UNITED KINGDOM: Hugh Grant and former "Doctor Who" star David Tennant talk pirates at the premiere of their new stop-motion film, "The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists"

Record ID: 220775

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Hugh Grant and former "Doctor Who" star David Tennant talk pirates at the premiere of their new stop-motion film, "The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists"
  • Date: 22nd March 2012
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (MARCH 21, 2012) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) AARDMAN CO-FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR PETER LORD, SAYING: "It's a little bit counterintuitive isn't it - because people wouldn't expect that. We were looking for a leading man - a big star capital L capital M - big star, English - ok there's a range of names you could think of, but funny there aren't very many. A great comic actor, that's why we chose Hugh because he is a great comic actor." ACTOR DAVID TENNANT TALKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR DAVID TENNANT, SAYING: "The genius is the animators. The animators are the stars of the film - our contribution is minimal really but to be associated with anything Aardman does is an honour and a privilege really. They are the definition of national treasure. The work they produce is never less than brilliant. I'm just glad to be here really - just glad they let me in."
  • Embargoed: 6th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom, United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA5ZMDOAXV2LI2Y0IFJOAOZNACC
  • Story Text: The makers of "Wallace and Gromit" are back with a new 3D stop-motion film, starring Hugh Grant in his first animated role.
    The actor, best known for roles in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Love Actually", attended the premiere of "The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists" in London on Wednesday (March 21) night.
    Now semi-retired from acting, Grant hasn't had a major role since 2009. He told Reuters he couldn't resist playing the character of "Pirate Captain".
    "It's true I don't do much acting anymore but occasionally a little curiosity comes up that seems tempting and this was such a hilarious script and the Aardman people are such geniuses and it didn't involve having to be in makeup at 5 'o clock in the morning," he said.
    The 3D film sees the elaborately bearded Pirate Captain as an enthusiastic but not very terrifying terror of the high seas. He's on a mission to beat his pirate rivals, played by Jeremy Piven and Salma Hayek, to the coveted 'Pirate of the Year' award. His journey takes him from an exotic island all the way to Victorian London. Along the way he battles a haughty queen, played by Imelda Staunton and meets scientist Charles Darwin, played by former Doctor Who star David Tennant.
    "The genius is the animators. The animators are the stars of the film - our contribution is minimal really but to be associated with anything Aardman does is an honour and a privilege really", Tennant told Reuters. " They are the definition of national treasure. The work they produce is never less than brilliant. I'm just glad to be here really - just glad they let me in".
    Director Peter Lord is co-founder of Aardman studios - famous for the much-loved stop-motion characters Wallace and Gromit. He told Reuters he thinks audiences will feel the same way about the new characters.
    "I think they'll like it. I think it's kind - now that's a funny word, it's not a very big word but good-hearted - which doesn't mean that people behave perfectly at all because when people behave perfectly, that's so boring! I hate those movies.... when you come out of it you're so happy that these nit-wits have survived and they're together and ready for another adventure."
    He revealed the painstaking process of stop-motion, saying it took two hundred people a week to produce just a minute and a half of film. He also revealed how Hugh Grant, who is known as a romantic comedy actor, was chosen to play an animated pirate.
    "It's a little bit counterintuitive isn't it - because people wouldn't expect that. We were looking for a leading man - a big star capital L capital M - big star, English - ok there's a range of names you could think of, but funny there aren't very many. A great comic actor, that's why we chose Hugh because he is a great comic actor."
    "The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists" opens in cinemas in the United Kingdom, March 28.
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