The announcements included 15 Galas and 35 Special Presentations, with 25 of them being world premieres.

Highlights include Robert Redford’s The Conspirator, Ben Affleck’s The Town, Mike Leigh’s Another Year, Richard J. Lewis’ Barney’s Version, Rowan Joffe’s Brighton Rock, Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go, Stephen Frears’ Tamara Drewe and Woody Allen’s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.

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Is your love life a little stale and boring? Need a bit of pep, or a few persons of the opposite / same sex lining up for you? Well, why not follow in Tamara Drewe’s footsteps and head to the countryside? As the movie’s new quad suggests, it’s just full of romantic intrigue.

The film centres on Gemma Arterton’s London journalist, the titular Tamara Drewe, who returns home following her mother’s death to set her house in order. There she meets old flame Andy (Luke Evans), girlhood crush Nicholas Hardiment (Roger Allam) and heartthrob rock drummer Ben Sergeant (Dominic Cooper), and things get complicated.

Please join http://www.facebook.com/TamaraDreweUK to be informed about the latest news and updates on the film. Tamara Drewe premiered on July 14th in France, and will premiere on September 10th in the UK, and on October 8th in New York and Los Angeles.

GALLERY LINK:
- Tamara Drewe (2010): Posters & Covers

You can watch it here.

GALLERY LINK:
- Tamara Drewe (2010): UK Trailer

Follow us: http://twitter.com/gemma_arterton

Big thanks to Elena!

One of these stills was featured in Le Figaro Magazine a couple of weeks ago.

Please join http://www.facebook.com/TamaraDreweUK to be informed about the latest news and updates on the film. Tamara Drewe premiered on July 14th in France, and will premiere on September 10th in the UK, and on October 8th in New York and Los Angeles.

GALLERY LINK:
- Tamara Drewe (2010): Production Stills

The gorgeous Empire photoshoot was used by the very talented Nicole to grace our new gallery header. We hope you’ll love it as much as we do!

GALLERY LINKS:
- Photoshoots: Empire UK (2010)
- Tamara Drewe (2010) > Related Clippings: Le Figaro Magazine (France) – July 10, 2010

Follow us: http://twitter.com/gemma_arterton

Big thanks to Elena!

Please join http://www.facebook.com/TamaraDreweUK to be informed about the latest news and updates on the film. Tamara Drewe premieres on July 14th in France, on September 10th in the UK, and on October 8th in New York and Los Angeles.

GALLERY LINK:
- Tamara Drewe (2010): Production Stills

Big thanks to Lorna!

Please join http://www.facebook.com/TamaraDreweUK to be informed about the latest news and updates on the film. Tamara Drewe premieres on July 14th in France, on September 10th in the UK, and on October 8th in New York and Los Angeles.

GALLERY LINK:
- Scans: Vogue (UK) – August 2010

Follow us: http://twitter.com/gemma_arterton

GALLERY LINKS:
- Scans: VSD (France) – May 5-11, 2010
- Scans: Grazia (France) – May 28, 2010
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) > Related Clippings: Télé 7 Jours (France) – May 29, 2010, thanks to IHeartJake.Com

Follow us: http://twitter.com/gemma_arterton

Please join http://www.facebook.com/TamaraDreweUK to be informed about the latest news and updates on the film. Tamara Drewe premieres on July 14th in France, on September 10th in the UK, and on October 8th in New York and Los Angeles.

The film sees Gemma Arterton take on the role of Tamara Drewe, a girl who has transformed herself. Plastic surgery, a different wardrobe, and a smouldering look, have given her confidence and a thrilling power to attract. Tamara arrives in the village where her late mother lived to clear up the house. For the men of the village, she becomes an object of lust, envy, the focus of unrequited love and a seductress… First appearing as a serial in the Guardian, then enlarged and embellished in book form, now Stephen Frears, Gemma Arterton, Dominic Cooper along with a great British cast bring the tale to the big screen.

LE FIGAROSCOPE – Comment avez-vous décroché le rôle très convoité de Tamina ?

Gemma ARTERTON – Je pensais n’avoir aucune chance, j’y suis donc allée au culot. Les réalisateurs préfèrent les actrices qui ont de la personnalité. Lors de l’audition, Mike Newell m’a demandé si j’étais capable d’avoir un accent snob. J’ai répliqué : « Bien sûr que je peux prendre cet accent, j’ai fait cette p… de Royal Academy of Dramatic Art ! » Il m’a engagée. Fort heureusement, Tamina n’est pas une déesse du sexe comme dans le jeu. Elle est ici une princesse gracieuse, très peace and love, qui devra se battre dans un monde de brutes ! Prince of Persia, c’est le croisement de Lawrence d’Arabie et Indiana Jones.

Hollywood, était-ce un rêve ?

Ma mère est femme de ménage, mon père, ouvrier métallurgiste. Après la Royal Academy, je pensais me consacrer aux planches, bien trop contente d’obtenir même des petits rôles. Il est si difficile de trouver du travail que je n’ai jamais rien refusé. Alors, Hollywood, c’était inimaginable ! Maintenant j’ai la chance de pouvoir alterner les films pop-corn et les films d’auteur, plus créatifs.

Qu’est-ce qui vous a donné envie de devenir actrice ?

À 16 ans, j’ai eu un véritable choc en regardant Björk dans Dancer in the Dark, de Lars von Trier. Elle m’a inspirée.

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Allô? Je suis dans le métro, à Londres, dit-elle d’une voix rauque. Vous m’entendez?” On entend parfaitement. On est aussi étonné: Gemma Arterton n’a donc pas de chauffeur? “Non, je déteste ça: on se sent coupé du monde.” Et c’est ce qu’il y a de terriblement attirant chez cette actrice, qui passe des blockbusters -Le Choc des titans, Prince of Persia- à des films indépendants, “so british” comme elle le dit si bien avec son accent cockney. Elle a beau avoir joué Shakespeare sur les planches, donné la réplique à Daniel Craig dans le dernier James Bond, Gemma, 24 ans, écoute toujours sa maman, femme de ménage, et son papa, ouvrier métallurgiste: “J’étais si fière d’avoir tourné des films à gros budget… Ils les ont trouvés nuls!” Diplômée de la Royal Academy of Dramatic Art de Londres, la comédienne a connu une ascension fulgurante depuis qu’elle a joué dans St Trinian’s, avec Rupert Everett et Colin Firth, en 2007. Dans Tamara Drewe, de Stephen Frears, qui sort le 14 juillet en France, Gemma a quelque chose d’une adolescente: un corps dont elle se sert pour mesurer son pouvoir de séduction, un côté petite fille qui réalise son rêve. Mais, dans La Disparition d’Alice Creed (sur les écrans le 30 juin), elle révèle une autre facette: punk, rebelle, troublante. Conversation avec une jeune femme puissante, drôle et directe… Une tempête dans une tasse de thé!

Tamara Drewe est adapté du roman graphique de l’auteure anglaise Posy Simmonds. Comment décririez-vous ce personnage?

Avec son nez refait, ses jambes interminables, ses aspirations à la célébrité, Tamara est l’amazone londonienne du xxie siècle. Son retour dans son village natal est un choc pour la petite communauté qui y vit en paix. Une communauté excentrique, partagée entre écrivains, universitaires frustrés, une rock star au rancart et une population locale en déshérence. Tous sont attirés par Tamara dont la beauté pyromane et les divagations amoureuses éveillent d’obscures passions. Elle va provoquer un enchaînement d’événements aussi absurdes que tragiques.

Comment vivez-vous le grand écart entre films indépendants et grosses productions, comme Prince of Persia?

Je n’aurais jamais pensé devenir un jour une princesse Disney! Prince of Persia est un croisement entre Star Wars et Indiana Jones, un genre que je connais peu… Mais je me suis beaucoup amusée pendant le tournage: je n’ai jamais été sportive et, là, j’ai appris à monter à cheval, à faire des cascades, à me battre à l’épée et à lancer des couteaux… Quand j’étais petite, ma famille ne surnommait Blanche-Neige, car j’avais de longs cheveux noirs et la peau très blanche. Mais je suis un garçon manqué! Je ne ressemble pas à la princesse Amina et je n’arrive pas à croire que, aujourd’hui, il y a même une poupée à mon effigie. Cela dit, si j’ai pu faire du cinéma d’auteur, plus créatif, c’est aussi grâce à la visibilité que m’apportent ces films hollywoodiens.

Comme Quantum of Solace, le dernier James Bond où vous envoûtez Daniel Craig?

J’ai lu des interviews d’ex-James Bond girls toujours en train de se justifier. Mais James Bond, c’est une institution “for God’s sake!” (Dieu soit loué!). Quand je serai vieille, je pourrai dire à mes petits-enfants: “Votre grand-mère a embrassé 007 !”

Y a-t-il une différence entre les Britanniques et les Américains dans la façon de concevoir les scénarios, d’aborder le jeu?

Les acteurs britanniques ont souvent un background théâtral, ils sont les héritiers d’une tradition qui va de Shakespeare à Monty Python. Quand ils jouent, les Anglais sont dans l’instant présent, comme au théâtre. En revanche, les Américains, eux, se précipitent sur le moniteur après chaque prise pour contrôler leur performance à l’écran. Ce qui fait retomber la tension dramatique. Pour ce qui est des scénaristes, les Britanniques ont un sens profond de l’ironie, de l’autodérision, de l’absurde. Si les Américains ont tendance à faire triompher le bien, chez nous, le héros est souvent un looser. Même les situations les plus graves sont décrites de façon décalée… Parfois, nous sommes vraiment d’un cynisme cinglant, mais cela nous fait rire.

C’est le cas de La Disparition d’Alice Creed, thriller psychologique de J. Blakeson où vous incarnez la victime d’un enlèvement. Un huis clos si haletant que l’on finit par être pris d’un rire nerveux…

C’est le genre de cinéma indépendant anglais que j’adore. Un film violent, perturbant: on me voit nue, attachée à un lit, les yeux bandés et la bouche bâillonnée, à la merci de deux ravisseurs. Mais le dénouement est inattendu: Alice Creed n’est pas qu’une victime… Et ses bourreaux sont aussi redoutables qu’étrangement poétiques… Jouer ce personnage a été un challenge pour moi: tous les soirs, je rentrais à la maison en larmes et pendant le tournage, je piquais des fous rires. J’avais aussi peur de la réaction de mon père… Il a adoré! Ma nudité ne l’a pas dérangé. Désincarnée, clinique, elle évoque plutôt les photos de Guy Bourdin.

Qu’est-ce qui vous a donné envie de devenir actrice?

A 16 ans, j’ai eu un choc en voyant Björk dans Dancer in the Dark, de Lars von Trier. A cette époque, je voulais être chanteuse, pas actrice. J’ai grandi dans la musique: le cousin de ma mère était le leader de Wreckless Eric, un célèbre groupe punk des années 1970. A la maison, on n’écoutait que du rock anglais! J’ai appris à jouer de la guitare et j’ai formé mon premier groupe à 14 ans, un “girls band” baptisé Violent Pink. Que des filles, dans le genre punk enragé! [Elle rit.] Je joue toujours, mais, aujourd’hui, je fais de la musique folk.

Comment êtes-vous arrivée à la Royal Academy of Dramatic Art?

Après avoir pris des cours dans une école de théâtre, j’ai gagné une bourse pour y entrer. J’ai quitté Gravesend, ma ville natale, dans le Kent -là où est enterrée Pocahontas!- et j’ai débarqué à Londres sans un rond. Pour payer mon loyer, j’ai travaillé dans une parfumerie, puis comme hôtesse dans un bar-karaoké, le Duke of Sussex, un lieu surréaliste ! A l’Académie, j’étais un peu l’Eliza Doolittle de la classe… Les élèves étaient issus de milieux aisés. Je me souviens de leurs conversations: “Mon père m’a montré le dernier Ken Loach. J’ai adoré, et toi?” Moi, je me demandais: “Qui est ce Ken Loach?” Je rattrape mon retard tous les jours. Mais je me pince encore pour être sûre que ce que je vis n’est pas un rêve.

Comme Scarlett Johansson, vous avez une sensualité débordante, vous assumez vos formes voluptueuses…

J’aime le corps féminin, ses rondeurs, ses imperfections. Si on me demandait de maigrir pour un rôle, je refuserais. On peut toujours s’arranger avec des costumes, du maquillage et de bons éclairages. Et puis, on peut jouer avec ses défauts: pour contourner l’un de mes complexes, je me suis fait tatouer derrière mes oreilles, décollées, deux petits anges ailés !

Vos projets?

Remonter sur les planches. En 2007, j’ai joué Peines d’amour perdues, de Shakespeare, au Globe Theatre: un souvenir merveilleux. A la rentrée, je serai dans une nouvelle pièce, mais je ne peux pas en dire plus. Quant au cinéma, le réalisateur italien Luca Guadagnino m’a offert l’un des plus beaux rôles qui m’aient été proposés. Si ça marche, le film -qui se situe dans les années 1970- sera tourné en Corse. Enfin, je rêverais de jouer le rôle de Courtney Love dans le film qu’elle aimerait faire sur son histoire avec Kurt Cobain.

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With special thanks to the lovely and talented Nicole!

GALLERY LINK:
- Scans: Flair (Italy) – July 2010

Follow us: http://twitter.com/gemma_arterton

Tamara Drewe is the contemporary tale of a Londoner returning home to the country – and to her past. Tamara, once a shy, ugly teenager, has reinvented herself as a smouldering femme fatale. When she returns to her old village to sell her late mother’s house, she is barely recognisable to the locals – or to her old flame Andy – and she kick-starts a trail of envy, lust, scandal and gossip wherever she goes. But has she really forgotten who she is – and who she loved?

Tamara is the ultimate modern girl; but for all her independence, ambition and sex appeal it’s actually the vulnerable, shy fish-out-of-water underneath that make her story funny, moving and very human.

Tamara Drewe premieres in French cinemas on July 14, 2010. The UK will have to wait until September 10, 2010.

GALLERY LINK:
- Tamara Drewe (2010): Production Stills

Follow us: http://twitter.com/gemma_arterton

GALLERY LINKS:
- Photoshoots: The Observer Photoshoot – Captures (2009)
- Magazine Scans: Various (Thanks to Lorna!)
- Public Events: “Prince of Persia” – Moscow Photocall
- Quantum of Solace (2008): Production Stills
- St Trinian’s II: The Legend Of Fritton’s Gold (2009): DVD Screencaptures – Interview
- Tamara Drewe (2010): Posters & Covers

Follow us: http://twitter.com/gemma_arterton

Follow us: http://twitter.com/gemma_arterton

Follow us: http://twitter.com/gemma_arterton

In the film, Arterton’s Tamina must join forces with Gyllenhaal’s Dastan in order to protect “The Dagger Of Time,” a magical weapon that has the power to reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world, before it falls into the hands of the evil Nizam played by Oscar winner Ben Kingsley. We recently had a chance to speak with Gemma Arterton about the new film, her character’s quest, how she won the role, what it’s like working on a Jerry Bruckheimer set and the chances of her returning for a possible sequel. Here is what the talented young actress had to say:

To begin with, the film hasn’t even opened yet and there have already been several rumors about a possible sequel, if that happened would you be interested in reprising your role in the next film?

Gemma Arterton: Yeah I would love to actually. We made it two years ago and I feel refreshed so if they wanted to do another, which I’m sure as it is hinted at (towards the end of the film) that there are many different avenues that it can go down. At the end of the film it is hinted that they have become like this alliance and started this sort of partnership. You know, in the games themselves there were all these different lands that they visited, so now I’m putting in all my suggestions to Jerry and I’m like, beaches maybe? Maybe the tropics so we get to go somewhere nice and hot?

Since you just mentioned speaking to Jerry Bruckheimer about it, exactly what have you been told so far about a the chances of a sequel?

Gemma Arterton: When I signed up to do this movie it was always kind of spoken about that there may be sequels but they have not spoken about what the story would be or anything like that. I think it is all very reliant on how well it does. I don’t think they want to jump in too soon.

Can you talk about the importance of the task your character has been handed from the Gods; protecting the “Dagger Of Time,” how that affects her and sends her on her journey in the film?

Gemma Arterton: Well she is quite refreshing actually in the film. She is this really spiritual girl that believes in the task at hand so much and for me that was a big challenge actually because it is so fantastical to act that. She is within this movie with all these guys full of testosterone, willing to kill things and she is this pure soul that is trying to do what she thinks is right. She has to teach everybody else that it’s right without being preachy so she starts off by not revealing it.

She has her secrets that she keeps about it. She doesn’t reveal her secrets about this and people don’t know who she is or what she is doing. She reveals it very gradually through the film, this secret that she has that she believes fully and it was such a gorgeous character to play because aside from all of the action and stuff that she has, she’s actually a priestess. She’s pure, she’s young, she’s naive, she’s funny and she’d do anything to do what she thinks is right. I loved that and I loved playing her.

When Princess Tamina first meets Dastan she obviously has reasons not to like him, his family has just seized her kingdom, but she slowly begins to trust him and realizes that the Gods have sent him to help her fulfill her duty of protecting the dagger. Can you talk about that shift in your character and how that begins to lend it’s self to the feelings that she eventually has for him?

Gemma Arterton: I think that, well you know, if you meet the love of your life there’s always this inexplicable thing that happens. It’s kind of like … you can’t even explain it but when you first meet them that’s what happens and it happens for her. Even though he kidnaps her and all this horrible stuff happens there is something that happens the first time that they meet. Also she is very spiritual and very in touch with intuition, faith and destiny so I do think that she has an idea that this guy is important when she meets him.

As the film goes on they realize that they both have to open themselves up to each other. They realize that they are each part of each other’s destinies and they have to work together. So of course all the fun things happen where they take the Mickey out of each other and there is a lot of banter but there is this attraction between them all the way through the movie. But what I love is there is also this sensitivity to the movie as well, its not just a big action movie, there is romance there. That’s what happens between the two of them. I like to say that it’s a romantic action adventure, not just an action adventure.

Director Mike Newell has mentioned publicly that originally he was looking to cast a sixteen-year old girl from Bollywood, Israel or Egypt to play Princess Tamina and then you walked in and he knew he had found the right actress for the part. Can you talk about that first meeting with him, the audition process in general for you and what you ultimately did to convince him that you were right for the role?

Gemma Arterton: So I went into the audition process sort of completely thinking that I wouldn’t get the job, which was a really good thing because it meant that I wouldn’t put any pressure on myself. So I just sort of went to this meeting, met Mike and was cheeky and funny. Since doing the movie he’s told me why he cast me in the movie and what it was and I think the thing that he liked was the steely wit but with a real innocents behind it. Like a naivety I suppose and at the time I was very naive and very new to the world that we were going into. I don’t know, I think that’s why Tamina is a really interesting character because she’s not a femme fatal, she’s young and she doesn’t know what she is doing a lot of the time. Even when she is kissing somebody or trying to seduce someone, it’s the first time that she’s ever done it.

So I did an audition and it went on tape and Jerry saw it and loved it. Then I did various screen tests and things. I was amazed actually because I did think that they would end up going with someone that was a young Bollywood actress or something like that. For me as an English girl I was quite astounded at my luck really.

You actually made “Prince Of Persia” before you shot “Clash Of The Titans” so can you talk about being a young British actress and what you were feeling the first time you were on a big, Hollywood, Jerry Bruckheimer set? Were you nervous or overwhelmed at all and if so how did you overcome that in order to give your performance?

Gemma Arterton: Yeah I was very nervous, overwhelmed and I didn’t know what I was doing but actually that was quite good. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. I didn’t put too much pressure on myself. Also, after a while you get so over the fact that you are nervous because you’ve got too much work to do. Really cool people on film sets always surround you and I made some really, really brilliant friends. That made everything else easier because I was hanging out with the crew mostly because they are just people like me, you know?

Finally, what can you tell us about your upcoming film “Tamara Drewe,” which is based on the popular British comic strip?

Gemma Arterton: Yes, it is another comic strip thing but it’s a different type of comic strip thing because it was in The Guardian newspaper and it was a massive hit in the UK. I play a journalist who comes back to her hometown after a nose job, looking great, and was an ugly duckling before that. Her arrival stirs up all these emotions and passions in a village, because that’s the type of girl she is and it causes havoc. It’s very funny, charming, witty, and I’m very proud of it.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time comes to theaters May 28th, 2010 and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Steve Toussaint, Toby Kebbell, Richard Coyle, Ronald Pickup. The film is directed by Mike Newell.

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During the interview we talked about the challenges of filming in Morocco and what it was like making the movie, and we also talked about her other projects like Tamara Drewe and The Disappearance of Alice Creed. Also, even though Warner Bros. is moving forward with Clash of the Titans 2, she revealed that she’s not yet signed for a sequel so it’s up to her whether or not to come back. Finally, with how much Clash of the Titans changed during filming, I asked what was her reaction to the final product. Hit the jump to read or listen to the interview.

As usual, the transcript is below or you can listen to the audio by clicking here. Again, Prince of Persia opens this weekend.

–

Collider: So I guess I’ll just jump in and say what the hell has this last few been like for you promoting this…

Gemma: Oh my God. It’s been absolutely mental. It’s been brilliant though. I was sort of dreading it because, you know for me it was always like God this is going to be crazy and the film is going to come out and I’m going to all these premieres and you know, for me, it was always quite daunting, but it’s actually been a lot easier than I thought it would be and also been so much fun. Like we’ve all worked so hard don’t you know on this film and it’s actually really cool that we’ve been able to enjoy ourselves and got to go to incredible places and it’s been nuts, but brilliant.

Well, this also leads into the last year or year and a half for you filming these movies and all these different projects. Are you finally at a place where you’re sort of slowing down a little bit an enjoying the time off?

Gemma: Yeah, yeah for sure. I mean, last year I made 4 movies and also did a play, so I just didn’t stop and I think for the first couple of years I needed to get myself sort of out there, but also do good work in between that I was proud of that was kind of doing the TV bits and the small movies as well. Now I feel like I’m in a better place because you know I feel like I’m getting respect which is really cool because I’ve kind of had to work for that a little bit and so yeah, I’ve got a little bit more of promotional stuff to do and then I can have a bit of time off which I can’t wait. It means I can be more…hopefully because there’s more stuff coming my way, I can choose more. I don’t have to do everything that comes my way, which is really great, so I’m being more selective and therefore having a bit more time.

You obviously will not remember, but I was one of the many people that visited the set of Clash of the Titans.

Gemma: Oh right, when we were in London?

Yeah, at the…

Gemma: Pinewood?

I don’t even know.

Gemma: At Longcross. It was at Longcross, yeah. Oh okay.

One of those places. But what struck me about…I definitely have Prince of Persia stuff, but I want to ask you that film had a dramatic transformation in the editing room. Like with the storyline with Zeus…there were some changes. What was your take on it as…because obviously you’re in the movie, very involved. But what was your take with the story sort of switching a little bit? How were you and the fact that they’ve already talked about moving forward on a sequel?

Gemma: Well, you know you sign up to do a movie and I signed up to do a movie that was pretty much kind of like the Greek myth and then you’re there and then they change it and they show it to you at test screenings and then they change it again and you know, it’s kind of hard because you don’t actually know where it’s going to go, you know? And it’s like this with any movie. You turn up, you do the work, and who knows what’s going to happen after you’ve done it. It’s kind of out of your hands in a way. So, you know, the finished product was actually, I was kind of worried about it at first because I was thinking what if it…I don’t know what’s going to go on with the story and I’m such a sucker for Greek mythology I was thinking, “oh no please don’t veer too far away from the Greek myth.” But actually the final product I was really happy with it. I hear that they’re talking about a sequel but I don’t know what ‘s going on with that and no one’s come to me with a script or anything yet, so we’ll see.

My last question on that…when you signed on for Clash, did you sort of sign on for sequels if they wanted to make it?

Gemma: No I didn’t actually. It was… I think the film was so successful that I think that they kind of like wow, you know nobody knew how successful it was going to actually end up being. And so with this one they…and there was always talk that there may be a sequel but I was never involved. You know, it was never part of my contract. Sometimes you have to sign a thing. No, it was never spoken about.

Oh so you get the advantage of choosing if you want to come back or not?

Gemma: Yeah. It’s a nice position to be in.

No, totally. All right, well jumping into Prince for a second, one of the things about the film, you guys shot in Morocco in July and August, which is just such a comfortable month to be filming on location in Morocco. If you could go back there, what would be the one or two places you’d want to go revisit if you ever went back there?

Gemma: Oh, I’d go back to the desert because we were only there, you know the Sahara desert like all the sand dunes and everything. We were there for like 2 weeks but we were filming so flat out that we actually didn’t get to travel around it. And you can do these incredible like night-time excursions under the stars and sleep out in the middle of nowhere. And for me, I think that’s just a once in a lifetime thing. And I didn’t get to do it while I was there, which is a real shame. But it was incredible. I mean it’s extraordinary in that the landscape obviously. I’d go there and then I’d like to go back to Marrakesh as well because it’s such a brilliant city. So vibrant and so much going on. It’s very different now to how it was years ago but there’s still this sensual kind of real pure Moroccan hub and it’s just an incredible place. I loved it there.

Obviously, Prince of Persia based on the video game. When you get this project based on the game do you sort of force yourself, oh I’m going to have to spend the day playing the video game?

Gemma: Yeah, I did actually force myself because I’m not really a gamer and I’m quite rubbish at them actually. And I didn’t know about it before, you know, I had to really go out and borrow my friend’s whatever it is, Xbox or whatever it’s on…Playstation I think it is. And that’s how bad I am, and I was terrible at it. I was so bad because when I play computer games when I was a kid like, it was on the old Nintendo and there was like 2 or 3 buttons. And now there’s like joysticks and oh God it was a disaster. But luckily for me, the female character in the game is completely different from my character in the film. So it wasn’t like I had to reach a certain level to work out my character, so that was good.

Obviously in the movie, you wear very period specific costumes, but were you sort of like let me see what I can take home from the set on this one?

Gemma: Oh God, I was desperate to take home loads of stuff because the costumes are so amazing. There was a certain pair of trousers that I loved, however they always say that they’re going to give you stuff and they never, ever do. Just in case, you know, just in case they need to re-shoot or just in case they want to do another one, or whatever you know? So the other day I was like Jerry remember when you said you’d give me those little shoes? And he was like, oh yeah. But no, they’re very reluctant to but hopefully I’ll end up with something at some point.

One of the films that you have coming up, I’m not sure if it’s been released in the U.K. yet, but I saw it at Toronto, was Alice Creed.

Gemma: Yeah. It’s out in the U.K. at the moment actually which means I’ve got 3 movies out at the same time, which is a bit nuts. Yeah, it’s done really well there as well. I think it’s just been very well received. I think it’s coming out in the States next month or maybe…it’s in August I think it’s coming out. I’m really, really proud of it. it’s kind of like…it’s so different than anything else I’ve been seen in so far and it’s very much up my streak and it’s quite a hard watch. It’s not easy to watch but for me it’s the kind of movie that I’d go to see, and yeah it was quite a shock actually. It was make for less than a million pounds which is nothing in the film industry but we didn’t know how successful it was going to be and we didn’t expect everyone to love it but it went to Toronto and had all these rave reviews and it was mad attention the attention it got.

Oh I thought it was fantastic and to be honest, you kind of give a fearless performance in the movie, so…

Gemma: Yeah, yeah.

So what was that like? Obviously again, you have a very demanding performance in that movie. Were you a little scared to sign on or were you sort of like embracing the challenge?

Gemma: Yeah, I was scared, but that was a good thing. I think it’s important to challenge yourself. And you know I’d just come off something…I’d just come off Prince of Persia which is so, so different and I think I wanted to see if I could do something that raw and also I knew that not everybody would like it and that kind of excited me as well. I don’t like mediocrity and so it was scary but at the end of it, I felt like it was the most satisfying thing because, you know, it just turned out…I’m very proud of it, so.

Oh totally. So I guess going back to the beginning of what I was talking to you about, have you figured out what you’re going to do next or is your plan just let me take some time off…

Gemma: I don’t know. I’m taking a bit of time to sort of relax and get my head around everything and chill out. And then I actually don’t know, you know? I’m really in a really nice position at the moment where lots and lots and lots of things are coming through and they’re all different and I just need to work out what I actually want to do now. I think I need to be very selective and thoughtful about it and I’m not really up under any pressure either. I just want to kind of see what happens.

Your film Tamara Drewe just premiered at Cannes? So how much to you pay attention to like the online reviews? Are you sort of like after it premieres…

Gemma: I don’t read them. I don’t read anything. I’ve made a conscious decision not to read any reviews, so I know it premiered last night so that’s all I know.

Well, it’s getting good reviews, so I’m curious…

Gemma: Well, that’s good. I’m glad.

(laughter) Well, could you talk a little bit about who you play in that film for the people…because it’s obviously not coming out anytime soon?

Gemma: Yeah, I play a journalist called Tamara Drewe who is not taken very seriously because she is very sort of beautiful and she comes back to her hometown having been an ugly duckling when she was a kid, she comes back and sort of mixes everybody up because they sort of…she gets everybody’s passions flowing. And it’s based on Far From the Madding Crowd, so it’s the same sort of premise. And it’s very, very British and very charming and witty and I’m very proud of it.

I know I have to wrap up with you soon, but I definitely have to ask, favorite Jerry Bruckheimer movie?

Gemma: I liked Black Hawk Down and Top Gun.

Ooh. Sounds good. (laughter) You can’t go wrong with the Tom Cruise Top Gun.

Gemma: Yeah. Oh it’s brilliant, brilliant.

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