Weapons reportedly meant for Pitt film seized

BUDAPEST - The Associated Press

Brad Pitt arrives for the world premiere of the film "Moneyball" in Oakland. REUTERS Photo.

Nearly 100 live weapons to be used in Brad Pitt's "World War Z" film were confiscated by Hungarian authorities, local media reported Tuesday. The weapons included machine guns, rifles and pistols, security officials said.

The weapons arrived from London to Budapest's Ferenc Liszt Airport on Saturday and were discovered at a nearby duty free zone, Janos Hajdu, head of Hungary's Counterterrorism Center, said. He said he could not confirm they were meant for the film.

"It's possible that all the weapons were brought in for the film, but this would not be allowed by Hungarian law," as the weapons had not been fully deactivated and could easily be used to fire live ammunition, Hajdu said on Neo FM radio. "This is a very complicated case." Hajdu said the weapons had been shipped to a Hungarian company, whose representative was being questioned by investigators.

Hajdu explained that in Hungary weapons were considered to be deactivated only if the process "was irreversible," while the weapons seized could still be fired even though screws had been used to fill the end of the barrels.

Adam Goodman, whose company is providing production services for "World War Z," said he had been advised not to comment on links between the seized weapons and the film.

"We are preparing as planned. We are not changing our schedule," Goodman told The Associated Press. He added that media reports claiming the film set had been raided by police to confiscate the weapons were "not true." Hungary's National Investigation Office said it had launched a probe in the case, but spokesman Laszlo Bartha said they had no additional information for now.