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Alfie Romeo
Lady-killer Jude Law explains what it’s all about
jude Law admits he’s never been
smitten with Hollywood’s habit
of remaking old movies. So when
he was approached with the
idea of not only remaking an old movie,
but of remaking Alfie, the classic British
comedy that made Michael Caine a star,
his first thought was a resounding
Piss off! f
Then, he met with the director, Charles
Shyer (Father F of the Bride),
and got
a better sense of how the lady-killer was
going to be transformed from swinging
’60s London to the New York City of today.
“Charles had a simple, but very
specific plan about making a new Alfie.
He said, ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting to
take this man with this macho, sexual
kind of creed and philosophy of life—
which seems so specific of the time,
1966, when the film was made—and
just drop him down in the middle
of 2004?’” Law says.
Law is holding court at the Essex
House Hotel, overlooking Central Park
in Manhattan and not far from where
much of Alfie was filmed. It’s his third
day of chatting up the movie to the
media, and he’s looking a bit knackered.
His well-tailored dress shirt is half-tucked
into faded blue jeans and a few days’
growth of beard darkens his face.
“What he discovered when he was writing
the script was that he could get away
with almost the exact same philosophy
[that guided the original Alfie] for the
modern guy, but the women around
him would react very differently to his
attitudes. Women in the last 35 years have
changed hugely, but have men? How has
the inner voice of men changed when they
think about women or, indeed, has it?
Will it ever change? Hearing Charles
describe it like that made it really quite
fascinating to me.”
As in the original, the story follows the
amorous adventures of a man-on-themake,
out to bag as many beautiful birds
as he can, including such tasty morsels as
Mia Long, Marisa Tomei, Susan Sarandon
and Law’s current love,
Sienna Miller.
But part of what
separates it from other
romantic comedies—
besides the devastatingly
handsome and devilishly
charming Mr. Law—
is that the lead character
spends most of his
out-of-bed screen time
talking directly to
the audience in a sly
monologue about love,
14 www. w tribute.ca
actors
Jude Law
Susan Sarandon
Marisa Tomei
director
Charles Shyer
locations
Manhattan
outtake
While playing a
lady-killer on-screen,
off-screen Law was
swept off his feet
by co-star Sienna
Miller. The two are
now dating.
sex, romance and what men—and
women—really want.
“This was Charles’ interpretation of
that story and it was my job to help
him bring it to life on the screen,” Law
continues. “The thing I’ve learned to look
for as I consider a new project is a director
who has a very clear talent and a sense of
what they want to do.”
And with two Oscar and three Golden
Globe nominations to his credit, and high
profile roles in potential blockbusters
like The Aviator (he plays Errol Flynn)
and I Heart Huckabees still to be unveiled
before the end of the year, chances are
that Jude Law will never have to work
with anybody he doesn’t want to.
—John — Black
Tribute October 2004