Petersen sets sail for Troy

Director Wolfgang Petersen has denied reports that his epic adventure Troy is likely to be delayed or postponed by war in the Middle East.

He intends to begin filming on April 22 in London and is determined to film the final battle scenes in August in either Morocco, Mexico or Spain, depending on whether or not there is a war, he tells Daily Variety.

“We will take care of the security and safety of everybody involved but the movie will happen and there won’t be a week of delay,” he said. “Everything is in place.”

Brad Pitt will star in the big-budget extravaganza as Achilles with Julie Christie playing his mother Thetis.

Peter O'Toole will play Priam, the king of Troy, with a mainly British supporting cast which includes Saffron Burrows, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Brian Cox and Eric Bana. Ireland's Brendan Gleason is also part of the cast.

Petersen has carried out a worldwide search for an actress to play Helen of Troy and is close to choosing an unknown for the role.

“She has to be believable as the face that launched 1,000 ships and caused the Greeks to go against Troy,” he said. “She has to be that beautiful.”