Actor Jackman condemns “Wolverine” leak as action starts

SYDNEY, April 8 - In a blaze of publicity, Australian actor Hugh Jackman zoomed in by helicopter and flying fox to an event to promote the latest X-Men movie, saying he was "heartbroken" that the film had been leaked on the Internet.

At the start of a world tour to promote "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", Jackman unveiled 20 minutes of footage from the action blockbuster to fans and media on Cockatoo Island in the middle of Sydney Harbour, where some of the film was shot.

"Jumped from chopper, arrived to work via flying fox and apologized to AUS (Australian) media for Opera House slip up," Jackman wrote on the social networking service Twitter.

The Sydney-born actor was referring to a message, or tweet, sent out on his new Twitter account on Monday in which he mistakenly called the Sydney Opera House the Opera Center.

His Twitter account is just one of the social networking tools being used to promote the comic-book superhero film. Jackman also stars in a YouTube clip in which he urges fans to vote for their city to host the film’s premiere later this month.

Jackman, who not only stars in the movie but also produced it via his company Seed Productions, said he was upset for everyone involved in the movie that an unfinished version was posted online last week almost a month before its launch.

The leak sent production company 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp (NWSA.O), into a spin to try stop spoiling one of the year’s most anticipated movies.

Columnist Roger Friedman of Fox News, another News Corp unit, was fired after posting a review of the pirated movie.

"It’s a serious crime and there’s no doubt it’s very disappointing — I was heartbroken by it," Jackman told a news conference widely reported by the Australian media.

"Obviously people are seeing an unfinished film. It’s like a Ferrari without a paint job."

Jackman said he was heartened by the fact that most of the online community condemned the leak and he was confident that the culprit would be caught.

"The FBI are onto it and they’re taking it very, very seriously," said the 40-year-old actor, who was voted the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine last year.

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is a prequel to the three X-Men movies in which Jackman plays Wolverine, a fictional Marvel Comics character and a role that won him international fame.

The movie is described as the first chapter in the X-Men saga in which Wolverine is united with other legends of the X-Men universe in a revolution that pits the mutants against forces determined to eliminate them.

- SAMPURN