UK: Orlando Bloom fails to attend the London premiere of his latest film 'Elizabethtown'

Record ID: 219436

  • Title: UK: Orlando Bloom fails to attend the London premiere of his latest film 'Elizabethtown'
  • Date: 26th October 2005
  • Summary: FANS SCREAMING
  • Embargoed: 10th November 2005 12:00
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  • Reuters ID: LVACPSWBBBNQ1YHSBUZY2TGEPHEA
  • Story Text: Having recovered from the heavy downpour of the opening night, film fanatics in London flocked to Leicester Square for the gala screening of Cameron Crowe's 'Elizabethtown'. However, much to the disappointment of excited fans, Britain's golden boy of the moment - and the only Briton of the 'Elizabethtown' cast - Orlando Bloom, failed to show up. Bloom is currently in the Caribbean filming the sequels for the box office hit 'Pirates of the Carribean'. Meanwhile his director and co-stars Kirsten Dunst and Susan Sarandon enthused about being back in London and attending yet another film festival. "I love London because I've come here before a couple of times with 'Almost Famous' and a movie called 'Singles'. But this is where some of the music I love comes from and a lot of the films that I love so it is great to be back in the heart of a lot of the stuff that I'm such a fan of," said Crowe. Crowe was full of praise of his leading man, saying had he been able to attend, Bloom would have given full attention to his growing fan-base. "Orlando? Well, here we are where it really matters to him, in a huge way, I'm sure. I think he'd want to spend time with all of his fans, you know, he is that guy that says 'Stop the car, I'm getting out to sign for everybody.' And I think if he could have made it here, you know, he would have been the first one here and the last one to leave," Crowe said. Bloom's on-screen love interest, Kirsten Dunst played down all media speculation over the two being romantically involved outside of set and said they'd become good friends. But, she added, she had received no hints on how to spend her time in his homeland. "I gave him the hints! No, I'm just joking. No, he did not give me any hints, we were just like, you know, there to support each other during the movie. And it was hard, so we both like really worked very hard on this film...I'm like, 'It's so hard', no, but we support each other and we are good friends," Dunst said. In 'Elizabethtown' Crowe, the man behind Hollywood hits 'Jerry Maquire' and 'Almost Famous' takes audiences on a journey inspired by his personal experiences in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, after the death of his father in 1989. "Elizabethtown" is a personal story, although not as close to Crowe's own life as "Almost Famous", in which the main character covers a rock tour for a music magazine much as Crowe wrote about music for Rolling Stone magazine. The film centres on Drew (Orlando Bloom) who is contemplating suicide after an athletic shoe he designs turns into a financial fiasco for its manufacturer, when his sister announces his father has unexpectedly died while visiting relatives in Kentucky. Instead of stabbing himself on an exercise bike as he intends, the designer goes to deal with the body. He ends up being charmed by a resolutely cheerful flight attendant Claire (Dunst) and his eccentric Kentucky relatives, who make him re-awaken to the joys of life. Things don't work out exactly as Drew planned, but he is embraced by his country cousins, aunts and uncles. Their warmth and a budding romance Claire give Drew a new outlook on life. Bloom, who made his cinema debut with "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring", the first in the trilogy, and co-star Kirsten Dunst are backed by a heavyweight supporting cast including Alec Baldwin as the philosophical evil boss and Susan Sarandon as Bloom's distraught, tap-dancing mother. For the cast, challenges in the making of the film came in somewhat surprising shapes. For Dunst, playing the ultra-positive Claire was unexpectedly trying. "It's kind of depressing to play somebody that positive all the time because you're constantly giving a lot of yourself and not getting anything back. So, I was kind of down from playing somebody that positive," said Dunst. For Susan Sarandon, who played Dunst's mother in 'Little Women' in 1994, getting the role of Drew's mother, based on Crowe's own mother, right, was given extra pressure as she was part of the film crew. "Yes, of course, she was in the audience, you know, telling me what was true and what wasn't, so yes, there is a little bit of added pressure when you're playing someone, especially someone who's now an extra in the movie but it's also a plus because then you get some added information, you know," said Sarandon. So far, "Elizabethtown" has received mixed reviews mainly from its screening at September's Toronto Film Festival. Since then, Crowe said he had trimmed 18 minutes from the film's length. However, despite the changes, 'Elizabethtown' failed to impress moviegoers in the US, opening at number three with just 11 million U.S. dollars. Crowe said he was not worried about reviews that described his film as 'odd', 'strange' and 'overwhelming' and added that although it is a personal film, he would not take criticism personally. "Well, the personal stuff, the personal stuff is the stuff that comes from your heart the most. So, it's kind of written in your heart, it's for you and it's for the people who take it that personally. And you know, what ever anybody says, it's just an opinion. Watch it again!" said Crowe. In addition to criticism over the plot, Crowe's decision to cast Bloom in the leading role has divided critics. For the British Bloom, it is the first role for which he had to camouflage his accent. To prepare for the part, he took on a dialect coach and travelled around Louisville, Kentucky, where most of the film is set. All eyes are on the young actor, who after a disappointing debut of 'Kingdom of Heaven' has yet to prove he has got the leading man quality. But if it is Bloom's acting skills are under scrutiny, it is the private life of Dunst that is the hot topic of the moment. After telling American talk show host Jay Leno she drinks so much she may in a few months time end up in rehab, and reportedly appearing drunk at the New York premiere of 'Elizabethtown', worried friends have told the media they worry Dunst may have problems with alcohol. On Thursday, however, Dunst laughed off the reports, saying: "No, I don't have a problem, so that's their own fodder." 'Elizabethtown' features as part of the London Film Festival. More than 180 films from 50 countries will be screened in over 13 cinemas around the capital during the festival. The festival runs until 3 November.
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