25-02-2014

Russell Crowe headed to Turkey to direct WWI drama

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    ISTANBUL - New Zealand-born actor Russell Crowe is moving into the director's seat for the first time for father-son war drama. The Water Diviner will begin shooting 26 February, adding locations here to scenes already filmed in Australia.

    Locations in the Turkish capital will include the Sultanahmet, Çemberlitaş and Balat districts, as well as the famed Topkapı Palace. Shooting in the city will run through March, then move on to the deserted Kayaköy village in the Aegean district of Fethiye, according to a report in Turkish news service Andalou Agency (here).

    The Water Diviner, written by Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios, focuses on a father from Crowe’s adopted homeland of Australia who travels to Turkey in 1919 on a quest to discover what has happened to his two sons, both missing in the aftermath of the battle of Gallipoli.

    The film also stars Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney and Turkish actors Cem Yılmaz and Yılmaz Erdoğan.