The romantic film "Kate and Leo" was released in 2001 and immediately won the hearts of the audience. The masterful play of the actors and the fairy tale plot did their job. This film has been popular and loved for over fifteen years.
Plot
The action begins in 1876 in New York. Leopold, Earl of Albany, is forced to seek a wife for himself, since his family has long gone bankrupt. The uncle, on whose subsidy the young man lived, was going to have a magnificent ball to announce the name of the chosen one.
Leopold was not very successful in matters of the heart, he was fond of science and inventions. One day he meets a strange man who is afraid of Leopold's attention. A young count, puzzled by the behavior of this man, decides to follow him.
In the heat of pursuit, he runs onto the Brooklyn Bridge and, in an attempt to grab a stranger, falls into the abyss with him.
The next morning, Leopold opens his eyes, but cannot understand where he is. A stranger named Stuart Besser explains to the Count that he was resting in his apartment in New York in 2001.
Stuart told Leopold that he had found a way to travel in time and would certainly send the count back, but only after a week, when the portal would be reopened.
A few hours later an accident occurs with an ambitious amateur physicist and he ends up in the hospital. Keeping an eye on Leopold was entrusted to the neighbor Kate, a very busy business woman.
And although it was Kate who was called to help the count, the opposite happened. Leopold, a man from 1876, showed the girl what real life is.
Kate
In the film "Kate and Leo" the actors were chosen very well, their ensemble was one of the reasons for the success of this picture.
The actress, who played the role of Miss Mackay, began her career back in 1981, that is, experience in cinema was at that time about twenty years.
Among the most successful and famous paintings of Meg Ryan of that period, one can undoubtedly highlight such tapes as:
- "Best shooter".
- "When Harry Met Sally."
- Sleepless in Seattle.
- "City of Angels".
- “Letter to you,” etc.
Almost every film that starred Meg was commercially successful. Yes, the name of the actress on the poster aroused interest in the viewer. Therefore, the producers of the film "Kate and Leo" should not have worried about the box office picture. With a budget of forty-eight million, they amounted to just over seventy-six million dollars.
But, of course, Meg Ryan was not the only component of success.
Leo
For a long time, actor Hugh Jackman did not fall under the sights of the keen eyes of Hollywood directors, although he worked very hard. True, at first it was theatrical performances in the Australian theater. And since 1998, after moving to London, Hugh began playing on the stage of the Royal Drama Theater.
After being nominated for the Laurence Award, Olivier about the actor whispered in Hollywood. And already in 2000, he played one of his star roles - Wolverine in the film "X-Men."
It was an incredible leap in his career. Huge fees, millions of fans were not long in coming. I must say that all this deserved Hugh Jackman. "Kate and Leo" was for him, in fact, only the second Hollywood film.
The peak of his career continues to this day. Over the years, the actor has played in such films as Van Helsing, Australia, Living Steel, Les Miserables.
Jackman is known in the acting community for always understanding to the smallest detail the character of his hero and the circumstances surrounding him. The film "Kate and Leo" was no exception.
Especially for the sake of this project, Hugh studied good manners, horseback riding and dancing in London in order to more realistically embody the image of a young nobleman on the screen.
In the film "Kate and Leo" the actors surprisingly complemented each other, which allowed to create one of the most successful projects in the cinema.
Stewart
First of all, the American actor Lev Schreiber became known for his work in independent cinema. He also played in big films, but these were low-profile and low-budget roles.
That all changed when in 1996 he starred in the scream movie Scream. This brought him success and the opportunity to work with leading film studios in America.
He played with actors such as Ethan Hawke, Denzel Washington, Ben Affleck, Meryl Streep, Edward Norton. On the set of the film "Painted Veil" Leo met his future wife - Naomi Watts, also a famous and talented actress.
In addition to acting, Leo is engaged in producing. He also became a screenwriter and director of the film "Everything was Lighted Up", released in 2005. This debut was enthusiastically received by critics, the film received several prestigious awards, including the prize of the Venice Film Festival.
Schreiber himself was awarded the Tony Award that year.
Film crew
Now it’s clear that for the film “Kate and Leo” the actors were first-rate. The same can be said of the crew.
The script and director was James Mangold. He began as a director of independent films. In general, the picture under discussion was the fourth in his career.
Two years before her release, Mangold released the film "Interrupted Life", for the game in which Angelina Jolie was awarded the Oscar.
The most successful work to date is the film "Cross the Line" about country singer Johnny Cash and his wife, whose role was played by Reese Witherspoon.
In the film "Kate and Leo", the actors were in the camera lens of such a master as Stuart Dryberg. He worked on the Oscar-winning film The Piano, as well as films such as Bridget Jones's Diary and The Runaway Bride.
Interesting Facts
- The film "Kate and Leo" was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar for best song.
- In the picture, a parallel is drawn between Leopold and the inventor Elisha Otis, who invented the first elevator.