Jerry O'Connell News - Sydney Australia

JERRY GETS AROUND IN AUSTRALIA

8/2/01

Jerry O'Connell was out and about during his stay in Sydney Australia. Here are several stories from Australia's Daily Telegraph. The Sydney Confidential gave Jerry quite a bit of press.

Daily Telegraph Sydney Confidential July 10, 2001

Jerry upsets the outback
JERRY O'Connell, Confidential's favourite US actor, made little secret of his love for
Sydney, not to mention his eagerness to return.
At the other end of the scale was Coober Pedy, in South Australia, which O'Connell
described as ``the most frightening place in the world'' after spending a few weeks there
shooting scenes for the very big budget Jerry Bruckheimer film Down and Under.
``There are holes in the middle of the street which go down eight miles,'' he said in one
interview. ``If we were going out drinking I would have a buddy system with someone
where they would watch my back and I would watch theirs in case one of us vanished.''
Those comments, which ran in The Advertiser newspaper, have angered Coober Pedy
locals, who won't be rushing to welcome Jerry back to town.
``Obviously this guy has never ventured out of his glass bubble before because this is far
from the truth,'' local Suzie Ratcliffe wrote to the 'Tiser's editor in its letters section
yesterday.
``I have lived in Coober Pedy for the past 15 years and would describe it as far from
frightening. As to having holes in the ground eight miles deep, this guy has a highly
overactive imagination.
``Maybe if he left his hotel room more often while he was here, he would have appreciated
the town for what it has to offer. I am proud to be a citizen of Coober Pedy and would
gladly show Mr O'Connell the real Coober Pedy.
``Not the view of someone who obviously walked around this town with his eyes closed.''
---------------------

March 21st Sydney Confidential

TITANIC bad guy Billy Zane isn't the only Hollywood star impressing Sydney's single
women. Jerry O'Connell, in town to shoot Down and Under, was spotted chatting up a few
lovelies at Tank, helped along by a little Moet & Chandon.
When the girls accepted the expensive fizz with a quizzical eyebrow, O'Connell was
overheard saying: ``Don't worry, I bathe in the stuff.''
The move worked. O'Connell spent the night dancing with the women
----------------------

April 7th Daily Telegraph, Sydney Confidential

Under the spell of a 14-hour kiss
ACTOR Jerry O'Connell, in town to shoot Down and Under, is loving Sydney. So much
so, he can't remember most nights.
``I find out what I do after buying your paper,'' he told showbiz editor Michael Bodey.
``I wake up in a fog on Monday morning and I'm like `What did I do this weekend? Let me
grab The Telegraph. Oh, that's right, I went to The Establishment, right, I hooked up with
that girl.''
Not that he has to live too hard. His most recent roles have been a young man's dream.
In Tomcats, opening April 24, he plays the boyfriend of American Pie's Shannon
Elizabeth.
On the Down and Under Sydney shoot, he plays opposite model Estella Warren.
``How lucky am I? Yesterday, I had a make-out scene with Estella Warren all day long,''
he smiled.
``That was my job. That is what I was paid to do for an entire day, 14 hours: `Right, Jerry,
kiss Estella. Action. Cut! Right, we're going to do that again.'''
But O'Connell quickly noted he wasn't giving away the film's finale.
``No, the film's more like
the story of me at The Establishment. Boy gets girl, boy loses girl.''
O'Connell -- who made his name as a young actor in Stand By Me before hitting the big
time in Sliders and Scream 2 -- soon leaves for three weeks shooting in Coober Pedy and
four weeks in Alice Springs but said he'll be back.
And what does he want to read about himself in The Daily Telegraph?
``I don't want to read about me getting turned down. I have to run, make sure nobody from
The Telegraph will see!''
We'll go easy on you, Jerry. Promise.
---------------------

Jerry's excellent Sydney adventure
HE MAY not have family ties here like Our Renee Zellweger, but Down and Under star
Jerry O'Connell is beginning to sound like a true Sydneysider -- Noo Yawk accent
notwithstanding.
``No way, this is my shout,'' he told Confidential during lunch at Otto, in Woolloomooloo,
this week.
He even pronounces Woolloomooloo properly -- although that took time.
``People looked at me strangely when I asked them for directions to Wool-loo-moo-loo,''
said the 27-year-old actor, who starred in Stand By Me, Jerry Maguire and the hit TV
series Sliders.
On Wednesday, Jerry O'Connell's Excellent Sydney Adventure comes to an end when he
reluctantly flies home to the US.
He arrived in Sydney back in February to start shooting Down and Under (D&U) and fell in
love with the place.
``Sydney is just fantastic, man,'' he says, sincerely.
O'Connell wouldn't be the first Hollywood star to say he loves the joint, but he backs it up
with stories, like the one about Oscar winner and D&U co-star Christopher Walken
thinking there were pelicans flying over the bridge.
``We had to tell him they were bats -- and he freaked out,'' O'Connell recalled.
Or then there was the time O'Connell couldn't get past the bouncer at the Cruising Yacht
Club at Rushcutters Bay.
``The bouncer said, `I don't care if you were in Sliders, if you're not a member you don't
get in','' he recalled, laughing. ``I was desperate, man -- so I said `Hey I rented a power
boat once, will that do?''' The bouncer let him in.
How the happy Noo Yawker rates the Harbour City:
RESTAURANTS
* Mezzaluna, Potts Point -- ``An expensive dinner date but if you really want to impress a
girl, this is the place.''
* Bistro Lulu, Paddington -- ``The food's so good, I've gone there by myself.''
* Harry's Cafe de Wheels -- ``A cheap way to finish off an evening.''
* Star City Buffet -- ``Underrated.''
BARS
* Paddington Inn -- ``The best times are Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The girls there are
beautiful, man.''
* The Establishment -- ``A great place to start. Early evenings are best because it's full of
professional women finishing work.''
DANCING
* Goodbar, Paddington -- ``My favourite, it's not too crowded.''
* ARQ -- ``A little racy, if you know what I mean, but good fun.''
SHOPPING
* Oxford Street, Paddington -- ``I've dropped a chunk of change at Calibre.''

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