Spielberg starts filming in Bugibba

Hollywood's Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg is in Malta to shoot the as yet untitled movie that was originally scheduled to be filmed last summer.

The production is wrapped in a shroud of secrecy due to its sensitive subject matter - the terrorist attack during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich - but sources said filming started in Bugibba earlier this week. Other locations have not been disclosed.

The controversial movie is about the hunt for the Palestinian terrorists who murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the games. But little more is known. The director, famed for his Hollywood blockbusters, seems to be keeping mum about his latest project.

"Such is the secrecy that even the Israeli spymasters, who commanded the reprisals after the Munich games, have been left out in the cold," according to Reuters.

Entertainment reports say the film, provisionally titled Vengeance and due to reach cinemas in December, is based on a book by the same name whose account of this painful chapter in Jewish history has been widely discredited.

The recent Reuters report also points out that the movie project has been "comprehensively researched" and built on several sources to give a balanced view.

It quotes Mr Spielberg as saying it is an opportunity for him to explore his Jewish faith and fear of terrorism.

The untitled project, as it is being referred to, stars Eric Bana, who was in Malta two years ago to play Hector in the blockbuster Troy. The low-profile Australian actor rose to fame in the movie Hulk (2003) and was just surfacing into success at the time. He had told The Times in an exclusive interview he had had a great time in Malta: "We rented an apartment and the weather's been fantastic. It's a really good place for the kids because the weather's good and you can always do something". Pity they "didn't get a chance to do too much holiday stuff because I've been busy on Troy".

Hailing from Melbourne, Mr Bana had heard of Malta and was curious to visit. "That's the fun part of the job. You end up in different places and have time to get a feel for them," he had said, probably little knowing he would be back... and so soon... to get an even better feel.

Also starring in the film are Daniel Craig, who was last year seen in Layer Cake, and in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in 2002.

Mr Spielberg, without any doubt one of the most influential personalities in the history of film, had paid a flying visit to Malta in April of last year to look at the island's potential as a filming location. However, "creative issues" had delayed the shooting of the movie in Malta - by a year.

Back then, Sky News had announced that the postponement of the film was due to the current sensitive political climate, which had led the director to put it on hold, although, on the local end, the reasons given were of a "creative" nature.

Mr Spielberg's latest epic, War Of The Worlds, is about to be released in Maltese cinemas and is being promoted as the leading blockbuster of the summer. Among the director's most memorable films are Jaws, ET, Schindler's List, Raiders Of The Lost Ark and Catch Me If You Can.