UNITED KINGDOM: Star and executive producer Hilary Swank brings her legal drama "Conviction" to London for its gala screening night

Record ID: 219723

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Star and executive producer Hilary Swank brings her legal drama "Conviction" to London for its gala screening night
  • Date: 19th October 2010
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (OCTOBER 15, 2010) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, SAM ROCKWELL, SAYING "I watched him on video. I heard a lot of stories about him and I also had audio tapes of him talking to his attorney and, on top of that, Betty Anne told a lot of stories and her relatives told a lot of stories and I then did a lot of research about prisons and stuff." ACTRESS MINNIE DRIVER WITH MEDIA DRIVER TALKING WITH MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS, MINNIE DRIVER, SAYING "Fantastic. She's just a fantastic person and a really, really good actress, you know? It was great. You act opposite a lot of men when you're a girl and it was lovely to play opposite a woman. It was great."
  • Embargoed: 3rd November 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA1UWYYH04CXX5XHDW4CQ11P9XF
  • Story Text: Two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank stepped onto the red carpet in London's Leicester Square on Friday (October 15) with her co-stars Sam Rockwell and Minnie Driver and the real-life character she portrays, Betty Anne Waters, at the 'Conviction' gala screening.
    Swank explained that the film is about a great love story between a sister and a brother, and a reminder of what life is really all about -- family.
    'Conviction' is the inspirational true story of a sister's unwavering devotion to her brother. When Betty Anne Waters' (Swank) older brother Kenny (Rockwell) is arrested for murder and sentenced to life in prison in 1983, Betty Anne, a Massachusetts wife and mother of two, dedicates her life to overturning the murder conviction.
    Convinced that her brother is innocent, Betty Anne puts herself through high school, college and, finally, law school in an 18-year quest to free Kenny. With the help of best friend Abra Rice (Driver), Betty Anne pores through suspicious evidence mounted by small town cop Nancy taylor (Melissa Leo), meticulously retracing the steps that led to Kenny's arrest.
    Belief in her brother -- and her quest for truth -- pushes Betty Anne and her team, helped by The Innocence Project, to uncover the facts and utilize DNA evidence with the hope of exonerating Kenny.
    In light of recent media comments made by US Attorney Gloria Allred that the family of the victim, Massachusetts diner waitress, Katharina Brow, had no impact in the making of the film, Swank, who is also the executive producer, said her deepest sympathies lie with the family and that she could not imagine losing someone so close. However, she said the film was not an investigation of the crime.
    "It's about a man who's wrongfully accused of a crime and, hopefully, it's shedding a bright light on our judicial system and helping save others' lives in the meantime."
    Rockwell who plays Kenny said he was happy with his portrayal, and researched his part by listening to audio tapes and stories from the Waters family.
    Driver said she enjoyed acting opposite Swank in their scenes together, but added that she did not get to spend too much time with the real Abra Rice.
    "I always knew it was gonna just to be a flavour because I didn't get to meet her before, but I understood their relationship. I'd listened to a lot of audio tapes that, them driving around in a car and that was very cool."
    Betty Anne Waters also attended the gala screening. She praised Swank for her uncanny portrayal of her voice and accent.
    "They'd just came off set after ten hours, and she starts repeating a tape that she was listening to of me, and my niece and nephew thought it was me talking. They were like, 'Why is Betty Anne talking about all this weird stuff?', all at once, and it was Hilary."
    Waters also stressed how important The Innocence Project was to her in its fight to exonerate wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the American criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.
    As an American, non-profit litigation and public policy organisation, affiliated with the benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University and created by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld in 1992, it's case work is handled by law students supervised by a team of attorneys and clinic staff.
    This organisation helped to free her brother Kenny in March 2001.
    "What I hope comes away from this movie, I'm going to hear somebody say that because of this movie, somebody either did something or didn't do something, and another innocent person goes free, and I'll die a happy woman," said Waters.
    Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams ('Brokeback Mountain') also step out on the carpet for her new drama 'Blue Valentine', which received Sundance acclaim, and is also one of the many films being screened at the festival.
    'Conviction' is set for release in February 2011 in the UK, and co-stars Juliette Lewis and Peter Gallagher.
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