Hollywood's 'Leap Year' based on JWM?

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desigal90

@desigal90

Trailblazer

+ 5

Posted: 16 years ago

H-town flick Leap Year loosely based on Jab We Met

By: Shaheen Parkar

Date: 2010-01-07

Place: Mumbai

Several Bollywood flicks are rip-offs or are inspired by Hollywood movies. Here's an example of the opposite. Leap Year, this week's Universal Films release in the United States, is uncannily similar to Imtiaz Ali's Jab We Met!

In fact, the Leap Year synopsis on the Universal Film News homepage clearly states: 'The film is loosely based on Jab We Met, a 2007 Bollywood film.' Directed by Anand Tucker, the film stars Amy Adams, Matthew Goode and Adam Scott. Amy was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress In A Supporting Role for Doubt (2008).

Locally adapted
As Leap Year has been filmed in Ireland, the movie's settings have been adapted to local customs. According to Irish legend, a man who is proposed to on a leap day must accept, as a result the title. The film tracks the journey of a girl who is out to meet her boyfriend who she feels is the right man for her. Enroute she meets a guy who helps her in her journey which ends in her making a connection with the stranger. Keeping in mind the Irish landscape, most of her journey is through road and waterways. In Jab We Met, the mode of commute was road and train.

Interestingly, director-producer Anand Tucker, who is based in London, was born to an Indian father and German mother in Thailand but has made UK his home. His films include And When Did You Last See Your Father (2007) and Shopgirl (2005).

Apparently Tucker has seen the Shahid-Kareena starrer and was inspired to do a film on similar lines but in a Western setting. Jab we Met was a big draw in the UK.

Imtiaz Ali, however, has no clue about Leap Year's plot. "I have not heard of it," he says. "But I am happy about it. I am not complaining. It is a good sign. I am glad that Jab We Met is serving as an inspiration to others -- that too in the West."

He adds, "I would love to watch Leap Year." Jab We Met was remade into Tamil as Kandein Kadhalai by director R Kannan. Bharath and Tamannah starred in it. "They had bought the remake rights from producers Ashta-vinayak and it was a hit in the south," informs Imtiaz.

What Leap Year is about
Anna (Amy Adams) is travelling to Dublin, Ireland, to propose to her boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) on February 29. Enroute she meets an innkeeper, Declan (Matthew Goode), to make an unexpected cross-country trek to pull off the perfect proposal in time.

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chhavi

@-Kash-

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Posted: 16 years ago

Cool article, looking forward to see the movie, JWM was awesome!

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403365

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Posted: 16 years ago

The only difference here is that the director of Leap Year is giving credit to Jab We Met's team and well with Bollywood...we all know what happens there.

This shall be interesting and thanks for the article.

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135923

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Posted: 16 years ago

I love Matthew Goode.. he is so hawt! But whats with the scruffy face! It looks great! And the chick is acting out like Bebo's character and bebo herself.. haha.. But noone tops JWM.. not even Holly! Its one of the cutest movie everrr..

Edited by adios - 16 years ago

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415781

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Posted: 16 years ago

So are they going to get proper remake rights or not? Its not clear from this article. I hope Imtiaz gets credit for it.

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plasticpolaroid

@plasticpolaroid

Voyager

Posted: 16 years ago

i had a look on the official movie page, i did not see any mention of JWM.. according the reviews the plot seems very similar to French Kiss..

and "I know where I'm going"

"Joan Webster is an ambitious and stubborn middle-class English woman determined to move forward since her childhood. She meets her father in a fancy restaurant to tell him that she will marry the wealthy middle-aged industrial Robert Bellinger in Kiloran island, in Hebricles, Scotland. She travels from Manchester to the island of Mull, where she stays trapped due to the windy weather. While in the island, she meets Torquil McNeil and along the days they fall in love for each other."

also, its weird for Universal Pictures to publicize the movie saying "loosely based on JWM" without getting proper credit and remake rights..and the fact the director doesn't even know about the remake, i think this could just be the case of Indian journalists being over-zealous

Edited by plasticpolaroid - 16 years ago

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135923

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Posted: 16 years ago

Yea.. its not "inspired" from JWM on the record. I only see Indian tabloids talking about it. I guess the road trip factor and the protagonist falls in love with the guy in her trip is the common factor. But this kinda story line has been done before many times.. so I don't think its that big of a common ground between the two movies.

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plasticpolaroid

@plasticpolaroid

Voyager

Posted: 16 years ago

Originally posted by: zainab25
The only difference here is that the director of Leap Year is giving credit to Jab We Met's team and well with Bollywood...we all know what happens there.

This shall be interesting and thanks for the article.

the thing is i googled for any articles about the director giving credit to JWM etc but the only article i found are the desi ones..

and there is no mention of it anywhere on the website unlike the article's claims..and the flick seems like a typical chick flick with same ole rehashed plot from a hundred movies...

and i found a website

https://ufn-movietrailers.blogspot.com/2009/12/leap-year-2010.html

its someone's blog and that site says "loosely based on JWM" LOL!! maybe the desi journalists thought that was Universal Pictures' official website? like they didn't bother looking at the URL or how amateur the site is? seriously!