Gary Oldman and Colin Firth star in new Cold War-era espionage thriller "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," which premiered in the United States Tuesday (December 06).
Both stars were on hand at the red carpet gala for the film, held in Hollywood at the Arclight Cineramadome.
The new film is the second screen incarnation of the classic 1974 novel by John le Carre; it was first seen as a wildly popular British television miniseries starring Alec Guiness.
Now starring Oldman as newly-retired George Smiley, charged with rooting out a mole in British intelligence, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" is a "thinking man's" spy thriller, far from the action-packed James Bond film series that made the genre famous.
SOUNDBITE: Actor Gary Oldman, saying (English):
"It's less about the gadgets and the gizmos, the Aston Martins, and I guess it's a little more realistic, like another le Carre book, 'The Spy Who Came In From the Cold,' or the 'Harry Palmer' series, you know, it makes you, I think the movie demands something of you."
Spy fiction has always captivated audiences, and the Cold War era is chock full of material for a meaty plot with twists and turns in "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy."
SOUNDBITE: Actor Colin Firth, saying (English):
"It's like peering through the keyhole, you know, you've had the glamourous version, and if you want to know what these men really talk about, and what high-stakes situations are like in reality, this is your glimpse at it."
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" opens in select cities December 9th.