JAPAN: HOLLYWOOD ACTOR KEVIN COSTNER VISITS WINTER OLYMPICS TO PROMOTE NEW MOVIE .

Record ID: 332629

  • Title: JAPAN: HOLLYWOOD ACTOR KEVIN COSTNER VISITS WINTER OLYMPICS TO PROMOTE NEW MOVIE .
  • Date: 20th February 1998
  • Summary: NAGANO, JAPAN (FEBRUARY 20, 1998) (RTV) KEVIN COSTNER WALKING OUT OF NAGANO TRAIN STATION THROUGH CROWD OF FANS - GETTING INTO TAXI EXCITED FEMALE FANS/ ONE SAYING I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, I'M SO HAPPY (JAPANESE) EXTERIORS OF NAGANO'S MIEL PARQUE HALL (NIGHTSHOTS) PRESS CONFERENCES, MEDIA KEVIN COSTNER SAYING I WAS PRESENTED WITH THIS IDEA THAT THEY WANTED TO SHOW THE MOVIE AT THE OLYMPICS AND TO THE ATHLETES AND I HAD REALLY NO IDEA IT WAS GONNA BE ATTACHED TO A CAUSE TO BE HONEST. IF PEOPLE WILL COME TONIGHT AS A RESULT OF THE MOVIE AND FROM THEIR POCKETS PULL MONEY AND PUT IT FORTH THEN I THINK THAT'S WHEN A MOVIE IS WORKING AT ITS VERY BEST IN A WAY I ACTUALLY NEVER INTENDED FOR IT TO WORK (ENGLISH) CAMERA CREWS FILM PRODUCER JIM WILSON SAYING THE POSTMAN IS APPROPRIATE IN THE SENSE IT DEALS WITH HOPE AND OVERCOMING TYRANNY AND ULTIMATELY PEACE. SO IT DOES FIT HAND IN GLOVE I THINK VERY MUCH WITH THIS APPEAL, THIS INITIATIVE. (ENGLISH)
  • Embargoed: 7th March 1998 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NAGANO, JAPAN
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: General,Politics,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAD0XIAAAEAOGN8QTQUWYMZOJBT
  • Story Text: Hollywood actor Kevin Costner was at Nagano's Winter Olympics to support world peace...but he didn't know it...he thought he was there to promote his new movie and catch a bit of hockey action.
    American actor and film director Kevin Costner arrived at Nagano train station on Friday (February 20)...like any other Olympics fan keen to see some of the sporting action taking place in the city.
    Braving excited female fans, Costner got into a taxi which sped him straight to the Canada versus Czech Republic ice hockey semi-final game, where he was seen enjoying the action along with the rest of the enthusiastic crowd.
    But fame called and Costner was forced to leave the action half way through to join a news conference for the Nagano Peace Appeal and a charity preview of his new film "The Postman".
    Maybe Costner's publicity people should have sent him a note in the mail on exactly why he was in the Olympic city, for the star was unaware he was being asked to appear in the name of world peace.
    Costner said he thought the idea was to show his movie, set in a world of post-war devastation, as entertainment for the Olympic athletes.
    "I had really no idea it was gonna be attached to a cause to be honest," a bemused Costner told journalists at his news conference.
    Salvaging the uncomfortable situation, Costner said if the movie preview made money for the cause then he was happy."I think that's when a movie is working at its very best, in a way I never actually intended for it to work," he said.
    Nagano's peace appeal...a campaign which has run throughout the Games...aims at world peace and the eradification of anti-personnel land mines.
    The campaign has the backing of marathon runner Chris Moon, who lost his right arm and leg while deactivating a land mine in Mozambique and Jodie Williams the co-recipiant of the Nobel peace prize.
    Film producer Jim Wilson attempted to tie in the film's themes with the peace appeal."It deals with hope and overcoming tyranny and ultimately peace," he said.
    "It does fit hand and glove I think very much with this appeal," he added.
    The star of films such as "Field of Dreams", "Dances With Wolves" and "The Bodyguard" admitted there had been an uncomfortable moment at the news conference when the penny dropped and he realized he had little to say on the subject of peace."It was a great surprise to me", he said.
    But he added that, after all, the Olympics provided a great context for the film preview."When you make a movie you want the world to see it and there's not really a better stage than the international stage of the Olympics." Dozens of athletes arrived at Miel Parque Hall in central Nagano to see "The Postman".Eager fans queued for hours in the rain to see who would turn up.
    If Costner was not forthcoming on the subject of world peace, he had more to say to the athletes waiting to see his three hour long epic.Backed by a quartet of Snowlets - the Olympic mascots, Costner gave a sermon-like address.
    "I truely think of all of you as champions.I know that for most of you the goal was the medal.For many of you that dream was achieved, but for more of you it was not," he said.
    For the losers, the successful movie star offered some words of support.He said in the future people wouldn't recognise them just for their medals."They wont see your medal because it wont be there...it will not matter if it was won or not.What they will see is the Olympian who has prepared themselves a thousand times.What they will see is the best in the world.
    To the screams of female fans in the audience, Costner and Wilson were handed bunches of flowers by three of this year's Olympians - Bronze medalist in the 500 metre ladies speed skating Tomomi Okazaki, ladies freestyle ski moguls gold medalist Tae Satoya and Aiko Uemura, who took 7th place in the moguls competitiom.
    A poncho, signed by Costner was auctioned before the film preview for 150,000 yen while the star walked off to find out who had won the hockey game he had been forced to leave.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register