Government Wary of Another
Hollywood 'Raider'
Actor Matt Dillon Scouting for Film; Officials Urge
Care
Matt Dillon in back, and he's walking on eggshells.
The American actor and a crew of 10 headed for Kampot, Kep and the
abandoned French hill station of Bokor Monday to scout possible film
locations, according to Cambodian film officials.
Nicholas Simon, Dillon's spokesman, didn't want to talk about it.
"We'll talk to you after the first of the year, I promise," he
said. "We're keeping this very low-key until everything's
settled."
Ministry of Culture officials said Dillon, who has wanted to make a
movie in Cambodia for at least two years, has submitted a 112-page
script titled "City of Ghosts," as required by a new law that
took effect in September.
Dillon's team is taking care to obey every conceivable regulation in
the wake of the ruckus stirred up by "Tomb Raider," the
big-budget action flick starring Angelina Jolie as video-game
archeologist Lara Croft.
"Tomb Raider" shot in lat November in Siem Reap, raised a
number of concerns, due to the violent story line and the fact that the
project was not vetted by the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural
Organization.
News that the ultra-violent Croft would be clambering all over Angkor
Wat so incensed Unesco officials, in fact, that Monir Bouchenaki,
Unesco's deputy director for culture, fired off a furious letter from
Paris.
The letter, addressed to Vann
Molyvann, director of the Apsara
Authority, noted that Unesco, which for years has provided money and
technical advice on protecting Angkor, had learned about the plans for
"Tomb Raider" through the newspapers.
"I wish to bring to your attention the violent and warrior-like
character of Lara Croft, the heroine of [the Tomb Raider video game],
which has little connection with the image of Angkor that Cambodian
authorities, the international community and Unesco plan to present to
the world, " Bouchenaki wrote.
He further note that Angkor is an "imperiled" World
Heritage site requiring special protection, and that allowing its image
to be associated with "Tomb Raider" was inappropriate.
The filming, which took place the last week in November, did not
damage the temples, officials said, and no scenes involving violence
were filmed there. Paramount Pictures
paid Apsara $10,000 per day to use
the sites.
Though "City of Ghosts," by Dillon and Barry Gifford,
includes scenes at the Bayon in Angkor Thom, most of the action occurs
elsewhere in Cambodia.
Apsara officials said Monday they have had no discussions with
"City of Ghosts" representatives about filming at the Bayon.
Dillon's draft of the screenplay, "Beneath the Banyan
Tree," has been renamed "City of Ghosts." It is sets in
the chaotic Cambodia of 1994, the year Khmer Rouge forces abducted three
Western backpackers off a train and murdered them.
Unlike "Tomb Raider," which was a fantasy adventure,
"City of Ghosts" would be look at a flawed young man's growing
disgust with his life as a predator, and his steps toward redemption.
The movie's plot involves fraud, murder, treachery, warm-hearted
Cambodians, high-ranking military officials that may of may not be
corrupt and expatriates that range from idealistic to bottom-feeders.
Muong Sokhan, deputy director of the Cinema and Cultural Diffusion
Department at he Ministry of Culture, said Dillon's crew would meet with
ministry officials later this week to discuss exactly where and what
kinds of scenes they want to shoot.
He said the new law that requires ministry approval of film projects
does not say what kinds of projects can or cannot be made, just that
"we will carefully review film proposals."
Unesco's irritation over "Tomb Raider" has inspired
ministry officials to be doubly alert, he said. "I was told we must
be careful and strict about filming Cambodia."
He said the ministry is likely to frown on shoot-outs or other or
violent sequence within the temple complexes.
And while Apsara has authority over the temple complexes, he said the
ministry has overall authority across Cambodia.
Although "City of Ghosts" is a far smaller-budget picture,
it could end up affecting many more Cambodian lives than "Tomb
Raider."
The 150-person "Tomb Raider" crew of foreigners stayed in a
single expensive Siem Reap hotel, flying in much of its food from
Thailand, although the film crew did hire more than 100 vehicles and
more than 400 local people.
City of Ghosts," by contrast, has scenes set in
Poipet,
Battambang, the Dangrek Mountains, Kep, Bokor and numerous locations in
Phnom Penh.
On Monday, the crew examined the train station in Kampot and
met with provincial officials. They plan to return to Phnom Penh on
Saturday.
The 36-year-old Dillon, who has worked in films since 1979's
"Over the Edge," has earned both critical acclaim and a
considerable income in the years since.
His Performances have ranged from a junkie in Gus Van Sant's 1989
"Drugstore Cowboy" to a sleazy con man in "there's
Something About Mary," a huge comedy hit in 1998.
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