Ashley Judd in Croatia: 'Missing' Moves from Dubrovnik to Hvar

Filming of American Series 'Missing', starring Ashley Judd and Sean Bean, moves from Dubrovnik to Croatia's Premier Island, Hvar,

The latest film set to arrive on the island of Hvar is the backdrop of ABC's new seriesMissing starring Ashley Judd and Sean Bean, which is due to start shooting scenes for two days on Tuesday, May 24 2011, according to a report in Croatian daily, Slobodna Dalmacija.

From Prague to Dubrovnik to Hvar

The scheduled two-day filming on Hvar is the latest East European stop for the series, which started in Prague and is now moving from a successful stint in Dubrovnik. In the series, Judd plays a distraught single mother in search of her 18-year-old son who has gone missing in Europe. Bean plays her deceased husband, through a series of flashbacks, having been blown up in front of their sun in an earlier episode.

Filming Tradition on Hvar

The decision to film on Hvar signifies the latest filming to be based on the island, described by Forbes Magazine as one of the world's sexiest. The island has a long tradition of providing locations for films in the former Yugoslavia, and has an international movie heritage dating back to 1967 and the shooting of the Orson Welles film, The Deep.

There has been a lot of media interest in the filming of the series in Croatia, with local residents queuing up to sign up as extras for the two-day shooting, with payment of 350 kuna (approximately $70) a day.

While the filming of such a prominent American series is an obvious boost to tourism in the run up to the main season, Missing is not the only film set currently on the island. Former Croatian President, Stipe Mesic, grabbed the headlines last week, with his bit part role in Filip Šovagovic's new movie, Visoka Modna Napetost (High Fashion Tension) which is currently based in Hvar's third largest town, the pretty northern coastal resort of Jelsa.

Celebrities on Hvar

While the filming will be welcomed locally, residents are unlikely to be star-struck with the invasion of famous names, used as they are to very high profile visitors. Billed as the new St Tropez, Hvar Town is becoming known as a must-see destination on any Adriatic tour, with the yachts of Bill Gates, Bernie Ecclestone and Roman Abramovich a small cross-section of the island's illustrious victors. Few Hollywood actors left a bigger impression than Kevin Spacey, who hit the headlines in 2008 for grabbing the buttocks of an unidentified male while partying on Hvar.