ITALY: Woody Allen, Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor arrive at Venice Film Festival for premiere of 'Cassandra's Dream"

Oscar-winning U.S. director Woody Allen and actors Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor arrive at the Venice Film Festival to present 'Cassandra's Dream'. How far would you go to get rich quick or clear a mountain of debt? That is the question Woody Allen asks in his dark new movie "Cassandra's Dream", starring Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell as working class London brothers desperate to get ahead in life. The 71-year-old director and two actors arrived in Venice Lido on Sunday (September 2) where the picture is being presented out of competition at the annual film festival. "Cassandra's Dream" tells the story of brothers Ian (McGregor) and Terry (Farrell) and the fateful day they make a pact with their rich uncle, played by Tom Wilkinson. Ian is an ambitious charmer who falls in love with a beautiful young actress and dreams of a better life in Los Angeles, while Terry has a gambling habit that gets out of control, fuelling his drinking and drug addiction. "It's simply a story of some very nice young people who get caught up, because of their weaknesses and because of their ambitions, in a tragic situation that they bring upon themselves," Allen told reporters. The Oscar-winning U.S. director returns to the theme of ruthless ambition and moral ambiguity which he explored in his 2005 film "Match Point", and said "Cassandra's Dream" reflected his view of life as a "tremendously tragic event". "I've always felt that life itself, and this is no brilliant observation, is a tremendously tragic event, I mean a real mess," a distinctly downbeat Allen explained. Irish-born Farrell, star of "Miami Vice" and "Alexander", said being cast as a frail and vulnerable character wracked with guilt was a refreshing change from action hero roles for which he is best known. Farrell said he also felt liberated to be able to just concern himself with capturing moments of the common man, something he said he identifies with more. "(It was) very liberating to not be playing the hero, and to actually make a gun myself in a garage instead of having a big f****** machine gun." The cast also includes newcomer Hayley Atwell. All four are due to attend the movie premiere this evening.

ITN Source | September 6, 2007

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