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Known as the ultimate bachelor, Gerard Butler is one mega heart breaker, well, in his latest rom-com Playing for Keeps that is. In celebration of its release, this Friday, we've compiled a few fun quotes from the A-list cast.
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In the Beginning...
The movie, which was originally titled Confessions of a Little League Coach, began on a playing field in Encino, California. This is where assistant Little League coach and director of Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines, Jonathan Mostow, met screenwriter Robbie Fox, who happened to be the team’s head coach.
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The Inspiration
"The inspiration began one night at 2:00am, when I sent an email to the team’s parents and wrote, 'Hey, guys, tomorrow is practice—be there or be square,'" said Fox. "At 2:01am, I got a ‘ding’ back on my computer. It was from one of the moms, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, 'Hi, Coach! Gee, you’re up late tonight.' I didn’t respond but then I got another one, 'I know you’re there, Coach. You can run, but you can’t hide!' That was the start of this story."
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Playing the Lead
Gerard Butler originally signed on as a producer on the film but when screenwriter Robbie Fox came on board and rewrote the script it didn't take much to convince Butler to play the lead role.
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Butler on his Character
"I knew straight away this was something I wanted to get involved with," said Gerard Butler. "I thought, we can move people with these characters and we can definitely make them laugh. I felt a lot of emotional attachment to it and I could really identify with George and the journey he takes – unraveling and then putting his life back together."
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Gabriele Muccino
"I’ve known Gabriele for a while and I love his movies," said Butler. "They have such an incredible energy behind them. They are fast flowing and you really get to know his characters, who all wear their hearts on their sleeves. That’s why I imagined him for this script. I thought it had all the things in it that he does well. He has an incredible sense of pace and keeps things flowing from emotion to emotion and action to action."
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Judy Greer on Muccino
I've been wanting to work with him since I saw his Italian Last Kiss, and then I fell in love with Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds. He tells these stories of redemption for the common man that I find interesting. His passion for these "every man" characters is what makes his story telling so beautiful.
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Catherine Zeta-Jones
"I love the fact that George is having all these relationships, but nobody in them knows what’s going on," said Catherine Zeta-Jones. "Every woman thinks she is the only one, and unbeknownst to all of them, he has the whole soccer mom league team all googly-eyed. I think people will really enjoy seeing Gerry in shorts."
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Gerard on his Character
"He’s a guy who seems to bring chaos wherever he goes, because women like him and men want to be him, but he’s not very centered and he doesn’t necessarily know how to handle all that. So a lot of funny situations happen just because of who he is." – Gerard Butler
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Jessica Biel
"For me it was the whole package. I was really interested in working with Gabriele and I was interested in playing a woman who has a child which is something I’d never done before," said Jessica Biel. "Plus, to play opposite Gerry, Uma, Catherine, and Dennis was like a dream. All those elements combined made me excited to do this."
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Uma Thurman
Thurman was drawn by the chance to do something lighthearted. "I thought Playing For Keeps was such a sweet story about family and marriage — and I don’t always make a lot of those," said Uma Thurman. "I also like Gabriele’s films and I knew I‘d have fun playing a colorful character in a comedy with him."
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Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid plays Thurman's jealous husband who wants nothing more than to have a former soccer pro as a best buddy. "The script was funny and had great people involved. With Gerard as my competitor and Uma as my wife, it seemed like a very fun time," said Quaid.
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Newcomer Noah Lomax
"Noah’s incredibly energetic, creative and positive and it’s been fun watching him grow and our relationship grow over the course of the movie. I mean you can’t not be moved by this kid." – Gerard Butler
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Butler on Noah Lomax
"A lot of my favorite scenes in this movie are with Noah. He’s a difficult character to play because he’s trying to protect himself. I’m his hero, yet I’ve let him down time after time, and now I’m trying to make things work but without really knowing how. It’s a great relationship to watch develop as an audience, but it was a tricky one to do. You need a talented little actor to do it with and Noah was that guy." – Gerard Butler
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"This is the kind of story that can pull the audience in and let them forget they are watching a movie because they see some part of their own lives mirrored on the screen." – Gabriele Muccino
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