Man on Fire

Hot properties ... doting parents Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber. Photo: AP

Helen Barlow, The Sydney Morning Herald, reports

Aussie accents aside, little can slow down Liev Schreiber these days.

When actor Liev Schreiber first came to Sydney in 2005 with his new girlfriend Naomi Watts, he was called ''Naomi's beached whale'' in the local press. You can't blame him for being offended.

''It was just after Naomi had done King Kong and she had been dating Heath [Ledger] and I showed up and they were not pleased,'' the genial 44-year-old recalls. ''Some Sydney newspaper ran a picture of me on Bondi Beach when I was quite out of shape and pale and hairy, and this is what she was with. That was my introduction to Australia. But that's a uniquely Aussie thing. After they have taken you down a couple of pegs, then they like you.''

Indeed, over time we've come to see what our Naomi sees in her Liev. He's smart, educated, handsome in a burly way, has a killer smile (and sense of humour), and brings substance to every role he plays.

Schreiber says both he and Watts endured a ''difficult and painful'' gypsy hippie upbringing and now the couple is determined to be devoted parents to their sons, Sasha, 5, and Samuel Kai, 3. ''If anything, we could be accused of spoiling our children wildly,'' he says. ''I think we are both very paranoid about how profound an effect you can have on your children if you are not careful.''

Now their kids are old enough, they are going for broke with movies. Watts has recently played Princess Diana in the feature film Diana and also stars in the tsunami thriller The Impossible, which just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. ''She's on fire,'' Schreiber says proudly.

I spoke with Schreiber at the world premiere of his latest movie, Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist, at the Venice Film Festival. The film follows the rise of a talented Pakistani financial analyst (Riz Ahmed) on Wall Street and his return to his homeland after the September 11, 2001, attacks. He meets Schreiber's journalist for an interview and the story is told mostly in flashbacks.

At first, Nair wanted Schreiber to play Ahmed's cunning boss (ultimately played by Kiefer Sutherland). Yet as someone who has lived in the region and respects Muslim culture, Schreiber ''felt the journalist was the only opportunity in the film to have an American character of conscience and it was very important that someone represent that''.

What comes as a surprise is that Naomi's brainy beau should portray a brash Aussie, a shark hunter called Trevor Blundell, in P.J. Hogan's Mental, the director's most over-the-top movie since Muriel's Wedding.

''I don't know what P.J. was thinking,'' Schreiber says. ''He has all these wonderful Australian actors and then he gives the most Australian role to a New York Jew!

''I am very good with dialects, but the two that I can't do for some reason are the South African and Australian. I guess P.J. assumed that because I am with Naomi I could do it. It was … really fun and scared the piss out of me. I've never been so nervous in my life than on my first day on set surrounded by that Aussie crew, speaking my first words of Australian.''

Schreiber bonded with his colleagues over sport: ''I am a surfer and there were a lot of surfers on the crew, so these guys took me in and helped me a lot. I'm actually a very bad surfer, which is good because everybody likes a bad surfer. Nobody likes a good surfer.''

An actor with a powerful presence, Schreiber, most famous for co-starring alongside Hugh Jackman in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and who won a Tony on Broadway for Glengarry Glen Ross, is a big softie. But when he first got together with Watts, emotions got the better of him when dealing with the paparazzi.

''I didn't behave well in the beginning,'' he says. ''Naomi kind of taught me how to behave.''

So what was the secret? ''Don't hit people; don't let it get you too angry; remember that everything you do can and will be used against you. And take a breath and have some perspective.

''I am actually better with it than she is now. She gets angry too fast and I am the one who is calm.''

Maybe he just has to watch what he's saying? ''I know, I never do, that's the problem. Naomi will give me a whole lecture about this interview.''

Mental is out on October 4.

Russell Crowe and Toni Collette's ode to Sydney getting sued for idea theft

Toni Collette was to make her directorial debut with Sydney Unplugged. Source: Supplied

Maria Lewis, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Russell Crowe and Toni Collette were to direct segments in it, but now a film about Sydney is getting sued for copyright infringement.

The film - Sydney Unplugged - was supposed to be an ode to the city of Sydney and consist of a series of short films directed by A-list names such as Crowe, Collette, Naomi Watts' partner Live Schreiber and Anthony LaPaglia.

But French producer Emmanuel Benbihy is suing the production - headed by Tropfest founder John Polson and producer Gary Hamilton - claiming copyright infringement on his Cities Of Love franchise.

Benbihy's franchise is best known for the films Paris, Je'Taime and New York, I Love You, which he claims Sydney Unplugged is trying to copy.

"I can’t believe that people with such film experience have decided to illustrate the image of a wonderful city with so little concern for their actions and such an unethical manner," he said in a press release.

"They will be embarrassing a lot of people including Australian film institutions and sponsors."

The Marseille Court of Justice issued a court order for a number of documents relating to Polson's project to be seized.

Benbihy's franchise has extended to several other countries around the world with tie-ins Shanghai (I Love You), Jerusalem (I Love You) and Rio (Eu the Amo).

Producer Gary Hamilton of Archlight Films told Film Business Asia that there was "no story" to Benbihy's claims.

"Our film is entirely different from the I Love You series of films," he said.

"It has nothing to do with the cities of love, but instead is a vibrant story of one of the world's great cities, showcasing Australia's leading talent over one year and four seasons in Sydney.

"Does Emmanuel (Benbihy) have copyright over any film with a multiple-story line set in a city? I would be interested to know what exactly Emmanuel (Benbihy) is claiming copyright over."

Several big-name Australian directors were also attached to Sydney Unplugged, including Alex Proyas (The Crow), David Michod (Animal Kingdom), Ivan Sen (Toomelah), Ray Lawrence (Lantana), John Curran (The Painted Veil), Kieran Darcy-Smith (Wish You Were Here) and Rachel Ward (Beautiful Kate).

Benbihy said he was taking legal action now because Archlight were selling the film at Cannes.

Filming on the project was scheduled to begin in Sydney later this year.

Watts gang to have summer in Sydney

Aussie actress Naomi Watts and her beau Liev Schreiber arrive in Sydney with their sons for the summer. Picture: Oceanic Source: Supplied

The Daily Telegraph reports

HAVING endured a white Christmas and New Year at their New York townhouse, Naomi Watts and her family returned to Oz this week for what will be an extended stay in Sydney.

The 43-year-old actress, her partner of almost seven years Live Schreiber and their two sons Sasha, 4, and Sammy, 3, were all smiles as their long-haul flight landed at Kingsford-Smith, although we are yet to give them the summer they hoped for.

They enjoyed an Australia Day lunch at the Point Piper apartment of Big Apple friends Kristy Hinze and her husband Jim Clark (plus their newborn daughter Dylan) and Confidential understands Watts et al are searching for an eastern suburbs rental to settle in to for the next few months.

J. Edgar star Watts, who recently signed as the new ambassador for Jacobs Creek wines, is due to begin filming The Grandmothers in Sydney with Forrest Gump's Robin Wright next month.

Watts spoke out in an interview last week about how she and Schreiber plan everything around their children.

"No matter what, mothers will always punish themselves if they work," she said. "Liev and I try to take turns (to make films) and it's worked so far."We've probably only overlapped by a couple of weeks once or twice which is very fortunate because our family is the most important thing," she said.

"Our children go everywhere with us. But then my sister-in-law, who works at least 10 hours a day, only gets to see her daughter for two hours in the morning and then she's asleep at night when she comes home. So we probably spend more time with our kids than the average person."

Stand by your men

Balancing act ... Naomi Watts at the J. Edgar premiere. Photo: Getty Images

The Sydney Morning Herald reports

Onscreen and off, Naomi Watts knows all about devotion, writes Jenny Cooney Carrillo.

Oscar-nominated Naomi Watts has been one of Hollywood's leading ladies ever since her breakthrough role in David Lynch's 2001 drama, Mulholland Drive. So why did the Aussie A-lister accept such a small (albeit important) role in the new Clint Eastwood-directed drama, J. Edgar?

''The fact that it was small, yeah sure, it has its downside,'' Watts says. ''But I just really wanted to work with Clint. He's getting on [aged 81] and while he seems to have tons of energy and so much more to do, I still wanted to make sure I didn't miss out on that opportunity.''

And what was Watt's verdict? ''He was as good as I hoped he'd be, if not better.

''I was sort of in shock the first day, my head was spinning and I was thinking, 'How am I going to work this fast?' The first scene I shot, he didn't even say 'action' and I thought it was a rehearsal but suddenly we're cutting and moving on, so I didn't have a chance to even be nervous.

''It took me a week and a half to work up the courage to ask for another take and when I did, he said, 'Of course!'''

J. Edgar is seen through the eyes of controversial FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) during his five-decade stint running the bureau. Hoover became famous for using his knowledge to gain influence, keeping secret files on politicians, celebrities and anyone he suspected was subversive. Watts plays his faithful secretary, Helen Gandy. ''There is that great cliche, 'Behind every great man there's a great woman,' and I love the way she devoted herself to him,'' Watts says.

''But as time progressed, she also became a woman in her own right and a powerful person who protected him, no matter what.''

Watts first sits down with S at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Los Angeles during a press junket for the film. She's wearing a simple cream linen dress by Roland Mouret, her blonde locks curled to one side. At the film's premiere that night, she wows photographers in a cream, sequinned Stella McCartney dress slit up to the thigh with a plunging neckline as she poses with her long-time partner, actor Liev Schreiber.

But life isn't all sequins and the next time we talk it begins with a call from a Whole Foods Market to apologise for being late, and to plead for an extra 20 minutes before we chat so she can ''get in a grocery shop before picking up Sasha from school''.

Watts and Schreiber have two sons: Sasha (the Russian diminutive of his real name, Alexander), 4, and Samuel Kai, 3.

''It's pretty much non-stop with two boys,'' she says when she finally calls back, dog barking in the background. ''There is lots of rough-housing with daddy and head-butting and tears. I try and bail out by using the expression I borrowed from a friend, 'Careful, mummy is a delicate flower,' but that's a joke because I've never been a delicate flower in my life!''

At 43, Watts has put together an impressive resume´ thanks to films such as King Kong, 21 Grams - which earned her an Oscar nomination - Eastern Promises, The Painted Veil and The Ring. But more important to the down-to-earth actor is making her career work around her family.

''Liev and I try to take turns and it's actually worked so far, because we've probably only overlapped by a couple of weeks once or twice,'' she says. ''Our family is the most important thing and luckily our children are still young and at the age where so what if they miss a bit of preschool, because the learning is actually on the road.

''We were in Thailand recently for six months,'' she adds, referring to her coming tsunami drama The Impossible, ''and they got to ride on elephants and found frogs and snakes in their shoes, so they're having all these adventures they'll never forget.''

Born in England, Watts moved to Australia when she was 11 years old with her mother and her brother, Ben, now a photographer.

She met Nicole Kidman at her first audition when she was 15. They've remained close friends through all their well-documented highs and lows and now they share motherhood in their 40s as Kidman has a second family (with Keith Urban).

''Nicole was in New York for some time over Christmas,'' Watts says, adding: ''We're both in the spirit of the same things at the same time right now, so it's really special.''

Watts is excited about finally returning to Australia this month to start shooting the drama The Grandmothers, directed by Anne Fontaine (Coco avant Chanel), in which she and Robin Wright play childhood friends and single parents who begin affairs with each other's sons, played by Animal Kingdom's James Frecheville and Xavier Samuel from Twilight. ''It's a bit controversial,'' she says with a naughty chuckle, ''but I like that stuff!''

Watt a Cool Harvest for our Naomi Watts

Sydney Confidential, The Daily Telegraph, reports

IN an unexpected association, winery Jacob's Creek will today announce it has recruited internationally acclaimed Australian actress Naomi Watts to spruik its latest drop.

The shelves in the cellar of Watts' and partner Liev Schreiber's US homes will likely soon be groaning under the weight of a shipment of complimentary Jacob’s Creek after the actress signed on to become the ambassador of a new blend, Cool Harvest.

The mother-of-two confirmed her love of a glass of wine to Confidential.

"Luckily I've got a beautiful beach house in Long Island where friends come and stay for the weekend. We cook together, play lots of games and the wine comes out; it's a very important ingredient to the weekend," Ms Watts told Confidential.