Spielberg reveals 'Munich Project' details

It seems the controverisal film has already started production in Malta.

Jul  5 2005

With 'War of the Worlds' pulling in huge numbers at cinemas across the globe, you'd have thought Steven Spielberg would be sitting back and resting on his laurels.

But, it seems, the most successful director of the modern era isn't one for laurel-resting, so much so that he has already started working on his next project.

The as-yet-untitled film concerns the Mossad hit squad ordered to assassinate Palestinian terrorists after the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, and production kicked off in Malta late last week.

Starring Eric Bana, Geoffrey Rush, Daniel Craig, Hans Zischler, Ciaran Hinds and Mathieu Kassovitz, little was known about the project until now, but in a statement released to the New York Times, the director revealed more.

Referring to the Olympic killings and the Israeli response as a 'defining moment in the modern history of the Middle East,' Spielberg goes on to explain his reasons for making the film:

'Viewing Israel's response to Munich through the eyes of the men who were sent to avenge that tragedy adds a human dimension to a horrific episode that we usually think about only in political or military terms.

'By experiencing how the implacable resolve of these men to succeed in their mission slowly gave way to troubling doubts about what they were doing, I think we can learn something important about the tragic standoff we find ourselves in today.'

The newspaper also revealed that Spielberg sought counsel over the controversial film from former president Bill Clinton, former American diplomat Dennis Ross and former White House spokesman Mike McCurry.

The 'untitled Munich project' will film in Malta, Budapest and New York over the next few weeks, with the film hitting screens in the US on December 23.

To read the full feature, head to the New York Times website here.