Munich - Studio scenes of a Kevin Costner movie set in Italy are to be shot at Bavaria Film Studios near Munich, probably from February, the director, Kevin Reynolds, said Sunday. It features Costner as a CIA agent assigned to watch a Mafia boss in a delightful Sicilian seaside village, according to a Rome news report in July.
"It's an action comedy with the title Learning Italian," Reynolds told the German Press Agency dpa. He said a substantial part of the film would be shot at Bavaria, but there were no German actors in the cast.
A contract is to be signed in the next few days for Bavaria to construct a set that depicts the cabin interior of a big airship. The overall Learning Italian budget is in excess of 35 million euros (50 million dollars).
"I like working with Germans. There are very good technicians in Germany," said Reynolds, who co-authored the script of Learning Italian.
Reynolds scored a major hit in 1991 with Costner as leading man in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Waterworld in 1995 also benefitted from the combination.
Bavaria Film Studios has been angling for several years for a major Hollywood contract after Babelsberg Film Studios near Berlin emerged as Germany's main international player in the subcontracting business.
