The story of Captain Phillips unfolds on a container ship and a lifeboat. Gravity takes place on a space station circling the globe. But for cars, it's Philomena.
The seemingly odd pairing of British comedian Steve Coogan and Dame Judi Dench in Philomena proved irresistible. But the chemistry which has led to the Best Picture nomination was aided by the fact that the film is a barely disguised road trip movie.
The pair travel throughout Ireland and the United States in the quest to find Philomena Lee's long-ago adopted child.
"That helped the movie. We were forced to be together sitting in that car," says Coogan. "You develop a rapport."
The characters had to bond when thrown together in the tiny confines of a car. "It's like being stuck in an elevator together," he adds. "You either kill each other or you make each other laugh…And she's still alive and so am I. She has a bad knee but that's not my fault."
Coogan, 48, learned a lot about his 79-year-old co-star, famous for playing the stern M in the James Bond series. For starters, she likes to tease people, and likes to be teased back.
"I tested the water a few times initially, she likes people being a little cheeky," says Coogan. "And she came right back at me. So that's how we rolled."
Like any road trip partner, Dench also had her quirky habits. One was spitting out her medicine-tasting throat lozenges.
"She hated the taste of them," says Coogan. "And she'd have to spit them out of the car window. I must have seen Dame Judi Dench spit about 50 times."
Still, the best part of any road trip is when it's over. "Six weeks in a car was long enough for me," says Coogan. "And no doubt for her."
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