CLINT EASTWOOD - EASTWOOD PROMISES GOVERNOR HE'LL RESPECT WAR DEAD

OSCAR-winning director CLINT EASTWOOD has promised the governor of Tokyo, Japan, he will respect the capital's war sites when he visits to shoot his controversial World War II film.

The 74-year-old legend recently told Governor SHINTARO ISHIHARA he will "absolutely not" trample on sacred war sites when he films his adaptation of best-selling book FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS: HEROES OF IWO JIMA later this year (05).

Eastwood is desperate to shoot his film on the sacred island of Iwo Jima, but despite Ishihara's approval, he is still waiting for Tokyo's metropolitan government to give him official permission.

The battle for the island, situated 1,200 kilometres (746 miles) south of Tokyo, left 21,000 Japanese soldiers dead within one month, turning the site into hallowed ground, which is fiercely protected by locals.

The movie, about the 1945 fight for Iwo Jima, will hit cinema screens in 2007.