Ewan Mcgregor Page 5

Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor have been doing a spot of reminiscing about their hit film Moulin Rouge!, remembering the “wild parties” they enjoyed during filming when it took place nearly 18 years ago.

The two stars appeared on Variety magazine’s Actors On Actors section, and part of that saw Nicole interviewing Ewan about the time on the set of Baz Luhrmann’s extravaganza which was released in 2001. Specifically, they remembered (or, perhaps, didn’t) the huge parties they had with absinthe shots and luxurious food at Luhrmann’s private villa.

“We’d have great parties. Remember those Friday nights, those Saturday nights?” Nicole asked Ewan, who laughed out loud and replied: “Not all of them… Don’t remember all of them.” Agreeing, Nicole laughed, “Exactly!”

Continue reading: Nicole Kidman And Ewan McGregor Reminisce About "Wild Parties" Filming 'Moulin Rouge!'

As two of the big names behind Trainspotting come together again for T2, director Danny Boyle has revealed his "great shame" at the ten-year feud he and Ewan McGregor took part in after during the 90s and 00s.

Director Danny Boyle regrets his disagreement with actor, Ewan McGregor

Boyle also revealed he was very grateful to the 45-year-old actor for presenting him with a prestigious award after the two finally buried the hatchet.

Continue reading: Danny Boyle Feels "Great Shame" Over Fall-Out With Ewan McGregor

Trainspotting is one of the most iconic films of the last 25 years, a 1996 release that launched a wave of British hits. And it made Ewan McGregor into a star. He had previously worked with director Danny Boyle on Shallow Grave, and they went on to make A Life Less Ordinary together. But their working relationship faltered when Boyle cast Leonardo DiCaprio in The Beach, so McGregor tackled Hollywood instead with the Star Wars prequels and Moulin Rouge.

Ewan McGregor stars in 'T2 Trainspotting'

Now the two have mended their relationship and reunited for the 20-years-later sequel T2 Trainspotting, which also features original cast members Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Ewen Bremner and Kelly Macdonald, plus a script by original writer John Hodge.

Continue reading: Ewan Mcgregor Worried He Was No Longer Scottish Enough To Make T2 Trainspotting

With just days to go before the highly-anticipated sequel to ‘90s movie classic Trainspotting, one of the film’s stars, Ewen Bremner, has spoken about what audiences can expect from the classic cast of characters now that they’ve aged twenty years in T2.

Set in Edinburgh two decades on from the events of Danny Boyle’s hit film of 1996, Bremner’s character Spud is surprised when his friend Renton returns from out of nowhere. However, they certainly don’t pick up where they left off with their drug habits.

Ewen Bremner at the UK premiere of 'T2'

Continue reading: Ewen Bremner: 'Trainspotting Characters Are No Longer Invincible'

Ewan McGregor pulled out of his scheduled appearance ITV's 'Good Morning Britain' on Tuesday, after realising it was hosted by Piers Morgan.

The actor disagreed with comments Morgan had made about Saturday's Women's Marches across the globe and decided not to go ahead with his appearance on the show minutes before he was due to be interviewed.

Ewan McGregor pulled out of his 'Good Morning Britain' interview this morning

Continue reading: Ewan McGregor Has Strong Views On Piers Morgan And His Women's March Remarks

Ewan McGregor has admitted he was worried about making the Trainspotting sequel because he feared he “wasn’t Scottish enough anymore”.

McGregor stars in T2: Trainspotting as Renton, with Johnny Lee Miller reprising his role as Sick Boy and Robert Carlyle as Franco. The sequel also sees the return of director Danny Boyle.

Ewan McGregor worried he “wasn’t Scottish enough anymore” to play Renton

Continue reading: Ewan McGregor Worried He "Wasn't Scottish Enough" Anymore For 'T2'

Ahead of the release of the incredibly long-awaited sequel to Trainspotting, titled T2, in January, Ewan McGregor has spoken about reprising his character of Mark ‘Rent Boy’ Renton.

The 45 year old actor stars alongside the same cast from the legendary 1996 original, with Ewen Bremner playing Spud, Jonny Lee Miller playing Sick Boy and Robert Carlyle as the menacing Begbie.

T2 is based loosely upon Irvine Welsh’s novel ‘Porno’, itself the follow-up to the original novel that provided the source material for Trainspotting. Picking up the thread over two decades later, after Renton had made off with cash the foursome had earned at the end of the first film, the actor explained what his character was doing now.

Continue reading: Ewan McGregor Talks About His Character Renton From 'T2: Trainspotting'

Making a film adaptation of Philip Roth's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1997 novel American Pastoral, often named one of the best books of the 20th century, would be daunting to any director. So it was a surprise that actor Ewan McGregor opted to make this his directing debut.

Ewan McGregor in American Pastoral

He initially found out about the project when he read for the lead role as Seymour "The Swede" Levov. "I got the script from my agent, and I just fell for it," McGregor says. "I fell for it very hard! At first it was the story about the father and the daughter. I've got four girls myself, so I know very much what that relationship is all about, and it just broke my heart. I was reading about this dad who loses his daughter to a radical political group in the '60s, and she ends up doing a terrorist act. Then she goes underground and he doesn't know where she is."

Continue reading: Ewan McGregor Fell Hard For American Pastoral

Ahead of its much-anticipated release in January next year, a brand new official teaser trailer has emerged for the Trainspotting sequel, and the first to feature new footage.

As the iconic opening music from the 1996 original film, Iggy Pop’s ‘Lust For Life’, plays again, a train rumbles past to reveal the four original cast members – Renton (Ewan McGregor), Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Begbie (Robert Carlyle) - standing in a line on the station platform, in a throwback scene to the first movie.

Danny Boyle in May 2016 shooting 'Trainspotting 2'

Continue reading: 'Trainspotting 2' Teaser Trailer, With First New Footage, Released

Ewan McGregor's Renton famously announced that he hadn't "felt that good since Archie Gemmill scored against Holland in 1978!" in Danny Boyle's classic Trainspotting in 1996. Now, two decades later, we could find ourselves checking in with the Glasgow addict again, though we doubt he's be feeling particularly euphoric about the state of Scottish football in recent years. After several false starts, filmmaker Boyle says a script for a Trainspotting sequel is in progress, based on Irvine Walsh's 2002 novel Porno. The Manchester-born director - who helmed the Olympic Games opening ceremony in London before turning down a Knighthood from the Queen - is planning to release the new film in 2016, on the 20th anniversary of the original.

"This has been a long time coming," the Oscar winning director told Canadian film website The Playlist. "There's always been this long term plan for Trainspotting 2." Encouragingly, Boyle believes the original cast could be re-assembled to play middle-aged versions of their characters, including McGregor. "I don't think there will be any barriers to Ewan or any of the cast coming back.The reason for doing it again is that people cherish the original, people remember it or have caught up with it if they never saw it because they were younger," the filmmaker added. 

It's likely that McGregor has been offered various unsavoury Trainspotting-linked projects in the past, though a sequel with Boyle at the helm will no doubt be too good to turn down. The Scottish actor has forged a hugely successful career since the movie, though he's perhaps guilty of taking big money mainstream roles over anything particularly challenging. Another stab at Renton could change that.

Continue reading: Trainspotting Sequel: Will Ewan McGregor Return? (And Other Questions)

Don’t be fooled by the appearance of the US Box Office charts, it was not a good weekend for the film topping the list, Jack The Giant Slayer.

The Bryan Singer tale stars Ewan McGregor and Nicholas Hoult, and beat out the competition to post takings of some $28 million on its debut. That’s a pretty unremarkable figure in itself, but it’s put into stark contrast when you consider that the flick was the first big-budget movie of the year, costing around $200 million to make. Now things don’t seem quite so rosy for it.

Things weren’t looking great for the film when it came in for a decidedly uninterested set of reviews in the press, with Rolling Stone – for instance – providing a particularly damning “Jack the Giant Slayer proves the axiom ‘If you can't make it good, make it 3D.’” Overall the film scored a mere 52% average on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, so we’re pretty sure alarm bells might have started to ring for Warner Bros.

Continue reading: 'Jack The Giant Slayer' Struggles To Topple Budget Deficit Despite No.1 Spot

Warner Brothers were punished for their bizarre release date and dodgy marketing for 'Jack The Giant Slayer' this weekend, taking just $28 million at the box-office despite analysts predicting more than double that. The movie - starring Ewan McGregor, Nicholas Hoult and Stanley Tucci which was made for $190 million plus $80 million global marketing costs - finished at No.1, though attaining the top-spot with a big-budget early March release is hardly anything to shout about.

Directed by Bryan Singer, 'Jack The Giant Slayer' is an adaptation of the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale. Its shoddy opening could prove disastrous for the movie given Sam Raimi's 'Oz The Great and Powerful' - which is looking to attract exactly the same audience - rolls out next weekend to high anticipation. "Our audience in the United States was a little bit more narrow than we wanted, but the Canadian numbers are really strong, and the overseas reaction has exceeded our expectations," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Brothers' executive president of domestic distribution, "The story on this movie is far from being written - we need more time," he added, to the New York Times. 

'Jack The Giant Slayer' took around $13.7 million from release in 10 Asian countries and Warner Brothers hope that the movie ultimately takes $225 million from foreign theaters, an ambitious figure. It's worrying times for the studio, whose last four movies - Gangster Squad, Beautiful Creatures and Bullet To The Head - were box office failures. 

Continue reading: Fi, Fi, Foe, Thumping: 'Jack The Giant Slayer' Bombs At The Box Office

When The Impossible - a disaster movie starring Ewan McGregor - was announced, the film community sighed. Written off as a box office failure; the critics waiting to pounce, it would appear that director Juan Antonio Bayona has managed to pull off... the impossible?

Well, perhaps not impossible, but the emotive, powerful true story behind the film has propelled it into strong position with the reviewers. Released on New Years Day in the U.K., and a short while before in the U.S., The Impossible is certainly worth a watch, even if it won't make the end of year lists.

Empire Magazine, in a 4/5 review, say, "This rousing, superbly acted, no-holds-barred melodrama is a mighty feat of physical filmmaking," while Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian states, "This film is not especially complex, and not subtle, but there is judgment and intelligence in the simple idea of survival being the most agonising thing, and making survivor guilt the psychological aftershock of a shattering and irreparable blow." The Los Angeles Times also awarded it 4/5, saying, "It is the kind of ode to the human spirit that you hope comes along, and not just during the holiday season."

Continue reading: At The Movies: The Impossible Review Roundup

Ewan McGregor's stunning turn in Juan Antonio Bayona's The Impossible is being lauded by critics left, right and center, with some suggesting it may be the Scottish actor's finest turn since Trainspotting. Of course, the disaster-epic is a very different film from Danny Boyle's 1996 classic, and it's the first time McGregor has played a father or family man.

The movie tells the true story of a family's experience of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It had its world premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, where it received critical acclaim. Following its full release, Empire magazine dubbed it a "rousing, superbly acted, no-holds-barred melodrama is a mighty feat of physical filmmaking." Peter Bradshaw mused, "This film is not especially complex, and not subtle, but there is judgment and intelligence in the simple idea of survival being the most agonising thing, and making survivor guilt the psychological aftershock of a shattering and irreparable blow." High praise indeed, though it seems McGregor is finally getting the praise he deserves following a series of criminally underrated performances. Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer avoided just about every nominations list, but oozed suspense, drama and a subtle performance from the 41-year-old. Beginners was even better, while last year's Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was a hit with critics despite a fairly average box-office performance.

McGregor's co-star Naomi Watts is nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actress. McGregor did not receive a nomination for Best Actor. 

Continue reading: The Impossible: Is Ewan McGregor Finally Getting The Praise He Deserves?

Naomi Watts feared for her life when a stunt she was filming in The Impossible went wrong. The incident occured when she was filming an underwater stunt, for the movie, which tells the tale of a family caught up in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami on the coast of Thailand. “Something went wrong technically with the chair they strap you to when they submerge you in the water,” she told The Metro. “It spins you around under water and [the crew] just weren’t able to shut it off at the right point. I couldn’t get out and was really struggling for breath.”

Watts was quick to add that although it gave her a glimpse into the horror suffered by the real victims of the tsunami, she acknowledges that “even this incident was nothing compared to what it was really like.” The movie also stars Ewan McGregor, as her on-screen husband and she reveals that she had something of a head-start on her co-star, as he had never played the role of a parent in a movie before, whereas she had plenty of on-screen and off-screen experience in that respect. “Definitely having been a mother and playing this character, it added a lot of weight to it,” she explained.

Naomi’s two sons, Sasha and Sammy, were onset with her during the filming and she made sure that they were involved in the make-up process when her injuries were being created, so that they were not upset by their mother’s appearance. “They were putting on the chocolate powder for dirt and the blood. They thought that it was incredible fun and they understand that it is all make-believe.” The Impossible is in cinemas now and has been well-received by critics, who have praised JA Bayona’s sensitive but moving treatment of the real-life tale.

Ewan McGregor's films are almost always something to be excited about, with a bibliography including Star Wars, Moulin Rouge!, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (let's forget all about Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang). His latest movie is The Impossible, alongside Naomi Watts, about a family trying to survive after the devastating Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand, in 2004. 

With the Guardian, he speaks about the difficulties the film faced, from the weather, to being cursed. He told the paper that the "What you got from [from the story] was the brutality and truth... But it's not until you get on the set that you think: Oh my God." adding that "It was a very difficult film to make." With terrible weather on the wrong days, to fine weather when they needed storms, lots of things went wrong. "There was some talk among the Thai crew that the film might be. cursed, you know? That the spirits or the gods might be preventing us from making the film." 

The Thai film crew were in fact so spooked that they held rituals, sending lanterns in the sky which didn't fair well in the wind. The film is receiving mixed reviews, but we'd not quite say it's cursed. Peter Bradshaw reviewed it for the Guardian and admitted to being "blindsided by its real emotional power", and watching it "through a wobbly blur of tears." However, be grateful for those tears, as McGregor notes: "Jota [Juan Antonio Bayona, the director] has always said - and he's right - crying was a real privilege in that situation [of the tsunami], because nobody had time. And so when people did cry, they totally fell apart." It will be released nationwide on January 1st. 

It is becoming more and more popular practice to make movies about recent history. Kathryn Bigelow has successfully made films about the American-Middle East conflicts in Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker, while this year's Beasts of the Southern Wild broaches the topic of 2005's Hurricane Katrina which left almost 2000 dead and thousands homeless. The latest movie of this trend is The Impossible, starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts, and is about the enormous Tsunami that hit south east Asia on Boxing Day in 2004. 

The Impossible is the true story of a Spanish family who headed to Thailand for a Christmas vacation, only to be met with disaster after the joys of the festive day. Perfect timing, therefore, to be released just before Christmas, on December 21st this year. Although in reality it was a Spanish family, they've been transformed into a fictional British family. After the walls of water hit and begin their devastation, the family are separated and its this that fuels the movie. Peter Bradshaw, for the Guardian, says that "McGregor delivers a performance with a sledgehammer emotional punch." A sentiment that is repeated by almost all critics, even those who didn't like the film as a whole. Bradshaw added that "With simplicity and conviction, it manages to be something other than a conventional disaster movie."

However, the Washington Examiner rightly questions whether the film may only "serve only to trivialize [the] experience", which is precisely what the New York Times thinks it did, saying "There is a troubling complacency and a lack of compassion in "The Impossible," which is less an examination of mass destruction than the tale of a spoiled holiday." However, in distinct contrast, the Los Angeles Times says that "It is the kind of ode to the human spirit that you hope comes along, and not just during the holiday season" and Time Magazine tentatively says "The Impossible is life-affirming." Disaster movies tend to either be focused solely on intense drama, or intense emotion, but The Impossible seems to do a little of both. Judging by the mixed reviews it'll be down to the audience to decide whether this was a good move. 

Continue reading: Is The Impossible A New Kind Of Disaster Movie?

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is riding high in the US box office charts (way higher than its nearest competitor, Rise of the Guardians) this week and it’s unlikely that will change, though there are at least two releases this weekend that have been causing a stir. Tom Cruise stars in Jack Reacher – the adaptation of the Lee Child novel and This Is 40, the new comedy from Judd Apatow; a sequel to the popular comedy Knocked Up.

Some fans of Lee Child’s novels questioned the decision to cast Tom Cruise in the title role of Jack Reacher. He was, after all, originally on board as a producer only but after reading the script, it seems, he decided he’d like to have a go at starring in the movie too. It looks as though the gamble has just about paid off, as long as you enter the movie theatre with the understanding that what you are about to see is very much A Tom Cruise Movie, with Tom Cruise in standard Tom Cruise “cool and calculating” mode, as described by Betsy Sharkey of Los Angeles Times.

So far, the reviews are just about erring on the side of positive, with an aggregate of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. Let’s face it, Tom Cruise’s rep has hardly had an easy ride this year and this is hardly challenging new ground for the Mission Impossible star, who has frequented many a steely action thriller of late. However, many reviewers have surmised that really, it’s Cruise that makes this movie. “This is Cruise’s show. And he nails it,” says Peter Travers of Rolling Stone. One for the Cruise fans, then. Wherever you are.

Continue reading: Hot Tickets! US Movie Releases: Will Tom Cruise Make Or Break 'Jack Reacher'? Is 'This Is 40' As Good As 'Knocked Up'?

Several British stars scored Golden Globe nominations on Friday morning (December 14, 2012), with Tom Hooper's Les Miserables looking the UK's best hope of scoring a statuette. The musical is in the running for Best Picture (Comedy of Musical), as well as a string of acting awards.

Though the Globes is considered a solid barometer for the Oscars, it has been criticised for shaping its nominations to attract as many big name stars as possible. In 2011, Johnny Depp was nominated for his role in the critically panned The Tourist, leading host Ricky Gervais to joke, "It seems like everything this year was three-dimensional.except the characters in The Tourist." Nevertheless, several lesser known movies from the past year received nominations, including Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt's Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Judi Dench received a nod for Best Exotic Marigold Hotel while Helen Mirren and Rachel Weisz will compete for the Best Actress (Drama) award for their roles in Hitchcock and The Deep Blue Sea respectively. "It's the first major red carpet occasion of awards season," said Nick James, editor of the film magazine Sight & Sound, "so the HFPA need the maximum number of dresses on that carpet, and the widest range of hot talent on their list. They probably have a small eye on that, but I don't think it's too bent in that direction."

Though British stars were listed in today's nominations, it is likely to be Ben Affleck, Steven Spielberg, Kathryn Bigelow, Daniel Day Lewis, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathway who contest the major prizes. 

Continue reading: The Brits Are Coming! Ewan McGregor And Emily Blunt Score Golden Globe Nominations

Ewan McGregor cut a fine look as he arrived to the UK premiere of The Impossible

Ewan McGregor led the cast of The Impossible down the red carpet at the London BFI IMAX Cinema with most of the main protagonists in attendance for the film. Also starring Naomi Watts, and with a supporting cast including Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin and Oaklee Predergast, The Impossible tells the true story of a Spanish couple and their children who are holidaying at a resort in Thailand when a devastating tsunami rips the area apart, separating the family members up and beginning a frantic quest for them to reunite. 

Continue reading: Pictures: Ewan McGregor And Naomi Watts Glitter As The Impossible Has UK Premiere

We've been covering Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm, and their decision to put Episode 7 and two subsequent films into production, even though George Lucas had them in mind. Now it's time to see what the folks of Hollywood think. 

Perhaps a good start would be Ewan McGregor; the Scottish hunk did a pretty good job of playing Obi Wan Kenobi, and might be in line for a return come 2015 (the purported date for Episode 7). "Disney have bought Lucasfilm and are planning on releasing Star Wars ep 7 in 2015!! Congrats George and best of luck with whatever is next," he posted on his twitter page, before posting "Wonder if they will need any Obi-Wan Hologram action??! #ep7 #donthecloakagain #thesearenotthedroidsyourlookingfor #movealongmovalong". Jj Abrams - big in the sci-fi game after directing the excellent Star Trek movie, as well as producing Lost - told Entertainment weekly "Part of me? Thrilled. Part of me? Terrified. Most of me? Thrillified." We're still wondering which part is bigger, but we'd plump for the latter. Bob Orci, who worked with Abrams on Star Trek, cheekily tweeted "Great Here comes another Trek ripoff ;)" Oooh. 

Will Wheaton aka Wesley Crusher, or himself in some episodes of The Big bang Theory, added to the Star Wars twitter exploding by posting ,"OMG you know what the Disney purchase of Star Wars means? DANCING JAR JAR IN DISNEYLAND PARADES. We have to go back in time to fix this." Why so cynical Wheaton? Oh, actually we think we've got it. 

Continue reading: Disney And Star Wars Episode 7: Some Choice Hollywood Tweets

Movies can affect different people in different ways. Sometimes, even established and respected filmmakers have to appreciate the marvel of particular films. Two-time Academy Award-wining director  wept at a premiere of his collaborator George Lucas' sixth and final 'Star Wars' movie 'Revenge Of The Sith'; the third part of the prequel trilogy which began in 1999 with 'The Phantom Menace'. 

Steven Spielberg cried at the end of 'Revenge of the Sith'

The film stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, and long-time 'Star Wars' actor Anthony Daniels as C-3PO. The 'Jurassic Park', 'Jaws' and 'Schindler's List' film-maker, Spielberg was so moved by the eagerly-awaited conclusion of the sci-fi saga, he burst into tears at its screening in April 2005. 

Continue reading: Steven Spielberg Wept At 'Revenge Of The Sith' Ending

Hollywood star Colin Farrell has expressed dismay at the amount of publicity his penis has received, especially as it doesn't even appear onscreen. and it's nothing compared to Ewan McGregor's, apparently. The 'Phone Booth' star was recently part of a full-frontal nudity scene which was pulled from the film when test screening audiences found it distracting. 

Related: Watch Colin Farrell In The Trailer For 'Miss Julie'

Said audiences have reported that Farrell's manhood is "big", despite the actor's own suggestion that it's nothing to write home about. And compared to Ewan McGregor - who recently went full frontal for 'Young Adam' - it's not worth talking about. Farell spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the scene, saying:  "I mean, f*** me! Who gives a f***? Apart from the readers of (gay magazine) 'The Advocate' maybe, who wants to see Colin Farrell's c*** that much?"

Continue reading: Colin Farrell Explains That His Penis Is Smaller Than Ewan Mcgregor's