Valkyrie filmmakers hit back in Cruise row
Story by Jack Foley
THE makers of Valkyrie, a Tom Cruise film about the plot to kill Hitler during World War II, have hit back in the ongoing row over the star’s Scientology beliefs.
Carl Woebken, the head of the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin, insisted they had the permits required to film in Germany despite being declared unwelcome at military sites by the German Defence Ministry.
Its Minister, Franz Josef Jung, reportedly told filmmakers that they could not have access to shoot at any military sites if Cruise played Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.
They disagree with the actor’s link to Scientology, labelling it as a cult masquerading as a religion to make money. And they have tried to ban Cruise even though Scientology leaders have rejected such claims.
But after the story made global headlines earlier this week, Woebken came out and said he had all necessary location permits, including Bendlerblock, the location where Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators were shot after their attempt failed.
The Bendlerblock is located in the current building complex occupied by the Defence Ministry in Berlin – but, crucially, part of it is run by the German Resistance Memorial Centre and not the ministry, which is where Cruise intends to shoot.
The filmmakers also had the permission of the buildings’ official owner, the Finance Ministry, and declared that “everything is ready to go” for the project.
But an official from the German government cast fresh doubt on the issue by saying that the green light had not yet been given for filming to commence at the historic venue – a site that filmmakers are determined to use to add to its authenticity. This could yet delay proceedings.
Valkyrie is currently slated for a 2008 release and will be directed by Bryan Singer from a script by Christopher McQuarrie (of The Usual Suspects fame).
It will co-star Kenneth Branagh Bill Nighy and Patrick Wilson and is named after the codename of the operation to assassinate Hitler with a briefcase bomb on July 20, 1944.
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