| - I'd like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year! Thanks to all the loyal fans of Ewan that have visited the site this year. It has been another big year for him. The site will be 1 year old on January 28th, and I look forward to another busy year. Hope to hear from you! - Ewan has a tattoo! A heart and dagger tattoo featuring the names of daughters Clara and Esther and wife Eve. Ewan looked far from the movie superstar he is as he took a well-earned break from the pressures of filming on holiday on Mauritius. The Star Wars hero looked delighted to be spending some quality time with his family as the trio relaxed by the sea. One onlooker said: "They all seem incredibly close and appeared to be enjoying the sunshine." - The filming of "Big Fish" is now underway in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. A boat ramp in Tallassee is closed until the end of January because of the production, and tents are set up for the cast and crew along the Tallapoosa River. The Alabama Film Office predicts this will be the most expensive movie ever shot in the state. - Ewan and Peter O'Toole are to star in an American mini-series about the life of the young Hitler. American TV channel CBS have decided to press ahead with the project despite a similar film, in which Robert Carlyle was to play Hitler, being scrapped last week due to pressure from American Jewish groups who felt it would be wrong to 'humanise' the German dictator. McGregor will (rather oddly) play Hitler while O'Toole will take the role of Paul von Hindenburg, the German President who first invited the Nazis into power in 1933. Equally bizarrely, Stockard Channing - most famous for playing Rizzo in Grease - will play Hitler's mother. The four-hour series, that will screen on American TV, will be based on the first volume of Ian Kershaw's book "Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris" - How often have you felt that one of your favourite movie performances was overlooked when Oscar time came around? US magazine, Entertainment Weekly has published what they consider the 100 most notable performances that did not even receive nominations. Actors who appear on their list and who also received the cold shoulder include Matt Damon in The Talented Mr Ripley, Johnny Depp in Ed Wood, Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange, Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge, Nicole Kidman in The Others and Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor. - Rumour after rumour has surfaced about the possibility of a new Modesty Blaise movie, following the life of the female outlaw turned secret agent, but it would finally seem that a script has been approved and Nicole [Kidman] is apparently very interested in the role. And even more interestingly � it is highly likely that the movie could mean a Ewan McGregor reunion, since he is rumoured to be in the running for Modesty�s ridiculously good-looking partner Willie Garwin. There is a planned shoot for sometime 2003 across Europe and the UK. A film based on the character Modesty Blaise was actually made in the 60s, but it was very daft and highly unsuccessful and rumours about a proper film incarnation have been circulating for years. The most recent rumour started a few years back after Quentin Tarantino became involved and supposedly wrote a screenplay for it. Then there was the rumour that Miramax were planning on making four movies about Modesty Blaise. Various people loosing interest has passed it on from director to screenwriter and back. The main problem it seems is finding a decent screenplay. The list of actresses lined up to play her has always been substantial, but the most resent incarnation of this list, suggests Nicole might currently be at the top of it and that she has shown an active interest in taking up the role in 2003 after completing The Stepford Wives. Often thought of as a "female James Bond," Modesty Blaise has a 40 year history through novels, cartoons and animations. Her attitude is personified in her name. Modesty stands for a righteous, modest, decent woman who is pure of heart. The Blaise equals a seen-it-all, done-it-all adventurer. Beneath the blas� and calm surface an explosive strength, passion and anger awaits. An orphan, she grows up struggling alone for survival, finally being taken in by her mentor Professor Lob who teaches her to read and write and speak many languages. An accomplished yet rebellious young woman, Modesty falls into an easy world of crime, spending several years masterminding gang theft as the head of her troop of outlaws known only as �The Network�. However, it is on meeting fellow (and drop-dead gorgeous) criminal Willie Garwin that Modesty�s life turns around and the two decide that they can�t root their lives in crime. They retire together to Great Britain, but frustrated and bored they are soon picked up by the Chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service who, appreciating Modesty and Willie's talents and vast contacts in the underworld, recruit them as agents�and this is where the true adventure begins. - Ewan Quote: "I'd always be there (on stage) just slightly longer than anyone else....You know, Just to get my stage time in...." - The new Star Wars film will reportedly be released to coincide with the 28th anniversary of the first film. Star Wars: Episode 3 will hit screens on May 25, 2005. Work is due to begin in Australia in January. Filming to start in June. - Ewan has stepped into a growing row over plans to build a children's hospice on Loch Lomondside. Planning officials of the new National Park authority are recommending that the proposal, from the Children's Hospice Association, should be rejected. The news comes as a devastating blow to the campaigners who have been fund-raising for years for the project, with the support of the Hollywood actor. Ewan McGregor said: "It's devastating news. People are on the whole optimistic about it and I cannot accept that it will not go ahead. It is desperately needed this second hospice." Workmen have today been marking out the outline for the new hospice in Balloch, but there is now a real chance it could be a wasted effort. Hollywood star Ewan McGregor is a long-time supporter of the Children's Hospice Association, raising funds for Scotland's first - Rachel House in Kinross. Parents from across the country use it but there is a desperate need for another. Ewan McGregor added: "I think it is essential that we have these places. I think it is some of the most important work that's done in the world, looking after sick children. The idea of trying to stop that is beyond me. I don't understand it." "I would say to the people who are objecting to come up here and spend the day, meet someof the families and some of the children. I'm sure their minds would be changed. It is not a threat to the countryside. It is a lovely thing to have in a national pary, a hospice." The decision now rests with the National Park Authority. It took over responsibility in July from West Dunbartonshire Council who had already approved the plans Ronnie McColl from the National Park's Planning Committee said: "Planning law is difficult, but the overall consideration has to be the national importance of this development." The National Park Authority's Planning Committee will visit the site next Tuesday before making their final decision at a public meeting later that day. But the recommendation to reject the aplication has cast a dark shadow over the hopes of the charity and the families of terminally ill children. - Ewan has signed up to star in a romantic film being directed by Jodie Foster. Russell Crowe was supposed to start work on Flora Plum two years ago, but he hurt his shoulder and the project had to be put on hold. McGregor who recently set the big screen alight in Moulin Rouge has taken over the lead in the love story set during the Depression, which tells the morbid story of a circus freak. Acoording to the Hollywood Reporter - the female leads will be taken up by Claire Danes and Meryl Streep. Danes will play a poor waif with whom McGregor's character falls in love with, while helping her achieve fame. - Ewan was spotted having dinner with a male friend on Hampstead High Street before whizzing off on a fancy scooter ...scooter eh? - Ewan and Moby enjoyed a drunken night out in Australia which led to rumours that some compromising photographs were taken in a public toilet of them with their trousers around their ankles. Moby, probably best known for his hit Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, now keeps the snaps locked away in a vault, but was happy to set the record straight. He explained: "It wasn't in the toilets, it was in the dressing room - we both stood there with our trousers round our ankles. "The photograph is now guarded by dobermans under lock and key, mainly because it is so embarrassing. "It's a charming little picture, but it is just embarrassing the stupid things people do when they are drunk. "The picture will never see the light of day, certainly not if I can help it." ...Because he fears that Ewan McGregor snap would turn out to haunt him in a Monica Lewinski dress sort of way. He admits: "I've done far too many compromising things in my life to ever consider going into politics. "Getting my pictures taken with Ewan McGregor is probably top of the list, but there's lots more." - The annual Help a Child Appeal Charity Auction, featuring signed merchandise from Robbie Williams, Darius and Ewan, will be launched this Sunday. The auctions will run daily on Edinburgh radio stations Forth One and Forth 2 until Friday, November 29. The appeal has been fundraising across east central Scotland for almost 25 years and all the money raised is spent in the local area. From computers and specialised equipment for disabled children through to holiday homes and toys, the goods the appeal provides help families and other children�s charities and schools in the region. Items up for auction include signed merchandise from dozens of celebrities, including a limited edition framed Star Wars Episode II poster signed by Ewan McGregor, the Forth One studio sign recently autographed by Westlife, Darius, Danni Minogue, Liberty X and many more pop artists. In addition to music and film memorabilia, hundreds of local businesses have donated auction items, such as health club memberships, hotel breaks, mountain bikes and gift vouchers. A spokesman for the auction said: "The base prices for items start from just a few pounds and with bidding starting at only one-third of each item�s value, there will be plenty of opportunities to buy some really unique Christmas gifts without spending a fortune." - Ewan's Solid Geometry will be shown on Channel 4 in the UK. On Thursday 28th November. Check local guides for information. - The cast of "Big Fish" in negotiations still are Danny DeVito, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi and "White Oleander" star Alison Lohman. Production starts next year in Alabama. - Is Ewan happy? "What other actor is having such a good time?" said one biographer! - "Down With Love" with Renee Zellwegger looks like it could be a sleeper hit (it is a kind of Austin Powers spy-sex comedy without the spy stuff)." The trailer has been seen in America and that was the opinion of one who saw it. I really hope it won't be like that! - It's supposed to be an epic, but it is turning into a tragedy. Ewan's in Borgia, has been postponed again after a second finance deal fell through. There must now be serious doubts about the hugely ambitious project, intended to be a British, Irish, Italian and German co-production. The blockbuster film, which was supposed to have proved how Europe can match Hollywood on epic projects, has an impressive international cast, starring Christina Ricci as Lucrezia Borgia. But now production has been postponed until next year after a second financier got cold feet. - Ewan came in 5th in the E! Rank: 25 sexiest men in entertainment. Whoohoo! - Big Fish goes into production in January in Alabama, with Ewan and Albert Finney also starring. - The Sunday Times Pay List: The list, in its third year, ranks Britain's 500 highest-paid people by examining their earnings over the past year. Ewan came 4th, earning �8.5 million. Others were Sir Anthony Hopkins, he topped the list with an annual haul of �21.5 million, Catherine Zeta Jones was second on �20 million and director Ridley Scott finished third with �12 million. - Ewan has received his UK personaltiy of the year from Variety at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAS). It was held on the 30th October. Most revent pic is from this occasion. "I'm slightly bemused as to what that means." McGregor told Empire Online. "But it's fantastic to be recognised at the British Independent Film Awards, 'cause this is the bedrock of where I came from. All our talent springs from this hard-nosed, cutting edge, independent filmmaking. And I wish we were making more of it. Leavesden, Shepperton and Pinewood should be full of these people here tonight and full of our movies. We've got all the elements apart from the distribution and the cash - which is so frustrating because you just want to get on with it." - Ewan McGregor has left Natural Nylon, the UK production company founded by the cream of the country's acting talent in a bid to create a British United Artists. News of the UK star's departure comes only weeks after the production company lost founder member and producer Damon Bryant, who left to set up his own outfit, Sonnet Pictures. Ewan founded the company with actors including Jonny Lee Miller and Sean Pertwee, was the driving force behind the company's first production, Nora, in which he played writer James Joyce. But he has not appeared in any film for the company since then, pursuing his carer in the US with the Star Wars franchise and home-grown films such as Young Adam. "He felt bad because he was so busy outside the company," said McGregor's agent Lindy King at Peters Fraser & Dunlop. |
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