- Title: GERMANY: Shia LaBeouf presents rough love story at Berlin film festival
- Date: 9th February 2013
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (FEBRUARY 9, 2013) (REUTERS) ( * BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) CAST AND DIRECTOR OF 'COUNTRYMAN' ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE MEDIA WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE CLOSE OF ACTOR RUPERT GRINT VARIOUS OF GRINT SEEN THROUGH VIEWFINDER NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR, FREDRIK BOND, SAYING: "That was one of the things that I was very compelle
- Embargoed: 24th February 2013 12:00
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- Location: Germany
- Country: Germany
- Reuters ID: LVA6JUR7Q2GBGM1LWDEL33DZHJE0
- Story Text: Shia LaBeouf's 'Charlie Countryman' finds love in gritty Romania.
Shia LaBeouf and Evan Rachel Wood spin a twist on classic fairytales in their film "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman," a modern day love story that swaps castles in the sky for the underbelly of Romania's capital, Bucharest.
The film, showing in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday (February 09), is a dark story of love unfolding between two unlikely people against the backdrop of a violent and crime-filled eastern European city.
Charlie (LaBeouf), an American, finds himself on a journey of self-discovery that takes him to Bucharest, where he meets the mysterious and captivating Gabi (Evan Rachel Wood), and puts his life on the line for love.
"It is a love story, it is also violent, it is hilarious , it's heartfelt, it's soulful, it is a human story," laBeouf said on the red carpet before the Berlinale premiere.
Director Fredrick Bond picked Bucharest because he was looking for a place that has not been captured in film prominently, and would compliment the complex nature of Charlie and Gabi's story.
"I made a lot of those trips when I was in my 20s and that was part, also, of the reason I wanted to do this movie. It reminded me of a time in my own life and I think in a lot of people's lives when you are looking for your identity, go through quite extreme journeys and travels and you live in doorways and you meet strangers on trains and one thing leads to another and that was a big inspiration for the movie," director Fredrik Bond told a Berlin news conference.
"Charlie Countryman" is the feature film debut from Swedish director Bond, an award-winning creator of commercials.
"That was one of the things that I was very compelled by when I was reading the script, that it was not your traditional story where the woman falls head over heels in love with the guy and it is all this testosterone flowing into the screen and this woman just picks it up. I think this was a reverse action where a man shows incredible love and devotion for this woman who is very hard and a bit more a tough nut to crack, so I was very compelled by the shift, the reverse roles," Bond said.
The film co-stars Mads Mikkelsen and Til Schweiger as Romanian mobsters, with British actors Rupert Grint, best known as Ron Weasley in the "Harry Potter" movies, and James Buckley as Charlie's errant friends.
"I know, I was so surprised that it kind of came to me because it's a role that you never would have pictured me doing but that is part of the reason it appealed to me because I never get the chance to play a wannabe porn star. So yeah, it was a great cast, I loved Fredrik, it was a really nice change, something completely different," Grint said.
Schweiger, when asked if he had been worried about coming up against Mikkelsen, film's arch villain, said:
"I was never thinking about how do I battle Mads Mikkelsen. The better your co-star is, the better you are yourself, that is the old rule. So when people write about how this guy put this guy against the wall, they have no idea. Because no good actor wants to put his partner against the wall, he just want s to play and act with the most possible actors that he could get."
Nineteen films are competing in the competition section for the coveted Golden and Silver bears. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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