USA: Bill Clinton and Tony Blair's friendship is explored in new HBO film "The Special Relationship"
Record ID:
219021
USA: Bill Clinton and Tony Blair's friendship is explored in new HBO film "The Special Relationship"
- Title: USA: Bill Clinton and Tony Blair's friendship is explored in new HBO film "The Special Relationship"
- Date: 20th May 2010
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MAY 19, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF POSTERS AT RED CARPET PREMIERE OF "THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP" (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) ACTOR DENNIS QUAID POSING FOR PICTURES ACTOR MICHAEL SHEEN POSING FOR PICTURES SCREENWRITER PETER MORGAN POSING FOR PICTURES DENNIS QUAID SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR DENNIS QUAID, SAYING: "Well, after all of the physical things of it, of playing the part, which is putting on the weight, definitely the hair, working on the voice, working on the way he gestures and all of that, those are the things that, thank God I had four months before we shot, because those are all things that you just have to watch miles and miles of footage and really work on every day, and then by the time you get to the set, you have to be able to just throw all that aside and forget all about it and just do what the scene's about, and that's how you step into someone's shoes within the context of the piece that you're working on, which is an interpretation." MICHAEL SHEEN TALKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR MICHAEL SHEEN, SAYING: "I met him once, I met him last year, and that was very interesting, to meet someone who I've spent so much time watching on screen and reading about, it was good to get a sense of him in the room, to see how he actually moves around the room, and just the vibe you get off someone in the room is so completely different to watching them on screen." VARIOUS OF QUAID, SHEEN, AND ACTRESS HOPE DAVIS POSING FOR PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS HOPE DAVIS, SAYING: "Well, we all want to know what goes on behind closed doors, right? And these people are still major players on the world stage, it's not like they've faded from view and have just written memoirs, they're all very, very involved in current world politics, and it's also very interesting to look back at the way these relationships, and how George Bush ended up inheriting this kind of close bond to Tony Blair, and how that ended up changing the world, it's really interesting to go back and see how that happened." (SOUNDBITE) (English) SCREENWRITER PETER MORGAN, SAYING: "People asked me recently whether I thought I'd be interested in writing about Cameron and Clegg and the new British coalition, it doesn't interest me at all, something about what happened in England in 1997 made a deep impression on me, and when I felt that it had changed and what I voted for, you know, hadn't come to fruition, that Blair had become a different man, I wanted to write about that sense of betrayal, and I think that's a lot of the reason why I wrote this film, you know, how did Blair become that guy? Because he was not that guy when I voted for him." VARIOUS OF GROUP PHOTOGRAPH OF ACTORS AND FILMMAKERS BEHIND "THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP"
- Embargoed: 4th June 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVABY7I2DCXAL6F6RR4XB5TDBWWR
- Story Text: Michael Sheen and Dennis Quaid attend the red carpet premiere of "The Special Relationship," a film in which they play UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President Bill Clinton, respectively.
Actors Dennis Quaid and Michael Sheen star in the new HBO television film "The Special Relationship," the latest film by British screenwriter Peter Morgan that gives an imagined, behind-the-scenes take on world leaders and the trappings of power. Quaid, Sheen, and Morgan joined the film's director Richard Loncraine and co-star Hope Davis at the red carpet premiere of the film Wednesday (May 19), at the Director's Guild of America.
"The Special Relationship" is the third film by Morgan that centers around former British prime minister Tony Blair, following 2003's "The Deal," about the relationship between Blair and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and 2006's "The Queen," about the British royal family's reaction to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The current film tells the story of the strong bond between U.S. President Bill Clinton and Tony Blair that was forged after the 1997 British election, and the effect that friendship had on world politics.
"People asked me recently whether I thought I'd be interested in writing about Cameron and Clegg and the new British coalition, it doesn't interest me at all, something about what happened in England in 1997 made a deep impression on me," says Peter Morgan, on his fascination with this period in British politics.
Morgan states that he felt betrayed by Tony Blair after casting a vote for him in 1997, and that Blair's politics had changed in the later half of his tenure as Prime Minister.
"When I felt that it had changed and what I voted for, you know, hadn't come to fruition, that Blair had become a different man, I wanted to write about that sense of betrayal, and I think that's a lot of the reason why I wrote this film, you know, how did Blair become that guy? Because he was not that guy when I voted for him," says Morgan.
Actor Michael Sheen and actress Helen McCrory reprise their roles as Tony and Cherie Blair in "The Special Relationship," and although it was easy for him to slip back into the role, Sheen was helped in his preparations by a firsthand encounter with the man he was portraying.
"I met him once, I met him last year, and that was very interesting, to meet someone who I've spent so much time watching on screen and reading about, it was good to get a sense of him in the room, to see how he actually moves around the room," says Sheen.
Actor Dennis Quaid had to put on extra weight and wear a gray colored wig to help him step into the shoes of 1990's era Bill Clinton, but it was the months he spent studying footage of Clinton that made him feel prepared for the role.
"Thank God I had four months before we shot, because those are all things that you just have to watch miles and miles of footage and really work on every day, and then by the time you get to the set, you have to be able to just throw all that aside and forget all about it and just do what the scene's about, and that's how you step into someone's shoes within the context of the piece that you're working on," says Quaid.
Hope Davis plays then first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and she was interested in taking on the role because of her own curiosity of what goes on behind closed doors.
"Well, we all want to know what goes on behind closed doors, right?" says Davis. "And these people are still major players on the world stage, it's not like they've faded from view and have just written memoirs, they're all very, very involved in current world politics."
"It's also very interesting to look back at the way these relationships, and how George Bush ended up inheriting this kind of close bond to Tony Blair, and how that ended up changing the world, it's really interesting to go back and see how that happened," adds Davis.
"The Special Relationship" will air on HBO on May 29. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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