The actress has stated that the workplace romance depicted in Bridget Jones’s Diary would not be permissible under today’s strict human resources (HR) regulations.
In the 2001 film, Hugh Grant plays Daniel Cleaver, a sleazy yet charming boss who attempts to seduce his junior employee Bridget, a cigarette-smoking woman in her thirties, while they work together at a publishing company.
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WithRenee Zellweger, the upcoming release of a new Bridget Jones
With the upcoming release of a new Bridget Jones film titled Mad About the Boy, Grant interviewed Zellweger for the February issue of British Vogue. During the interview, he asked her:
“Do you think the original film feels outdated now? For example, our romance – do you believe people would view it as highly inappropriate today? He’s her boss and is exploiting his powerful position. What’s your perspective on that?”
Zellweger responded:
“I’m sure HR departments at publishing houses today would have some very strict rules in place, don’t you think?”
The actress further suggested that HR would now organize a meeting with Cleaver to instruct him to end any inappropriate interactions. “Everyone would need to come together and discuss how to appropriately engage with colleagues,” she added.
Grant replied:
“And Daniel would have to undergo re-education.”
Discussing other societal changes since the release of Bridget Jones’s Diary, Grant remarked that Britain has become “less of a jolly place.”
“The London clubs are shutting down. Our local cinemas are closing. The neighborhood wine bar where I met my wife is empty. Isn’t that awful? I can’t bear it,” he lamented.
However, Zellweger disagreed, saying:
“I don’t think the UK has become a sadder place. It’s just different. Things have changed.” She then joked, “Have we just turned into those old people who complain about everything?”
In preparation for filming the first Bridget Jones movie, Zellweger worked in the publicity department at Picador under the pseudonym “Bridget Cavendish” and mentioned that no one there recognized her.
She recalled:
“Maybe I was out of context or perhaps it was because I had more chubby cheeks. It was odd. One of the women in the office was reading Anna Quindlen’s novel One True Thing, and they made a film out of it starring me, so I’m on the cover of the book.
“And she was there telling me about finishing it on the Tube on her way to work and how marvelous it was.”
The original film was followed by Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason in 2004 and Bridget Jones’s Baby in 2016.
Mad About the Boy, based on Helen Fielding’s novel of the same name, catches up with Bridget four years after the death of Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth. She is now a single parent in her fifties with two potential love interests, portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Leo Woodall. Hugh Grant reprises his role as Daniel Cleaver.
All three original cast members have remained friends over the years.
During the interview at Claridge’s in London, Zellweger gifted Grant a “special” bottle of whisky. She also revealed that she used to regularly send chocolates to Firth until “he accidentally mentioned that he doesn’t really like them – I think he forgot that I’m the one who sends them to him.”
Source: telegraph