USA: New film "Derailed" pairing American actress Jennifer Aniston with British actor Clive Owen opens in New York City

Record ID: 219072

  • Title: USA: New film "Derailed" pairing American actress Jennifer Aniston with British actor Clive Owen opens in New York City
  • Date: 5th November 2005
  • Summary: ANISTON ON THE RED CARPET, PARTIALLY OBSCURED (SOUNDBITE) (English) JENNIFER ANISTON SAYING: "Pretty much close to perfect, I have to say, there was not much broke with it. He was amazing, he's one of the most talented men I've ever worked with."
  • Embargoed: 20th November 2005 12:00
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  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVAEMF4GCH7DA5ROT64M8LF6HRZL
  • Story Text: Jennifer Aniston's new film, a thriller called "Derailed", pairing her with British heartthrob Clive Owen, premiered in New York City on Sunday (October 30). The venue of the premiere, an uptown Manhattan theatre, saw red carpet appearances by all the major actors in the film, with Aniston and Owen, not surprisingly, attracting the most flashbulbs.
    Set in Chicago, the taut, contemporary thriller, centres on advertising director, Charles Schine's (Clive Owen) illicit affair with Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston) and how their liaison becomes more dangerous and brutally violent than Schine could have imagined. For Aniston, who has mostly been seen in comedies and romantic films, acting in a thriller with darker shades, is being cast in a mould she isn't as familiar with. It's a change that the actress seemed to appreciate. "I think, for me just doing something that I haven't done before, and kind of seeing if I could do it, and having, you know meeting the people that I got to meet and feeling like you could do something like that and feel really safe. It's good," said Aniston.
    Meanwhile, Aniston's co-star Owen, felt challenged by the near-passivity of his role as Charles in the film. "It was such a reactive part. It's something where everything happens to him, he doesn't push the story forward, he's actually a victim and a nightmare ensues, and he's very very reactive, and for the film to work, you got to be in the nightmare with Charles. And there was something about that challenge that really excited me," said Owen. As for the Aniston-Owen on-screen pairing, it has been reported that Aniston had received the script of "Derailed" while she was on the sets of "Ocean's Twelve" with ex-husband Brad Pitt. When Julia Roberts, who was on the set, learnt about the script, she is supposed to have told Aniston that Owen was "dreamy" and that she should take a chance to work with him if she could. Looks like Aniston quite agrees with Roberts now.
    Asked about working with Owen, the actress said: "Pretty much close to perfect, I have to say, there was not much broke with it. He was amazing, he's one of the most talented men I've ever worked with." Aniston isn't the only one kicked about getting a chance to act with Owen. Mikael Hafstrom, who makes his English-language feature film directorial debut with "Derailed" is happy with the Owen-Aniston pairing as well. While speaking about the duo, the Swedish filmmaker said that they were very professional and managed to keep the "outside" world at bay while shooting. "When we are together on the set, we are just, we're actors and directors. We're working together, there is, you know, the outside world is off for a moment. And everybody is just trying to do the best they can. I had a good gut feeling about the two of them together before I met them and when I met the firs t time, I felt - yeah, this is good, this feels right," said Hafstrom. Acting alongside Aniston and Owen in "Derailed" is Vincent Cassel, one of France's most prolific actors. He plays the villain, Laroche. "The most challenging part as Laroche, you mean, apart from my English, I would say, there is a scene in the movie that is kind of hard, and violent, and in those kind of situations you don't want to hurt anybody, especially if it's Jennifer Anniston, so I was very careful," the actor said.
    Meanwhile, on the personal life front, there are rumours that Aniston might be making peace with her mother, whom she has been estranged from for a while. When asked whether the glow on Aniston's face was also because of her rumoured reconciliation with her mother, Aniston answered that it was because of "all of it" and that she was "just happy".
    As for Owen, while he may not get to act as the next James Bond, as was once speculated, he just might be seen spoofing the 007 spy in the 2006 Steve Martin film, "The Pink Panther". When asked to confirm his role in the pink panther film, Owen was all wicked smiles as he said, "I play a spy in the Pink Panther film, it's true to say." How Owen does as a spy will only be seen next year, but how he does as the distraught advertising director in "Derailed" will be known soon, with his thrilling ride with Aniston hitting U.S. theatres on November 11.
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