect Japan's sacred war sites during the
filming of his latest film, Flags of Our Fathers: Heroes of Iwo
Jima.
The Hollywood legend has decided to adapt James Bradley’s
best-selling book as his next project and has subsequently reunited
with Steven Spielberg to get the film made.
The battle for Iwo Jima, in 1945, left 21,000 Japanese and 6,800
US soldiers dead in a single month and was considered to be a
vital turning point in the Second World War for the control of
the Pacific.
Yet the US victory continues to be surrounded by controversy
and heart-ache, even though it subsequently provided the inspiration
for one of the greatest photographs and monuments of modern times.
A photograph of six American soldiers raising a flag on the flank
of Mount Suribachi, the island's highest point, by Joe Rosenthal,
of the Associated Press, has since been recreated in one of Washington's
most enduring monuments.
|
 |
But mystery continues to surround
the fate of the war dead, as many Japanese soldiers who were killed
remain unaccounted for more than half a century later.
As a result, relatives of the fallen soldiers have continually
opposed any building on the island , insisting that it should
be left as hallowed ground.
It is this feeling that prompted Governor Shintaro Ishihara to
approach Eastwood in the hope that the filming would not be insensitive
to the island and the relatives of victims.
And Eastwood has duly responded that he will 'absolutely not'
trample on Japanese feelings.
The director intends to begin filming on Iwo Jima later this
year, but has still to ask Tokyo's permission, according to a
spokesman for the metropolitan government.
He also intends to use a cast of relative unknowns, rather than
populate the film with A-listers.
Flags of Our Fathers will mark the second collaboration between
Eastwood and Spielberg, following their work on The Bridges of
Madison County in 1995.
It is being written by another of Eastwood's past collaborators,
Paul Haggis, who penned the screenplay for his recent Oscar-winner,
Million Dollar Baby.
Editor's note: A paragrah in a previous version
of this article prompted an angry response from several of our
readers and has since been removed due to factual inaccuracy.
We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any offence
this caused.
Eastwood to produce
two Iwo Jima movies
Casting news
|
