Ewan McGregor

Director Juan Antonio Bayona discusses tsunami drama The Impossible

The film, which stars Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts, is based on the true story of the Balon family

In 2007, Juan Antonio Bayona delivered one of the year’s most effective horror films, The Orphanage. Five years on, he’s back with new film The Impossible. And you might say the 37-year-old Spaniard has achieved just that, creating an experience that’s…

The Impossible

A powerful recollection of the 2006 tsunami, starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts

It is hard to recall a film with the raw, visceral impact of The Impossible. Inspired by true events from the 2004 tsunami, it recreates the sense of nature being unleashed with astonishing verisimilitude. Buildings crumble and individuals become like…

Rising stars and familiar faces from Scottish film and TV

Featuring Emun Elliot and Rose Leslie from Game of Thrones and Kelly Macdonald from Boardwalk Empire

Paul Brannigan actor (Glasgow, 1988) Picked from obscurity by award-winning filmmaker Ken Loach, Brannigan made his acting debut in The Angels’ Share and has subsequently starred in Under the Skin opposite Scarlett Johanssen. Rose…

Ewan McGregor for Jane Got A Gun?

Film gossip

Ewan McGregor is in talks to star in 'Jane Got A Gun'. The 'Impossible' actor has entered negotiations to play the main villain in the Western film - which has been hampered by cast departures - according to Deadline. McGregor would replace…

Jack the Giant Slayer

Bryan Singer's adaptation is a decent enough storybook yarn, if a little too earnest

Judging by the early word from the US, where this blockbuster fairytale has performed poorly at the box office, you’d think it was a flop of gigantic proportions. It may not be on a par with director Bryan Singer’s X-Men films, but Jack the Giant Slayer…

Ewan McGregor: Jack and the Giant Slayer costume was 'sexy'

Film gossip

Ewan McGregor loved his "sexy" costume in 'Jack and the Giant Slayer'. The 'Trainspotting' actor was thrilled he got to wear studded leather armour to play palace guard Elmont in Bryan Singer's fantasy flick about a fearsome giant invasion because it…

Top five films to have missed out on a Best Picture Oscar

As the 2013 Academy Awards draw closer, we have a look at some of the finest films to be overlooked

These films may not have won the Academy Award for Best Picture but they have however, made it to this top 5 list. Needless to say only one film can win the award each year, which leaves many brilliant and iconic films missing out. With the Oscars 2013…

Beginners

Whimsical, autobiographical drama from Mike Mills, starring Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer

(15) 104min You cannot accuse Beginners of lacking ambition. Directed by Thumbsucker's Mike Mills, this wistful, intensely autobiographical drama combines a love story, a reflection on the ties that bind the generations and a history lesson on the…

Ewan McGregor wants Star Wars spin-off film

Film gossip

Ewan McGregor wants his own 'Star Wars' spin-off film. The sci-fi franchise's producers are reportedly planning several standalone films while 'Episode VII' - which is being directed by 'Star Trek: Into Darkness' filmmaker J.J. Abrams - is in…

Slash pays tribute to Deep Purple star Jon Lord

Music Gossip

Slash and a host of other stars have paid tribute to the late Deep Purple rocker Jon Lord. The keyboard player and founder of the iconic heavy metal band passed away on Monday (16.07.12) in London and several of his music peers and celebrity fans…

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt quirky comedy romance is insubstantial muddle

(12A) 107min This adaptation of Paul Torday’s 2007 novel is another to add to the list of ‘books that didn’t work as films’. The story of a nerdish Scottish fisheries expert (Ewan McGregor) and a sophisticated legal aide (Emily Blunt) selected by a…

Haywire

Steven Soderbergh's fast-paced chase movie stars Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor and Michael Douglas

(15) 93min While other directors talk endlessly about the next great movie they are going to make, Steven Soderbergh keeps on quietly making films at a frequent rate, never repeating himself (Ocean’s sequels notwithstanding), and consistently…

Hot 100 2011 - No. 49 to 1

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

The Hot 100 is the definitive list of Scottish creative talent. From fashion designers to performance artists, everyone who has made a sizeable splash in 2011 has a place in this countdown. It’s for people who’ve created a buzz, but it’s also about…

Perfect Sense

Dark yet sentimental romance set in an apocalyptic world

(15) 92min David Mackenzie’s seventh feature is, superficially, his most disturbing yet. That’s saying something given the Scottish filmmaker introduced himself and his penchant for dark psychosexual drama with his grim and gritty adaptation of…

Perfect Sense was filmed in my flat

A List writer recounts her experience of having a film crew use her flat as a set

Director David MacKenzie almost didn’t use our flat as Ewan McGregor’s bachelor pad in Perfect Sense. The Timorous Beasties wallpaper in the bedroom was too distinctive. They considered painting it over, then repapering it. Then they discovered the…

Perfect Sense an ambitious film that demands a lot from audience

David Mackenzie’s feature thought-provoking and quietly moving

The weekend saw one of the biggest events of this year’s EIFF programme, as the massive Festival Theatre played host to the European premiere of David Mackenzie’s new film, the Glasgow-set sci-fi romance Perfect Sense, on Saturday night. I interviewed…

Combat Models: Jackboots on Whitehall

If you only see one puppet-based, all-star World War II comedy epic at this year’s EIFF, it surely has to be Jackboots on Whitehall, the long-gestated project of the McHenry brothers, Ed and Rory. Set in an alternative universe where Nazis have…

Ewan McGregor's alcohol alarm

Celebrity Gossip

Ewan McGregor only misses alcohol when he's unhappy. The actor - who gave up drinking in 2000 and embarked on a healthy lifestyle - has been teetotal for years, and admits he only ever feels the need for alcohol when he is upset or confused about…

Nanny McPhee & The Big Bang

(U) 109min Sequel to popular 2005 family film. This time Maggie Gyllenhaal is single mum Isabel Green (hubbie Ewan McGregor is off to fight the Hun in WW2) with three out of control nippers to contend with and two insufferably posh evacuee cousins…

I Love You Phillip Morris

(15) 97min Demented comedy based on a true story from writers of Bad Santa Glenn Ficarra and John Requa about a gay con man, his prison squeeze and his inexhaustible appetite for scheming. This uneven and madcap but undeniably dark and entertaining…

Ewan McGregor's nudity rush

Celebrity Gossip

Ewan McGregor got a "rush" when he had his first full-frontal exposure. The 'I Love You Phillip Morris' actor - whose manhood has been exposed in several films including 'Trainspotting', 'The Pillow Book' and 'Velvet Goldmine' - says he felt quite…

Ewan McGregor's canine adventure

Celebrity Gossip

Ewan McGregor wants to take his dog on a motorbike trip across South America. The British actor - who has previously taken a biking adventure across the world with fellow enthusiast Charley Boorman for documentary series 'Long Way Round' - has been…

Profile of Amelia director Mira Nair

Name: Mira Nair Born: 15 October 1957, Bhubaneshwar (India) Background: After starting her career as an actress, Nair turned to directing award-winning documentaries, including So Far From India. She made her feature film debut in 1988 with the…

Amelia

Amelia (PG) 111min Mira Monsoon Wedding Nair’s biopic of of legendary aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart starring Hilary Swank as the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Nair goes for a low-key approach to this extraordinary life, which…

The Men Who Stare At Goats

(15) 95min Grant Heslov’s trippy satire is a fun if inconsequential experience that boasts a stellar cast in good form. Inspired by Jon Ronson’s non-fiction book, the film ‘lifts the lid’ on a US military experiment to create ‘psychic…