While my girl Kaiser was watching the US Open during her Labor Day weekend I was catching up with Ray Donovan, which was well worth it. (Sidenote: Ginger from True Blood is on Ray Donovan now!) So I’m a big Liev Schreiber fangirl and I just love him with Naomi Watts. (I know there were rumors we covered that they’ve been having trouble but I don’t want to hear it so shut your mouth.) The good news is that Liev and Noami were at The Venice Film Festival over the weekend, where they premiered their new boxer biopic, The Bleeder. Liev was honored with the Personal Tribute to Visionary Talent Award, and the first person he thanked was “my beautiful and talented partner in crime for over ten years, Naomi Watts.” That wasn’t some “thank you for working on our marriage for ten years,” cough Ben Affleck, that was genuine gratitude. Plus they posted lots of nice pics to social media, which I always enjoy.
Naomi and Liev star on The Bleeder as real life couple Chuck and Linda Wepner, and they’re well aware that it can be tricky for couples to act together. In a new video interview with USA Today, Watts says that she understands that it can be hard for audiences to see a real life couple on screen.
Naomi on working with Liev
Of course we’d love to work together a lot more. You don’t see real life couples on screen together a lot and I think there’s a reason for that. It’s not easy for an audience to suspend disbelief. That said, these two characters were so different than either of us. We get to make these physical transformations. It was fun for us.
On how it’s hard to work with anyone too much
I don’t know that you can do it too many times. Even when you’re not part of a real life couple if you act with somebody you’ve done too many movies with it can be a little jarring.
[From video on USA Today]
I think it can be alternately jarring and comforting for audiences to see two actors on screen together in multiple movies. There’s a fine line to be walked in regard to ongoing demand to see certain couples together (i.e. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling) and burnout/disinterest (Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, or anyone with Adam Sandler basically). As for Liev and Naomi, this is actually their second movie together. They did The Painted Veil in 2006, where they played undercover lovers, but that wasn’t how they met. They first met in 2005 at the Met Costume Institute Gala.
Here are photos of Naomi and Liev at the premiere of The Bleeder in Venice. Naomi is in Elie Saab. I really like the belt of the dress coupled with those shoulder straps that go down the sides of the bodice. This design with the whimsical sequins birds and puffy flowers might look twee on someone else but she pulls it off. Her cap sleeve dress is from the photocall on Friday and it’s very 40s. I’m not sure if I like the shoes or not, but they do go with the dress. There’s something off about her hair in both cases but I think they were going for a retro look.
Also, they look really relaxed and happy here.
Photos credit: WENN.com
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