USA: AMERICAN FILM PREMIERE OF POPULAR NOVEL "BRIDGET JONES DIARY" STARRING RENEE ZELLWEGWER, HUGE GRANT AND COLIN FIRTH

Record ID: 391178

  • Title: USA: AMERICAN FILM PREMIERE OF POPULAR NOVEL "BRIDGET JONES DIARY" STARRING RENEE ZELLWEGWER, HUGE GRANT AND COLIN FIRTH
  • Date: 17th March 2001
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 17, 2001) (REUTERS) SCU (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) RENEE ZELLWEGER SAYING OF CHARACTER " I didn't want to be the person to blasphemise character who I loved too.I loved this book and I really liked so much about this character. I loved her essence and I loved who she is .Because she is not my character and I did not come up with he
  • Embargoed: 1st April 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7BDYXA1TKP6KOFNLO4IQCOVBA
  • Story Text: After much controversy over the casting of American actress Renee Zellweger as thoroughly British girl Bridget Jones, celebrities flocked to Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City for the World Premiere of Bridget Jones's Diary.
    The film is based on the the best-selling and much-loved novel by author Helen Fielding. Fielding created the fictional character of Bridget Jones for the sake of a column in London's Independent newspaper but it quickly caught fire and expanded into novel form.
    Jones is a 30-something professional woman living in the trendy Notting Hill neighborhood of London who decides to get her life in order by putting all her thoughts, ideas and dreams down in words in her bedside journal.
    Her musings include everything from calorie-counting to battles with the bottle to a very complicated love life, which is about to get even more complicated.
    As the film opens, Jones is facing a dilemma between two very different suitors: a very badly dressed lawyer named Mark Darcy, played by "Shakespeare in Love" co-star Colin Firth and an exquisitely charming and sexy yet committment-phobic book publisher named Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant.
    For the role of Jones, the film's producers and director Sharon Maguire, all personal friends of Fieldings', chose Texan-born Renee Zellweger, best known for her roles in "Jerry Maguire," "Me, Myself and Irene" and "Nurse Betty."
    The casting decision caused a storm of outrage in Britain when it was announced because it was assumed a British actress would portray such a quintessentially British character such as Jones.
    Feeling the pressure, Zellweger moved to London prior to shooting and spent hours on end soaking up the culture and lifestyles of the people of Notting Hill. She even went so far as to take an "undercover" job at a London book publisher's office in order to immerse herself in Bridget's world.
    At the same time, she gained 20 pounds for the role and studied extensively with dialogue guru Barbara Berkery, who had previously trained Gwyneth Paltrow for her roles in "Sliding Doors," "Emma" and "Shakespeare in Love."
    For Grant, work on "Bridget Jones's Diary" was refreshing because his character breaks from his tradition of playing loveable and sweet-natured English gentlemen, such as in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Notting Hill." Instead, Grant says Daniel Cleaver comes much closer to his own personality.
    "Bridget Jones's Diary" opens in theaters throughout the United States on Friday, April 13.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register