Despite reported production problems, things seem to be moving along nicely in the casting department on Clint Eastwood’s war double-header, Red Sun, Black Sand and Flags Of Our Fathers.
Last Samurai star Ken Watanabe is in final talks to join up with Eastwood on a March shoot that is hanging in the balance due to the Japanese government. Eastwood plans to tell the story of the battle from both sides – Flags being the US tale and Red Sun, Black Sand through the eyes of the Japanese.
The wrinkly helmer is determined to shoot on the island of Iwo Jima, scene of the battle, which lies 660 miles south of Tokyo. The island is the site of the famous flag raising by US troops, which inspired the famous monument erected in Arlington national cemetery.
