The Russian shoot of Colin Firth submarine disaster movie Kursk, produced by Luc Besson, has been postponed as the country’s defense ministry is still reviewing the permit request.
The shoot was scheduled to start in Russia next month and run for about a month. A new start date hasn’t been set.
“We haven’t yet received a permit from the defense ministry,” Andrei Sigle, a producer on the Russian side, told local radio station Radio Baltika. “They probably have other things to take care of.”
According to Sigle, taking the shoot to another country, such as Norway, which observers immediately suggested, is currently out of the question. He said the producers still hope to get the green light from Russia’s military.
The movie is based on a 2000 incident involving a K-141 Kursk submarine. A torpedo exploded inside the Russian submarine during a naval exercise in the Barents Sea, and the submarine’s entire crew of 118 died.
Produced by Besson’s EuropaCorp, the movie is to be directed by Thomas Vinterburg and will also star Matthias Schoenaerts.
Incidentally, Russia’s defense ministry originally promised cooperation with the crew. But later it reportedly grew concerned about granting access to classified information and locations. It didn’t comment on the delay of the shoot.
