Kutcher, Efron, Duhamel lead the guys of "New Year's Eve"

CEBU, Philippines - A formidable line-up of A-list actors have enlisted for the party of the year in New Line Cinema's romantic comedy “New Year's Eve.” They are Jon Bon Jovi, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron and Ashton Kutcher.

Director Gary Marshall reunited with his “Valentine’s Day” screenwriter Katherine Fugate to bring audiences the quintessential film about the beloved holiday, “New Year's Eve.” “We wanted a story of first love and one of forgiveness, as well as stories about taking a risk, letting things go, revisiting an old flame, making amends, having a baby, starting fresh… with love being the mitigating force through all of them,” explains Fugate.

The focal point for all this “New Year’s Eve” action is the countdown to 2012, represented by the ceremonial “ball drop” in Times Square. But the ball drop is only part of the show. The evening’s headline act, rock superstar Jensen, is set to kick off the festivities at 12:01 following an earlier gig at a private party nearby. Jensen is played by the multi-talented Jon Bon Jovi.

But even single-named international rock stars have problems and what’s troubling Jensen on this festive night is a heartache he’s been carrying too long, over a woman he left behind for the wrong reasons. “Now he’s trying to think of a way back into her life, a way to get back into her good graces, if that’s even possible,” Bon Jovi explains.

Ashton Kutcher plays Randy, a too-cool-to-care killjoy who has nothing good to say about anything, and especially about New Year’s Eve, against which he seems to hold some kind of grudge. Kutcher admits, “He’s a bit of a jerk. His holiday plan is to stay home and avoid the whole celebration because all the amateur partiers are crowding the streets—all those guys who don’t go out all year and then suddenly go bananas on New Year’s Eve—and he thinks he’s above all that.”

The story then moves to a man who has reason to feel even more cynicism. Confined to a hospital bed, Stan, played by Robert De Niro, is an acclaimed photojournalist who spectacularly cheated death in war zones around the world throughout his hard-driving career but is now coming to terms with an enemy he can’t evade. Stan admits to having alienated everyone he’s ever known. Now, refusing treatment, he is determined to hold on just long enough to watch the ball drop in Times Square one last time. Alone.

Zac Efron plays a confident young bike messenger named Paul who shares an adventure with Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer), an overlooked assistant who finally summons the courage to quit her job. If Paul provides the wheels and resourcefulness Ingrid needs to beat the clock, then she, in turn, can offer him the one thing he covets most on this night of revelry: tickets to the hottest party in town, the Ahern Records Masked Ball. Intended for her ungrateful boss, the tickets were the last thing Ingrid purposefully picked up on her way out the door.

Efron sees Paul as “an energetic, fun-loving guy who prides himself on being a wheeler-dealer, a guy who gets things done and nothing breaks his stride. When Ingrid strikes this deal with him, he knows he’s definitely the man for the job. But along the way, the party becomes secondary to what turns out to be an amazing New Year’s Eve, and he spends every minute of it helping her and making her happy. It’s a real testament to the power of spreading joy.”

Meanwhile, as these stories unfold, one New Yorker is desperately trying to get back into the city for two very important appointments. Sam, played by a tuxedoed Josh Duhamel, has just attended his best friend’s wedding in Connecticut and is driving back, pondering the direction of his life, when he collides with a road sign. Out of towing distance and with no body shops or rental agencies available on this special day, he’s forced to take an unconventional route home that could turn out to be the course-correction he needs most.

The evening is especially meaningful as it’s the first New Year’s Eve his family is commemorating since losing Sam’s father, and Sam is set to speak in his place at their annual gathering. As much as this weighs on his mind, he also can’t help thinking about the fascinating woman he met by chance on this very night one year ago.

“She wouldn’t give him her number. She said things were complicated for her and that if he was still interested next year they could meet at the same spot, same time,” Duhamel reveals. “As much as he thinks it’s crazy and tries to dismiss the idea, he wonders if she’ll be there now… and if she’ll be looking for him.”

Now open across the Philippines on December 2011, “New Year’s Eve” is a New Line Cinema presentation distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. (FREEMAN)