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

Record ID: 219724

  • 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) ACTRESS, MINNIE DRIVER, SAYING "You know a little bit, when we were on the set, but I didn't have any time with her before I got there. 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 WITH MEDIA WATERS TALKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) BETTY ANNE WATERS, SAYING "To say what a good job she did: One night she jumped in the van and my family was in the van. 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. So, she did a great job." SWANK DRESS DRIVER DRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) BETTY ANNE WATERS, SAYING "It is so important. It is more important than anything else in my life right now. That's one thing I'm taking away from this is I met some wonderful people, Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld. They co-founded The Innocence Project. They're my heroes. They are like, they are the best. 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." ROCKWELL WITH MEDIA VARIOUS OF ACTRESS MICHELLE WILLIAMS AT GALA SCREENING
  • Embargoed: 3rd November 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA6Y02E0HOIVSUAT8UNMT0Z14J9
  • 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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