UK: Gwyneth Paltrow denies slurs against Britain at the London premiere of 'Proof'

Record ID: 219270

  • Title: UK: Gwyneth Paltrow denies slurs against Britain at the London premiere of 'Proof'
  • Date: 26th October 2005
  • Summary: PALTROW'S WAISTLINE AND PALTROW SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PALTROW SAYING: "It was such an amazing role, you know. It's very rare that you find a role like that written for a young woman and I just thought that it was amazingly well written and that it would be a great thing to do the film version and I was very lucky that I was asked to do it."
  • Embargoed: 10th November 2005 12:00
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  • Reuters ID: LVA4JRZL3NBBFVSBNP1J5NX10WPW
  • Story Text: Academy-award winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow recently hit the headlines with criticism of her new home town, London. According to media reports, the actress told Marie Claire magazine she found the UK weather 'cold and depressing', the streets 'too dirty' and customer service 'just rubbish'. But walking the red carpet for the London premiere of her latest film 'Proof' on Saturday (October 22) Paltrow dismissed the claims, and in words likely to upset the inhabitants of her other hometown, New York, blamed the press for twisting her words. "You know, the British press are just ridiculous! I've never said anything like that and the only thing I ever said was that New York had dirty streets, I mean, I grew up in New York, if you want to see dirty streets, go to New York! London is immaculate. So I don't know where they get off, making up these mean things, but they do," the actress said. In addition to her non-complimentary comments, the media also reported that the star is expecting her second child. Dressed in a tight, black Gucci dress, Paltrow left fans and media alike to speculate the authenticity of the reports. Whereas for Paltrow returning to Britain meant dealing with the press, for John Madden, the British director of 'Proof', bringing the film to the London Film Festival felt like coming home. "We made the film here too, you know. It's kind of strange because it's an American story but we made it in Britain largely, we shot in Chicago but we made it here with a British crew. And it's my home so, you know, it feels like coming home, and it's been wonderful, the other festivals have been great, but this one is particularly special," the director told Reuters. In Proof, Paltrow stars alongside Anthony Hopkins and Jake Gyllenhaal in an adaptation of David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. The film, which picks up on a theme explored in 'A Beautiful Mind' staring Russell Crowe and 'Rain Man', featuring Dustin Hoffman, is a moving exploration of mathematical genius bordering on madness, intertwined with a love story. Paltrow's Catherine is a former math student who quit her studies to nurse her ageing father. By the age of 26, the father, Robert, had developed brilliant proofs on mathematical theory, but as an elderly man, he has slipped into mental illness. Audiences learn that Catherine, 27, believes she, too, may be slipping into madness. One thing keeping her sane is a maths proof she may, or may not have written. Its authenticity is questioned by her new friend (Gyllenhaal), mathematician keen to discover her dead father's academic secrets and sister (Hope Davis) who believe her father wrote it and that Catherine has stolen it. "The whole business of sort of genius and madness, which is a moniker attaches itself to the material, it's not necessarily the thing of central interest to me, it's more about, I suppose the fear of loosing control, the fear of uncertainty, of not knowing who you are or how to deal with things, it's really what the kind of essence of it is for me," explained Madden. As in the London stage production, Paltrow was directed by John madden. The pair also made the hugely successful 'Shakespeare in Love' together, which was nominated for 13 Oscars in 1999 and won seven, including Paltrow's best actress award. Having two Oscar-winning actors, Paltrow and Hopkins, in his film was a dream come true for Madden. "Yeah, it is a dream cast. And it's not even about who's won an Oscar and who hasn't. I mean, they just fit their roles so amazingly. And you know, this piece belongs to the actors. It's an ensemble piece and the kind of nuance and the kind of interplay between them, I think, is really what the whole story is about," he said. 'Proof' received positive reviews after featuring at the Venice and Toronto film festivals. For those missing the London Film Festival screenings, the next time to form their own opinion on the film will not be until the film goes on general release on February 24, 2006. The London Film Festival which runs through November 3, 2005.
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