and his then-girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley, which had set up at Castle Rock Entertainment. The film marked a change of pace for Grant, being a drama. "I was always on the lookout for one (a drama), but I wasn't saying, `I've got to do a serious role now.' It was just that that was the best script around." The script was developed for about a year, including rewrites with involvement from William Goldman. "We just tamed it a bit for me," said Grant. "We just tweaked it." Palmer said, "They apologized for the way they deviated from the book. Hugh Grant has turned the protagonist into a character he can live with, but the nature of the character hasn't changed. The more I think about it, the more it seems like my book." Filming took place in Toronto and New York City, beginning February 1996. Director Michael Apted found it challenging working with Grant and Hurley. "It's not something I'd recommend, however genial the people are.... It was tricky. We had the same agendas, mercifully, so it was all right.... Producers are powerful. And actors are powerful these days. So, to have the double whammy up there, it makes your job harder. The other challenge I had was that this was the first film they (Hurley and Grant) produced. They were learning as they were doing.... I didn't know whether they were going to be dilettante producers.... They really got their hands dirty. They weren't just swanning in for the glamour bits. They were there the whole time in the trenches." Added Hurley: "I've been on film sets for about nine years as a hired hand so it wasn't that I didn't know anything.... Yes, there are things I know now that I didn't know before. But there are things a monkey could learn to do.... I think learning to keep on top of things ... You have to, sort of, learn that as you go. I hadn't realized how fragile a film could be. I did end up being very hands-on. I ended up doing much more than I had expected to. I didn't realize how easy it was to really not make the film you set out to make.... I think having to concentrate very, very hard on every department was a shock." Reception The film had a mixed reception from critics. It currently holds a 56% rating on