The Pitch: Dickens gets the Clueless treatment in this present-day take on his much-adapted 19th-century novel, which follows a poor kid (Ethan Hawke) who leaves Florida for New York, where he becomes an artist tortured by encounters with a mysterious convict (Robert De Niro) and takes a shine to an icy aristocrat (Gwyneth Paltrow). (Twentieth Century Fox/December)

The Big Picture: "The script was written as a lighter comedy, and the process started turning it into a drama," says director Alfonso Cuaron (A Little Princess). "[I feared] at first I was trying to force what the film didn't need." But the Mexican director's visceral approach to filmmaking was contagious, and soon screenwriter Mitch Glazer (Scrooged) was collaborating with the primary cast members to reinvent the tone of the script; David Mamet was also brought in to write some narration. Hawke, however, is still conflicted about whether Finn is too unlikable (a Reality Bites flashback?). "Finn is a totally vacuous kid who only wants to score a totally vacuous woman," says Hawke. "And that's a weird story to tell." Still, working with icons like De Niro and Anne Bancroft (who plays the Miss Havisham character) inspired the actor-novelist. "Bancroft is incredibly disciplined," raves Hawke. "And De Niro works very hard to live and breathe in the moment. It's kind of interesting to see for two people like Gwyneth and I, who are struggling to find our style. And what is a contemporary style of acting, aside from just posturing?" Apparently, the acting was so realistic the day Hawke and Paltrow shot their first love scene that crew members were almost embarrassed to watch. "Ethan put on a song by Roberta Flack, 'Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye,' to create atmosphere," recalls Cuaron. "We all felt we were peeking where we shouldn't. It made people blush."

Source: Premiere's Ultimate Fall Preview