Watts, Owen a perfect match

MANILA, Philippines - Naomi Watts shares the screen with Clive Owen in Columbia Pictures’ action-thriller The International.

In the movie, Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Owen) and assistant district attorney Eleanor Whitman (Watts) are driven by the pursuit of justice to take down the most powerful foe imaginable: An international bank with financial and political tentacles that reach into the world’s houses of government. Though their task seems impossible, they are determined to take down the bank, which has proven it will stop at nothing, even murder, to advance its own interests.

Though she found the role intriguing, Watts was not eager to work so soon after giving birth to her first child. The director had to use all his powers of persuasion to lure her into accepting the role.

“I really had to talk her into it,” admits director Tom Tykwer. “Not because she didn’t want to do the movie, but because her baby was due just before our shoot. I had to convince her because she was perfect for the character.” 

The chemistry between Owen and Watts was palpable from the beginning. “It wasn’t surprising to me they were so immediately perfect. They’re a very easy and energetic match,” says Tykwer.

Now showing across the Philippines, The International is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.