UNITED KINGDOM: Reese Witherspoon and co-star Kiefer Sutherland attend the UK premiere of Monster vs Aliens

Record ID: 220568

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Reese Witherspoon and co-star Kiefer Sutherland attend the UK premiere of Monster vs Aliens
  • Date: 13th March 2009
  • Summary: VARIOUS KIEFER SUTHERLAND MEETING FANS
  • Embargoed: 28th March 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA6MZTEB95FFKNWTJM5ATOJTTPC
  • Story Text: Oscar wining actress, Reese Witherspoon is joined on the blue carpet by her co-star Kiefer Sutherland for the UK premiere of Monster vs Aliens at London's Leicester Square.
    Oscar winning actress Reese Witherspoon and her co-star Kiefer Sutherland walked the blue carpet in London's Leicester Square on Wednesday night (March 11) for the UK premiere of the Dreamworks animated film Monsters vs Aliens.
    The actress who won an Oscar for her role as June Carter in 'Walk the Line' said she was pleased to have been involved in a movie that would appeal to kids and parents alike.
    "It s great, you know any animated film, when you are a parent, you have to buy it and you have to watch it 670 times, so it is great to be a part of a movie that you really enjoy making, and you really hope you make a product that everyone can enjoy," she said.
    The film tells the story of a Californian girl Susan Murphy who is unwittingly hit by a meteor full of outer space gunk on her wedding day, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall.
    The military jumps into action and Susan is captured and taken away to a covert government compound. There, she is renamed Ginormica and placed in confinement with a ragtag group of monsters: the brilliant but insect-headed Dr.Cockroach, Ph.D.; the macho half-ape, half-fish The Missing Link; the gelatinousand indestructible B.O.B.; and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus.
    Their confinement is cut short, however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and begins storming the country. In a moment of desperation, the President is persuaded to enlist the motley crew of monsters to combat the Alien Robot and save the world from imminent destruction.
    Actor Kiefer Sutherland who is best known for his role as TV tough guy Jack Bauer in "24", got cast do the voice for the films character, General W.R Monger, after the films directors heard him make a cameo voice appearance on a hit US animated cartoon show.
    "We actually heard his voice outside of the TV shows he does," co-director Conrad Vernon told Reuters TV at the premiere.
    "We actual heard it for the first time on, "The Simpsons", you know, disembodied. We didn't know it was him at first, we were like, 'Wow that is an amazing voice, what is that', and they said it was Kiefer Sutherland, we said, 'That is amazing', without him standing there, the voice still works amazing, so yeah when we heard it was him, he already had the persona to back up the general as well, so it was a perfect fit," he added.
    Sutherland, a self-confessed fan of animation, went to the movies to find the right voice for his new character: "There was a couple of voices, obviously I was responsible for a lifelong military guy and he does a lot of barking so the sergeant in "Full Metal Jacket", that voice left a huge impression on me, and then to temper that with some humour, a cartoon character called Yosemite Sam. He is one of my favourite characters in the world; it was a meld of the two of those voices."
    The Paramount Pictures release features the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Kiefer Sutherland and Paul Rudd. The film is directed by Rob Letterman (Shark Tale) and Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2).
    "Monsters vs Aliens" opens in Europe on 2nd April. It will hit US cinemas on March 27.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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