- Title: USA: PREMIERE OF THE THRILLER "THE RING"
- Date: 4th October 2002
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 4, 2002) (REUTERS) MCU (English) NAOMI WATTS SAYING: "That's the thing, is that the audience has a little bit of work too and I think that's the best kind of film, so then you feel like you're actively involved -- you're participating and not just getting ... well you are getting cheap thrills that you go for when you see a
- Embargoed: 19th October 2002 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA9061AWQNNK2YWUO0XJFMFDSU7
- Story Text: Hollywood heartthrob Heath Ledger joined his girlfriend Naomi Watts on the red carpet in Los Angeles on Wednesday (October 9, 2002) to celebrate the opening of Watts' latest movie, "The Ring." Based on the 1998 Japanese novel and film of the same name, the picture features Watts as a journalist who must investigate a series of deaths that seem to involve a mysterious videotape.
Like a number of other recent Hollywood thrillers, "The Ring" centers on an urban legend. In this case, a videotape filled with nightmarish images is said to trigger a phone call foretelling the viewer's death in exactly seven days.
As a newspaper reporter, Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) is sceptical of the story, until four teenagers meet with mysterious deaths exactly one week after watching the tape.
Allowing her curiosity to get the better of her, Keller watches the video and immediately receives the terrifying phone call as advertised. Now she must solve the mystery in just seven days time or risk death herself.
The movie's star, British-born Naomi Watts, believes the film has something to offer beyond a few cheap thrills.
"That's the thing, is that the audience has a little bit of work too," comments Watts.
"I think that's the best kind of film, so then you feel like you're actively involved -- you're participating and not just getting ... well you are getting cheap thrills that you go for when you see a genre movie. You go there for the [gasps] and all that stuff is there. But on top of that, I think you feel, 'is this real?' You're thinking; you're questioning your own sanity almost."
Watts may feel like she's been living in a bit of a dreamworld herself during the last year or so. The actress had been struggling more than a decade to get bit parts, until she was cast in the David Lynch movie "Mulholland Drive." All of a sudden, Hollywood began to take notice. Says Watts: "I feel so lucky. Everyone's like, oh my God, you're working too hard right now and I am working too hard, but I've had ten, twelve years where I've had plenty of time sitting around and now it took one guy, David Lynch, to take a chance on me and now everyone else is believing in me, which is just wonderful and I feel so grateful that I'm getting to work with people that I admire and that inspire me and teach me things."
Now, as the actress finds herself thrust into the celebrity spotlight, Watts can get advice from her good friend Nicole Kidman. The two have been pals since childhood; in fact, Kidman made a point of attending the movie's Los Angeles premiere. Afterwards, Kidman had the following comment about her friend's film: "Scary, very scary. I screamed."
The Ring opens across North American on October 18th. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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