BBC World
Wednesday, 4 December, 2002, 20:30 GMT
Actor's fears for hospice plan
Ewan McGregor tells BBC Scotland of his concerns
Film star Ewan McGregor has described as "very damaging" the prospect of planning permission being refused for Scotland's second children's hospice.
McGregor, who has been involved with the hospice charity Children's Hospice Association Scotland (Chas) for more than six years, said the move could delay the whole project by two years.
Planning permission for the hospice at Balloch is set to be rejected because the site falls within the newly-created Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
The Star Wars actor said a visit to Scotland's first hospice, Rachel House in Perthshire, would convince planners that the project had to go ahead.
"There is nothing I can see that should stop it being built anywhere, national park or not," he told BBC Scotland.
The hospice was backed by West Dunbartonshire Council prior to the responsibility for planning being taken over by the new park authority, which says it does not comply with new rules on land use.
The park's acting planning director, Richard Hickman, said the proposal would be a "significant departure from the development plan".
He has recommended that the application is refused at next Tuesday's meeting of the authority's planning committee.
Perthshire-born actor McGregor has campaigned for the charity since the mid-nineties.
He said the effort of staff at Rachel House in Kinross, near Perth was the "best work done in the world".
"It is just very damaging for us. If we were to lose the planning permission at this stage, the whole project would possibly be knocked back for two years," he said.
"The children that are going to be using the hospice do not have that time."
McGregor, whose mother was a deputy headmistress at a special needs school, said the present hospice only had eight beds.
In the whole of Scotland, 600 families could use terminal care if it was on offer, he said.
"There is a demand for another hospice. Eight beds in the whole of Scotland is not enough for children who have a life-shortening disease," McGregor said.
"It just strikes me as one of the very important things in life.
"If the people who are objecting were to come up and spend the day at Rachel House I'm sure they would change their minds."
The Times
Tuesday September 04 2001
Stars outplayed by Prince and the showgirls
NICOLE KIDMAN was at the royal gala premiere of her new film Moulin Rouge with her co-star Ewan McGregor last night, but there was only one performance in a packed Leicester Square: the Prince and the showgirls.
As the crowd screamed hysterically at the arrival of the film’s stars, a troupe of can-can dancers greeted the Prince with an eyeful of red frilly knickers, satin garters and fishnet stockings. The 14 showgirls, five of whom are English, perform at Moulin Rouge nightclub in Paris. They started the night with a routine on the Odeon Cinema’s stage.
The troupe gave the Prince an impromtu preview as he arrived. Fiddling with his bow-tie, the Prince looked startled and delighted. Fanny Robasse, their manager, said: “It is the first time our English dancers have met Prince Charles. They are very excited.”
Actor Ewan McGregor Opens Fire on Hollywood
LONDON (Reuters) -- Actor Ewan McGregor has told a British newspaper he will
never move to Hollywood because he loathes the studio system.
In a frankly worded broadside, the Scot who also starred in "Trainspotting"
condemned the Los Angeles-based film industry for treating actors as
bankable products rather than people.
Asked by the Mail on Sunday's You magazine if he would ever consider moving
his family to Hollywood, London-based McGregor replied, "No. I might like
working there, but I'd never live there."
He said: "To tell you the truth, the system makes me sick sometimes. They
put actors on to A, B and C lists, according to how much money each person
can make for the studio, and I just think, 'How dare you do that? We're not
a bunch of letters to make you money -- we're people'."
McGregor, 30, who has a daughter with his wife Eve, 35, also used the
interview to deny rumors he had been romantically entwined with Nicole
Kidman.
McGregor, who stars alongside the Australian actress in the musical "Moulin
Rouge," which will be shown in British cinemas next month, said this was a
"lie" and that he was happily married.
McGregor heads to Scotland for 'Young Adam'
By Stuart Kemp
LONDON (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Ewan McGregor and
Tilda Swinton will topline the Scottish feature "Young
Adam" for director David Mackenzie. The project is
scheduled to begin shooting in Glasgow at the end of
August."Adam" is about a drifter who finds work on a
barge traveling between Glasgow and Edinburgh only to
discover a floating female corpse.Sigman Films'
Gillian Berrie is producing the feature, which is
budgeted at about £4 million ($5.6 million). Recorded
Picture Co. chief Jeremy Thomas is
co-producing.McGregor is repped by his London agent
Lindy King and CAA. He next stars in Revolution
Studios' "Black Hawk Down" and "Star Wars: Episode 2."
Swinton is repped by London agent Christian Hodell and
Endeavor Agency. She next appears in Columbia
Pictures' "Adaptation" directed by Spike Jonze.
Scotland's government-backed film-funding agency
Scottish Screen has earmarked about £500,000
($695,000) for the budget of "Adam," which is part of
a larger package unveiled Monday that sees Scottish
Screen providing more than £1.7 million ($2.8 million)
spread across five projects.
The other four projects earmarked for funding by
Scottish Screen:
- Ken Loach's "Sweet Sixteen" has been tapped for an
allocation of £500,000 ($695,000). The film is written
by Loach collaborator Paul Laverty ("Carla's Song,"
"My Name Is Joe") and produced by Rebecca O'Brien for
Parallax Pictures. The project, whose budget is
undisclosed, is still in development and details the
story of a young man's quest to secure a home after
his mother's release from prison.
- "All American Man," written by Scottish comic Craig
Ferguson ("Chain of Fools"), received £500,000.
Ferguson will star in and direct the comedy-drama this
summer in Scotland. Budgeted at £5 million ($7
million), "Man" will be produced by Janette Day for
Granada Film, the stand-alone film arm of U.K.
broadcaster Granada Media Group.
- "Sixteen Years of Alcohol," directed by film
producer, journalist and former pop star Richard
Jobson from his own script, has been earmarked for
£200,000 ($280,000). The project is the story of a
young man's downward spiral into drink and violence.
br />New York Post
ENJOY EWAN
..........EWAN ROCKS IN 'ROUGE'
By MEGAN TURNER and CAROLINE PEAL
May 31, 2001 -- IT'S a brave actor who's willing to
expose his vocal cords to the world, but Ewan McGregor
emerges from "Moulin Rouge" looking like a newly
minted rock star.
The surprisingly strong and versatile voice he shows
off in Baz Luhrmann's unorthodox musical, which opens
wide Friday, has been winning generally glowing
reviews.
And the 30-year-old Scottish actor is keen to follow
in the footsteps of his childhood idol, Elvis.
"He said he'd love to record an album," says Andrew
Ross, who coached McGregor and co-star Nicole Kidman
in Sydney during a six-week rehearsal prior to filming
"Moulin Rouge." "He loves singing - it's as big a part
of Ewan as acting is."
Ross, who taught Cate Blanchett and Toni Collette to
sing at Australia's National Institute of Dramatic
Art, goes so far as to say McGregor has what it takes
to be "the next David Bowie."
"Ewan walked in the door, and it was like there was a
sign above his head saying, 'Rock god! Rock god!'"
Ross says. "And as soon as he opened his mouth, he
just blew me away."
"Moulin Rouge" director Luhrmann maintains his leading
man "could be the Frank Sinatra of this new period."
He's even been given the seal of approval by Elton
John, whose "Your Song" he covers in the film.
"Elton had to approve the song for Ewan," Luhrmann
recalls. "He said, 'Oh, my God, he's a real singer!'"
Even Kidman can see the boyishly handsome Scot in the
role of rock star.
"He'll end up with a Top 10 hit, believe me," she
says. "I can actually see him giving up acting and
becoming a rock star. He's totally, completely suited
to it, so don't be surprised if he does."
Growing up, McGregor played drums, guitar and the
French horn, and was in the school's pipe band as well
as a traditional Scots ceilidh band and a rock group
called Scarlet Pride.
"Elvis Presley was his idol. He fashioned himself on
him," recalls McGregor's aunt, Isabel McWilliam. "He
had teddy boy shoes."
When his acting career took off with a role as a
skinhead junkie in the hit British film
"Trainspotting," his musical aspirations were put on
hold.
Like Kidman, McGregor knew he was taking a risk
singing in "Moulin Rouge."
"They were all very nervous about the singing, but
they all really wanted to do it," Luhrmann says,
adding that he created an environment where his actors
could be "fearless" and "go to heights they've never
been before."
McGregor, who plays a young poet who falls in love
with Kidman's Satine, the star of Paris' famously
decadent Moulin Rouge, even sings a capella on a
number of love ballads.
"He's capable of doing extraordinary things with his
voice," says Ross, who was first struck by McGregor's
vocals in "Velvet Goldmine," in which he played a glam
rocker.
"He has a beautiful, clear upper register - it's
breathtakingly pure. And in the lower register, he can
really get a bit of growl in his voice."
And how about that first album? If McGregor makes one,
expect the unexpected from this screen chameleon. His
roles have veered wildly, from a period-costumed fop
("Emma") to a bisexual translator ("The Pillow Book")
to a Jedi knight ("Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom
Menace.")
He's currently shooting Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk
Down" in Morocco, and will reprise his role as Obi-Wan
Kenobi in "Star Wars Episode II."
"He loves traditional Scottish folk music, but he
could do anything - a rock album, a pop album," Ross
says. "Knowing Ewan, and his inventive persona, he
could create a completely new breed of music."
Source: New York Post
Variety
Moulin Rouge
(U.S.-Australia)
A 20th Century Fox release of a Bazmark production.
Produced by Martin Brown, Baz Luhrmann, Fred Baron.
Co-producer, Catherine Knapman. Directed by Baz
Luhrmann. Screenplay, Luhrmann, Craig Pearce.
TODD MCCARTHY
"Moulin Rouge" is a tour de force of artifice, a
dazzling pastiche of musical and visual elements at the
service of a blatantly artificial story. Virtuoso
Aussie helmer Baz Luhrmann displays often amazing
resourcefulness as he mixes a multitude of film and
song styles to relate a quintessential tale of la vie
boheme, but the fact that he is dealing broadly with
archetypes and conventions restricts the picture's
effectiveness to its brilliant surface. Beginning its
giant promo push with the opening-night slot at the
Cannes Film Festival, 20th Century Fox will get plenty
of publicity mileage out of the exploitable musical and
fashion elements as well as stars Nicole Kidman and
Ewan McGregor, and many buffs and musical fans will
respond positively. But pic's ability to go the
distance at the B.O. will rest largely on whether young
viewers in the 15- to 30-year-old range will engage
with the story and Luhrmann's showbizzy treatment of
familiar rock tunes: It's questionable.
Strictly in terms of musical razzle-dazzle, Luhrmann
outstrips anything Hollywood has produced in years and
now bears comparison to the likes of Busby Berkeley in
his ability to conceptualize and physically energize
production numbers. Drawing for inspiration on sources
as diverse as pioneer silent-film fantasist Georges
Melies and rap-era music sampling, the director
surpasses his previous features, "Strictly Ballroom"
and "William Shakespeare's Romeo+Juliet," even if the
new work almost certainly will prove less congenial to
general audiences.
Luhrmann applies his feverish imagination even to the
presentation of the opening logo, as the widescreen is
filled by a red curtain that is gradually drawn back to
reveal the Fox trademark to the accompaniment of an
onscreen conductor leading the familiar fanfare. An
extraordinary succession of shots, in which models and
effects combine to magnificently evoke the poetic
realism of studio-fabricated silent cinema, transports
the viewer back to Paris, 1900, where melancholy young
scribe Christian (McGregor) is tearfully writing (and
narrating) the story of his doomed love affair with
Satine (Kidman), the late star of the Moulin Rouge and
Montmartre's most beautiful courtesan.
In a breathtaking swirl of movement and color, the
heady, voluptuous, delirious world of Paris' celebrated
nightclub/dance hall is brought to vibrant life. Like
everything else in the picture, the Moulin Rouge here
is a reinterpretation of the real thing designed with
an eye to giving it contemporary relevance; the men
might be dressed in black tie and top hat, but the
music slips breathlessly from "Diamonds Are a Girl's
Best Friend" to "Material Girl" as Satine descends
spectacularly from the ceiling via trapeze and picks
Christian out of the crowd to dance.
With the finagling of pal Toulouse-Lautrec (John
Leguizamo), Christian ends up in Satine's boudoir (a
fabulous stand-alone apartment conceived as a bejeweled
Indian-style elephant, one of many magnificent
creations by production designer/co-costume designer
Catherine Martin). With the star mistakenly believing
Christian is the "Duke," an endlessly wealthy man
Satine is supposed to bed so that Moulin Rouge owner
Zidler (Jim Broadbent) can secure financing to turn the
venue into a legitimate theater, Satine is compliant
with the eager and earnest young writer. To the
amusingly effective strains of Elton John and Bernie
Taupin's "Your Song," the beautiful young bohemians
fall in love, and act one comes to a rousing close with
Christian's belief (via the Beatles) that "All You Need
Is Love" in overcoming Satine's pragmatic denigration
of "Silly Love Songs."
The lovers' bliss could scarcely be more fleeting,
however. In exchange for his funding, the Duke (Richard
Roxburgh) demands of Zidler not only the deed to the
Moulin Rouge but exclusive "rights" to Satine. Worse,
though, is the fact that Satine is dying, of that
classic 19th-century disease consumption. Prone to
fainting spells and coughing up blood, she spends every
possible moment with Christian, avoiding her command
performances with the increasingly agitated Duke while
helping Christian, along with Toulouse-Lautrec and his
comic-relief cohorts, to write the opening attraction
for the new theater, an epic musical that neatly
reflects the ongoing melodrama of the
Christian-Satine-Duke triangle.
With the Duke's unrequited obsession and incensed
jealousy having passed the boiling point, everything
comes together on opening night, as theatrical and
"real" life converge and play out onstage in full
public view.
Although the drama necessarily becomes darker and more
threatening in the second hour, Luhrmann's wit remains
in strong supply. A high point is reached when Zidler
launches into an outlandish rendition of Madonna's
"Like a Virgin" in an attempt to convince the anxious
Duke that the absent Satine is busy "purifying"
herself. Also inspired is a tango version of Sting's
"Roxanne" that dramatizes the perils of falling in love
with a prostitute.
For all the effectiveness of the storytelling, which
despite its musical and visual flamboyance is nicely
balanced overall between song-driven narrative and
dramatic scenes, the love story never truly takes on a
life of its own that rouses viewer emotion and becomes
moving in its own right. Tale is so clearly a synthetic
recycling of "La Boheme" elements that the characters
remain constructs, exaggerated caricatures that are
vibrant yet bloodless. By the time the predestined end
arrives, the fact that Luhrmann's accomplishment is one
of style rather than of substance has become perilously
clear.
This is not at all the fault of the performers, who
throw themselves into their roles with abandon and
deliver with enthusiasm to burn. With her
alabaster-and-flame look amplified by a scar of red
lipstick and dazzling costumes, Kidman's Satine evokes
screen goddesses from Dietrich to Garbo to Monroe, and
the actress's own iconic status is exalted in the
process. McGregor is the real surprise, however, as he
energetically bares more honest emotion than he ever
has onscreen and reveals an outstanding voice (all
thesps did their own live singing). Broadbent
impressively breaks through the cartoon-like
constraints of his makeup and garb to offer a
quasi-human impresario, while others, including
Roxburgh as the Duke and Leguizamo as Toulouse-Lautrec
(whose painterly endeavors are ignored), work strictly
in the realm of caricature, to greater and lesser
effect.
Shot entirely in-studio, mostly in Australia but with
some pickup work done in Madrid, the production
represents an assembly of a staggering number of
details, particularly in the design and musical
departments. It's difficult to imagine the amount of
work that went into the creation of the soundtrack,
which is based mostly on elements from pop standards
rather than more esoteric or edgy works, while Martin's
efforts on the production design and -- with Angus
Strathie -- on the costumes cannot be overpraised.
Donald M. McAlpine's lustrous lensing maximizes these
contributions while repeatedly finding the most
striking angles from which to photograph the stars, and
both he and the f/x crew have gone beyond the usual
smooth CGI look of most modern films by combining
elements in a satisfyingly rough, hand-hewn manner.
Satine - Nicole Kidman
Christian - Ewan McGregor
Toulouse Lautrec - John Leguizamo
Zidler - Jim Broadbent
Duke of Worcester - Richard Roxburgh
The Doctor - Garry McDonald
The Unconscious Argentinean - Jacek Koman
Satie - Matthew Whittet
Marie - Kerry Walker
Nini Legs in the Air - Caroline O'Connor
Audrey - David Wenham
Arabia - Christine Anu
China Doll - Natalie Mendoza
Mome Fromage - Lara Mulcahy
Green Fairy - Kylie Minogue
Hollywood Reporter
"Moulin Rouge" (U.S.)
May 10, 2001
By Kirk Honeycutt
CANNES -- Baz Luhrmann got away with his cheeky,
post-modern version of "Romeo + Juliet" because
Shakespeare's immortal love story provided its
dramatic spine. But in "Moulin Rouge" all he has is
a confection of old Hollywood musicals and
Technicolor melodramas. It's not enough.
The disappointing opening night film for the 54th
Cannes International Film Festival presents an
onslaught of images -- like a Busby Berkeley
musical for the MTV age -- that turns singers,
dancers, costumes and sets into mere objects in
overripe colors that swirl before Donald McAlpine's
always prowling camera.
Fox may be in trouble with this one. While clearly
an unconventional musical, the pastiche of old
songs --ranging from Rodgers and Hammerstein to
disco to Elton John -- is likely to turn off young
moviegoers. Some may dig Luhrmann's
deconstructionist, irreverent style, but the movie
is too gimmicky and pleased with its irreverence to
connect emotionally with audiences. Even starring
an iridescent Nicole Kidman, this one is a tough
sell.
The movie is set in a world of theatrical artifice
with a curtain rising with the overture and falling
at the final fade out. The scene is 1899 Paris, but
it's a Paris of the movie imagination, created
digitally so the camera can swoop over Right Bank
rooftops and into the fabled Moulin Rouge
nightclub, where the bourgeois and nobility can rub
elbows and other body parts with bohemians and
whores.
Kidman is the club's star, the courtesan Satine.
Ewan McGregor plays Christian, the penniless writer
who falls in love with her. At one point, they
perform a "love duet" in which all the dialogue and
singing consists of snatches of love songs ranging
from the Beatles to U2 to Dolly Parton. Cute at
best and cloying in its smugness, this sequence all
too typically drains emotion from the story.
Lurking around the edges of this romance are
Richard Roxburgh's Duke, obsessed himself with
Satine; John Leguizamo's red-light district artist,
Toulouse Lautrec; Jim Broadbent's overstuffed
impresario, Zidler; and an assortment of motley
characters who hope to transform the palace of sin
into a temple to bohemian art.
Luhrmann, who seeks to wow you with every scene and
indeed every shot, plays scant attention to his
plot, a deliberate mishmash by himself and Craig
Pearce of cliches and stereotypes. John O'Connell's
choreography gets lost by cameras reeling from
motion sickness, just as the characters get
smothered in caricature and almost buffoonish
acting.
Kidman is dazzling -- so beautiful and talented --
but you want more dazzle. The movie straitjackets
her with a style that never lets any performer
shine through. McGregor reveals a supple and
pleasing voice but hasn't much to work with as an
actor.
Jill Bilcock's manic editing, interrupted only
occasionally by slow motion, gives the film an
impatient restlessness. There is not one calm
moment in the entire movie as Luhrmann proudly
rejects the use of pacing and rhythm.
Only one thing would have saved "Moulin Rouge": a
sense of romance, a belief in the overpowering
nature of love in a sordid, thrill-seeking world.
But Luhrmann takes no time to establish such a
mood. He has constructed a monument to artifice,
and anything real or emotional would only get in
the way.
MOULIN ROUGE
20th Century Fox
A Bazmark production
Credits:
Producers: Martin Brown, Baz Luhrmann, Fred Baron
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Writers: Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce
Choreographer: John O'Connell
Director of photography: Donald M. McAlpine
Production designer: Catherine Martin
Costume designers: Catherine Martin, Angus Strathie
Original score: Craig Armstrong
Editor: Jill Bilcock
Cast:
Satine: Nicole Kidman
Christian: Ewan McGregor
Toulouse Lautrec: John Leguizamo
Zidler: Jim Broadbent
Duke of Worchester: Richard Roxburgh
Running time: 126 minutes
Moulin Rouge
(U.S.-Australia)
A 20th Century Fox release of a Bazmark production. Produced by Martin
Brown, Baz Luhrmann, Fred Baron. Co-producer, Catherine Knapman. Directed
by Baz Luhrmann. Screenplay, Luhrmann, Craig Pearce.
TODD
MCCARTHY
"Moulin Rouge" is a tour de force of artifice, a dazzling pastiche
of musical and visual elements at the service of a blatantly artificial
story. Virtuoso Aussie helmer Baz Luhrmann displays often amazing resourcefulness
as he mixes a multitude of film and song styles to relate a quintessential
tale of la vie boheme, but the fact that he is dealing broadly with
archetypes and conventions restricts the picture's effectiveness to its
brilliant surface. Beginning its giant promo push with the opening-night
slot at the Cannes Film Festival, 20th Century Fox will get plenty of publicity
mileage out of the exploitable musical and fashion elements as well as
stars Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, and many buffs and musical fans
will respond positively. But pic's ability to go the distance at the B.O.
will rest largely on whether young viewers in the 15- to 30-year-old range
will engage with the story and Luhrmann's showbizzy treatment of familiar
rock tunes: It's questionable.
Strictly in terms of musical razzle-dazzle, Luhrmann outstrips anything
Hollywood has produced in years and now bears comparison to the likes of
Busby Berkeley in his ability to conceptualize and physically energize
production numbers. Drawing for inspiration on sources as diverse as pioneer
silent-film fantasist Georges Melies and rap-era music sampling, the director
surpasses his previous features, "Strictly Ballroom" and "William Shakespeare's
Romeo+Juliet," even if the new work almost certainly will prove less congenial
to general audiences.
Luhrmann applies his feverish imagination even to the presentation of
the opening logo, as the widescreen is filled by a red curtain that is
gradually drawn back to reveal the Fox trademark to the accompaniment of
an onscreen conductor leading the familiar fanfare. An extraordinary succession
of shots, in which models and effects combine to magnificently evoke the
poetic realism of studio-fabricated silent cinema, transports the viewer
back to Paris, 1900, where melancholy young scribe Christian (McGregor)
is tearfully writing (and narrating) the story of his doomed love affair
with Satine (Kidman), the late star of the Moulin Rouge and Montmartre's
most beautiful courtesan.
In a breathtaking swirl of movement and color, the heady, voluptuous,
delirious world of Paris' celebrated nightclub/dance hall is brought to
vibrant life. Like everything else in the picture, the Moulin Rouge here
is a reinterpretation of the real thing designed with an eye to giving
it contemporary relevance; the men might be dressed in black tie and top
hat, but the music slips breathlessly from "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best
Friend" to "Material Girl" as Satine descends spectacularly from the ceiling
via trapeze and picks Christian out of the crowd to dance.
With the finagling of pal Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo), Christian
ends up in Satine's boudoir (a fabulous stand-alone apartment conceived
as a bejeweled Indian-style elephant, one of many magnificent creations
by production designer/co-costume designer Catherine Martin). With the
star mistakenly believing Christian is the "Duke," an endlessly wealthy
man Satine is supposed to bed so that Moulin Rouge owner Zidler (Jim Broadbent)
can secure financing to turn the venue into a legitimate theater, Satine
is compliant with the eager and earnest young writer. To the amusingly
effective strains of Elton John and Bernie Taupin's "Your Song," the beautiful
young bohemians fall in love, and act one comes to a rousing close with
Christian's belief (via the Beatles) that "All You Need Is Love" in overcoming
Satine's pragmatic denigration of "Silly Love Songs."
The lovers' bliss could scarcely be more fleeting, however. In exchange
for his funding, the Duke (Richard Roxburgh) demands of Zidler not only
the deed to the Moulin Rouge but exclusive "rights" to Satine. Worse, though,
is the fact that Satine is dying, of that classic 19th-century disease
consumption. Prone to fainting spells and coughing up blood, she spends
every possible moment with Christian, avoiding her command performances
with the increasingly agitated Duke while helping Christian, along with
Toulouse-Lautrec and his comic-relief cohorts, to write the opening attraction
for the new theater, an epic musical that neatly reflects the ongoing melodrama
of the Christian-Satine-Duke triangle.
With the Duke's unrequited obsession and incensed jealousy having passed
the boiling point, everything comes together on opening night, as theatrical
and "real" life converge and play out onstage in full public view.
Although the drama necessarily becomes darker and more threatening in
the second hour, Luhrmann's wit remains in strong supply. A high point
is reached when Zidler launches into an outlandish rendition of Madonna's
"Like a Virgin" in an attempt to convince the anxious Duke that the absent
Satine is busy "purifying" herself. Also inspired is a tango version of
Sting's "Roxanne" that dramatizes the perils of falling in love with a
prostitute.
For all the effectiveness of the storytelling, which despite its musical
and visual flamboyance is nicely balanced overall between song-driven narrative
and dramatic scenes, the love story never truly takes on a life of its
own that rouses viewer emotion and becomes moving in its own right. Tale
is so clearly a synthetic recycling of "La Boheme" elements that the characters
remain constructs, exaggerated caricatures that are vibrant yet bloodless.
By the time the predestined end arrives, the fact that Luhrmann's accomplishment
is one of style rather than of substance has become perilously clear.
This is not at all the fault of the performers, who throw themselves
into their roles with abandon and deliver with enthusiasm to burn. With
her alabaster-and-flame look amplified by a scar of red lipstick and dazzling
costumes, Kidman's Satine evokes screen goddesses from Dietrich to Garbo
to Monroe, and the actress's own iconic status is exalted in the process.
McGregor is the real surprise, however, as he energetically bares more
honest emotion than he ever has onscreen and reveals an outstanding voice
(all thesps did their own live singing). Broadbent impressively breaks
through the cartoon-like constraints of his makeup and garb to offer a
quasi-human impresario, while others, including Roxburgh as the Duke and
Leguizamo as Toulouse-Lautrec (whose painterly endeavors are ignored),
work strictly in the realm of caricature, to greater and lesser effect.
Shot entirely in-studio, mostly in Australia but with some pickup work
done in Madrid, the production represents an assembly of a staggering number
of details, particularly in the design and musical departments. It's difficult
to imagine the amount of work that went into the creation of the soundtrack,
which is based mostly on elements from pop standards rather than more esoteric
or edgy works, while Martin's efforts on the production design and -- with
Angus Strathie -- on the costumes cannot be overpraised. Donald M. McAlpine's
lustrous lensing maximizes these contributions while repeatedly finding
the most striking angles from which to photograph the stars, and both he
and the f/x crew have gone beyond the usual smooth CGI look of most modern
films by combining elements in a satisfyingly rough, hand-hewn manner.
Satine - Nicole Kidman
Christian - Ewan McGregor
Toulouse Lautrec - John Leguizamo
Zidler - Jim Broadbent
Duke of Worcester - Richard Roxburgh
The Doctor - Garry McDonald
The Unconscious Argentinean - Jacek Koman
Satie - Matthew Whittet
Marie - Kerry Walker
Nini Legs in the Air - Caroline O'Connor
Audrey - David Wenham
Arabia - Christine Anu
China Doll - Natalie Mendoza
Mome Fromage - Lara Mulcahy
Green Fairy - Kylie Minogue
LA Times
http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Movies-X!ArticleDetail-31505,00.html
Friday, May 4, 2001
MOVIE REVIEW
'Nora': Portrait of Joyce's Life With His Lover
The film details the couple's passion and jealousy
that fuel the writer's revolutionary literary
vision.
By KEVIN THOMAS, Times Staff Writer
On June 10, 1904, James Joyce, who would become one
of the 20th century's greatest, most innovative
writers, crossed paths on Dublin's Nassau Street
with Nora Barnacle, a newcomer to the city from
Galway who had taken a job as a maid at nearby
Finn's Hotel, a hangout for the writer's literary
pals. Joyce was transfixed instantly by this self-
possessed beauty and feverishly described an
encounter with Nora a mere six days later as "a
sacrament which left in me a final sense of sorrow
and degradation." Whew!
Some years ago Barnacle became the subject of a
widely acclaimed biography by Brenda Maddox, which
in turn has become the basis for a captivating
film. "Nora," directed by Pat Murphy and adapted by
her and Gerard Stembridge from Maddox's book, is a
gorgeous period piece with rich, vigorous
portrayals of Joyce by Ewan McGregor (who co-
produced) and Barnacle by Susan Lynch. The message
is crystal-clear (yet may be lost on those who've
never read Joyce): The man lived what he wrote
in "Dubliners," "The Dead," "Portrait of an Artist
as a Young Man" and "Ulysses," works that
transformed literature. The last created an
international censorship controversy over its
sexual candor, and furor and puzzlement over its
bold, experimental style.
"Volcanic" seems too puny a word to describe the
passion that seared and enveloped Joyce and
Barnacle. Lynch's Nora is a strong-featured, dark-
haired goddess resembling French actress Fanny
Ardant. She's a stunner whose sharp awareness of
the class differences between her and the scholarly
Joyce did not daunt her self-worth even as it made
her initially wary of Joyce's intentions. Nora is
intelligent, well-spoken and, as her letters
reveal, a skilled, expressive writer in her own
right. She was surely the right woman at the right
time and place for Joyce: passionate, uninhibited
and as unafraid to defy convention as he was.
Finding Ireland stifling and oppressive in the
thrall of the church, Joyce increasingly felt the
need to flee his native land; in Nora he found the
woman with the courage to cast her lot with him.
Much of the film is set in Trieste, where Joyce had
secured a teaching post. The couple are caught up
in a scorching love affair, intensified by Joyce's
difficulties in getting his work published, so
easily dismissed as merely unflattering to Irish
life by the unthinking, and by Joyce's bouts of
near-insane jealousy. Chronically short of funds,
the couple moves from one suite of rooms of faded
grandeur to the next, with Nora bearing a son and a
daughter along the way. Nonchalant about their
money problems, the couple love to dress well and
leave Joyce's devoted brother Stanislaus (Peter
McDonald) to deal with their financial woes.
Like Vincent van Gogh's hard-put brother Theo,
Stannie accurately sees in his brother a genius in
the making, and the thrust of the entire film is
Nora's gradual awakening to her role not merely as
lover but as a muse. Initially, she sees Joyce
as "stealing her life" for material for his stories
that she increasingly only "half-understands." She
must deal with a lover for whom bouts of jealousy
not only inflame his ardor but also fuel a
progressively more revolutionary literary vision,
encompassing sexual passion with startling candor
and multiple levels of consciousness.
Their tempestuous relationship begins to wear them
down, just as this film threatens to become
wearying to watch. The filmmakers' special triumph
lies in the inspired way that in the nick of time
it draws its story to a close, with Nora and Joyce
struggling toward a new level of understanding, a
struggle that falls much more on her than him. When
the film takes leave of the couple, circa 1912, the
storm unleashed by "Ulysses" is yet to come, as is
Joyce's failing eyesight. By this time, however,
it's clear that Nora will be able to handle
whatever life has in store for her and the man who
is her husband in all but name.
MPAA rating: R, for some strong sexuality and
related dialogue. Times guidelines: language,
emphatically adult themes and situations.
Empire
Exclusive: Ridley Signs
Ewan
21/02/2001
Ridley Scott has put together a crack team of British
actors to star in his next movie, Black Hawk Down,
and Ewan McGregor is now confirmed as one of the
Brit-heavy cast.
Empire Online spoke to
Ewan's co-star Jason Isaacs at
the Empire Awards this week
and found out that preparing
for the movie, which tells the
story of the American troops
caught in Mogadishu in 1993,
hasn't been a bed of roses.
'I've just been doing Boot
Camp in Fort Bening Georgia
with the real US Rangers for a week,' said Jason, who
was sporting a harsh hairdo. 'That accounts for the
shaved head.'
'It was too tough, frankly,' he told us. 'It's a great thing to
have done, in retrospect. But I can't pretend that in the
middle of it, I didn't wish I was here. The first two days
was fun, and the last day was fun - it was just the time in
between when you thought "When is this ever going to
end?"'
Asked who his fellow cast members were, Isaacs told
us; 'The Ewans are in it - McGregor and Bremner, Ioan
Gruffudd is in it - although he wasn't at boot camp
because he's playing a pilot, Orlando Bloom, Matthew
Marsden, Tom Hardy. I'm bound to forget someone's
name and they'll kill me!'
From IMDB
http://us.imdb.com/PeopleNews/2001/20010131.html
Ewan's Survival Trip Of A Lifetime
Movie heart-throb Ewan McGregor is recovering from an exhausting
expedition - where he survived on insects, plants and wild animals. He
joined outdoors expert Ray Mears for a BBC special, "Trips That Money
Can't Buy", to be shown later this year. The pair lived alone, apart
from a small film crew, in tough, mountainous terrain in Central America
which was hot and humid by day and bitterly cold at night. Ewan learned
how to wield a huge machete, how to live off the land and how to avoid
disease and dangerous creatures. Monday night the star's mother Carol
said the 10-day trip was a great achievement. She said, "I'm relieved
he's back safe and sound. He found the trip intense, different, exciting
and adventurous."
Quartet flies to Scott's 'Hawk' for Revolution
By Zorianna Kit
LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Ron Eldard,
Jeremy Piven, William Fichtner and London actor
Orlando Bloom will round out the cast of Revolution
Studios' "Black Hawk Down" for director Ridley Scott
and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. "Hawk" is slated to
start principal photography Feb. 23.
"Hawk," based on Mark Bowden's 1999 nonfiction book of
the same name, is about a group of U.S. solders who
are dropped into the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia, to
capture two top lieutenants of a renegade Somali
warlord in a mission that was supposed to take less
than an hour. The soldiers find themselves fighting
against thousands of heavily armed Somalis in a
desperate struggle to survive.
Eldard plays Black Hawk pilot Mike Durant, who is
captured by the Somali rebels after his helicopter
crashes. Piven is pilot Cliff Elvis Wolcott. Bloom
plays Blackburn, a young U.S. Army Ranger who takes a
nasty fall from a helicopter and survives a hero.
Fichtner is Sgt. Howe, one of the handful of elite,
experienced Delta Force soldiers assigned to help U.S.
Army Rangers with the mission.
The quartet joins a cast that includes Eric Bana, Ewen
Bremner, Ty Burrell, Gabriel Casseus, Hugh Dancy, Tac
Fitzgerald, Ben Foster, Ioan Gruffard, Tom Guiry,
Thomas Hardy, Josh Hartnett, Danny Hoch, Jason Isaacs,
Matthew Marsden, Glenn Morshower, Ewan McGregor,
Michael Roof, Brendan Sexton, Sam Shepard, Tom
Sizemore, Greg Sporleder, Brian Van Holt and Nikolaj
Waldau.
Eldard, Fichtner and Piven are repped by Endeavor.
Eldard, who is also repped by Talent Entertainment
Group, next stars in Fox 2000's "Phone Booth" and the
indie feature "Just a Kiss."
Fichtner, also repped by TEG, most recently starred in
"The Perfect Storm." "Hawk" reteams Fichtner with
Bruckheimer, who cast him in the upcoming Disney
feature "Pearl Harbor." He next stars in MGM's "What's
the Worst That Could Happen" and Miramax Films'
"Librium."
Piven, also repped by the Firm, next stars in Miramax
Films' "Serendipity" and New Line Cinema's "Highway"
(aka "A Leonard Cohen Afterworld").
Bloom, repped by his London agent Fiona McLoughlin,
ICM and AMG, next stars as Legolas in the upcoming New
Line "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Trainspotting pair team up with Buffy star - Ananova Alerting
Jonny Lee Miller and Ewan McGregor will team up
again in the new comedy film On
The Line.
The Trainspotting duo play buddies searching for a
character played by Buffy
star Sarah Michelle Gellar.
They stick posters up all over town begging her to
make contact after Miller
falls for her on a train journey.
It is due to start filming in the spring.
An insider told Ananova: "Miller and Ewan are a
great combination. They spark
off each other.
"Miller's role is basically American but Ewan will
be American Italian.
"The accent is on comedy but there is also a
dramatic twist in the tale."
See this story on the web at
http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_197485.html
Sunday Mail
EWAN: I MUST TAKE TIME OUT FOR CLARA
EXCLUSIVE
FILM heart-throb Ewan McGregor is taking time off
to spend more time with his French wife Eve and
their five-year-old daughter Clara.
The Crieff-born actor, star of Trainspotting and
Star Wars, will be relaxing at home in St John's
Wood in London for the next four months.
The 29-year-old said: "I'm knackered and quite
simply I am taking a break to be with my family.
"Making films takes a lot out of you and sometimes
you just want to be at home and worry about the
shopping.
"I am doing stuff like taking my daughter to school
and reading newspapers.
"And I'm learning French to keep up with my
daughter and my wife."
Speaking after turning on the Christmas lights in
Lossie-mouth on the Moray Firth last week, he
hinted his next film could be Scottish.
After the ceremony he was given a bottle of
Macallan malt whisky by the people of the town -
specially labelled 'McGregor'.
Trainspotting duo to team up for Queen Mary film - Ananova Alerting
http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_181617.html
Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle are set to team up
as rivals for the love of
Queen Mary.
They will star in a new £14 million mini-epic based
on the life of the young
queen and her many suitors.
Douglas Henshall and Jude Law are also being sought
for major support roles.
Sean Connery's production company Fountainbridge is
co-producing the story with
BBC backing.
He is not likely to make more than a cameo
appearance in the film, however.
The script is by writer Jimmy McGovern, who created
Cracker and Hillsborough.
McGregor, soon to be seen in Moulin Rouge with
Nicole Kidman, appeared with
Carlyle in Trainspotting.
A source close to the production told
Ananova: "Sean wants to gather the cream
of Scottish talent together for this one.
"He feels Scottish history should be told by the
Scots whenever possible."
