Naomi Watts' steamy new film Two Mothers grabs attention at Sundance Film Festival

Two Mothers, which was shot in NSW, features Naomi Watts and Robyn Wright. Picture: Hopscotch Films Source: Supplied

The Daily Telegraph reports

Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts was flanked by her fellow Aussie co-stars James Frecheville and Xavier Samuel in Utah yesterday as their steamy new flick Two Mothers got its big unveiling at the Sundance Film Festival.

Shot at Seal Rocks on the north coast last year the film, about two mothers who have affairs with each other's sons, seems to have attracted some controversy over its racy subject matter.

While Watts said yesterday that: "There is sex in it but it's not really about sex," the Sutherland Institute - a conservative group based in Utah - feels otherwise, and has proposed that state funding for the festival should be cut on the grounds that its content is at odds with the state's "family values".

The black cat that stopped momentarily filming of the Anne Fontaine-directed The Grandmothers

Scene stealer ... The black cat comes from nowhere and wanders in to the filming of a scene for "The Grandmothers" with Ben Mendelsohn. Picture: John Grainger Source: The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph reports

Filming on the Aussie-based romantic drama The Grandmothers was momentarily halted this week when an uninvited visitor strolled into proceedings.

The cast, including Ben Mendelsohn, Naomi Watts and Robin Wright, watched on in bemusement as a black cat wandered on to the Sydney set before scampering away.

But not before animal loving Mendelsohn stopped the traffic to make sure the well-groomed moggie safely negotiated the inner city street.

It temporarily stopped the cameras rolling on the raunchy drama which has been shooting at Seal Rocks for the past three months under the guidance of French director Anne Fontaine, who is making her first foray into English-language filmmaking.

The movie's topic ruffled some feathers. The film, based on the book of the same name, has Watts' and Wright's characters falling in love with each other's sons.

The younger men are played by Australians Xavier Samuel and James Frecheville. Samuel is known from The Twilight Saga series and Frecheville shot to fame in Animal Kingdom.

Naomi Watts and Robin Wright in bikinis frolic with Xavier Samuel and James Frecheville in The Grandmothers at Sea Rocks

Looking sexy ... Naomi Watts (purple bikini) and Robin Wright with Xavier Samuel and James Frecheville finish filming a scene for The Grandmothers at Lighthouse Beach, Seal Rocks. Picture: Robert Mckell Source: The Daily Telegraph

Joel Christie, The Daily Telegraph, reports

For a town known for being little more than a quiet fishing village, Seal Rocks has suddenly got a whole lot steamier.

The picturesque mid-north coast town was again in lights, camera, action mode yesterday amid the second week of shooting for controversial film drama The Grandmothers, with leading ladies Naomi Watts and Forrest Gump actress Robin Wright turning heads during a frolic in the surf with their younger co-stars.

It's the best look yet at a story that is set to polarise - the pair playing best friends who unwittingly start sleeping with each others sons, played by Xavier Samuel (who falls for Wright) and James Frecheville (who falls for Watts).

"It's a confronting story but something a lot of women will be able to relate to, even if that's just on an extremely tiny level," a set source said.

"It's that classic case of giving in to your emotions."

The first English-language film by French director Anne Fontaine, who is renowned for Hollywood hit Coco avant Chanel, the flick is scheduled to continue filming for the next six weeks in a production estimated to inject over $1 million into the local economy.

Grannies with real glamour star in new Hollwood flick The Grandmothers

All-stars: Naomi Watts features in The Grandmothers Source: Getty Images

 

The Daily Telegraph reports

A ROLL-call of Aussie stars has been announced for the next locally-based Hollywood flick The Grandmothers.

Ben Mendelsohn and Gary Sweet are to join Naomi Watts and Robin Wright-Penn in The Grandmothers, which began filming on the mid-north coast this weekend.

With the Sydney production of The Great Gatsby wrapping up, The Grandmothers is set to be the next big Tinseltown production in town.

Watts and Wright-Penn will be joined by Aussie up-and-comers James Frecheville and Xavier Samuel who play their unlikely paramours.

Mendelsohn and Sweet lead the supporting cast and are joined by Sophie Lowe (Beautiful Kate, The Slap) and Jessica Tovey, making her feature film debut.

The eight-week shoot will begin in Seal Rocks and move to central Sydney.

It will be directed by Anne Fontaine, who had a major Hollywood hit with Coco avant Chanel.

Both French and Australian producers are also behind the flick, which is expected to inject thousands into the local economy and continue a strong run of Aussie-based productions putting Australia back on the film map.

Based on the Nobel Prize for Literature winner, The Grandmothers is described as a "heart-wrenching story of two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other's teenaged sons".

Frecheville, who found fame in his feature debut Animal Kingdom, will play the love interest of Wright-Penn and told Confidential this week that he is in good company.

"We have a very good team. It's going to be a great experience," he said.

The film's production begins as The Great Gatsby -- which has filmed in Sydney since last August -- finally wraps up.