VARIOUS: Daniel Craig treads the red carpet for the London premiere of his latest film, 'Defiance'
Record ID:
219032
VARIOUS: Daniel Craig treads the red carpet for the London premiere of his latest film, 'Defiance'
- Title: VARIOUS: Daniel Craig treads the red carpet for the London premiere of his latest film, 'Defiance'
- Date: 8th January 2009
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JANUARY 6, 2008) (REUTERS) WIDE OF RED CARPET AT DEFIANCE PREMIERE IN LEICESTER SQUARE ON LONDON VARIOUS OF DEFIANCE BILLBOARD (2 SHOTS) VARIOUS OF CROWD AT BARRIER (2 SHOTS) DANIEL CRAIG ARRIVING WITH GIRLFRIEND SATSUKI MITCHELL WIDE OF RED CARPET CRAIG AND SATSUKI MITCHELL ALONG (SOUNDBITE) ACTOR DANIEL CRAIG SAYING: "One of the reasons I think the story is important is because this is very recent history and a lot of the way we look at the world and live in the world is shaped because of that history and stories like this need to be told because it's not that long ago." DANIEL CRAIG TALKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) ACTOR DANIEL CRAIG, ON FILMING ON LOCATION IN FREEZING CONDITIONS, SAYING "We were, yeah, I don't know if it was ever as cold as this. But we were there- it was part of the process and it was part of doing the movie that way. It informed the movie." ZOOM OUT FROM DANIEL CRAIG TALKING TO MEDIA TO LIEV SCHREIBER TALKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) LIEV SCHREIBER, ON FILMING ON LOCATION IN FREEZING CONDITIONS, SAYING: "Well, Ed (Zwick - director) did a very smart thing. He parked the trailers about a quarter of a mile away from the set so that we couldn't go to them. Which meant that we had to hang out and sort of become close, band of brothers, on set which was part of his design, I think." SCHREIBER TALKING TO MEDIA (2 SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LIEV SCHREIBER, ACTOR, SAYING: "I think, at the heart of this story, is the notion that we are, as a race, instinctively and protective of each other and I more so than ever it's important to remember that. That we are a communal species." ACTOR JAMIE BELL TALKING TO REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAMIE BELL, ACTOR, SAYING: "The film is slightly different to how it was in real life so I felt I had a bit of licence and a bit of freedom with it but at the same time you're representing a legacy of guys who did something so incredible. So it was important that we got it right, it was important that we all - especially me, Danny (Craig) and Leiv (Schreiber) - created this amazing bond of brotherhood and siblings and family. I think that part was incredibly important to all of us." DIRECTOR EDWARD ZWICK (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR EDWARD ZWICK SAYING: "I think to see refugees displaced, going from one place to the other, is one of the salient images of our time, and to try and think about resistance and the nature of resistance by a people against an overwhelming force is also quite contemporary." DIRECTOR EDWARD ZWICK TALKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR EDWARD ZWICK, ON FILMING ON LOCATION IN FREEZING CONDITIONS, SAYING "They maintain that I did that on purpose. I think it was more of a factor of the location, but it did give something to the production. Everyone bonded in this very specific way and I think it found it's way on to the film."
- Embargoed: 23rd January 2009 12:00
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- Reuters ID: LVA7D4WL6TZQ80H05SJ1XCSG0546
- Story Text: Hundreds of fans braved freezing London weather to see the stars of 'Defiance' at the film's UK premiere at Leicester Square on Tuesday (January 6).
Taking a break from his role as super-spy, James Bond, Daniel Craig tread the red carpet to promote the film in which he plays a WWII Jewish resistance fighter.
'Defiance,' which is based on true events, follows the little known story of the Bielski brothers, played by Craig, Leiv Schreiber and Jamie Bell.
The three Jewish brothers escape Nazi-occupied Poland after their parents are killed to hide in woods they have known all their lives.
As they are joined by other survivors, the brothers have to decide whether to continue to hide and protect their fellow refugees, or to join partisan Russian forces and actively attack Nazi occupiers and collaborators.
The oldest of the three, Tuvia (Craig), elects to stay in the harsh wilderness to rebuild what community he can and support a swelling number of survivors - which includes the sick and elderly. His hot headed-brother, Zus (Schreiber - soon to be seen opposite Hugh Jackman in the upcoming 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'), joins the Russian resistance to fight and exact revenge on occupying soldiers - and collaborators -in a series of raids and ambushes.
Over the course of the film, as the brothers face discovery by the Nazis, starvation, and threats from within their own camps, they come to realise the importance of community.
Craig, who hadn't heard of the story until he read the script, said he instantly attracted to the project and believed that it was a story that needed to be told - especially in light of modern conflicts.
"One of the reasons I think the story is important is because this is very recent history and a lot of the way we look at the world and live in the world is shaped because of that history and stories like this need to be told because it's not that long ago," he told Reuters.
After having helmed such films as 'Glory,' 'Blood Diamond,' and 'The Last Samurai,' director and co-writer Edward Zwick is no stranger to historical dramas set in times of conflict.
He agreed that the historical story of survival was relevant in relation to recent and current armed conflicts that have seen civilian communities displaced or under attack.
"I think to see refugees displaced, going from one place to the other, is one of the salient images of our time, and to try and think about resistance and the nature of resistance by a people against an overwhelming force is also quite contemporary," he said.
Defiance, which has had a limited release in the United States, opens across UK cinemas January 9. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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