- Title: UK: ROWAN ATKINSON'S BLUNDERING HERO MR BEAN RETURNS WITH A NEW FILM
- Date: 29th July 1997
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 29, 1997) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) ATKINSON, IN MR BEAN CHARACTER, TALKING ABOUT HIS CO-STAR BURT REYNOLDS, (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) SAYING, "MR REYNOLDS WAS MOST PLEASANT, HE STILL HAS HIS MOUSTACHE...I ASSUME IT WAS HIS MOUSTACHE...BUT HE WAS LOVELY AND BOYZONE, THEY'RE LOVELY, THEY'RE IRISH AND THEY'RE MARVELLOUS"
- Embargoed: 13th August 1997 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Reuters ID: LVA5SFDOVBTNKOTW2TIJ725PAGP8
- Story Text: British television comic Rowan Atkinson is on the brink of movie stardom with his hapless alter-ego Mr Bean making the transition to the big screen.
"Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie" premieres in Britain next week -- but not before causing some characteristic chaos on the way.
"Sorry, took a wrong turn," mumbled Mr Bean, after crashing onto stage at London's Savoy Hotel where he was due to face the media at a news conference.
Atkinson was 40 minutes late for the launch, but he had a novel excuse.
Mr Bean, in his trademark yellow mini, was lost in London traffic, taking a short cut through Harrods and scattering shoppers in his path.
He was seen disappearing through the art deco frontage of the Savoy Hotel, only to burst on to the stage still in his mini halfway through the news conference.
The elaborate stunt, costing at least 10,000 dollars, was put together with footage from the cutting room floor and some extra scenes shot especially for the occasion.
Transforming himself into the more articulate Atkinson, the star explained how he turned the usually silent television character of Mr Bean into a would-be movie star.
"You have to explore other dimensions," Atkinson said.
"The character has to be a bit more credible, have more sort of truth in him, more well-rounded which I think he is in the film." In the film, gormless Mr Bean escapes Britain for sunny Hollywood. He then embarks on a journey of demolishing Americans' lives -- just as effectively as he did in Britain.
"Bean" has already recouped its 10 million pound sterling budget by sweeping box offices in Australia, New Zealand and Holland.
It seems set to do the same in the UK and could take America by storm.
"It was one of justifications for setting it in America," Atkinson joked.
The normally silent Mr Bean speaks in the film, because otherwise all the audiences would get "frustrated" writer Richard Curtis explained.
But Atkinson said: "He only talks for six and a half minutes in a 90-minute movie - six minutes all in a rush and half a minute stretched throughout the rest of the film.
"He hasn't become a talking character, I would like to stress that." Director Mel Smith also joined his star onstage at the launch.
British boy band Boyzone provide the movie soundtrack -- the single went straight in at number 2 in the British charts.
"Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie" opens in Britain on August 8. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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