KITE RUNNER PRODUCERS WERE 'WRONG' OVER LOCAL CASTING

Last updated: Tuesday, December 4, 2007

KITE RUNNER PRODUCERS WERE 'WRONG' OVER LOCAL CASTING

Executives behind new movie THE KITE RUNNER were 'mistaken' to cast Afghanistan locals in the film - because bosses didn't fully understand the country's culture.

Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada as Hassan and Zekiria Ebrahimi as Amir in 'The Kite Runner'

Film bosses were forced to postpone the movie's release so they had time to get its young stars and their families out of their native Afghanistan - and avoid local ethnic tensions, after three young actors in the film were involved in a harrowing rape scene.

The kids' families feared they would be targeted once news of the controversy spread through their local community, and were taken to an undisclosed location in the Middle East. Paramount Pictures have pledged to care for the children during the film's release period, and possibly until their schooling is completed.

But Rich Klein, a Middle-East expert with a consultancy firm working on behalf of Paramount for the boys relocation, insists that although they are now safe, the company's decision to cast local actors was a mistake.

He says, "We have found the right place for the boys where they won't feel any sense of anxiety or dislocation in their lives. (But) a mistake was made. It was unintentional - the situation was not fully understood in terms of Afghan culture and history."

The film is slated for release on 14 December (07). The three boys are expected to attend the movie's U.S. premiere.

Source: WENN

| Tuesday, December 4, 2007

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KITE RUNNER PRODUCERS WERE 'WRONG' OVER LOCAL CASTING

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