Taylor Kitsch Airport Incident Not in Manila as Confirmed by Indonesian Government

Taylor Kitsch Airport Incident Not in Manila as Confirmed by Indonesian Government

Taylor Kitsch' airport bribe incident where an airport official allegedly asked for his iPhone in exchange of his entry to the country was confirmed happened in Indonesia and not the Philippines as what he and “Late Show” host David Letterman talked about during the latter's television show.

The story of the alleged bribe emerged when Letterman asked the “John Carter” star about his recent shoot for the Oliver Stone film “Savages”.

Image Credit: fanpop.com

Letterman mentioned the Philippines when he talked about the shoot - but Kitsch failed to correct him and say that the filming took place in Indonesia.

Kitsch described how an airport customs officer threatened to send him back to Japan, his port of origin, because he had run out of pages in his passport.

The 30-year-old Canadian-born actor further said that he was finally allowed in after proving he was an actor by showing the officer on his iPhone the trailer for his recently completed film “John Carter,” in which he plays a Civil War veteran transplanted to Mars.

In a report posted at Detik.com, Indonesian deputy minister for justice and human rights Denny Indrayana confirmed that the 30-year-old Canadian-born actor arrived at Bali island’s Ngurah Rai airport on February 1, as scheduled, to shoot a film in the neighboring West Nusa Tenggara province.

Indrayana also shared that the Indonesian official who allegedly bribed Taylor Kitsch has been identified and is now subject for interrogation.

source: globalnation.inquirer

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INDONESIAN OFFICIALS TO INVESTIGATE KITSCH INCIDENT

INDONESIAN OFFICIALS TO INVESTIGATE KITSCH INCIDENT

Report from pr-inside.com:

Immigration officials in Indonesia are to launch an investigation after Hollywood actor TAYLOR KITSCH claimed he was threatened with deportation on arrival in the country.

The X-Men Origins: Wolverine star spent a week shooting Oliver Stone's Savages in Indonesia, but during
an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman last Wednesday (29Feb12), the actor claimed to have suffered a nasty run-in with an immigration officer at the airport.

Image Credit: interaksyon.com

Kitsch alleged the official told him he was to be refused entry to the country because his passport had run out of pages, and he had to convince the man he was really an actor with a proper work visa by showing him a trailer for one of his movies on his iPhone.

He told Letterman, "(He said) 'You're out of pages so I can't stamp it, so you're gone.' And I'm like, 'Hold on, I can work here; I've got the visa.' He didn't believe I was an actor, so I'm literally pitching myself to this guy."

Kitsch claims the officer then asked about his cell phone and said, "Can you give me one of those?" During the interview, Letterman wrongly suggested the incident had taken place in the Philippines, prompting a swift denial from officials in the country, and now a spokesman for the Indonesian immigration office, Maryoto Hadi, has confirmed they will investigate the allegations.

He tells Thejakartaglobe.com, "If an officer of ours abuses his authority and taints the image of the organisation especially, we will surely take action against him, in accordance to the existing regulation. We will surely investigate the truth behind this news."

source: http://www.pr-inside.com

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Taylor Kitsch went to Indonesia, not Philippines

Taylor Kitsch went to Indonesia, not Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE)  - Hollywood actor Taylor Kitsch, best known for playing a football player in the NBC series "Friday Night Lights," made a mistake during a recent interview on the "Late Show With David Letterman."

In the interview, Kitsch said he was stopped by a Customs officer in the Philippines where he was supposed to film Oliver Stone's new film "Savages."

Trouble is, "Savages" was filmed in Eastern Indonesia, and not the Philippines.

Image Credit: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com

In his interview, Kitsch said he had just arrived in the Philippines when a Customs officer told him he had to return to Japan because there were no more pages in his passport.
"I'm in the backroom and he said, you're going back to Japan...He said, 'There's not enough pages. You're out of pages, so I can't stamp it. You're gone.' I'm like, I can work here, I've got the visa. He didn't believe I was an actor so I'm literally pitching myself to this guy," Kitsch said.

Kitsch even told the customs officer that he worked on other films and was working with John Travolta on "Savages."

Since the airport's computers were not working, Kitsch used his iPhone to show the customs officer the trailer of his newest film "John Carter." The customs officer, however, was more interested in Kitsch's iPhone.

"Their computers are not working. So I told him, 'You gotta look me up, I can show you something to prove (that I'm an actor)' and he said, 'You are on the next flight to Japan,' reminding me again. And then I'm looking on my iPhone because their computers weren't working. And he's like, 'Hey, can you get me one of those?' And I'm like, 'Can you let me in and I will give you one of these.' And he still not believing (me)," Kitsch said.

"Finally, I show him the trailer of John Carter on the iPhone and he stopped and he's like 'Oh my God, what's that?' And it's the great white ape that's in the trailer. And he’s like, ‘That’s not you.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ He’s like, ‘You have short hair.’ And I’m like, ‘Mate, I cut it. It grows. It’s me.' So, then finally he's like, 'I love trailer, go ahead you are in.' So, John Carter got me through customs."

Airport records
According to Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon, initial investigation conducted by the Bureau of Immigration showed that there was no record of the actor’s arrival in the country.

“After a thorough search, Immigration did not find an arrival entry for Mr. Kitsch. Thinking that he might have had a different name in his passport and Taylor Kitsch was a screen name, I checked with US authorities and they confirmed that the name on his passport was Taylor Wade Kitsch, born April 8, 1981,” Biazon wrote in his blog.

Biazon also said there were no records of Kitsch’s customs declaration form required when entering the Philippines.

“What is becoming more apparent is that Mr. Kitsch was mistaken with regard to the country he was talking about. Not having a record of his visit here and his film having a shoot in another country only means his story lacks the factual basis,” he said.

Biazon also noted that based on Kitsch’s story, the arrival process he underwent was not within the mandate of the Customs bureau.

“It is not within the scope of work of Customs to ask for a traveler’s passport to put a stamp on it; and it is definitely not within the authority of Customs to send a passenger back on a flight outside the country and deny entry into the Philippines,” the Customs chief said.

He added that if Kitsch’s film “Savages” did shoot in the Philippines, it wouldn’t have escaped media coverage, citing the fanfare caused by the Manila shoot of “The Bourne Legacy” recently.

“The arrival of Mr. Kitsch in Manila, much more a shoot directed by Oliver Stone, wouldn’t have escaped the vigilant media and the star-struck Hollywood movie fans. But there was no news whatsoever of Mr. Kitsch’s Manila arrival,” said Biazon.

'Lost pride'
Biazon appealed to Kitsch to help redeem “lost pride” because of the mix-up, saying that an incident like this undermine the efforts of the Bureau of Customs to reverse its negative image.

“In the meantime, Mr. Kitsch, perhaps you can help us redeem our lost pride. Not just my agency, but my country as well,” he said.

Biazon also assured the public that, if proven true, malicious behavior by airport officials will not be tolerated.

“I have constantly conveyed to my fellow workers in the Bureau of Customs our need to rehabilitate our image and the only way to do it is for us to act in a manner worthy of the people’s respect. If incidents like that occur, I am sure to immediately look into it and act correspondingly. Discipline those who err and commend those who do good,” he said.

source:  ABS-CBN News

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US actor tells Letterman about NAIA experience (Philippines)

US actor tells Letterman about NAIA experience (Philippines)

MANILA, Philippines - Hollywood actor Taylor Kitsch, best known for playing a football player in the NBC series "Friday Night Lights," revealed how he was stopped by a customs officer at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

In an interview with "Late Show With David Letterman" aired March 1, Kitsch said he was flying in and out of the Philippines to film Oliver Stone's new film "Savages."

"I had the visa to work there on a new Oliver Stone film called 'Savages' with Travolta, Benicio, Uma Thurman, Aaron Johnson," he said.

Image Credit: thehollywoodstory.com

When he recently went back to the Philippines, Kitsch said was stopped by a customs officer. Apparently, the customs officer discovered that there was no more space on Kitsch's passport for a new stamp, so the actor was told to go back to Japan, where he just came from.

"I'm in the backroom and he said, you're going back to Japan... He said 'There's not enough pages. You're out of pages, so I can't stamp it. You're gone.' I'm like, I can work here, I've got the visa. He didn't believe I was an actor So I'm literally pitching myself to this guy," Kitsch said.

Kitsch even told the customs officer that he worked on other films and was now working with John Travolta on "Savages." But the immigration agent didn't believe him, and even asked him, "Where's Travolta?"
Since the airport's computers were not working, Kitsch used his iPhone to show the customs officer the trailer of his newest film "John Carter". But the customs officer, who still didn't believe he was an actor, allegedly even tried to get Kitsch to give him an iPhone.

"Their computers are not working. So I told him,'you gotta look me up, I can show you something to prove (that I'm an actor) and he said 'You are on the next flight to Japan,' reminding me again. And then I'm looking on my iPhone because their computers weren't working. And he's like 'hey can you get me one of those?' And I'm like 'can you let me in and I will give you one of these.' And he still not believing (me)," Kitsch said.

"Finally I show him the trailer of John Carter on the iPhone and he stopped and he's like  'oh my God what's that?' And it's a great white apes that seen there that's in the trailer. And he’s like, ‘That’s not you.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ He’s like, ‘You have short hair.’ And I’m like, ‘Mate, I cut it. It grows. It’s me.' So, then finally he's like 'I love trailer, go ahead. You are in.' So, John Carter got me through customs."

Kitsch was also part of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" where he played the role of Gambit."

Here is the video:

Video Credit: Youtube

source: ABS-CBN News

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