We usually see Kate Winslet in emotionally draining films about dying or drowning or erasing your memory or other forms of personal distress. The Holiday is her first light romantic comedy, so it was an adjustment for the frequent Oscar nominee.
Interview: Kate Winslet Talks The Holiday
"This is a whole new genre, it was," she said. "I’d never made a film like this before and I really embraced it and really you know enjoyed every moment of working with Jack [Black] and working with Eli [Wallach] and playing this sweet lovely charming grounded honest woman, it was such a pleasure. The experience of making it is very difficult to get any kind of overview on what the film is actually going to be like. I mean it was wonderful working with Jack, you know these little sort of romantic moments between us were incredibly sweet and enjoyable and also nice for me you know as well."
Winslet plays Iris, a British book editor who switches houses with an American movie trailer cutter (Cameron Diaz). Iris must overcome her obsession with her manipulative boss Jasper (Rufus Sewell) and move on with her life. Though Sewell and Winslet used to date, there was nothing scandalous about the casting.
"It was completely fine. Completely fine. I mean, I hadn’t seen him for a very, very long time but you know we’d remained friends. It was really not a big deal. It was purely coincidence, but I was thrilled by the suggestion because he’s a wonderful actor and I couldn’t think of anyone more perfect for Jasper."
Being in a romantic comedy allowed Winslet to be more goofy than her dramas have. Doing a happy dance upon discovering her temporary Brentwood home was pure Winslet.
The Holiday
The Holiday
Kate Winslet and Jack Black in The Holiday
"It was improvised in the sense that Nancy [Meyers] had scripted the rooms that she wanted Iris to visit on that sort of little joy dance. But everything that I did yeah it was pretty much improvised. I mean, you get a piece of good news you do something like that but also staying in certain hotels. I mean, I still get really thrilled by the whole hotel experience just because the majority of the time if we travel anywhere with the children we’ll tend to try and actually find a home to live in. So the experience of staying in a hotel doesn’t happen all that often and I still get really kind of like you know, oh look, oh god the pillows are so fluffy and the cute little things in the bathroom and wow look at the lovely room service. I still do really get delighted by those things and thank god I do because I would never want to take that stuff for granted."
Iris's new romance finds her roaming the aisles of a video store as her composer friend (Black) sings the theme songs. Of course, in this movie world, films like Titanic and Heavenly Creatures don't exist.
"I remember in the middle of shooting that scene, [thinking] 'Oh god, we’re in a video store, I wonder of any of the films that I’m in are on the shelves.' And they had been deliberately removed, both mine and Jack's because Nancy didn’t want them to be distracting for us. Which actually I was so grateful for because I would have been distracted. Because I don’t really have all my movies proudly displayed on a shelf or anything like that so it would have been pretty weird just because I don’t sort of look at the covers that often. So I was very pleased that they weren’t there."
The Holiday opens to theatres on December 8th.
For the trailers, TV spots, posters, more interviews, synopsis and more movie info, go to The
Holiday Movie Page.
Stay tuned for updates.
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