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Feature by: Jack Foley
HE’S played the charming English fop on countless occasions,
winning legions of fans for his portrayal of bumbling idiots in
films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, but
ask Sandra Bullock what really attracted her to working with Hugh
Grant, and she will glibly reply that it was the ‘pervy and
seedy’ side he displayed in Bridget
Jones that really got her going.
"After I saw Bridget I was like, wow, I never knew he
had this in him, let’s work together," she told
a press conference at London’s Dorchester Hotel last week,
during the promotional junket for the duo’s new film, Two
Weeks Notice.
"But then I like a little more pervy and seediness,"
she added.
In truth, the two had been looking to work together for some time,
without ever finding the right material.
"We had been dying to do something together for ages,
filmmaking wise that is," reveals Grant. "I had been
watching her for years and years and thinking, that’s the
girl I should be doing films with.
"We then met up in New York about five years ago, and had
what Hollywood calls a ‘relationship meeting’, and talked
about the possibility of doing something.
"I told her a very disgusting story which, I think, offended
her and I didn’t hear from her again for three years.
"In the meantime, people did send us tonnes and tonnes of
romantic comedy scripts; none of them any good, and finally Marc
Lawrence came along, who’d already done Miss Congeniality
with Sandy, and the whole thing fitted very neatly into place.
"I personally think he is one of only two people in the world
who can write really good romantic comedies and that’s how
it all happened."
Bullock concurs, once again alluding to the quality of Lawrence’s
writing.
"I think, in general, romantic comedies tend to take one
person’s point of view. But every once in a while you’ll
get something that’s balanced for two people, that causes
enough friction and entertainment, and where both actors are satisfied
with all their lines and what they get to do.
"Every time we got a script , it was either good for Hugh
and lousy for me, or great for me and lousy for Hugh, and the
nice thing about Marc is that he’s wickedly funny, and he
catches onto people’s voices.
"It’s always nice when somebody writes something for
one of the voices in my head and Hugh’s voice… and it
just works."
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Having found the right material, however, there were still nagging
doubts between both stars that the chemistry the two shared off-screen
would not translate on.
Bullock continues: "You never know, people have fallen
in love while making a movie and the chemistry doesn’t translate
and you can’t write over it and make any funnier lines.
"It’s just a nice thing to have and I love watching
it when I see it. Look at Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy,
they had a chemistry that never died.
"It was great writing, great material, so you always hope
for a writer to come along who can give you all the elements to
set it up and that’s why Marc and I have worked together
three times.
"I’d always watched Hugh’s movies and thought that
if I could have a partner, like they did in the Thirties and Forties,
I would love that. I just didn’t know where I was going to
find it.
"When I met with Hugh, I was really nervous because I thought,
‘what if he doesn’t like me’? And the second thought
is, ‘what if I don’t like him?’
"But I think because we are different enough, I think we
find each other so amusing it keeps us interested."
Grant’s ‘reputation’ for being difficult on-set
was also a consideration. The Brit star readily confesses to spreading
‘gloom like a cancer across a film set’, while Bullock
revealed that she had heard about his capacity to ‘throw
tantrums’ and ‘get pissy (not poofy’)’ at
times.
"I was worried that maybe the person I’d met and
liked would not be the person on set, because often people change
dramatically," she added. "But I have to say,
I have never witnessed a tanty or any poofy or pissiness."
Grant, too, maintains that this was the best time he had making
a film since Sirens [in which he starred alongside Elle Macpherson,
among others].
And he is equally candid about why the wait was so long to find
the right material, putting forward a plausible theory about the
state of film writing.
"I think the reason why 999 scripts out of 1,000 don’t
work is that with romantic comedy, they are very often romantic,
but they are very, very, very seldom funny.
"There is great comedy writing in America, but it’s
all migrated to television. And I think the reason for that is
that they can control their work and run the shows (Marc used
to run his shows), so I believe that’s where the good writing
is.
"At the moment, in movies, the writing simply isn’t
up to scratch, the lines aren’t funny, so when they are,
you leap on it like manor from heaven."
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