Music, Style & Culture

This Means War UK Premiere Report

We talk to Tom Hardy, Reese Witherspoon and McG on the red carpet.

The radiant Reese Witherspoon brought some sunshine to a miserable and freezing West London on Monday night for the premiere of This Means War.

She was joined by her co-stars Tom Hardy and Chris Pine, as well as the director of the action/comedy/romance, McG.

Poor old Hardy revealed to us that he was suffering from manflu, having dropped out of the press junkets earlier that day, and was feeling a bit battered from having jabs. He also mentioned he was off to Siberia (then going quiet, so that's intriguing), before preparing for his role as Al Capone in Cicero. With such a diverse filmography with strong roles, why did he pick a light-hearted film, as a CIA agent warring with his best friend and colleague (Pine) over the same woman? "It's taken a long time to get here, and now I have the opportunity to work in a romantic comedy with the queen of the romantic comedy." He also engaged in a potentially interesting debate with the press pen, after the suggestion that the current crop of exciting actors all come from privileged backgrounds. Time was against him, but he argued that it wasn't the case, citing the likes of Paddy Considine.

Sadly, Chris Pine didn't come our way, so we didn't get the chance to grill him on Star Trek 2, but Witherspoon told us how she's still at the talking stage of West Memphis Three film Devil's Knot. She also revealed the project is very close to her, having grown up near to where the controversial murder trial took place. Why did she pick This Means War? "It was different. I wanted to up the ante a little bit, and keep people guessing - keep the genre fresh."

We had more time with director McG, who is one of the loveliest chaps we've had the pleasure of seeing on a red carpet. Joking about his encounters with the ladies ("I pretended I was Anthony Michael Hall to lose my virginity. I'll go to hell for it, but I've been praying a lot recently."), he was escorted by his partner, actress Bridget Moynahan. After seeing a score of school children walking down the red carpet, we wondered what he thought of the recent US ratings issue with his film, which almost got slapped with an R rating before cuts were made. "The rating is only a feature of Chelsea Handler's filthy mouth. I had to cut a lot of that out, but she's got a very honest take on editorialising the human condition, and that's why I love her. It's got an air of Bridesmaids, and I like that kind of honesty. There's nothing mean-spirited about the film - it's a big-hearted picture. Reese is a good person, and Tom and Chris are good lads."

He also revealed the love triangle film has an unusual set-up: "I have three endings to the picture, and it's my secret. I can choose at the last minute which one it will be. I'm going to feel the room tonight and see how it plays."

Finally, the director of Terminator Salvation and Charlie's Angels revealed the projects he's circling: "A spy movie at Warners, thriller at Summit called Puzzle Palace, and I might do Spring Awakening, which is sort of my passion."

This Means War hits UK cinemas 2nd March.