Kinnear's Movie Is Lesson In Love

"Feast Of Love" Follows Six Different Story Lines About Characters' Love And Loss

(CBS)  Greg Kinnear is all about love in his new movie, appropriately titled "Feast of Love," but do not confuse him for love's poster boy.

"I did one interview, they were like, 'Tell us about love. What is it all about?' " he told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm. "I refused to go down that road. It is about that, but it's about a lot of things. I'm just a character."

But he admits that in some ways he does identify with his character, Bradley Thomas, who has experienced more than his share of heartbreak. Thomas's wife, played by Selma Blair, left him for a woman and the new woman he falls for, a real estate agent played by Radha Mitchell, refuses to cut off her affair with a married man. He looks to college professor Harry Stevenson, played Morgan Freeman, for advice.

"There is something that I suppose I identify with this guy," Kinnear said. "Everybody does. He's hopeful about it. He's eternally hopeful about love. And like me, you know, he has a history of getting kicked around a little bit over the years."

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Photos: 2007 Fall Film Preview

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The movie is based on the novel by Charles Baxter. Freeman's character is grieving in a different way. His only son died from a drug overdose. But Kinnear said the movie is really based on six different story lines.

"Everyone is kind of revolving around the other one, but the central orbit of all of the stories is around Morgan," Kinnear said. "He has suffered real tragedy. He's watching all of these events around him and trying to make sense out of them. I think Robert Benton, our director, wonderful director, found a way in, like the book, to kind of, you know, kind of attach those stories and keep them all connected."

In real life, Kinnear is the father of two young daughters, one who was just 6 weeks old when he began filming "Feast of Love." He said the family came up to Portland, Ore., where he was filming the movie so they could spend time together.

"She had a very interesting social schedule to keep at night, too. So it was kind of difficult," he said. "But, yeah, it's been -- it's great when they can travel with me. They're at an age when they can do that. I'm terrified about the reality coming that eventually that won't be as easy to do. Right now, taking advantage of it."