Heartthrob British star Hugh Grant says new movie is,and isn\'t, a romantic comedy

Hugh Grant is popular with movie fans in China.Pic by Shi Pei qi

British actor Hugh Grant addressed the Shanghai International Film Festival press contingent yesterday about his latest movie The Rewrite.

Grant plays the role of a screenwriter in the Marc Lawrence-directed movie which is one of the three gala screenings at this year’s festival.

The Rewrite is the story of a screenwriter named Keith Michaels who at one time was very successful and won a Golden Globe. His career is in a terrible place after 15 years and he ends up teaching in a university in New York.

There he meets Holly, a single mom with two jobs and trying to earn her bachelor’s degree. She helps to change his attitude towards teaching.

“It’s not exactly a romantic comedy," Grant said yesterday. "There is romance, and it certainly is a comedy, but I would say it’s closer to About A Boy."

" It’s really about a man who seems completely lost and who discovers a new life,” he added.

Grant has starred in three other films directed by Lawrence, Did You Hear About the Morgans?, Music and Lyrics and Two Weeks Notice.

Grant is popular with movie fans in China for his roles in romantic comedies like Love Actually, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary and more.

He won a Golden Globe for his role in Four Weddings and a Funeral.