Edinburgh director Denis Lawson puts films on hold

Denis Lawson says he has put directing on hold for six months to concentrate on his role in Holby City. His latest movie Solid Geometry, which stars his nephew Ewan McGregor, gets its world premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival on August 22.

The veteran actor has recently arrived in Holby City as a manipulative investigator. In Solid Geometry, McGregor plays a man who inherits his great-great- grandfather's diaries, dating from the 1870s, and becomes obsessed with the mathematical formulae contained in them, including one which describes how to make a person disappear. "Without giving too much about the film away, he becomes embroiled in all that with disastrous results. I had the most wonderful time making it," Lawson says.

Talking about Holby City, he says: "It was like getting onto a moving train. It's taken me about three weeks to adjust. But I feel very comfortable now, I'm enjoying it a lot, I'm enjoying the material, it's great fun actually." Lawson plays Tom Campbell-Gore, an old colleague and adversary of Anton Meyer, played by George Irving, who is brought in to head up an investigation into his operations record. "I don't really have a problem at all with doing a show that a lot of people watch.

I liked the style the actors played in and felt I could slip into that style very easily," he said. "I feel very ready to tackle something large now. I've one or two ideas, and these things tend to take a while to develop anyway. "What I've always liked as an actor is to do a lot of different kinds of things. I've done musicals, stage, TV and lots of different styles of work. I guess I'm the same now, where my idea has been to write, direct and act. I do enjoy directing a lot but I certainly don't want to stop acting."

Release Dates For Attack Of The Clones Around The Globe.

Here are the release dates for AOTC all around the globe! Got it from starwars.com :) With November 12 set for the North American release of Attack of the Clones on DVD and VHS, fans worldwide have been asking about release dates in their territories. While worldwide plans are not final, the following is a partial and tentative listing... Europe Italy - November 11 Germany - November 28 Scandinavia - November 15 Spain - November 14 United Kingdom - November 11 Elsewhere - November 20 Latin America Brazil - November 14 Mexico - November 15 Elsewhere - November 15 Asia Korea - November 15 Taiwan - November 15 Australia Australia - November 13

Episode III Scouting Locations

According to Dark Horizons Rick McCallum has apparently been checking Scotland and the Czech Republic for "Gothic" style locations. Thanks to many for the alert, though we've yet to really hear more specifically what this location may be used for. Astute visitors will remember a similar search for Episode II for a set piece involving Christopher Lee's character, which was ultimately unused and was produced digitally. For Episode II, TFN was able to get amazing details on the possible shooting locations for the prequel sequel, and here's to hoping we'll hear more soon from insiders for this the last Star Wars movie of all time.

Source: TheForce_Net Episode III News.

A possible sequel to Trainspotting:

Irvine Welsh, the writer whose book TRAINSPOTTING inspired Danny Boyle's enormously entertaining film, is bringing back Sick Boy, Renton, Begbie, and Spud for another story. Sick Boy is now making pornographic movies, hence the title of the new project, PORNO. I know Welsh says he doubts the cast of the original could be reassembled, being Johnny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor, and Ewen Bremner and Kelly McDonald.

'The Guardian', a British broadsheet newspaper who reported the 'Porno' story yesterday, followed it up with a small piece. They had a brief comment by Danny Boyle, who directed the original film was "dying to read" the book, and desperate to make a sequel. He was at the Edinburgh film festival, and said that the would have no trouble reuniting the original cast, as they were "all very much still in touch, and [he] know[s] every one would do it." Dark Horizons reports that Film Four already has film rights, and I'm sure they'd be quite happy with this

Source:ain't-it-cool-news.com

Here is a release date for DWL in Aussie land!!! :

"Down With Love Australian Release Date It's becoming clearer - Fox Movies cites the Australian release date of DWL as April 24th, 2003. Synopsis of DWL from Fox:An irresistible force a feminist writer becomes involved with an immovable object a womanising journalist, in this sexy farce and homage to the grand romantic comedies of the 50s and 60s. Process shots of fake backgrounds, hyper-vibrant colour schemes and trademark period fashions and decor add to the fun. From the producers of American Beauty and the director of Bring It On."

Lucasfilm, Fox mount vid attack for 'Episode II'

Backed by a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign, Lucasfilm Ltd. and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will unleash "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" to North American retailers on special-edition DVD ($29.98) and VHS ($24.98) on Nov. 12.

"We set the bar pretty high with the 'Episode I' DVD, and we want to carry the momentum that we've built with this second DVD release, which marks the first time that a live-action feature shot digitally will be transferred to the digital medium," Lucasfilm vp marketing Jim Ward said. "With the compression and authoring that it has undergone, the film looks amazing on DVD."

The two-disc "Episode II" DVD, which will be available in both full-screen and anamorphic widescreen versions, will incorporate more than six hours of additional materials.

Disc 1, which will offer Dolby 5.1 Surround EX, will include feature-length commentary from writer-director George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, sound designer Ben Burtt, Industrial Light + Magic animation director Rob Coleman and ILM visual effects supervisors Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow.

The second disc is loaded with extras. As it did with the "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" disc, ILM went back and finished the special effects in eight deleted scenes and included them on the DVD. Additional content includes three featurettes, a 12-part Web documentary series, theatrical trailers, 12 TV spots, the Fox TV "R2-D2: Beneath the Dome" mockumentary, a visual effects breakdown montage, an exclusive production photo gallery and the "Across the Stars" music video featuring John Williams.

"We had such great response from the 'The Beginning' documentary on the 'Episode I' DVD that we've included three documentaries on 'Episode II,' " Ward said. " 'From Puppets to Pixels' follows the entire process of Yoda from puppet to full CGI character as well as showing fans how digital stunt doubles were incorporated into the film. 'State of the Art: The Previsualization of Episode II' explores how entire scenes can be created from scratch. George thought of the idea of the droid factory sequence a year after principal photography wrapped, then enlisted ILM to bring the scene to life out of virtually nothing. The third documentary, 'Films Are Not Released; They Escape,' delves into the sound process for the making of the film."

The special-edition VHS will include six selected deleted scenes and a "Star Wars: Connections" featurette hosted by R2-D2 and C-3PO, who explain the "Star Wars" story to new fans.

Lucasfilm and Fox will target core "Star Wars" fans, families and kids with its marketing campaign, Ward said. Such licensees as Hasbro and Lego will work with Lucasfilm and Fox to cross-promote "Episode II" products with the DVD and video release, which is expected to compete with Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment's Nov. 1 release of the "Spider-Man" DVD and home video.

In addition to providing its own marketing support for its "Episode II"-based video games, sister company LucasArts Entertainment will draft off the home video and DVD release's marketing campaign. LucasArts will ship the action game "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" for PlayStation 2 and GameCube on Sept. 24 and "Star Wars: Bounty Hunter" for PlayStation 2 and GameCube on Nov. 15. Both video games are set within the "Episode II" universe and extend the story beyond the film's scope.

With more than 100 million copies sold worldwide to date, the "Star Wars" series is the best-selling home entertainment franchise. While consumers had to wait 18 months between the April 4, 2000, release of the "Episode I" VHS and the Oct. 16, 2001, release of the DVD (which came three years after the film's theatrical run), this time consumers will have a much shorter wait and three choices at retail. The "Episode I" DVD ranked eighth in DVD sales last year, selling more than 4.2 million units in 2 1/2 months and generating $96 million in revenue. "Episode I," which marked the debut of the "Star Wars" franchise on DVD, sold 2.2 million units and raked in $45 million in revenue in its first week. Combined sales for the "Episode I" DVD and VHS topped 18 million units worldwide.

Lucasfilm and Fox will release the remaining "Star Wars" films sequentially, which means the original trilogy will not be released on DVD until after "Episode III" is released on DVD.

Hallmark.com Ewan Christmas Tree Decoration

Over at Hallmark.com you can buy a rather cute Obi-Wan Kenobi christmas tree decoration. Fancy having one of these to place on your tree each year. But I feel that they would be left out all year. The link to the obi decoration is Hallmark.com

Thanks Carey for this little titbit..

Empireonline: This Week's News Nuggets 02/08/2002 Sexercise For Ewan:

On the set of his new romantic comedy Down With Love, Ewan McGregor's been using a tried and tested formula for getting in shape for any scenes requiring him to ditch his kit. Asked how he beat the flab by a US journalist, Ewan quipped. 'Oh, I do it by shagging. Better than working out!' Naturally, this led to a question about the member in question to which Ewan moaned, 'Oh, some journalists are always asking to see it. It's not like I bring it up or anything.' Quite.

FilmFour.com..Ewan Voted Coolest Movie Star

Filmfour.com Week 10: After 10 weeks and over 15,000 votes we have a winner. Ewan McGregor is the coolest movie star! So it's been a close-run thing, but in the end Ewan has just pipped Sam to the post of the world's coolest movie star. He's the dude!

McGregor, Finney swim with 'Fish' for Col, Burton

LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney will topline Columbia Pictures' adventure feature "Big Fish" for director Tim Burton. The project goes into production in January in Alabama with Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen and Richard D. Zanuck producing.

Based on Daniel Wallace's novel "Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions," the project revolves around a dying father (Finney) and his son, who is trying to learn more about his dad by piecing together the stories he has gathered over the years. The son winds up re-creating his father's elusive life in a series of legends and myths inspired by the few facts he knows. Through these tales, the son begins to understand his father's great feats -- and his great failings.

McGregor will play Finney's character in the re-creation of the tales. The studio has high hopes for the pairing as recent successes of two actors playing the same character have included Judi Dench and Kate Winslet on "Iris" and Winslet and Gloria Stuart on "Titanic." All received Oscar nominations for their roles.

John August adapted the "Fish" screenplay, which is being overseen by senior vp production Andrea Giannetti, reporting to production president Peter Schlessel. Columbia has been developing "Fish" with August since he brought the 1998 novel to the studio (HR 9/21/98). Burton came aboard in the spring (HR 4/30).

The project reunites McGregor with Jinks and Cohen as the trio are in production on Fox 2000's "Down With Love." The actor is repped by CAA and his London agent Lindy King. He continues to be attached to Imagemover's "Borgia," which has yet to go into production. He next reprises his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in "Star Wars: Episode III."

Finney was nominated for a supporting actor Oscar for his role in "Erin Brockovich." He most recently starred as Winston Churchill in the HBO feature "The Gathering Storm."
Source:: Yahoo News

'Clones': First Digital-To-DVD Release

Lucasfilm announced Thursday that it plans to release the home-video version Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones on Nov. 12, describing it as "The first major motion picture captured and created directly from the digital source." The movie was shot with digital cameras. The DVD version, Lucasfilm promised, will offer "spectacular digital clarity." Released on two discs, the DVD package will also include eight deleted scenes, three "making-of" documentaries, three "featurettes," dealing with the development of the film's script, and audio commentaries by George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum and others. By placing the DVD in a personal computer, viewers will also be able to access additional material via the Internet. Orders for the videos will be accepted beginning Aug. 14, the company said.

Source: StarWar Kids

Down With Love A few quips from costars Zellweger and McGregor

Renée Zellweger, done up in a Doris Day-inspired flip and skinny black do-me dress, was all kisses. I'm tellin' ya, that gal knows how to charm the biker pants off anybody (think George Clooney's trousers, not mine--just for the raunchy record). When I asked Ms. Z.--whose bum was sublimely supple, contrary to those stick-thin rumors--if she aspired to the man-usin' ways of her character, she positively screamed. (And that was before a certain costar began elaborating on dangling things down below.) "Oh, I can't say!" she blurted, practically spitting out her martini (which was real, as they were done shooting for the day). "I would never say something like that. You see, I now say nothing, absolutely nothing--that's my new way, much smarter--I'm outta the business of advising on love." Not a bad move, to be sure. Also, I'd guess that Down producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen (who came to sweet-smelling fame with their Oscar bouquet American Beauty) are like-minded. I hear they played it canoodle-cool, too, by deliberately not choosing Clooney to costar as the horny hack.

Ewan McGregor--practically unrecognizable in a slick dyed coif and pancake for days--got that preening part. As some kind of noble homage to hunky Rock Hudson, I'm afraid the normally eff-able Ewan looked a bit more reminiscent of Tony Randall (who also happens to be in the movie). That is, until he opened his notorious mouth: "Oh, yes," he deadpanned, "I fully support this recipe for using men; makes a lot of sense." Genius answer, wouldn'tcha agree? Oh, and don't forget the requisite Rock-esque shower scene. That, combined with E.M.'s pancake-proof appeal, no doubt, will give the retro flick a fighting box-office chance come next spring. I asked E.M. how he got in shape for the skin sell. "Oh, I do it by shagging," he gamely offered. "Better than working out!" Now, I assume Ewan's wife, Eve Mavrakis, approves of this design for a better bod--can't say for sure. But, I can tell you Mr. M. downplayed, at first, all the mischievous tawk about his notorious appendage. "Oh, some journalists are always asking to see it. It's not like I bring it up or anything." And, no, I'm not one of the scribes mentioned above. Nor did I become one, my employers will be happy to note (though more than a few readers, I assume, will not).

3. David Hyde Pierce hardly cleaned things up. The wiry funnyman has some sort of witty sidekick role in Down. (What, you expected him to be Ewan's onscreen trainer?) When D.H.P. discussed Down's relative lack of near-pornographic sex scenes (true to the days of Pillow Talk, but more risky in the times of Monster's Ball), he seemed a bit relieved. "Really," David sighed, "so much sex these days is rather cold, despite how very much you see. This is more subtle."

courtesy of E Online! B.

Attack of the Clones DVD Possible Release Date:

A Possible release date for Attack of the Clones on DVD is November 12th. An insider writes in with the latest and greatest: I work for a major retailer in the electronic department and I got the release date for Episode 2 DVD as November 12th.
Source: TheForce.Net

Ewan Hangs Out With The Ducati Race Team:

Actor Ewan McGregor hangs out with Ducati race team during Laguna Seca World Superbike Round Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor took a break from filming in L.A. to spend time with the Ducati Corse team at the Laguna Seca World Superbike round. The Scottish movie star and self-professed motorcycle nut arrived in Monterey in time for Saturday’s Superbike qualifying session and spent the day speaking with Troy Bayliss, hanging with Doug Chandler and the HMC Ducati team, riding the Laguna raceway with Ben Bostrom on one of Ben’s replica Malaguti scooters and ended the evening at the Ducati Party on Ducati Island at Laguna. “I’m having a blast!” said McGregor, who had arrived at the track before some of the teams and was watching the activity from the HMC hospitality area. “I’ve been to a British Superbike race at Donington Park and a World Superbike at Brands Hatch but this is my first race outside of Britain. And it’s fantastic. “I’ve been following the racing scene for about five years. My friend Charlie and I rode together with a girl called Claire Ritchie in London, who lost her husband in a WSB race. Claire wanted to carry on racing so we started a little team with 250s and Charlie and I helped her get started. The team grew and grew until finally it was too big for the three of us so we got sponsorship, but I couldn’t really be associated with it. Since then I’ve been hooked on motorcycle racing. “I’ve ridden on tracks but I’m not interested enough to race, nor do I have the time to commit to improve my riding skills to that level. You really need to be riding on the track every week to get that cutting edge racing skill. So as much as I’d love to race, it’s purely a pastime. There’s six or seven of us who go to track days in Britain when we can. “I owned 748SP which is with my mate Charlie at the moment because his R1 got stolen. I love it; it’s a beautiful bike to ride. I bought it when I hadn’t had a lot of track experience because I found it more forgiving. It lets you off if you go into a corner too hot. Although my one claim to fame is I crashed one at Brands Hatch. I was riding with a British racer, Terry Rymer, who was showing me the ropes. “I’m really enjoying the atmosphere at Laguna. Motorcycle people are brilliant. I always find that when you go to a race meeting people are always friendly.
We met some British guys up in the stands who had come over to watch the racing and it was a great atmosphere up there. I was watching the warm-up laps from the corkscrew and it was unbelievable seeing them coming through those banks. Superpole was exciting, but doing the lap around Laguna with Ben Bostrom was extraordinary. I think I got up to about 35 mph coming down the corkscrew, so I was really pushing the limits of the scooter. I had a terrible case of helmet hair without having even worn a helmet all day.” Ewan returned to L.A. after the racing on Sunday to continue filming his latest movie with Renee Zellweeger. Source: Ducati North America

Star Wars pilot seat to go up for auction:

At an aution for film memorabila a pilot's seat that was used in the making of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace is up for sale. The seat is valued between £1,500 and £2,000. It will be a part of Cooper Owen's At The Movies auction in London on July 30. Other lots include A camouflage hat and trousers worn by Ewan McGregor, with stunt gun from Black Hawk Down, is expected to fetch up to £350. All the lots in the auction can be seen at www.cooperowen.com.