Hayek and Farell: Cape Town, a great location for a shoot

Farrell, along with Academy Award nominee Salma Hayek and film producer Robert Towne, is in Cape Town for the shooting of the film Ask The Dust.

Both praised the city for its beauty and the friendliness of South Africans.

The film tells a love story set in Los Angeles against the backdrop of the Great Depression.

Towne said weather conditions, Cape Town's location and the dunes of Bloubergstrand suited their production plans perfectly as it resembled what California was like 70 years ago.

"California is so heavily built up and Canada could not provide the aesthetics we were looking for. In addition to the physical layout of Muizenberg and the rolling dunes of Bloubergstrand, Matjiesfontein gave us the desert setting for the film," Towne said.

Hayek, who plays a Mexican beauty named Camilla who hopes to change her life by marrying a wealthy American, said: "When I wake up and I see the sun rise it is unlike anywhere else in the world. The days, even when overcast, are stunning and fitted in with the setting of the film."

Farrell, an Irishman, said: "I'm happy to be here. Bringing the shooting here was not about it being less expensive. We could not find elsewhere what we found here in South Africa."

Among his most recent movies are Phone Booth, Minority Report and The Recruit.