FYI, the Hollywood actor came to Indonesia for a movie shoot "Savages," in Pulau Moyo, NTB, The movie is directed by Oliver Stone and also featuring John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Salma Hayek.
here is more from Jakarta Globe
ihttp://www.thejakartaglobe.com/lifeandtimes/hollywood-actor-claims-indonesian-immigration-officer-asked-for-bribe/502566
Indonesia's immigration office said it will immediately investigate the alleged mistreatment of Hollywood actor Taylor Kitsch by an allegedly corrupt Indonesian customs officer as he tried to enter Indonesia to work on a movie shoot.
The Canadian actor, 30, told US "Late Show" host David Letterman about his encounter with airport customs officials.
In a clip of the interview on CBS.com, Kitsch described the unpleasant encounter with the customs officer who did not immediately allow him to enter Indonesia and asked for his iPhone as a bribe.
He said the customs officer would not allow him to enter because his passport pages were full, although Kitsch had a visa to work on Oliver Stone's film "Savages," also featuring John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Salma Hayek.
"You're out of pages so I can't stamp it, so you're gone," Kitsch quoted the officer as saying.
"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," he added.
Kitsch said he showed the customs officer a trailer of "John Carter," in which he starred, on his iPhone. The official then asked about the iPhone, "Can you give me one of those?"
The officer finally allowed Kitsch to pass after Kitsch managed to convince him he was in the movie trailer.
Letterman said during the TV show that the unpleasant encounter with the corrupt customs officer had occurred in the Philippines and Kitsch did not correct him.
But, the Philippine Bureau of Customs commissioner Ruffy Biazon denied the claims, saying he had investigated them and found that the Philippine government had not given any permits for location shooting of "Savages."
Authorities had found no customs or immigration records of Kitsch's visit, Biazon said.
"I feel confident that Mr. Kitsch was mistaken in saying that his bad experience during his travel was in the Philippines," he said in his report, published on the Web site of local television station ABS-CBN.
Biazon said he learned some scenes in the upcoming film were actually recently filmed in Indonesia, the Philippines' neighbor to the south.
According to the Web site Balifilm.com, recent shooting for "Savages" took place over six days on the island of Moyo in Indonesia's West Nusa Tenggara province.
Indonesian immigration office spokesman Maryoto Sumadi said he had not heard of the incident, but would soon investigate it.
"If an officer of ours abuses his authority and taints the image of the organization especially, we will surely take action against him, in accordance to the existing regulation," Maryoto told The Jakarta Globe in a phone interview.
"We will surely investigate the truth behind this news," he added.
Kitsch is best known for his portrayal of American football star Tim Riggins in the television series "Friday Night Lights."
The Canadian actor, 30, told US "Late Show" host David Letterman about his encounter with airport customs officials.
In a clip of the interview on CBS.com, Kitsch described the unpleasant encounter with the customs officer who did not immediately allow him to enter Indonesia and asked for his iPhone as a bribe.
He said the customs officer would not allow him to enter because his passport pages were full, although Kitsch had a visa to work on Oliver Stone's film "Savages," also featuring John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Salma Hayek.
"You're out of pages so I can't stamp it, so you're gone," Kitsch quoted the officer as saying.
"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," he added.
Kitsch said he showed the customs officer a trailer of "John Carter," in which he starred, on his iPhone. The official then asked about the iPhone, "Can you give me one of those?"
The officer finally allowed Kitsch to pass after Kitsch managed to convince him he was in the movie trailer.
Letterman said during the TV show that the unpleasant encounter with the corrupt customs officer had occurred in the Philippines and Kitsch did not correct him.
But, the Philippine Bureau of Customs commissioner Ruffy Biazon denied the claims, saying he had investigated them and found that the Philippine government had not given any permits for location shooting of "Savages."
Authorities had found no customs or immigration records of Kitsch's visit, Biazon said.
"I feel confident that Mr. Kitsch was mistaken in saying that his bad experience during his travel was in the Philippines," he said in his report, published on the Web site of local television station ABS-CBN.
Biazon said he learned some scenes in the upcoming film were actually recently filmed in Indonesia, the Philippines' neighbor to the south.
According to the Web site Balifilm.com, recent shooting for "Savages" took place over six days on the island of Moyo in Indonesia's West Nusa Tenggara province.
Indonesian immigration office spokesman Maryoto Sumadi said he had not heard of the incident, but would soon investigate it.
"If an officer of ours abuses his authority and taints the image of the organization especially, we will surely take action against him, in accordance to the existing regulation," Maryoto told The Jakarta Globe in a phone interview.
"We will surely investigate the truth behind this news," he added.
Kitsch is best known for his portrayal of American football star Tim Riggins in the television series "Friday Night Lights."
Did Actor Confuse PH With Indonesia?
By RAYMUND F. ANTONIO and JUN RAMIREZ
March 3, 2012, 10:49pm
MANILA, Philippines — Did actor Taylor Kitsch confuse the Philippines with Indonesia? Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon posed the question after Kitsch appeared on "The Late Show" recently and told the host David Letterman he was almost prevented from entering the Philippines last Feb. 29.
Worse, Kitsch said, a Customs official dropped broad hints that he would let Kitsch in if he would give him his iPhone.
In his blog "The Way It Is," Biazon wrote that he scanned Customs and immigration records and found that no one by the name of Taylor Kitsch arrived on that date in the Philippines.
Kitsch said he came for the shooting of "Savages," a film by director Oliver Stone.
A quick check showed that the movie was actually being shot in Indonesia, Biazon said.
"Thinking that he might have 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. In fact, he is a Canadian citizen," Biazon said.
The website for the film also carried no reference to the Philippines but mentioned Indonesia as the site for the shooting.
"And observing the mania brought about by 'The Bourne Legacy' shoot, 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," Biazon said.
That convinced him that what the incident related by Kitsch, who starred in such films as "John Carter" and "X-Men Wolverine" did not happen in the Philippines.
The Letterman interview, cited in news websites, has triggered a stir in social media networks which reinforced alleged corruption in Customs.
"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.
Kitsch had told Letterman that the Customs official "did not believe I was an actor so I'm literally pitching myself to this guy. I'm like here to work, finish Oliver Stone's movie. John Travolta's in it. And he's like, 'Where's Travolta?' and I'm like, he's not here!"
The actor said he took out his iPhone to buttress his claims. That was when the Customs officer supposed said: "Hey, can you get me one of those?" And I'm like "Can you let me in and I'll give you one of these?" Kitsch related.
Biazon said that if Kitsch was really in the country, "it seems he was mistaken with regard to which the officer was connected to."
He asked Kitsch to correct the misimpression. "Perhaps, you can help us redeem our lost pride. Not just my agency but the country as well," Biazon said.
He assured that he would not tolerate any misbehaving Customs officials. "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."
Bureau of Immigration (BI) spokesman Antonette Mangrobang, said Saturday an initial check of the bureau's computer database showed no record of any arrival by a passenger named Taylor Kitsch.
Mangrobang also disputed Kitsch's claim that he had a working visa since there was no record that an alien certificate of registration-identity card (ACR I-Card) was issued to a Canadian named Taylor Kitsch.
"We also checked the flight manifests of all airlines from Japan to Manila and they all yielded negative results," she said.
Nonetheless, Mangrobang said Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. has ordered an investigation into Kitsch's story.
"We will also extract the footages from closed-circuit television cameras at the airport to check if indeed he arrived and was processed in our immigration counters," Mangrobang said.
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