HARRY SMITH, co-host:

Ten minutes before the hour. Steve Martin reached way back to his high-school reading list for the inspiration for his new movie. It's called "A Simple Twist Of Fate." It's based on George Eliot's book "Silas Marner." Steve Martin premiered the movie at the Montreal Film Festival, and that's where Mark McEwen caught up with him.

MARK McEWEN reporting:

Tell me about Montreal and the Montreal Film Festival--why did you pick this city to premiere "Simple Twist Of Fate"?

Mr. STEVE MARTIN ("A Simple Twist Of Fate"): I think of Montreal as a kind of European city, and I think of this film as kind of a European film. And the director was Scottish, so it has this kind of international flavor. It seemed to be the right venue to show this movie.

McEWEN: Tell me about the story of a "Simple Twist Of Fate."

Mr. MARTIN: It turned out, when I had this idea to do this story, it was not very much in the news, about a man who raises a child and then has an attempt made to try to take her from him by the real father.

(Excerpts from "A Simple Twist Of Fate" shown throughout segment)

Mr. MARTIN: Then it became very, very newsworthy, and it seemed like we were making a kind of, you know, spur-of-the-moment movie based on all the press and the media over the subject. But, you know, I just find it a very heart-rending, powerful story, and I love that it's complicated by gold and death and accidents and drugs. You know, I love that kind of--those elements in a story.

McEWEN: The scenes where you're raising the young Matilda...

Mr. MARTIN: Right.

McEWEN: ...and you're dancing and you're making faces and--are just priceless. Now you're not a dad. Where do you go when you're not a pop to get that dad kind of--you know, playing with the young kid?

Mr. MARTIN: Yeah. Well, I know a lot of people with children. I can see that, and I like children. So I do it myself. And also, it's--it's just human. You know, you don't really have to think too hard how to amuse a child.

McEWEN: You are one of the people that I know of that when you do comedy the audience feels very secure, because you're going to take them to a place they want to go to. Who does that for you, or did that for you?

Mr. MARTIN: Well, many people. Now I think Jim Carrey is great.

McEWEN: Oh, you do?

Mr. MARTIN: Oh, yeah.

McEWEN: He's get--he gets slammed a lot. I mean...

Mr. MARTIN: You know, it was so--it reminded me so much of "The Jerk." When "Ace Ventura" came out, I thought--it's--it's--it's a similar little--they're not similar movies at all.

McEWEN: Yeah.

Mr. MARTIN: Similar situation. Here's a--a comedian making a movie, and it was sort of a really crazy, insane movie like "The Jerk" was. And then--and the reviews on "The Jerk" were horrible, horrible. So bad from every source, and I was pleased--about a year ago I saw in "The New York Times" that "The Jerk" was coming on TV, and described it as a sophisticated comedy.

McEWEN: Vindication.

Mr. MARTIN: And--and I knew what Jim Carrey was going through, because I--I think his reviews were--were not so good.

McEWEN: Horrible.

Mr. MARTIN: Is that what you're saying?

McEWEN: Yeah. "Pet Detective, Ace Ventura," horrible.

Mr. MARTIN: They just--you know, they just can't give it to sort of low-down comedy, and they won't for a while; until it's now ten years later, and they go, 'Hey, you know, that was actually pretty funny.'