nuts4chic - film
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| Renee Zellweger, George Clooney at the European Film Premiere of Leatherheads at the Odeon Leicester Square, London. |
Hollywood hunk George Clooney and Bridget Jones actress Renee Zellweger
star in Leatherheads. We talk to the stars about the fun they had making the rom-com.
Even wearing four inch, black patent Christian Louboutin heels (the ones with the red soles) Renee Zellweger is still half a head shorter than her Leatherheads co-star and director George Clooney.
But as the two discuss his homage to the 40's screwball comedy - think
witty banter, Bringing Up Baby, Howard Hawks, raised eyebrows and cloche
hats - what the Texan tinkerbell lacks in size, she makes up for in
'verbosity', as she calls it.
According to Clooney, Zellweger's natural wit and sarcasm, often
disguised by her breathy, southern tones, made her the obvious choice
for his latest directorial effort.
"We slur. We say 'you know'. But Renee has this incredible ability to
walk straight into a period piece," he says admiringly.
In his first directing venture since Good Night And Good Luck, Renee
plays Chicago Tribune reporter, Lexie Littleton, on the trail of top
football star Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski, from the American
version of The Office).
Dressed to kill, she is more than a match for any man, and crosses
verbal swords with wise cracking football manager, 'Dodge' Connolly
(Clooney) at every opportunity.
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| Leatherheads. Pictured: LtoR Renee Zellweger, George Clooney. |
Set in the late 20s, Leatherheads charts the rise of professional
American football. Seen as a game for losers with nowhere else to go
after high school, Dodge sets out to change things.
He persuades American college football star and decorated war hero
Rutherford to join his team, the Duluth Bulldogs. Soon the players are
wearing fur, the stands are packed and sponsorship deals start flooding
in; but Lexie has her doubts about Dodge's star player.
George and Renee are natural sparring partners, both on and off screen. Speaking about the film, Clooney waxes lyrical about his love of 40s comedies, citing directors Frank Capra and Howard Hawks as major influences - while Renee admits to knowing exactly nothing about the genre.
She says: "I just liked the script. Coming from George, believe it or
not, it really was a good. I'm completely ignorant of cinema history and
this fella here had to educate me a little bit. We had screenings in
place of rehearsals most of the time, just to make sure everyone was
familiar with the style of the time. It was a challenge. And I didn't
want to get hit so I did my homework."
George clarifies cheerfully: "I never did it with a closed fist - always
the open hand."
It's hard to stay serious with these two in the room. Renee is as coy,
mischievous and irreverent as George is passionate, good-humoured and
frank. As the conversation wheels from curling to politics, every
opportunity to mock one another is taken.
George has spent the morning at Downing Street with Gordon Brown
discussing the violent conflict in Darfur, a region of the African
country of Sudan. As a U.N. peace envoy he is pushing for peace talks
and further funding.
 |
| Gordon Brown, George Clooney during the actor's visit to Downing Street. |
"We're not going to invade a Muslim country to solve its problems; we've done that, with not great success. It's a very complicated issue. Gordon was amazingly helpful. He suggested that London be a place where the rebel leaders could meet."
As George talks about funding initiatives led by Brown, which could buy much-needed helicopters to transport UN forces around Darfur, Renee gives him her full attention. But although she is clearly smitten by his political conviction, both actors have always claimed to be just good friends.
George says: "I was joking in an interview and I said something like,
'Well I like her a little bit'. And the next day it was all over the
papers. She came in and was like, 'Just a little bit?!' Jokes don't work
often in print."
Commenting on his reputation as a women magnet, George puts his sexual allure down to his hair. "I have good hair - which I just bought." Renee quips: "It looks almost natural." No. She's clearly not auditioning for the much-coveted part of Mrs Clooney.
But their lack of sexual chemistry off screen doesn't stop sparks flying on set. A series of gorgeous suits and dresses, artfully created by George's favoured production designer Louise Frogley, make Zellweger fairly irresistible and even manage to give the svelte beauty a few curves.
Up close, George is more likely to be accused of being on the thin side.
His weight loss during filming prompted rumours of cancer, but can
apparently be attributed to too much exercise. Now in his late forties,
he admits directing and acting in a football movie was a challenge.
"I put all these old man jokes [into the script] because it was a
project I was looking to do ten years earlier, when I would have been
about the right age to be 'too old to be' playing football.
"At 46 you get hit and it hurts. I'd look at the monitor after a take
and be like 'I think we got it' and Grant the producer would say, 'Go
back out there and shoot it again'. The first few days I was running
100-yard dashes back and forth and thinking, 'It's only 65 more days of
this.'"
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| George Clooney, Renee Zellweger at the European Film Premiere of Leatherheads at the Odeon Leicester Square, London. |
But despite such self-deprecation, George admits that as a teenager he had two try outs for baseball team the Cincinnati Reds.
"I only lacked talent. The rest of it I had," he deadpans.
Still a keen sports fan, he likes watching college basketball which he
loves for it's focus on team spirit rather than money. "I think it's the
most fun time in sports," he says.
Renee, on the other hand, "has a thing about cricket". But she confesses in her sweet drawl that she hasn't got a clue what's going on. "I just like those guys in their little white outfits, very nice, thank you. But don't tell Hugh Grant I don't know a thing about cricket. He will end the friendship immediately."
Listening to the pair's incessant banter, you get the sense that working on this film together was a genuine pleasure. Was this the real reason George suddenly decided to do a romantic comedy?
"After Good Night And Good Luck and Syriana every film I was sent to
direct was an issue driven film," he says. "I wanted to do a comedy but
if you're going to do a romantic comedy, it's about housing it in
something we haven't seen before. I spent a summer working on the script
in Italy, with Renee in mind to do the part. It's easy to write when you
have someone as talented as Renee in mind for it, so that was part of
the fun."
So what you're saying George, is that you spent a summer at your
romantic villa near Lake Como thinking about Renee? Yep: clearly just
good friends.
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