- Title: USA: FILM PREMIERE OF MEG RYAN COMEDY "KATE AND LEOPOLD"
- Date: 10th December 2001
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 10, 2001) (REUTERS) SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) MEG RYAN SAYING OF JACKMAN: "I think he was cast because he's such a man. He's so comfortable with his masculinity that it needed to, that role needed to be rooted in something that strong so that all of his gentlemanly, chivalrous behavior didn't look, you know, weak. I mean, t
- Embargoed: 25th December 2001 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAEI284ABNIDW16UOJ05XA3KKKS
- Story Text: Meg Ryan returns to the genre that made her an international superstar in the new romantic comedy "Kate and Leopold." She plays a modern day woman who falls in love with a 19th century Duke played by Hugh Jackman. Ryan and Jackman were joined by Sting, who wrote a song for the movie, at the film's World Premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday, December 11.
"Kate and Leopold" opens in 19th century New York where the charming gentleman bachelor Leopold, the third Duke of Albany, played by Jackman, is about to announce his intentions to marry a wealthy woman. But before he is able to, his curiosity leads him to chase a stranger played by Liev Schrieber to the half-constructed Brooklyn Bridge, where the pair fall into a time vortex which spills them out into modern day New York City.
It turns out Schrieber is an ambitious scientist who has discovered the secrets of time travel while, at the same time, alienating his ex-girlfriend Kate, a 21st century career woman driven to succeed in the corporate world. Meg Ryan plays Kate, a woman who suddenly finds her apartment inhabited by a stranger who claims to be from another century.
Soon, Kate and Leopold's worlds have come together and the couple find themselves falling in love. But there are plenty of obstacles to overcome, including Leopold's ignorance of his new surroundings and Kate's reluctance to allow herself to fall for any man. Thrown into the mix are her sleazy boss, played by "West Wing" co-star Bradley Whitford and her errant younger brother played by Breckin Meyer.
The film is directed by James Mangold, who has previously made a name for himself as a director of heavy dramas such as Sylvester Stallone's "Copland" and "Girl, Interrupted," the Winona Ryder film for which Angelina Jolie won her Oscar.
Although at first glance, "Kate and Leopold" looks like just another Meg Ryan romantic comedy in the vein of "When Harry Met Sally" and "Sleepless in Seattle." But Mangold insists that his film is different than the others and, in fact, harkens back to the classic romantic comedies of Hollywood's Golden Age like "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "The Apartment."
When asked which century they would feel most comfortable in, both Ryan and Jackman said they'd prefer to stay in the present. Jackman cites the advances of modern medicine as his reason for preferring 21st century life, while Ryan says she wouldn't be able to live with all the rules and regulations that 19th century society forced onto women.
"Kate and Leopold" opens in theaters throughout the United States on Friday, December 21.
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