Oh dear, oh dear, it seems that nothing is quite going according to plan for Tom Cruise and his latest venture onto Celluloid, Valkyrie - the story of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg's failed assassination attempt on Hitler.
There was controversy over the Cruise film from the start, not least because the decision to film in Berlin meant that the dreaded swastika symbol was once more seen paraded through the city, but also because of Cruise's well-known ties to the Scientology Religion, which is not officially recognised in Germany and indeed widely perceived as a improper cult.
This ill-omened start was compounded by a number of unfortunate incidents in shooting, most notably when eleven extras were injured after falling out of moving vehicle.
The latest mishap however occurred in post-production when scenes were sent to the respected Arri Munich processing plant, only for a mix-up with chemical substances to lead to the wiping of crucial footage shot at the Bendler Block. Permission was originally denied by authorities to shoot at the Block, which is where Von Stauffenberg and fellow conspirators were executed by Hitler's henchmen after the failed plot, and considered a historic site.
One small consolation for Cruise and co. is that the tricky permission attained before has already been re-granted... Let's help they get lucky second time round!
If so then Valkyrie, directed by Bryan Singer and co-starring Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson, will be out in the summer of 2008.
|