9 September 2005

Remember the movie billed as the first ever photographed inside the United Nations? A big deal was made that despite security and image consideration, a "new and bold" approach allowed the producers of "The Interpreter" starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn to roam around the compound. U.N. staff, diplomats, and visitors were told that those long-tailed trucks that surrounded them and "action" scenes interrupting their business were for a greater cause. It was about showing the relevance of the U.N. to everyday life, was the catch-all excuse.

It transpired that in fact money was paid in return for the unprecedented filming. Exactly HOW MUCH MONEY WAS PAID, TO WHOM AND WHERE WAS IT SPENT? That question should be addressed to the official directly involved: Shashi Tharoor, the Department of Public Information at U.N. Headquarters in New York.