UNITED KINGDOM: The London Film Festival opened on Wednesday (October 12) with the European premiere of "360," a romantic drama starring Jude Law and Rachel Weisz

Record ID: 220232

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: The London Film Festival opened on Wednesday (October 12) with the European premiere of "360," a romantic drama starring Jude Law and Rachel Weisz
  • Date: 14th October 2011
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (OCTOBER 12, 2011) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) FERNANDO MEIRELLES, DIRECTOR, SAYING: ''No, no at some point, we thought about inviting him to play the part that Ben Foster is playing, but he was doing something else and his manager said just send a contract and then he will talk to you or something like that. It was quite mean, it was not him, it was his people so I said oh I don't know, and that was it.'' ENTREPRENEUR JAMES CAAN ON THE RED CARPET ACTRESS GILLIAN ANDERSON ON THE RED CARPET VARIOUS FESTIVAL ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SANDRA HEBRON (SOUNDBITE) (English) SANDRA HEBRON, FESTIVAL ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, SAYING: ''I think what you can expect is a very varied programme, lots of high profile films, you know some very hotly anticipated films, the two George Clooney films for instance - The Ides of March and The Descendants also films like A Dangerous Method - the David Cronenberg film, We Need To Talk About Kevin, W.E., but alongside those we have films from 55 different countries and lots of filmmakers coming in from those countries too, so I think that diversity is something that is always very important to the festival but it's very significant this year.'' VARIOUS PEOPLE GOING INTO CINEMA
  • Embargoed: 29th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom, United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: People
  • Reuters ID: LVAD3IQ4EAM82KVGY0AEPQO79QZS
  • Story Text: As his latest film, 360, opened the annual London Film Festival on Wednesday (October 12, 2011), down-to-earth actor Jude Law said he is just the same as any other working father.
    Despite his high profile and successful career, Law insisted his job does not make him different to any other dad, saying: ''No harder than it is for anyone else, juggling being a plumber and being a dad, you know, you do your work and go home and look after the kids.'' The London-born actor is part of the cast of Fernando Meirelles' romantic drama 360. Speaking at the European premiere of his new movie though, the City of God director admitted he was surprised his film was chosen to launch London's film event.
    ''It doesn't feel like a film for opening festivals, don't you think? Because it is small, it's err, anyway I am not complaining, I am very very happy, it is the second time I am opening the festival. I opened with The Constant Gardener six years ago, so I am so proud,'' Meirelles told Reuters.
    360 follows a trail of entangled relationships around the world, from a prostitute in Vienna to a grieving father travelling in Colorado. Peter Morgan, most famous for working on The Queen, wrote the screenplay and he explained what the film's universal themes are about: ''The choices that people make in their lives, how to be a good husband, how to be a good lover, how to be an honest person, how to make amends. And all the people in the film are struggling with their own humanity and trying to become better people.'' Rachel Weisz and Sir Anthony Hopkins are two of the other famous faces in the film, although neither attended the opening night ceremony. There were also some rumours that rapper Eminem was involved in the project too, but according to Meirelles that is not true: ''No, no at some point, we thought about inviting him to play the part that Ben Foster is playing, but he was doing something else and his manager said just send a contract and then he will talk to you or something like that. It was quite mean, it was not him, it was his people so I said oh I don't know, and that was it.'' Meanwhile, Jude Law was drawn to the film for several reasons: ''Because of Fernando Meirelles and Peter Morgan really, Fernando is a brilliant filmmaker and a charming man and Peter wrote and an extraordinary script and I was excited, I think also excited to be in something that was going to be in multiple languages, and it is very much a piece about humans being humans and trying to do the right thing is my take on it, and yet it is in all these different languages and I got to meet all these wonderful actors from around the world that otherwise you wouldn't necessarily get to work with or meet,'' he said.
    The love stories weave between Vienna, Bratislava, Paris, London, Colorado, Rio and Phoenix, whilst the language alternates between Slovak, English, Russian and French.
    As well as kicking-off the celebrations, 360 is also up for a festival award, shortlisted in the best film category. Actress Gillian Anderson, who was also at the premiere, is one of the judges and will have to pick from a range of films including The Descendants and The Deep Blue Sea.
    The London Film Festival boasts 13 world premieres, 18 international premieres and 22 European premieres, perhaps not on the same scale yet as more established festivals like Cannes and Venice, artistic director Sandra Hebron thinks the capital has a lot to look forward to: ''I think what you can expect is a very varied programme, lots of high profile films, you know some very hotly anticipated films, the two George Clooney films for instance - The Ides of March and The Descendants also films like A Dangerous Method - the David Cronenberg film, We Need To Talk About Kevin, W.E., but alongside those we have films from 55 different countries and lots of filmmakers coming in from those countries too, so I think that diversity is something that is always very important to the festival but it's very significant this year.'' The 55th London film festival runs until October 27, showcasing over 200 fiction and documentary features from around the world.
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