NYC Premiere: Driving Lessons

"Any opportunity I can get to go to London, I will grab," Laura Linney said on Tuesday night. But she wasn't in London; she was at the New York premiere of Driving Lessons, the directorial debut of screenwriter Jeremy Brock, and she was referring to the chance to appear in another film set across the pond. This time she even got to play English, a task she pulls off successfully in the picture, despite her worries. "It was a little intimidating being around a bunch of Brits and trying to pull [the accent] off, but I hope it's all right. I worked hard on it."

Driving into town: (L-R) Lessons co-stars Linney and Grint at Tuesday's premiere (Photos: Christopher Campbell)

On her decision to take on an unusually unlikable character, she told The Reeler, "You don't really judge your characters; you just play them." But does she have to justify the disagreeable ones in order to play them? "You just have to understand them," she replied.

In Driving Lessons, Linney plays the overprotective mother of Ben, an awkward teen portrayed rather impassively by Rupert Grint (the Harry Potter films' Ron Weasley). Ben comes of age with all the cliches of the genre -- even with his mum being in the way -- while spending a summer working for an eccentric old actress (an over-the-top Julie Walters). Although his own adolescence has been different than most, Grint was able to relate to Ben when it came to the opposite sex. "Yeah, it was quite nerve racking," he said about his love scene with Michelle Duncan, though he added, "The worst part is watching it back with your family."

Comparing the Driving Lessons shoot to Harry Potter, Grint said, "You work much quicker. You do four scenes a day; on Potter we're doing a scene a week I'd like to do more stuff like (this)."

Grint arrived for the occasion wearing American-flag Converse and was accompanied by his father, ensuring once again another uncomfortable virginity-loss scene. As for his own driving lessons, Grint informed The Reeler that he just passed his test on Saturday. -- Christopher Campbell

Posted at October 11, 2006 10:05 AM