Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth Defy Forbidden Love at 'Romeo & Juliet' Premiere
“When you are in love for the first time, you are astonished by the emotions that have been awoken in you,” screenwriter Julian Fellowes tells THR. “It is almost like being mad."
Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth, the stars of Relativity’s romantic drama Romeo & Juliet, stepped out to celebrate the premiere at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood on Tuesday.
“I can see that somebody in Juliet’s situation chooses to do that, but I don’t know that I would ever do the same,” the True Grit actress told The Hollywood Reporter as she made her way into the theater.
Booth, on the other hand, can personally relate to what Romeo goes through and admits he would do anything for love.
“I am very much in love right now, and I am hopefully not going to kill myself over it because hopefully text messaging or Skype can sort things out,” Booth told THR.
VIDEO: 'Romeo & Juliet' Trailer Starring Hailee Steinfeld Debuts
The young actor didn’t think twice when asked to join the new adaptation of Shakespeare's classic because it’s not every day he gets the chance to play Romeo.
“Many of the stories that our generation are obsessed with today, like Twilight, draw inspiration from the original love story that is Romeo and Juliet, which was made hundreds of years ago,” Booth told THR.
This latest version takes a traditional perspective with an original story penned by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. The film opens nationwide Oct. 11.
“When you are in love for the first time, you are astonished by the emotions that have been awoken in you,” Fellowes told THR. “It is almost like being mad. You would literally do anything to make it happen. Whether it is still like that in my age is rather questionable.”
At the Hollywood premiere, which was also attended by Steinfeld's friend Taylor Swift and co-stars Kodi Smit-McPhee and Ed Westwick, Fellowes spoke to THR about introducing this classic tale of love and family to a new generation.
“If you wanted a traditional romantic weepy version you had to watch a film that is almost 50 years old, and that didn’t seem right to me,” Fellowes told THR. “Each new generation should have its own version. We wanted to find an audience among people who might be nervous around Shakespeare but will enjoy it much more than they realized.”
Romeo & Juliet opens in theaters on Oct. 11.
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