USA/FILE: The stars of "True Grit" hit the red carpet in New York

Record ID: 220135

  • Title: USA/FILE: The stars of "True Grit" hit the red carpet in New York
  • Date: 17th December 2010
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 14, 2010) (REUTERS) WIDE VIEW OF THE NEW YORK RED CARPET OF "TRUE GRIT" ACTOR MATT DAMON TALKING TO A REPORTER ACTOR JEFF BRIDGES AT A PHOTO-OP (SOUNDBITE) (English) JEFF BRIDGES, ACTOR, SAYING: "Because the (Coen) brothers, they really weren't referencing that film at all. They said the book, that that was their inspiration. So I took them up on that and that's what I did. I just referenced the book and that was a relief. Because I didn't want to fill the Duke's boots. You know I didn't even want to think about that."
  • Embargoed: 1st January 2011 12:00
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  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA4TPSS4BKR4RSD4QF656WV0FQD
  • Story Text: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Hailee Steinfeld come out to the New York premiere of their Western movie "True Grit."
    The stars of "True Grit" hit the red carpet for the New York premiere of their latest film "True Grit" on Tuesday (December 14).
    True Grit" is a Western movie based on a novel by Charles Portis and is directed by the six-time Oscar winning pair Joel and Ethan Coen.
    The novel has been adapted into a movie before in 1969, with John Wayne in the title role of "Rooster Cogburn," a trigger-happy, drunken U.S. Marshal. Academy Award-winner Jeff Bridges took on the role of Cogburn in the remake, and said that he did not watch the original movie on purpose.
    "Because the (Coen) brothers, they really weren't referencing that film at all. They said the book, that that was their inspiration," Bridges said. "So I took them up on that and that's what I did. I just referenced the book and that was a relief. Because I didn't want to fill the Duke's boots. You know I didn't even want to think about that."
    The movie follows the journey of Mattie Ross, a hard headed 14-year-old who is determined to revenge her father's death by finding his killer, Tom Chaney. In the process she hires the man who is rumored to be the toughest U.S. Marshal in town, Rooster Cogburn. But Chaney is also chased by a Texas Ranger named LaBoef for killing a Texas Senator. The unlikely trio then embark on a manhunt journey together through the Indian territory of Arkansas.
    Mattie, the headstrong girl is played by the newcomer Hailee Steinfeld in the movie, and Bridges said that he was impressed by the 13-year-old actress.
    "Wow, did we luck out with her. Because that's a tough role. I mean she's carrying the whole thing. And she does such a beautiful job can you imagine, thirteen years old? To give that performance and to deliver those lines is remarkable," he said.
    Steinfeld, who has never played in a movie before, said that despite the differences she felt that she had a lot in common with her character from the movie.
    "I do have to say, I feel as time went on I kind of felt more that I could relate to this girl and I definitely feel that you know, I do have a lot in common. And I think the main thing that we have in common is probably that we would both stop at nothing to get what we want. But I do have to say little things I would pick up from the character," she said.
    The young actress had to show some "true grit" herself during the production phase when she had to jump in the water with a horse, got tramped on her face, and beaten up and spanked in various scenes.
    The hardest thing however, was climbing a tree.
    "Joel (Coen) came up to me and he is like, he says "Hailee are you afraid of heights?" And I was like "Oh no, not at all," because I thought he was talking about a horse's height so he shows me this picture of the tree that I have to climb the next day and so I was like, "Okay, I take that back." But that was definitely fun," Steinfeld said.
    Matt Damon stars as the driven yet chatty Ranger LaBeouf. When asked who would win a shoot-out between Cogburn and LaBeouf, Bridges answered that he didn't know.
    "I don't know, they would probably kill each other and that would be the end of the story. I don't know. I don't know who would win. Who do you think would win?" he said.
    "True Grit" opens widely in theaters in the U.S. on December 22nd.
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