[Notice the recurring "life imitates art" theme regurgitated in the derivative Huffington Post piece.]
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/artic ... -9-11.html
Guardian angel: Gwyneth Paltrow at the Contagion launch in Venice on Saturday
Gwyneth Paltrow has spoken about the 'real life Sliding Doors moment' that is credited with saving a strangers' life.
Speaking at the Contagion press conference in Venice, the Hollywood star explained her fateful role in Lara Lindstrom Clarke's 9/11 experience and said how 'humbly happy' she is to be part of the 'extraordinary story.'
Ms Clarke had jaywalked on her way to work and was almost hit by an SUV driven by the 38-year-old Contagion star.
The encounter caused Ms Clarke to miss her usual train to work - and by being late she wasn't at her desk in the World Trade Centre when the first plane hit.
She last month sent a letter to the actress thanking her for inadvertently changing the course of her life.
'Basically, what happened was I had gone to a yoga class very early,' the Oscar-winning actress said at the Contagion event, reports the New York Post.
'I was on the way home and it was the morning of September 11 - not that I knew at the time what that meant - and a girl was jaywalking across the street and we kind of both stopped at the same time and waited a really long time.'
Speaking with the MortonReport.com last month, Ms Clarke, who was 24 at the time, said: 'It developed in to one of those classic who-goes-first situations. It got ridiculous. Then I made eye contact with the Mercedes driver.'
'OMG it was Gwyneth Paltrow.'
She arrived at her station, below the World Trade Centre, at 8:47 - as the first plane slammed into Tower 1. Four of her colleagues died on that September morning.
Ms Paltrow said in Venice: 'Ten years later I got a letter from her saying that she had been late for work and we had that thing and she went down to the Christopher Street station to catch her train to go down to the World Trade Center where she worked on the 77th floor of the South Tower and the train was just pulling out.
'So had we not had that interaction she feels like her life would've taken a much different course. She called it her "Sliding Doors moment."'
Lucky stars: Lara Lundstrom Clarke believes that Gwyneth Paltrow played a role in her fate on the morning of the 9/11 terrorist attacks
Lucky stars: Lara Lundstrom Clarke believes that Gwyneth Paltrow played a role in her fate on the morning of the 9/11 terrorist attacks
Like the hit 1998 movie starring Ms Paltrow, hinging on a chance encounter that depended on catching a particular London Underground train, Ms Clarke believes it was a moment that changed the course of her life.
'At that time I was annoyed at everything that had made me late that day, including Gwyneth Paltrow.
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'If I had made that train I would have been at my desk on the 77th floor of 2 World Trade Center,' Ms Clarke said.
The two-page letter to Ms Paltrow details the story and thanks the Oscar winner for 'changing my fate on that terrible day.'
'I have spent years healing, but this is one part of my own story that I need to bring full circle,' the 9/11 survivor writes in the emotional letter.
RSVP: Ms Clarke's letter to the Hollywood actress contains an emotional thanks. Four of her colleagues perished on that fateful day
RSVP: Ms Clarke's letter to the Hollywood actress contains an emotional thanks. Four of her colleagues perished on that fateful day
A decade on: Ms Clarke says 'I live my life with gratitude and work to repay the generosity that fate granted me that day.' She has since married an Englishman and lives in California
A decade on: Ms Clarke says 'I live my life with gratitude and work to repay the generosity that fate granted me that day.' She has since married an Englishman and lives in California
The message touched Ms Paltrow, who said she was 'deeply moved' by the tale.
'It was an extraordinary story and all I could think about is all of the people who had experiences like that that day, but aren't able to reach out because it wasn't a recognizable person,' said Ms Paltrow at the Contagion launch.
'She saw it was me so she was able to get me a message,' said Ms Paltrow.
Fateful: Ms Clarke 'had her own Sliding Doors moment' after missing her usual train because of meeting Ms Paltrow. She would otherwise have been in the World Trade Center towers as the planes hit
Fateful: Ms Clarke 'had her own Sliding Doors moment' after missing her usual train because of meeting Ms Paltrow. She would otherwise have been in the World Trade Center towers as the planes hit
'But I think a lot of fates were changed that day obviously and I am very humbly happy to be a part in her story.'
Contagion, directed by Steven Soderbergh, stars Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law and Kate Winslet alongside Ms Paltrow.
Some of its themes run parallel to those of 9/11, particularly in its examination of a nation under attack.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/0 ... 50041.html
Gwyneth Paltrow Saved Woman's Life On 9/11 In 'Sliding Doors' Moment, Star Reveals
Gwyneth Paltrow
Posted: 9/6/11 07:35 AM ET
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Gwyneth Paltrow , September 11 Anniversary , Gwyneth Paltrow 9/11 , Gwyneth Paltrow New York City , Gwyneth Paltrow Saves Woman's Life 9/11 , Gwyneth Paltrow Sliding Doors , September 11th , Entertainment News
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There were legions of self-sacrificing heroes on September 11th, 2001, from the civilians that did their best to rush co-workers out of the falling Twin Towers to the emergency response workers that rushed into the carnage to pull out victims for hours, days, weeks and then months. With the butterfly effect of actions and fate, there were also countless untold stories of accidental heroism, little moments that, in the end, ended up saving lives, too.
Gwyneth Paltrow, it turns out, was one of those accidental heroes.
Speaking at a press conference for her upcoming film, "Contagion," the actress talked about a chance encounter on the street that kept a Lara Lindstrom Clarke, a 24-year old at the time, from entering the World Trade Center that day.
"Basically, what happened was I had gone to a yoga class very early. I was on the way home and it was the morning of September 11 -- not that I knew at the time what that meant -- and a girl was jaywalking across the street and we kind of both stopped at the same time and waited a really long time," she said in Venice (via the NY Post).
After a bit of confusion over who should go -- Paltrow in an SUV, Clarke walking in the street -- and subsequent laughter between the two, they each went on their way.
"Ten years later I got a letter from her saying that she had been late for work and we had that thing and she went down to the Christopher Street station to catch her train to go down to the World Trade Center where she worked on the 77th floor of the South Tower and the train was just pulling out," Paltrow continued. "So had we not had that interaction she feels like her life would've taken a much different course."
The woman called it her "Sliding Doors," moment, harkening back to Paltrow's 1998 film that sees Paltrow's character discover the two fates that would await her depending on whether or not she caught a certain subway car.
The Daily Mail reports testimony from Clarke herself, including the letter she sent Paltrow to tell her of the story and thank her.
The story is also reminiscent of films such as "The Butterfly Effect" and last winter's "The Adjustment Bureau," the Matt Damon-starring film about shady underworld agents who "adjust" peoples' fates by changing small instances to keep them on their designated course in life. Damon, as it so happens, stars as her husband in "Contagion," the deadly virus thriller from Steven Soderbergh.