Cash flow hiccup keeps Pierce Brosnan waiting

The British film industry has suffered more than its fair share of knocks over the years, so it gives some regret to report that the credit crunch is threatening to scupper one of its biggest projects of the year - writes Pandora for The Independent.

Pre-production recently began in Cape Town on Heaven and Earth, a big-budget biopic of James Miranda Barry, the doctor who was supposedly a woman forced to disguise herself as a man to follow a medical career. Cameras were due to begin rolling on the $20m film, which stars Pierce Brosnan, pictured, and Natasha McElhone, last Thursday.

However I hear that filming has been delayed after funds from an unidentified British backer failed to materialise on time. The movie's London-based producers, Focus Films, say they're hoping filming can begin this week. Yesterday, however, it was still unclear whether the necessary funding would come through.

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