NEW YORK, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- British actor Hugh Grant approached learning to sing for his new film, "Music & Lyrics," with steadfast resolve.
"He thought about it much more as an actor would in the sense that he wanted to make sure he was doing the right kind of accent and everything," said Adam Schlesinger, the Fountains of Wayne and Ivy member who wrote and produced some of the songs for the movie.
In "Music & Lyrics," which opens Wednesday, Grant plays a has-been '80s pop star who gets a chance to write song for a hot, Britney Spears-style hitmaker. Drew Barrymore plays a woman who unwittingly becomes his lyricist.
Schlesinger says he made Grant a CD of hits from the mid-'80s, "just to check out the vibe," and introduced the actor to Martin Fry of the band ABC.
"Hugh's the first one to admit he knows nothing about music; it's almost a point of pride for him," Schlesinger said. "He knew pretty much only the most massive, obvious hits from that era, and even then not particularly well. But that didn't stop him from doing his homework."
