Forest in Australia off limits for film

Cut! An Australian court Thursday banned filming of a Hollywood movie in the pristine forests west of Sydney.

“Stealth,” which is being directed by Rob Cohen and stars Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel and Jamie Foxx, was scheduled to begin filming today in the Grose Valley Wilderness Area of the Blue Mountains, about 60 miles west of Sydney.

But after a vocal campaign by local environmentalists, the New South Wales state Land and Environment Court banned filming, overruling state government permits that had been granted for the thriller.

In his ruling, Justice David Lloyd declared wilderness areas were “sacrosanct” and ordered state authorities to issue no more permits for filming in such regions.

Environmentalists say the Grose River and the gorges it has carved through the Blue Mountains are home to animals including platypuses, rare snakes and wallabies.

There was no immediate reaction from the film’s producers, who had told the court that disruption in their filming schedule would cost $360,000 a day. The film is to be released by Columbia Pictures next year.

Outside the court, Greens lawmaker Ian Cohen hailed the ruling and said the film company could shoot in other locations that were not environmentally sensitive.

“We are very, very pleased that this court decision today will stop what is an extremely dangerous precedent to downgrade the environmental values in New South Wales,” he said.

Conservation groups also applauded the court’s decision.

Colong Foundation for Wilderness director Keith Muir said the precedent ensured wilderness must be conserved.

“If we had lost, then wilderness everywhere would have been vulnerable to a death by a thousand commercial concessions,” Muir said in a statement.

However, New South Wales Premier Bob Carr said he would appeal the decision.

“We are now following every legal avenue in a bid to overturn this decision,” said Carr, whose government has been courting filmmakers to bring work to his state. “This is the worst possible message for overseas filmmakers.”