DAMMAM: British director Ridley Scott was in Jordan last week to shoot for his upcoming thriller film “All the Money in the World.”
The scenes were shot in Wadi Rum, 328km south of Amman, according to a statement from the Royal Film Commission.
This is the third time Scott has chosen Jordan as a location to shoot his films, filming scenes from “Prometheus” in 2012 and “The Martian” in 2015, which was also shot in Wadi Rum, for eight consecutive days.
According to Jordan Times, the director is known for his atmospheric visual style and has reportedly said it is “the beauty of Wadi Rum” that keeps attracting him, as well as “the very nice people to work with.”
Scott said: “I was here a couple of years ago for two weeks for ‘The Martian.’ I am delighted [to be back]. I love it here.”
“All the Money in the World” tells the story of Paul Getty, who built an oil empire and became one of the richest people on earth in the 1970s. It follows the kidnapping of his grandson John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempts of his mother to get the boy’s grandfather to pay the ransom.
The film, which is slated for release in December, stars Kevin Spacey, Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams, Charlie Plummer, Timothy Hutton and Syrian actor Ghassan Massoud.
Wahlberg, who plays the role of Fletcher Chase — an ex-CIA agent who helped strike a deal with the kidnappers — described the “incredible setting” of Wadi Rum as “spectacular.”
Ridley Scott shoots in Wadi Rum for new thriller
Ridley Scott shoots in Wadi Rum for new thriller
Fans bid farewell to Japan’s only pandas
TOKYO: Panda lovers in Tokyo said goodbye on Sunday to a hugely popular pair of the bears that are set to return to China, leaving Japan without the beloved animals for the first time in half a century.
Loaned out as part of China’s “panda diplomacy” program, the distinctive black-and-white animals have symbolized friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1972.
Some visitors at Ueno Zoological Gardens were left teary-eyed as they watched Japan’s only two pandas Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao munch on bamboo.
The animals are expected to leave for China on Tuesday following a souring of relations between Asia’s two largest economies.
“I feel like seeing pandas can help create a connection with China too, so in that sense I really would like pandas to come back to Japan again,” said Gen Takahashi, 39, a Tokyo resident who visited the zoo with his wife and their two-year-old daughter.
“Kids love pandas as well, so if we could see them with our own eyes in Japan, I’d definitely want to go.”
The pandas’ abrupt return was announced last month after Japan’s conservative premier Sanae Takaichi hinted Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of any attack on Taiwan.
Her comment provoked the ire of Beijing, which regards the island as its own territory.
The 4,400 lucky winners of an online lottery took turns viewing the four-year-old twins at Ueno zoo while others gathered nearby, many sporting panda-themed shirts, bags and dolls to celebrate the moment.
Mayuko Sumida traveled several hours from the central Aichi region in the hope of seeing them despite not winning the lottery.
“Even though it’s so big, its movements are really funny-sometimes it even acts kind of like a person,” she said, adding that she was “totally hooked.”
“Japan’s going to be left with zero pandas. It feels kind of sad,” she said.
Their departure might not be politically motivated, but if pandas return to Japan in the future it would symbolize warming relations, said Masaki Ienaga, a professor at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University and expert in East Asian international relations.
“In the future...if there are intentions of improving bilateral ties on both sides, it’s possible that (the return of) pandas will be on the table,” he told AFP.
