- Title: USA: Clint Eastwood hits red carpet for "Invictus"
- Date: 4th December 2009
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 3, 2009) (REUTERS) WIDE SHOT OF RED CARPET (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) SOUTH AFRICAN RUGBY PLAYER FRANCOIS PIENAAR POSING FOR PHOTOS WITH HIS FAMILY MOVIE POSTER ACTOR MORGAN FREEMAN WALKING THE RED CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR/DIRECTOR CLINT EASTWOOD ON HOW NELSON MANDELA HELPED THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL RUGBY TEAM WIN THE 1995 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, SAYING: "It's so unlikely, it's so unlikely that this could pay off. The odds against this team going out and winning, just on his inspiration. But it's a tribute to him that this happened. And his relationship with the captain of the team, Francois Pienaar." ACTRESS MICHELLE MONAGHAN POSING FOR PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR/DIRECTOR CLINT EASTWOOD ON WHY MORGAN FREEMAN WAS THE PERFECT ACTOR TO PLAY NELSON MANDELA, SAYING: "Well, he's the same height. The same stature. He's got the same kind of presence as an actor as Mandela has as a politician." ACTOR MORGAN FREEMAN POSING FOR PHOTOS CUTAWAY OF TELEVISION CAMERAMAN (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR MORGAN FREEMAN ON GETTING EASTWOOD TO DIRECT THE FILM , SAYING: "I called Clint and told him 'Hey I got a good script for you,' and he read it and said 'I like it let's go.'" ACTOR MATT DAMON AND HIS WIFE POSING FOR PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR MORGAN FREEMAN ON WORKING WITH CLINT EASTWOOD "If I knew the answer to that, if I could just say 'the, the, the,' you know, we could bottle it. But it's just a chemical thing. You know, you meet somebody and you function together, you just are able to do that." ACTORS MATT DAMON AND MORGAN FREEMAN TALKING TO THE PRESS ACTOR-DIRECTOR CLINT EASTWOOD TALKING TO THE PRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR MATT DAMON ON WORKING WITH CLINT EASTWOOD AND MORGAN FREEMAN, SAYING: "Well, I mean, yeah. It was everything I expected. And I expected a lot. And it was everything and more working with those guys. You know, they are just two of the people who I most admire in the business, and who have careers that I most admire in the business. And they're like an object lesson-- something that I look towards and hope for in my own life down the road." ACTOR MORGAN FREEMAN AND MUSICIAN HERBIE HANCOCK TALKING VARIOUS OF ACTOR-DIRECTOR CLINT EASTWOOD TALKING TO THE PRESS
- Embargoed: 19th December 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVAA7KPTG9TAOC3FD456IPUOJ4NG
- Story Text: Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon hit the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere "Invictus," their new film about how former South African President Nelson Mandela used an international rugby championship to help unify his country.
Three of the hottest names in Hollywood got together in L.A. Thursday (December 3) night.
Academy Award winners Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon all hit the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of their new film "Invictus."
The event unfolded at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS).
The movie tells the story of how former South African President Nelson Mandela used an international rugby championship in 1995 to help unify his racially and economically divided country in the wake of apartheid.
Eastwood directed the motion picture.
Freeman portrayed Mandela, and Damon played the captain of the underdog South African national rugby team, the Springboks.
The Academy Award-winning actor-turned-director talked about why he was interested in bringing this piece of history to life on the big screen.
"It's so unlikely, it's so unlikely that this could pay off," said Eastwood, 79. "The odds against this team going out and winning, just on his inspiration. But it's a tribute to him that this happened. And his relationship with the captain of the team, Francois Pienaar."
Eastwood also explained why Freeman was the perfect actor to play Mandela.
"Well, he's the same height. The same stature. He's got the same kind of presence as an actor as Mandela has as a politician."
"Invictus" marks the third time the two men have collaborated on a film.
Freeman shared how Eastwood ended up joining him again in making a movie.
"I called Clint and told him 'Hey I got a good script for you,' and he read it and said 'I like it let's go.'"
Freeman smiled when asked to describe the chemistry between he and Eastwood.
"If I knew the answer to that, if I could just say 'the, the, the,' you know, we could bottle it. But it's just a chemical thing. You know, you meet somebody and you function together, you just are able to do that."
Damon talked about why he was excited to be able to work with Eastwood and Morgan.
"Well, I mean, yeah. It was everything I expected," said the 39-year-old. "And I expected a lot. And it was everything and more working with those guys. You know, they are just two of the people who I most admire in the business, and who have careers that I most admire in the business. And they're like an object lesson-- something that I look towards and hope for in my own life down the road."
Damon worked for six months with a language coach to perfect his Afrikaner accent. He also spent months in the gym bulking up to play a rugby player.
The screenplay was adapted from the book "Playing The Enemy" by native South African writer Anthony Peckham.
The film was shot entirely on location in and around the South African cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town.
"Invictus" will be released across North America on Friday, December 11. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None