- Title: UNITED KINGDOM: World premiere of Drew Barrymore film "Going The Distance"
- Date: 20th August 2010
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (AUGUST 19, 2010) (REUTERS) **CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY** FILM BILLBOARD LEICESTER SQUARE FANS WAITING
- Embargoed: 4th September 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Reuters ID: LVA5VTUO6V49RZTRXIA0P240E03I
- Story Text: On-off couple Drew Barrymore and Justin Long have teamed up to make quirky romantic comedy, "Going The Distance" about a couple in a long distance relationship.
At the world premiere in London's Leicester Square on Thursday, the pair were coy about whether they're currently an item in real life and didn't do interviews together.
"Going The Distance" sees Barrymore as trainee journalist Erin who's had a bad day at the New York Sentinel where she's an intern.
She goes out to a bar after work with the intention of getting drunk andup bonding with newly single record company A & R man Garrett, played by Long.
Beer, a pub quiz and buffalo wings, turn into a sleepover and to both Erin and Garrett's surprise, a blissful summer-long fling in New York city.
But when the long hot days draw to a close, Erin must return to San Francisco to finish her studies.
The couple realise they are much more than a summer romance, but of course question is, can they go the distance? Speaking about their real romance related to the film, Barrymore said of Long, "He genuinely makes me laugh and I genuinely have chemistry with him so I thought god why not just embrace that and for somebody watching they'll just believe in it more."
"Going the Distance" is the directorial debut for documentary maker Nanette Burstein. ("On The Ropes","The Kid Stays In The Picture") She drew on her skills capturing real life to try to tell the story as realistically as possible.
Burstein was keen for the characters to speak their minds and have real flaws, occasionally swearing, drinking too much and acting selfishly.
Barrymore told Reuters, the film is not your average romcom.
"Expect the unexpected with this. It's not the same, it's not what you think it is", she said.
Burstein included several guerilla style shoots as part of production, taking Barrymore and Long out to locations such as New York's Coney Island and Chinatown for unscripted scenes using just a few high definition cameras.
As they acted out scenes showing the development of their romance, the actors were able to largely go unnoticed by the general public.
Justin Long told Reuters they were his favourite scenes to shoot.
"It was on the fly , it demanded that we stay in the moment as much as possible, that we create moments. It lent itself to this really organic ad-libby energy, he said."
A real life band called "The Boxer Rebellion" is featured, as a group who end up playing a big part in the relationship between Garrett and Erin.
The band were chosen by one of the film's executives who saw them play a gig in Los Angeles.
Art has imitated life for the band as they're unsigned in the film as well as in reality, however they say they prefer to release their music independently, without a record label.
The film also stars Christina Applegate, who plays Erin's over-protective sister Corrine who's not too happy about the long-distance romance.
"Going The Distance" opens in the UK and North America September 3rd. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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