Hugh Grant, pleasure to meet you.
And you.
This film at the end left me feeling very frustrated and I was left frustrated because
I thought, 'I don't want to have to wait another three, or four years, or however it might
be for you to make another movie because you're excellent in it'.
-That's very nice of you.
So will you keep working, please? Would you keep doing this?
Well, I warmed to you instantly and for you, yes. I will now.
Actually I am making another film in the spring but they don't want me to say what it is which
is really frustrating because it's rather classy and that reflects rather well on me.
I actually thought this-I get annoyed when people say it's a rom-com...
-I agree.
Because I think that slightly doesn't do it justice. It's more drama really than comedy. And there's
one particular scene actually when you're talking about your son in the movie where
you show your real-that sort of empathetic-there's a real heart there that's unexpected from
the trailer.
I'm warming to you more and more. I agree. I am quite proud of some of those bits. There
is a proper emotional core to the film and I had to actually do emotion at one or two
points and I'm quite proud of them.
What is it about the redemptive nature of man lost in the movies that makes it quite
so compelling? This reminded quite a lot of The Descendants with George Clooney where
he's a bit of a mess, he's trying to find his way. It just works as a plot line and
I just wondered what your thought are on why?
I think that basic plot line, that shape is always quite appealing. About a Boy kind of
took that, you know anti-hero who's lost in life, and in the case of About a Boy the boy
kind of warms him up and gives him a new purpose and this one has the same kind of shape.
Now doing a film of course gets in the way of your golfing addiction.
I'm better. My golfing addiction is pretty much over actually. Yes, I put it behind me.
Too many young children, too busy with politics and I pretty much went cold turkey about 6
months ago.
How was that? That must have been awful.
No, it was nice because I got back into tennis. It's why I'm so wonderfully slim and fit but
having said that I spent all last week playing golf in Scotland. My brother made me.
Okay, so it's lingering in the background?
It never quite goes away, does it? Because it is crack and there's still some part of me...
Well, I hate it. I think it's the most boring sport-it's not a sport if you ask me. I think
it's a...
I agree with both those statements but once it's in your system, that desire to hit another
good shot is almost overwhelming but you know that was 12 years of my life, was getting
up in the middle of the night and practicing a new swing move in my underpants. Just absolutely bonkers.
Is that true?
Yeah, I'd got home at night. I never went out, I just watched the golf channel and every
single device that they were trying to sell-I'd sit there and I'd think ridiculous who would
buy that nonsense. Five minutes later I was on the phone. I have a whole room at home
stuffed with golf improvement devices.
I said to someone outside that you could do a golfing movie. They thought it was crap
so pitching it to you now when I'm in front of you seems t he same but I was thinking like
The Trip with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon but you and somebody else, I haven't quite
thought who would be your on screen creative partner, and you go on a redemptive movie
via a gold course.
Okay...
Combining your two favourite things -- making films and playing golf.
Well, if you have any other ideas - I'd like to hear those.
With The Rewrite, Marisa Tomei, one of your many-you seem to get great chemistry with
your female leads. How much of that is just completely natural? Do you meet them and charm
them? Is it your good looks? What is it? Because Sandra Bullock loves you. Sarah Jessica Parker
loves you and Marisa Tomei, if she doesn't love you, she'd doing a good job when she's acting.
Well, she is a very good actor. She's a proper actor. I don't know, chemistry's a very strange
thing. I'm glad you thought there was chemistry between us. It's not always the same. There's
not an exact correlation between chemistry in real life and chemistry on the screen.
I have known examples where it's been pretty tense between the two in real life and then
that translates as unbelievable chemistry on the screen and vice versa.