ITALY: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth hit Venice film festival red carpet

Record ID: 219525

  • Title: ITALY: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth hit Venice film festival red carpet
  • Date: 6th September 2011
  • Summary: VENICE, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 05, 2011) (REUTERS) ( ** BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) ARRIVAL ACTOR AND ACADEMY-AWARD-WINNER COLIN FIRTH AND HIS WIFE LIVIA GIUGGIOLI AT RED CARPET FANS TAKING PICTURES VARIOUS OF FIRTH AND WIFE POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS ACTOR GARY OLDMAN AND HIS WIFE ALEXANDRA EDENBOROUGH POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PICTURES VARIOUS OF OLDMAN AND EDENBOROUGH FANS CALLING "GARY" VARIOUS OF OLDMAN SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS VARIOUS OF FIRTH SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS ARRIVAL ACTOR JOHN HURT AND HIS WIFE ANN REES MEYERS VARIOUS OF HURT AND MEYERS ON RED CARPET VARIOUS OF HURT SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS CAST AND DIRECTOR TOMAS ALFREDSON ON RED CARPET FIRTH AND OLDMAN CAST AND DIRECTOR POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS FIRTH, OLDMAN; BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, HURT; ALFREDSON, AND ACTOR MARK STRONG
  • Embargoed: 21st September 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy, Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Reuters ID: LVAF1OCT6ONYOC40IV1Q92OO5MAV
  • Story Text: British actors Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and veteran John Hurt sent fans into a frenzy walking the red carpet at the Venice international film festival on Monday (September 05) to premiere their latest movie, "Tinker, Tailor; Soldier, Spy". In the adaptation of author John Le Carre's 1974 espionage classic Gary Oldman plays George Smiley who is charged with rooting out a mole in British intelligence.
    Taking on the part comes with extra baggage for any British actor, given the status of Alec Guinness's portrayal of the same character in an acclaimed 1970s television series. Le Carre, who appears briefly on screen, advised the movie's producers to choose Swedish director Tomas Alfredson to adapt the notoriously complicated story of betrayal for cinema after seeing his vampire film "Let the Right One In".
    "The television series had needed seven episodes," said Le Carre in a statement. "And slice it how you will, television drama is still radio with pictures whereas feature film these days barely talks at all."
    But he added that he believed Alfredson had succeeded in capturing the essence of his story in just over two hours.
    Oldman shines as the taciturn Smiley, who is sacked from British intelligence after his boss orders an operation to recruit a Hungarian general which goes badly wrong.
    But he quickly returns to the cloak-and-dagger world of agents, double agents, deceit and danger when it emerges that the Soviets have infiltrated Britain's spy agencies.
    Alfredson seeks to recreate the sights and sounds of 1970s London and Eastern Europe, and explores deception between nations as well as betrayals on a personal, more painful level.
    The cast includes John Hurt as his boss Control, and Colin Firth, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones and David Dencik as the four key spies who could be behind the treachery.
    Oldman said he had tried to block out the pressure Guinness's performance in the original adaptation may have put on him.
    "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" hits British theatres later in September.
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