Mounties Nab Pitt Chasers

CALGARY -- Paparazzi hoping to nab on-set photos of Brad Pitt playing the outlaw Jesse James are themselves getting a rough ride by police in Alberta.

Yesterday, the Mounties were called to a closed set north of Calgary to remove an Italian photographer who was hiding in some trees aiming to capture the Hollywood heart-throb on film. The day before, an American photographer was arrested after being discovered on the same set where Mr. Pitt is shooting The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. And last month, a Canadian photographer was charged with mischief after he was found hiding at Fort Edmonton, which was closed to the public for filming of the same movie.

"It's becoming more and more unsafe," said film publicist Lee Anne Muldoon.

"We can't tolerate it and just say leave," she said.

The incidents have not resulted in injuries or threats to any of those involved with the film, she said, but they could. Celebrity photographers attempt to provoke the stars into creating a better shot, she said.

They are also disruptive. Production needs to be temporarily shut down. Some takes have to be redone if the photographers have made their way into the shots, she said.

Photos of Mr. Pitt, and specifically Mr. Pitt with his off-screen leading lady, Angelina Jolie, have become a hot commodity since he split with his wife, Jennifer Aniston. When Mr. Pitt landed in Alberta in August to begin shooting the $30-million western, so did the international paparazzi. A picture of Mr. Pitt smooching Ms. Jolie could be worth up to $500,000 (U.S.).

On Monday, Cochrane RCMP were called to an undisclosed location at about 11:30 a.m. after a report from film officials that members of the crew apprehended a freelance photographer from Los Angeles they found trespassing on private land.

"He was a little disappointed, but not surprised," RCMP Corporal Stephen Simpson said.

Just before lunch yesterday, police responded to a complaint about another trespasser on the set. The man, who had recently flown in from Rome and told police he did not know the set was off-limits, will not be charged.