Berlin -- The German director Wolfgang Peterson will make in April, the story of the war of Troy by adapting to the cinema The Iliad, the epic story by Homer, with the American actor Brad Pitt in the role of Achilles, he indicates in an interview to the German daily newspaper Die Welt.

The film, carried out on behalf of the American studios Warner Bros, should last "nearly two hours and three quarters", and will probably have "as a title The Troy War", says Wolfgang Petersen.

"We (Europeans) know more about the work of Homer than the average American. This is why it was completely logical that Warner Bros proposed the project to me ", underlines the director.

The making of the film, which will begin in April, will be entirely carried out in Europe and North Africa. "Almost half of film will be made in Morocco", specifies Wolfgang Petersen. The choice of a star of the scale of Brad Pitt for the role of Achilles is completely justified, because "Achilles is as large a warrior of all times, a kind of star in himself", he estimates.

Wolfgang Petersen adds that "the studio would undoubtedly not make the film if there were not such a name in the principal role". The budget should range "between 130 and 145 million dollars".

Wolfgang Petersen, born in 1941 in Frise Orientale (north-west of Germany), has been living for about fifteen years in Hollywood. Among his famous achievements appear in particular the History Without End, Alerte, Enemy, the Boat (Das Boat), In line of Sight, Air Force One.