Post by Kev on May 11, 2004 14:11:45 GMT -5
Local director Peter Howitt (the 0ne who used to wear the leathers in BREAD) believes it’s time for the real 007 to stand up. Peter’s three month shoot with Pierce Brosnan, in LAWS OF ATTRACTION, has convinced him that the wildly successful James Bond star’s best roles are yet to come.
After the success of ‘Bread’ and ‘Sliding Doors’ – a box office hit with Gwyneth Paltrow – the naturalised Merseysider believes his latest Hollywood venture will show Brosnan’s armies of adoring fans a more subtle side of the actor’s craft.
And coupled with co-star Julianne Moore’s intelligent yet sexy appeal, he feels it’s a great opportunity for 007 to show off everything he’s got.
Peter explains: “With this film and others I know he’s doing afterwards, Pierce is being given the opportunity to show that he’s a really good, versatile, smart, intelligent, funny, characterful actor and not just a good looking guy – which he also happens to be.”
Peter gets quite animated when describing Brosnan’s unfulfilled potential – and the professionalism with which he and Moore carry off this sensitively-constructed tale. It’s all about a pair of savvy Hollywood lawyers who fall in love – both because of, and in spite of, their careers.
“It’s a gut feeling but I believe it’s right. I feel Pierce is full of so much more than he’s been asked to deliver up until now. OK, there’s ‘Remington Steele’ and then you’ve got ‘James Bond’ and every now and again he gets the chance to do ‘The Thomas Crowne Affair’ which is still a kind of smooth, slick kind of guy. But he’s got so much more to him as an actor.”
Peter says working with Brosnan and Moore was one of the most satisfying passages of his career to date. In fact, he admits, it was a bit of cinch.
“What’s great about both of them is that they just jump straight in – with both feet. They are fearless. They are the best type of actors you could wish for. They require very little direction. Their instincts are perfect.”
The plot involves the two lawyers, who represent a rock star and his feuding wife, travelling to Ireland where they get caught up (and fall in love at!) in a music festival. It’s a bit different to the shaken not stirred, ultra cool Bond roles – but Howitt needs no convincing about the talents of Brosnan and Moore.
“What you get with both Pierce and Julianne is, whatever roles they choose – whether they’re funny, serious, tragic, action-packed or whatever – you get good acting. You get proper acting and it’s the craft that both of them have that makes them able to switch to any type of genre.”
