At the chic Bristol Hotel in Paris, American movie stars George Clooney and
Renee Zellweger, talk to the press about "Leatherheads," their
newest film.

PARIS, FRANCE (APRIL 11, 2008) REUTERS-

 With his quiet elegance and classic good looks, George Clooney has
often been called the modern day Cary Grant. Fitting, considering that
Clooney's latest film, 'Leatherheads,' has a touch of nostalgia as a period
comedy set in the 1920's.
    Clooney and co-star Renee Zellweger, looking chic in a black dress,
evoked old Hollywood glamour at a news conference at the sophisticated Bristol
Hotel in Paris on Friday (April 11) during the Europe leg of their promotion
tour.
    Clooney with his salt-and-pepper hair and ageless devilish grin, said
he liked the nostalgia of the past.
    "I suppose I like the idea of things in the past, it's easier to
frame them sometimes, in particular political films. They seem to have a
better resonance when you can use them over a historical period of time. But
yeah, modern to me would probably be not nearly as fun as the past," he
said.
    'Leatherheads', the third directorial project of Clooney's following
'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind' and 'Good Night and Good Luck,' is quite a
departure from his more serious works. He told the press that the romantic
comedy was meant to be light and recall the good-humoured fun of American
slapstick comedies.
    Zellweger, a long-time friend of Clooney's who plays the role of the
leading lady, said the element of fun was what drew her interest to the
project.     
    "It's entertaining, it's good old-fashioned Hollywood film-making
like they just don't make them anymore. And Mr.Clooney here, who happens to be
a huge fan of those 1930's and 40's screwball comedies, thought it might be
fun, and I think he was right. It was fun," Zellweger said.
    The story, which Clooney co-wrote, centres around a local football team
owner, Dodge Connolly (played by Clooney), who dreams of leading his drab team
to glory. His strategy is to recruit college football star Carter Rutherford
(played by John Krasinski of "The Office") to bring a spark to his
ragged ranks. Rutherford is a charming war hero who supposedly forced German
soldiers to surrender during WWI and instantly captures the attention of the
public. Enter the feisty, fast-talking newswoman Lexie Littleton (played by
Renee Zellweger) who doubts Rutherford's claims and is determined to prove
that he's not all he appears. As the spitfire investigates her story, the two
athletes find each other battling off-field for her affections.
    Clooney said that apart from being a stylized romantic comedy, he finds
'Leatherheads' an intriguing portrait of the origins of American football as
we know it today. He said that there was a historical period where
professional football was dying while college football experienced its glory
years, and that this was changed practically overnight, when a sports team
owner decided to bring in a fresh-faced, energetic university football star.
This nostalgia for the beginning of such an American trademark fuelled his
interest.
    "I'm a fan of the idea of the beginnings of things, 'cause they're
figuring out the rules that later we all know, but at the time, you know,
nobody understands the rules, and to me, it's always fun to do a movie where
people are trying to figure out rules, rules in relationships, rules in the
sports, rules in all of that. It's always fun when they're trying to figure
them all out and usually either breaking them or doing them badly. So that's
sort of where the origins of it are from," Clooney said.
    The 46 year-old actor and director first came across the script nearly
ten years ago but had to temporarily abandon the project due to time
conflicts.
    'Leatherheads,' released by Universal Pictures, and produced by Clooney
and Grant Heslov's SmokeHouse company in collaboration with Casey Silver, is
already in theatres in the United States but will make its debut here in
France on April 23 under the French title 'Jeux de Dupes.'