Ashton Kutcher, Zac Efron New Year's Eve

Cast: Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Hector Elizondo, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Meyers, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Til Schweiger, Ryan Seacrest, Hilary Swank
Director: Garry Marshall
Genre: Comedy, Romance

Synopsis: "New Year's Eve" celebrates love, hope, forgiveness, second chances and fresh starts, in intertwining stories told amidst the pulse and promise of New York City on the most dazzling night of the year.

Director/producer Garry Marshall is joined by a stellar ensemble cast to ring in the 2011 holiday season with the romantic comedy "New Year's Eve."

"New Year's Eve" celebrates love, hope, forgiveness, second chances and freshstarts, with intertwining stories told amidst the pulse and promise of New York City on themost dazzling night of the year.

The film's all-star cast includes Academy Award® winner Halle Berry, Jessica Biel,Jon Bon Jovi, Academy Award® nominee Abigail Breslin, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, twotimeAcademy Award® winner Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, HectorElizondo, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Meyers, Lea Michele, Sarah JessicaParker, Academy Award® nominee Michelle Pfeiffer, Til Schweiger, two-time AcademyAward® winner Hilary Swank and Sofia Vergara.

Reuniting with Marshall from last year's hit romantic comedy "Valentine's Day"are screenwriter Katherine Fugate and producers Mike Karz and Wayne Rice. Serving asexecutive producers are Toby Emmerich, Samuel J. Brown, Michael Disco, Josie Rosenand Diana Pokorny, with Heather Hall as co-producer.

www.newyearseve-movie.co.uk


New Year's Eve
In Cinemas 8th December

Starring:

ABIGAIL BRESLIN (Hailey)
ASHTON KUTCHER (Randy)
CHRIS "LUDACRIS" BRIDGES (Brendan)
HALLE BERRY (Nurse Aimee)
HECTOR ELIZONDO (Kominsky)
HILARY SWANK (Claire Morgan)
JESSICA BIEL (Tess)
JON BON JOVI (Jensen)
JOSH DUHAMEL (Sam)
JAKE T. AUSTIN (Seth)
KATHERINE HEIGL (Laura)
LEA MICHELE (Elise)
MICHELLE PFEIFFER (Ingrid)
ROBERT DE NIRO (Stan)
SARAH JESSICA PARKER (Kim)
SETH MEYERS (Griffin)
SOFIA VERGARA (Ava)
TIL SCHWEIGER (James)
ZAC EFRON (Paul)





ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

Fresh Starts and Second Chances

New Year's Eve the great reset button of life.

Director Garry Marshall, renowned for a catalogue of films that capture love in somany rich, warm and funny ways, calls it "the perfect opportunity to take stock of things,to think about the mistakes of the past year and about how maybe you can do better. Atime to be thankful for what you have. But it's also a fun, exciting, wonderful time, full ofanticipation-and yes, some craziness. Mostly it's about hope, when everything you wantseems possible again, if you're willing to take another chance."

Marshall means what he says. It was on New Year's Eve nearly 50 years ago thathe became engaged to the love of his life, his wife, Barbara. "She was wearing a dress thesame color as the dress Halle Berry wears in the movie. We were in love, we weredancing, and we said, 'Well, let's see how it works out,'" he recounts. "It's always beenher favorite holiday."

Undeniably, romance steals the show in the countdown hours of December 31st asmany couples look forward to that special midnight kiss, others seize the magic of theevening to make lifelong commitments, and still others decide to take a chance onsomeone new who might just be "the one." But the emotional reach of the holiday goesfurther. While "New Year's Eve" serves up romance in some of its myriad delicious andmaddening stages, it also looks at love in some of its other forms: forgiveness, compassion,and the everyday miracle of people opening their hearts to a different point of view.The movie addresses these ideas in a collection of individual stories told as ifrandomly selected among the countless tales that play out every day. Each stands alonebut some touch briefly upon one another, while others ultimately cross paths to a perfectclosure. Marshall, a one-time jazz-band drummer, says, "I hear the music under everyscene, the beats and the notes in the dialogue. In 'New Year's Eve' there are some verytouching moments and a lot of comedy, a lot of different stories to tell, and each one has itsown rhythm. I like to move things around, to balance the intensity of one scene against thelightness of another."

Producers Mike Karz and Wayne Rice reunited with Marshall and their"Valentine's Day" screenwriter Katherine Fugate to explore dozens of potential charactersand scenarios before narrowing the field to the most resonant. "We talked about the kindsof experiences and circumstances that would best convey the themes of the movie across arange of different relationships," offers Fugate. "We wanted a story of first love and oneof forgiveness, as well as stories about taking a risk, letting things go, revisiting an oldflame, making amends, having a baby, starting fresh... with love being the mitigating forcethrough all of them."

Says Mike Karz, "We were also looking for characters that move in directions you don'tnecessarily see coming, or interact with characters who may or may not be the ones youexpect them to connect with. Katherine is so skillful, not only in creating theseindividuals, but also in interweaving their storylines in a natural way."

"What's also interesting about this kind of ensemble piece is that it's designed sothe entire sequence takes place in one day," adds Rice "The third act of a movie is oftenabout a ticking clock, and in this case, there's an actual clock that triggers the action foreveryone. You can take the audience on a roller coaster ride through all these possibilities,but that ball is going to drop at midnight and they all have to conclude simultaneously."Not surprisingly, Marshall's "New Year's Eve" celebration attracted a multitude ofHollywood's A-list talent, primarily for the pleasure of working with the renowneddirector. The film's remarkable multi-generational starring cast includes Halle Berry,Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Abigail Breslin, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Robert De Niro, JoshDuhamel, Zac Efron, Hector Elizondo, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Meyers, LeaMichele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Til Schweiger, Hilary Swank and SofiaVergara.

Additionally, film fans will recognize numerous surprise cameos and supportingroles filled by such stars as Jake T. Austin, Jim Belushi, Cary Elwes, Carla Gugino, CherryJones, Jack McGee, Joey McIntyre, Alyssa Milano, Sarah Paulson, Sarge and YeardleySmith, among others, to help welcome the New Year in style.

Ashton Kutcher and Jessica Biel rejoin Marshall on this second holiday outing,following "Valentine's Day," in which they portrayed entirely different characters. "Whenthey told me Garry was directing, I said yes before I even read the script," says Aston Kutcher.Michelle Pfeiffer, who starred in Marshall's "Frankie and Johnny," would agree. "Ilove Garry. He has tremendous energy and he's always ready for anything. He's one ofthe best when it comes to giving audiences a story they're truly going to enjoy, somethingto relate to and laugh about, and who wouldn't want to be a part of that?"

Others cast members were new to what's known as the "Garry Marshallexperience," including Hilary Swank, who quickly understood what that meant. "I can seewhy he's a comedy legend. His instincts are right on. He's always coming up with afunnier line or finding that balance between the drama and comedy, and he brings humorout of a story in a way that makes you laugh not just because it's funny but because it's sotrue," she says.

"He's incredibly cool," attests Zac Efron, a fan of Marshall's movies long before hebecame an actor, himself, and who recalls how easy it was to fall into sync with the veterandirector at their first meeting. "You could say we're from different eras, but we still had somuch to talk about. I think it's impossible to meet Garry and not instantly pick up hisenthusiasm. We just try to keep up."

In the way that "Valentine's Day" revolved around Los Angeles and featured someof its most beautiful locales, "New Year's Eve" showcases New York in a blend of theiconically familiar with some lesser-known gems for a portrait of the city at itsbreathtaking best-dazzling, kinetic, glamorous, and all lit up for its close-up on thebiggest night of the year.

"This movie is Garry's celebration of New York City," states Karz.An estimated 500,000 people traverse Times Square on an average day, but onDecember 31st that number doubles, with over a billion more watching on television acrossthe globe. "There are parties in other big cities-London, Paris, Moscow-but I think peopleeverywhere still look to see that ball drop in New York," says Halle Berry. "There's justsomething about The Big Apple."

Marshall, born and raised in The Bronx, has always been closely associated withNew York and draws upon an endless supply of vivid memories for the film. "It wasalways a big night for me, even as a kid," he says. "It's really an adult holiday, but thekids like it because there's such an excitement in the air, they can't help feeling thatsomething special is going on, and if they're lucky, their parents will get them up at midnight, half asleep, to make a little noise. In our family it was all about banging potsand pans and yelling out the window. Then, when I was a little older, I went to TimesSquare to watch the ball drop and later, as a musician, I played in some of the clubs there."It was terrific to relive those moments making this movie," Marshall continues."But that's what New Year's Eve does to people; it stirs up memories. It makes you lookforward and back at the same time, and think, 'Where will I be this time next year?'"Five... Four... Three... Two... One...
Happy New Year!

The focal point for all this "New Year's Eve" action is the countdown to 2012,represented by the ceremonial "ball drop" in Times Square. Imagine one person beingresponsible for seeing that this spectacle goes off without a hitch, live, while the eyes ofthe world watch... and that would be Claire, the newly promoted Vice President of theTimes Square Alliance, portrayed by Hilary Swank.

Swank, who trained with her real-life counterpart for the role, admits, "I had noidea of what goes on behind the scenes. As an audience member you think someonepushes a button and it just happens, but there is so much that can go wrong. Is it going todrop or isn't it? From the time you meet Claire to where the story ends there are a lot ofdramatic and funny things that happen on that platform, any of which could potentiallyruin the entire event-not to mention her career."

As she struggles with the logistics of keeping it all on track, while holding themedia at bay and trying to keep everyone's midnight appointment with tradition, she isprivately mindful of another important appointment she means to keep when all the hooplais over. The details of this late date she has confided to only one other person: her dearfriend Brendan, an NYPD officer, played by Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, accompanying heron the Times Square night shift.

"Brendan wasn't even supposed to be working that shift, but he wanted to be thereto help Claire because he knows what a big night it is for her, and what a hugeresponsibility," says Bridges. "He's there to boost her confidence if she needs it, to helpsmooth the way and make sure she's 100% up for everything she has to do."

As it turns out, Claire needs all the support she can rally when it appears that theball's propulsion mechanism is in dire need of a gifted engineer-namely, the recentlylaid-off Kominsky, played by Hector Elizondo in a part written specifically for him. Alongtime member of the Marshall repertory and often cited as the director's good luckcharm, the versatile actor has appeared in every one of his seventeen feature films.Kominsky has tended this complex machinery for years and knows it better thananyone. The question is, even if he can be located in time, will he be willing to return tohis former job and coax his "baby"? Says Elizondo, "When he gets the call he's not surehe wants to help. He doesn't know if Claire was the person who fired him, so he's wary.But they need his expertise. If he comes back it will be for that and, frankly, for the sakeof what the night itself means."

But the ball drop is only part of the show. Claire is also charged with coordinatingthe evening's headline act, rock superstar Jensen, set to kick off the festivities at 12:01following an earlier gig at a private party nearby. Jensen is played by the multi-talentedJon Bon Jovi, who worked his shooting schedule into a break in his recent worldwide tour.Says Karz, "Bon Jovi is the most successful touring act in the world. Apart from that andraising his family, Jon wasn't really thinking about making another movie, but when heread the script he really responded to the character and wanted to do it."

Even single-named international rock stars have problems and what's troublingJensen on this festive night is a heartache he's been carrying too long, over a woman heleft behind for the wrong reasons. "Now he's trying to think of a way back into her life, away to get back into her good graces, if that's even possible," Bon Jovi explains.Katherine Heigl plays Laura, the girl he let slip away. Although still hurt and angryabout the way they parted a year ago, Laura has gone on with her life and earned her ownmeasure of success, parlaying her culinary talents into a growing catering business.Tonight she's handling her highest-profile job ever: an exclusive New Year's Eve bash forthe rich and famous… at which Jensen is scheduled to perform.

"It all comes to a head at the party," says Heigl. "Their meeting is immediatelycontentious. Without warning, Laura just slaps him, out of nowhere, and storms off, andthen you realize they have a history. They were serious about each other once but he moved on without any explanation. He broke her heart and she's been harboring a lot ofresentment ever since, just dreaming of the day when she could let him have it."Clearly, the singer would have a better chance with Laura's vivacious sous-chef,Ava, played by Sofia Vergara. Ava is thrilled to be working this fantastic venue, doublythrilled to catch an up-close-and-personal glimpse of Jensen and then shocked to see herboss take a swing at him. Still, she recovers quickly enough, Vergara confirms, to helpLaura vent: "We did a scene in the kitchen where Laura is so mad she's just throwing foodand Ava is there to help, handing her tomatoes and fruit to toss. It was a lot of fun."Because "Jensen and Laura have a love story with a serious side, we put Sofia intothe middle of it to help bring out the humor of the situation," Marshall explains. "And shedoes so, beautifully."

Unbeknownst to Jensen, there could be more trouble ahead. Making her featurefilm debut, Broadway and television star Lea Michele appears as Elise, the rocker's newlyhired back-up singer, who just got unexpectedly delayed en route to the concert. It's theworst possible luck, tonight of all nights, on the brink of her first big break.

Adding insult to injury, Elise is stuck for the unknown duration with what appearsto be the only guy for miles around who could make things even worse: Randy. Played byAshton Kutcher, Randy is a too-cool-to-care killjoy who has nothing good to say aboutanything, and especially about New Year's Eve, against which he seems to hold some kindof grudge. Kutcher admits, "He's a bit of a jerk. His holiday plan is to stay home andavoid the whole celebration because all the amateur partiers are crowding the streets-allthose guys who don't go out all year and then suddenly go bananas on New Year's Eve-and he thinks he's above all that."

"In 'Valentine's Day' Ashton was the classic romantic, and here he couldn't bemore cynical; it's a 180 degree turn," says Rice.Revealing that the actor chose the role of Randy, Marshall remarks with a laugh,"Ashton's smart. He wanted to be the guy working indoors because he knew it would befreezing outside, because we were shooting winter in New York City.""It doesn't start well," says Michele of the strained exchange between Elise andRandy. "Out of the thousands of people celebrating that night, Elise can't understand whyshe got stuck with this one. But as time passes they get to know each other a little. She's a singer and he's an artist so they discover that they have more similarities than differences.She's also curious about what happened to make him feel the way he does."Fugate uses the plot point to suggest, "Sometimes the best thing that can happen iswhat you think is the worst thing. Sometimes it's about taking a breath and payingattention to what's happening right in front of you."

Leaving Randy and Elise to test that theory, the story moves to a man who hasreason to feel even more trapped than they are. Confined to a hospital bed, Stan, played byRobert De Niro, is an acclaimed photojournalist who spectacularly cheated death in warzones around the world throughout his hard-driving career but is now coming to terms withan enemy he can't evade. Citing his conversations with De Niro during production,Marshall touches on the actor's consummate focus and attention to detail. "He said, 'I wantto get my eyes right for the part.' So he got contact lenses and we spent some time workingon that aspect of the character. It was that precise."

Stan admits to having alienated everyone he's ever known. Now, refusingtreatment, he is determined to hold on just long enough to watch the ball drop in TimesSquare one last time. Alone. But that's not something Nurse Aimee, played by HalleBerry, will allow. As the evening progresses, says Berry, "Stan reflects on his life andthere's a point when he starts to hallucinate and believes Aimee is someone else, someonewho was once close to him. It's a sweet and touching moment. Aimee is away from herown loved ones on New Year's Eve and doesn't expect it to be a joyous occasion, butshe's going to make the best of it, and tonight that means caring for her patient. I thinkthere's a part of her that understands what it's like to have regrets."

Another expert on the subject of regrets would be Ingrid, "a meek, unassuming soulwho has walked the same small circuit of her neighborhood and worked the same thanklessjob without complaint her entire adult life," says Michelle Pfeiffer, who takes on the roleof the easily overlooked assistant. "Afraid of her own shadow, she's carved out a simple,safe existence that won't throw her any surprises."

Even so, there are surprises in store for her. Ingrid has a heart-pounding brush withmortality and it turns her life around in a dramatic way. Reviewing a list of longunfulfilledNew Year's resolutions, she finally summons the courage to quit her job, which is the first item on it, and embarks on a quest to cross off as many of the remaining itemsas possible before the clock strikes twelve.
But she's going to need some help.

The filmmakers paired Ingrid with an unlikely yet perfect companion for herimpromptu adventure: a confident young bike messenger named Paul, played by ZacEfron, with whom Pfeiffer previously co-starred in "Hairspray." If Paul provides thewheels and resourcefulness Ingrid needs to beat the clock, then she, in turn, can offer himthe one thing he covets most on this night of revelry: tickets to the hottest party in town,the Ahern Records Masked Ball. Intended for her ungrateful boss, the tickets were the lastthing Ingrid purposefully picked up on her way out the door.

Efron sees Paul as "an energetic, fun-loving guy who prides himself on being awheeler-dealer, a guy who gets things done and nothing breaks his stride. When Ingridstrikes this deal with him, he knows he's definitely the man for the job. But along the way,the party becomes secondary to what turns out to be an amazing New Year's Eve, and hespends every minute of it helping her and making her happy. It's a real testament to thepower of spreading joy."

"We wanted the juxtaposition of a character who's seen enough of life to have feltsome missed opportunities, with someone who's younger and doesn't really think in termsof resolutions and regrets," offers Rice. "We thought, let's put these two together andwatch them bring awareness to each other in a way that will change both their lives.""It's sensational when you see this shy woman burst out of her shell and comealive. When you see that beautiful smile, it's just magical," says Marshall. "And Zac is anatural at being cool, which is the definition of Paul. But then you see other elements ofhis character come out as he gets to know her better."

If Ingrid's story is about not waiting to fulfill your dreams, that philosophy wouldsurely get a thumbs-up from 15-year-old Hailey, a young woman on the edge ofindependence, with big plans to celebrate this New Year instead of sitting it out, as usual,with her mom and a bowl of popcorn. Abigail Breslin appears as the spirited teen, whileher loving but overly cautious single mother, Kim, is played by Sarah Jessica Parker,without whom, Marshall simply states, "New York wouldn't be the same."

Hailey and her friends have secured a spot in Times Square to witness thecountdown together. Then, if all goes well and a certain boy steps up-that would be Seth,played by Jake T. Austin-she might even get that first kiss she's been dreaming about.But not if mom has anything to say about it.

Says Parker, "It's probably been a great source of comfort for Kim to have herdaughter and this routine in her life, but what we discover is that Hailey is no longerwilling to play that role. She's at an age where she wants to be out experiencing life. Formany parents that's a hard transition, and in particular for Kim, because she's alone andhas been more reliant upon Hailey for company than she'll admit."

By restricting Hailey's budding social life, Kim keeps herself locked away as well,rather than face the daunting prospect of taking another chance at love and life, a fact that'snot lost on her daughter. "Hailey isn't trying to be mean. She's just trying to claim herindependence and let her mom know she's not a baby anymore, and at the same timeremind her that there's a whole world out there that she's been missing," offers Breslin.As Kim and Hailey confront their issues in Brooklyn, over at New York MemorialHospital in Manhattan two couples are facing parenting issues of another kind. Tess andGriffin, played by Jessica Biel and Seth Meyers, are expecting their first child at the sametime that Grace and James, played by Sarah Paulson and Til Schweiger, are due to addanother to their growing family. Ordinarily, their chance meeting in the doctor's officeearlier that day and then again, later, at the hospital, would be an opportunity to bond butinstead the four become locked in a frantic battle over who will take home the hospital's$25,000 prize for giving birth to the first baby of the new year.

"Pregnancy is such a miraculous thing but we try to make it funny, too, showingwhat people will go through and how silly it can become when you lose sight of whatreally matters," says Marshall.

"They try all kinds of unusual things to induce labor," hints Biel. "Then, after acouple of false starts, Grace's water breaks the same time that Tess's does and they go intolabor simultaneously. It's really close. You don't know who's going to win till the verylast minute."

Even though the women are doing all the work, Schweiger points out, "It's the menwho are competitive. Immediately after the two couples meet in their doctor's waitingroom they're stumbling over each other in their race to be the first. It's the men who runfrom the elevator to the hospital reception desk while the women waddle behind.""It was very exciting preparing for the birth of my fictional child, which issomething most guys look forward to because real children are so much responsibility,"quips SNL regular Meyers. "Your fictional children you can just leave on the set."

Meanwhile, as these stories unfold, one New Yorker is desperately trying to getback into the city for two very important appointments. Sam, played by a tuxedoed JoshDuhamel, has just attended his best friend's wedding in Connecticut and is driving back,pondering the direction of his life, when he collides with a road sign. Out of towingdistance and with no body shops or rental agencies available on this special day, he'sforced to take an unconventional route home that could turn out to be the course-correctionhe needs most.

The evening is especially meaningful as it's the first New Year's Eve his family iscommemorating since losing Sam's father, and Sam is set to speak in his place at theirannual gathering. As much as this weighs on his mind, he also can't help thinking aboutthe fascinating woman he met by chance on this very night one year ago."She wouldn't give him her number. She said things were complicated for her andthat if he was still interested next year they could meet at the same spot, same time,"Duhamel reveals. "As much as he thinks it's crazy and tries to dismiss the idea, hewonders if she'll be there now... and if she'll be looking for him."

Nothing Beats New York City on New Year's Eve

Filming on "New Year's Eve" began in Times Square on December 31, 2010,making it the first feature film to capture the event, live, in its 106-year history."Rather than try to recreate the scene on a soundstage, we opted for the real thing,"says Mike Karz, who describes some of what that actually meant. "There are a millionpeople there, thousands of policemen, the streets are blocked off, you never know what theweather is going to be like, there are TV schedules and news crews to work around, andit's being broadcast live all over the world. Other than that, it was a piece of cake."

"It was the most exciting thing I've done in a long time," attests Marshall'slongtime cinematographer Charles Minsky. "We shot with 12 high-def Alexa cameras.We also had cameras on cranes and rooftops, three on the stage and one down on the streetwhere we filmed for eight hours. It was fantastic."

To coordinate the shoot, the filmmakers worked with the New York City Mayor'sOffice and NYPD, as well as the Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment,the two organizations that produce the ball drop. They also enlisted Anthony Calvano'sLandmark Signs & Electrical, which manages the 1,070-pound Waterford crystal sphereand its 3,500-plus lighting cues. The result was approximately 40 hours of raw footage,including some staged moments involving a crowd of extras decked out in 2012 gear forclose-ups.

For Wayne Rice, who had never before celebrated the holiday at its undisputedepicenter, being in Times Square on New Year's Eve was "an experience difficult todescribe. Certainly television can't do it justice. When you take in that sea of humanity,the confetti is raining down and you hear Sinatra singing 'New York, New York' with amillion people singing along, it's electrifying."

But that was just the beginning. In February they returned and appropriated the sitefor an additional two weeks of filming with the actors, and rebuilt the stage at 45th andBroadway. Shots focusing on the malfunctioning ball were caught from atop the roof of abuilding adjacent to One Times Square.

Among their other practical locations were Rockefeller Center's Radio City MusicHall, the neo-Gothic New York Life Building and Chelsea Market. Additionally, the"New Year's Eve" crew was the first to film in Lincoln Center's newly renovated AliceTully Hall. Audiences will also go inside Queens Museum for a look at what productiondesigner Mark Friedberg calls "one of the most incredible jewels in the city that wascreated for the 1964 World's Fair."

For the film's big gala, where Jensen makes a heroic effort to win back the womanhe lost, the designer dressed the Brooklyn Museum's Beaux Arts Court. "It's sophisticatedbut avant-garde, with a Busby Berkeley kind of stage. We brought in trees for anilluminated forest, and hung hundreds and hundreds of china balls from the ceiling," hesays. Because the museum's high, open ceiling afforded no structural grid from which cinematographer Minsky could hang lights, he and Friedberg worked to incorporatelighting directly into the party décor, enhancing its magical effect.Friedberg's team also transformed a warehouse into a Balinese set and built afreight elevator on a sound stage.

Apart from coordinating the schedules of their extensive cast, the filmmakers citedcold temperatures as their biggest challenge, since they were not cheating any of theiroutdoor locations during one of the city's harshest winters in decades. "The weather didget in the way of the kissing," says Marshall with typical humor. "When you're leaning infor a kiss and your breath comes out like smoke it looks like you're in London fog and wecan't see the girl's face. They were all troupers, though. They had to pile on the heavycoats and hats and then take them off, do the scene, six or seven takes, freeze, and thenback into the coats. I never heard any complaints."

It was all déjà vu for Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, who performed in Times Square forNBC's "New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" in 2008. He concurs, "It was freezing. But ifyou have a warm heart, you'll survive the cold."
"Have a Little Faith in Me."

Because it wouldn't be a New Years's Eve party without memorable music,audiences will see Jon Bon Jovi-as Jensen-cover Otis Redding's "I Can't Turn YouLoose" on the Times Square stage, and John Hiatt's "Have A Little Faith in Me" in themore intimate setting of the masquerade ball.

Grammy Award-winning music producer Don Was produced both songs with Jon.Based on recordings of Bon Jovi performing the songs in concert, he explains, "We shapedthe tracks around what Jon would do and then went in with Garry Marshall and got theperformances they needed for the film."

Also, Lea Michele delivers a stirring rendition of the New Year's classic "AuldLang Syne," produced by "Glee" music producer Adam Anders.Recalling how Bon Jovi worked with the filmmakers on song selection, Rice says,"He came to the table with some songs that fit the themes of his story and spoke of loveand optimism, moving forward, the things we would associate with New Year's Eve."

"Garry wants to deliver an experience for audiences that's fun and fulfilling, and hegravitates towards themes and stories that serve those values. He really believes that whenpeople go to the movies they deserve a break, they deserve a happy ending," says Karz."No matter what they tell you, New Year's Eve is about hope," Marshallconcludes. "A lot of people think about who they're going to kiss at midnight, who they'regoing out with, where's the best party, and all of that. For others, well, they have otherconcerns. Maybe things haven't been going so well. You make plans and sometimes theyfall through, and those are some of the things we look at in the movie.

"The fact is, New Year's Eve means something to a lot of people all around theworld and watching that countdown is a shared moment. That's what I love about it."