Hollywood star Hartnett wraps up shooting in RP "wild west"

MONKAYO (AFP) - Hollywood heartthrob Josh Hartnett says he was more nervous about his military guards than filming in this gold-rush town known for its violent "wild west" image.

Two battalions of Philippine Marines were deployed to protect the "Blackhawk Down" star and his crew in this mining town at the foot of Mount Diwata on the southern island of Mindanao.

Hartnett, 29, said the idea of having army guards scared him more than the violent reputation of the area which is home to private armies of hired thugs and to communist rebels.

"They told me that we are going to have a military escort and things like that. That elicits some fear, not because of the place but the idea of having an army," he said.

Hartnett, who has starred in films such as "Sin City" and "Pearl Harbor" said he never felt in any danger.

"I realise the army guard is completely unnecessary," he said.

"I feel really at home. Everybody makes me comfortable here," he said as he and the crew relaxed with a party after six days of shooting here.

The actor said the only thing the troops had to do was keep away fans who wanted to get a closer look at him during shooting of the detective thriller "I Come With The Rain".

"You simply can't help but love this place," he said as he treated the crew to a traditional Philippine feast of roast pig and San Miguel beer on the day of his departure earlier this week.

"Everybody here is so nice."

Lieutenant Brian Bagaipo, head of the battalion securing the film crew, said he found the Hollywood star easygoing.

"He had no qualms, no star-complex, no demands, or anything," Bagaipo said.

In the movie, Hartnett plays an ex-Los Angeles cop tracking down the mysterious heir of a Chinese tycoon, a quest that takes him to Hong Kong and the Monkayo gold rush site.

For more than two decades, the Mount Diwata slopes have been known as a gold rush site where law-enforcement is lax and where hundreds of small, unregulated mines operate.

Village chairman Franco Tito says that over the past 25 years, since the gold rush began, possibly hundreds have died in landslides and mine cave-ins or in bloodshed over mining claims.

Joann Banaga, an employee of Philippine production company Production 56 which helped in the filming, said four local film companies were initially approached but they refused to shoot here due to security concerns.

"We checked the area first and found it was safe," Banaga said.