 |
Actor Morgan Freeman, left, looks on as Justin Timberlake speaks during a press conference for the movie Edison during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Saturday Sept. 17, 2005. (CP PHOTO/Aaron Harris) |
LL Cool J and Justin Timberlake jumped at the chance to make "Edison," which closed the 30th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival tonight. But both singers told the powers-that-be the same thing: "We're not singing in this film." And first-time writer-director David J. Burke agreed.
"I never wanted their music in this film," he said. "There were people who wanted it there for commercial reasons, but not me."
"I wanted to wait for the right opportunity," Timberlake told journalists this afternoon. "There's no shortcuts, and I responded to the challenge of working with someone like Morgan (Freeman)."
"Since my new focus is acting," a jewelry-clad LL said, "my primary focus was bringing David Burke's character to life. My focus was artistic."
"Edison," which also stars Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, Dylan McDermott and Piper Perabo, is a gritty neo-noir that pulls no punches. It features Timberlake as Joshua Pollock, a fresh-faced reporter who takes on an entire unit of corrupt cops. Freeman plays Joshua's booze-addled editor, while Spacey (who helped Burke get the picture made) is a jaded investigator for the district attorney. McDermott and LL dig a little deeper, the former playing a villainous cop and the latter an officer who's struggling to decide where his allegiances lie. And after Joshua's writer girlfriend (played by Piper Perabo) is attacked, the reporter must wrestle with some complex decisions that put him in the line of fire.
"It's not just about journalism," Timberlake stressed. "It's about police and crime, and it gives a picture of how these things work well or not well."
"I was briefly the character Justin plays," Burke said. "I was an aggressive know-it-all. But I wanted Josh to have a moment of enlightenment."
"I thought it was the greatest opportunity as an actor," LL enthused. "It's the first time I got to do something a little different. It's an amazing piece of material."
"No one in Hollywood had come to me with a role like this," he later added. ''I could do the hip-hop thing, and the popcorn action thing, so for me this was a step up. First-timer, no-timer, I'm just glad I got to work with my man Super Dave."
Freeman also praised the director, commenting on Burke's passion for his characters, but trust in his actors. "David's wise enough to step back after giving his script to an actor," he said.
"I went straight method for my part," Timberlake joked before getting serious. "My character and Morgan's character go through an interesting arc. A lot of my scenes are with Morgan, and what I value and look up to are his subtleties."
"I would have had more fun if Justin Timberlake wasn't always standing around going, 'Wow!'" Freeman teased.
"I was just trying to keep up," Timberlake said with a big grin.
LL had another way of looking at things. "I figured if I can stay with them, I could maybe keep some of their rhythm going."
"Edison" will be in theatres early next year.
