Apparently, the 42nd President of the United States is not a fan of 19th century comedy films. That’s the hot opinion Gwyneth Paltrow is delivering all these years later.
The 51-year-old actress recently appeared on Hot and told presenter Sean Evans about that former president Bill Clinton slept during a special screening of Emma at the White House. In fact, it was Evans who brought it up when he asked for confirmation of the story.
“Is it true that Bill Clinton fainted during a White House screening of Emma-Evans asked.
“It’s true,” Paltrow said, barely containing her laughter. “He was snoring right in front of me. I thought, ‘Wow, I think this is going to be a real successful film.'”
Paltrow starred in the 1996 period comedy directed by Douglas McGrath. Set in early 19th century England, Paltrow played 21-year-old Emma Woodhouse, a sweet and super friendly young woman who exuded extreme naivety. The film is based on Jane Austen’s 1815 novel of the same name.
Toni Collette, Alan Cumming, Ewan McGregor and Jeremy Northam also starred in the film, which grossed nearly $40 million at the box office worldwide and was nominated for two Oscars (Best Costume Design and Best Original Music or Comedy Score).
Because of this success, Paltrow apparently felt compelled — albeit in jest — to deliver a message to the former occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
“But it was (a real success), so fuck you, Bill Clinton!” she joked.
Elsewhere in the interview, Paltrow talked about how she mastered her British accent for (avert your eyes, Bill!) the 1998 period romantic comedy, Shakespeare in love.
“So I grew up making prank calls, doing accents, that kind of thing and making my friends laugh, but it turns out to do it right you have to relearn how to speak. and the muscles are so different, like where you put your tongue on your teeth and the mouth is so different. Like, certain muscles are more relaxed and others are more tense,” she said. “So I think you really have the opportunity to use language and really listen, because it’s very different when you’re in an academic setting trying to learn as opposed to being in a conversation.”
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