- Title: USA: AMERICAN PREMIERE OF KEVIN KLINE/KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS FILM "LIFE AS A HOUSE"
- Date: 8th September 2001
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 8, 2001) (REUTERS) SCU (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) KEVIN KLINE SAYING: At the very core of the movie is a story that, if handled incorrectly could become just purely sappy, manipulative and, but, what was so great when I first read the script was he avoided it in the writing. In other words, he just negotiated this potential min
- Embargoed: 23rd September 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA4AYL81RIYJBJPAOCKUIOFO7W6
- Story Text: The newest member of the "Star Wars" team Hayden Christensen turned out on Wednesday, October 24 in Los Angeles for the American premiere of his new father and son drama "Life As a House" starring Kevin Kline and directed by Irwin Winkler.
Kevin Kline lends his trademark wit and comic timing to what otherwise is an emotionally heart-wrenching story of a man with a terminal disease who decides to build his dream house in the last months of his life.
"Life As a House" also focuses on his character's attempts to reconcile with people he has drifted apart from, especially his estranged ex-wife and self-destructive, rebellious teenage son.
Kline plays George Monroe, a recently-fired architect who learns he only has a few months to live. Instead of going quietly, he decides to make some major changes in what had become a drab and hum-drum existence without telling anyone around him of his condition.
He starts by re-establishing contact with his ex-wife Robin, played by "English Patient" co-star Kristin Scott Thomas and their anti-establishment outcast teenage son Sam, played by newcomer Hayden Christensen, who just completed production as Anakin Skywalker in the next "Star Wars" movie.
Then he forces Sam to move into his run down shack at the end of a wealthy Malibu cul-de-sac for his final summer. Little does Sam know, he's about to be enlisted in George's ultimate dream: the construction of his dream house.
The father-son dynamics are rocky and contentious at the start, but as the two men grow to learn more about one another, and as the house slowly begins to rise around them, they begin to form a deep and meaningful bond. Soon, George's ex-wife is joining them in the construction project, as do his next door neighbours, played by Mary Steenburgen and Jena Malone, and the local cop, played by Scott Bakula.
Of course, the hardest part comes when George must reveal to them the true catalyst for the changes in his life, and the film suddenly takes a very serious and emotional turn. But despite the potentially depressing nature of the story, both Kline and Thomas agree that the script by Mark Andrus and direction by Irwin Winkler keeps it from being overly sentimental or weepy.
In addition to their acting duties, both Kline and Christensen had to learn the basics of rudimentary carpentry and construction techniques. Although neither actor was much of a handyman before the project, both now feel comfortable around power tools.
"Life As a House" opens in limited theaters throughout the United States on Friday, October 26 and expands into more locations November 2 and 19.
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