Best of Ewan McGregor Wednesday, February 13, 2002 // 10:55 p.m. Award for Lawson’s Scottish short Thu 14 Feb 2002 Mike Wade A SHORT film starring Denis Lawson, which was funded and made in Scotland, has won the top award at a highly rated French festival. Leonard, in which Lawson plays a man struggling with a compulsive disorder, claimed the 2002 Audience Award at the Clermont-Ferrand short film festival. Clermont-Ferrand is a specialist short film festival and its most sought-after prize is voted for by the audience at the end of a week-long event. The film was produced with help from the New Found Land funding scheme, which is sponsored by Scottish Screen with Scottish Television and Grampian Television. Sandy Ross, managing director of Scottish Television, said: "We always knew Leonard was a very good film, with a stand-out performance from Denis Lawson at the heart of it. "This award confirms to us that the New Found Land scheme is one of the most successful film schemes launched in Scotland." Leonard is said to have created interest among international buyers, and the reaction has delighted its director, Brian Kelly. "It is very pleasing to get this kind of accolade from the audience rather than being judged by a jury or a panel," he said. New Found Land has also financed Solid Geometry, another 30-minute production due to start shooting within the next two weeks. The film, which is directed by Lawson, will star his nephew, Ewan McGregor. For Steve McIntyre, the chief executive of Scottish Screen, an additional pleasure of Leonard’s success was the fact that the film had been premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. He added: "Brian Kelly is one of Scotland’s brightest young directors and it is gratifying to watch his progress through our short film schemes. I have no doubt we will be seeing a lot more of his work in the future." In his next project, Kelly will direct one of this year’s Tartan Shorts, Billy Bongo, under the BBC Scotland/Scottish Screen short film scheme. For McGregor, the film represents part of his busiest Scottish schedule since he starred in the 1996 film Trainspotting. After completing work on Solid Geometry, he will star with Tilda Swinton in the £4 million Young Adam, adapted from a story by Alexander Trocchi. Source: The Scotsman Thank you Chris for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Wednesday, February 13, 2002 // 07:52 p.m. It's The Nicole and Ewan Show Last Updated: 00:11 UK, Thursday February 14, 2002 Nicole and Ewan have again been in the limelight at the latest film awards. Their performances attracted honours from the London Film Critics' Circle at its glamorous ceremony at the Dorchester hotel in London. Ewan was voted Best British Actor for his performance in Moulin Rouge, displacing Jim Broadbent, a hopeful for the best supporting actor Oscar for his role in Iris. Stunning McGregor's co-star Nicole Kidman, who attended the event in a stunning black dress, was awarded actress of the year. Source: Sky News Thank you Perditum for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Tuesday, February 12, 2002 // 12:11 p.m. Moulin Rouge and Black Hawk Down Academy Award nominations Nominations for the 74th Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning. Both Moulin Rouge and Black Hawk Down fared well, although Ewan was not nominated. Moulin Rouge earned nominations for best actress (Nicole Kidman), art direction, cinematography, costume design, film editing, makeup, best motion picture, and sound. Black Hawk Down earned nominations for cinematography, directing, film editing, and sound. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2001 will be presented on Sunday, March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland® and televised live in the U.S. by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5:30 p.m. (PST). A half-hour arrival segment will precede the presentation ceremony at 5 p.m. Source: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best of Ewan McGregor Thursday, February 7, 2002 // 02:23 p.m. EWAN SIGNS UP FOR WORLD'S LARGEST PIPE BAND ANGELA TAYLOR 09:00 - 01 February 2002 SCOTS film star Ewan McGregor is set to take to the streets of New York to celebrate Tartan Day in America and to promote Scotland. The Hollywood star is signing up as honorary drum president to the parade, which is expected to attract 10,000 pipers to create the world's largest ever pipe band. McGregor's family band, including father Jim, who have been busy rehearsing in a Crieff park for the event, will be participating in the parade and he hopes to join them in the procession. Speaking yesterday, Ewan McGregor said: "It's an honour to be asked as drum president for this event," he said. "It's all about raising money for important charities and giving the US a taste of some of the things that make Scotland such a special place," he said. "I'm very proud to be a Scot - I love Scotland and this parade will give the McGregor Pipe Band an opportunity to beat the drum for Scotland around the world . . . it's going to be an amazing day and one set to put Scotland firmly on the map." The organisers of the ScottishPower Tunes of Glory event hope to raise 1million for American and British cancer charities. The parade will span 36 city blocks up to Sixth Avenue and Central Park. VisitScotland chairman Peter Lederer said he was delighted the film star had agreed to take part in the event. "Endorsement of both the event and of Scotland in general by successful, high-profile names such as his are invaluable in their promotion of the country. He's a great ambassador for Scotland and we're extremely pleased to have him on board. "Tartan Day in the US provides us with a unique opportunity to tell the US more about Scotland. "Twelve million Americans claim some form of Scots ancestry so there's already a great deal of interest in our country." ScottishPower Tunes of Glory is sponsored jointly by ScottishPower and VisitScotland. The event is being organised by Edinburgh-based Epic Concepts Ltd, which hopes to emulate the success of a similar event held in the Scottish capital to celebrate the Millennium. The piping event will be held on April 6. Source: The Press and Journal Thank you Perditum for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Thursday, February 7, 2002 // 01:00 p.m. Top Gun Role for Ewan Last Updated: 16:07 UK, Thursday February 07, 2002 Hollywood star Ewan McGregor took to the skies in an RAF jet with his brother at the controls. McGregor and older brother Colin, an RAF Flight Lieutenant, took off from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray for the white-knuckle ride to support terminally-ill children. Before he boarded the RAF Tornado, McGregor said he was looking forward to the flight, describing it as an "extraordinary opportunity". He said: "I like speed very much, I ride motorbikes and stuff on race tracks ridiculously fast and this is like the next level." Fly-past The brothers' route was due to include a fly-past at children's hospice, Rachel House, in Kinross, Perthshire. McGregor supports the Children's Hospice Association Scotland, CHAS. CHAS was founded in 1992 by a small group of parents and professionals to provide hospice services in Scotland to children and their families. 'Exceptional fee' McGregor has said in the past that he was impressed by the "exceptional people" who worked and visited the hospice. He has also spoken of how his own daughter Clara had a meningitis scare when she was born, giving him an experience of "the threat of loss". The pictures: Video: http://www.sky.com/shared/videoasx/0,,p2_20020207in-31200-bb,00.asx (4MB) Update: Here's another video from the BBC (625KB). Source: Sky News Thank you, Perditum for the great finds! Best of Ewan McGregor Thursday, February 7, 2002 // 11:25 a.m. Kidman, McGregor and Northam expected at London Awards dinner Story filed: 16:16 Thursday 7th February 2002 Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor and Jeremy Northam are expected at the London Film Critics' Circle Awards. Other guests are likely to include Charlotte Rampling, Ray Winstone, Kelly MacDonald, Samantha Bond and Fiona Fullerton. Kidman and McGregor are both nominated for their roles in Moulin Rouge. The awards take place at London's Dorchester Hotel on February 13, and are in support of the NSPCC. Source: Ananova Best of Ewan McGregor Thursday, February 7, 2002 // 07:45 a.m. Ewan McGregor takes fighter flight for children's charity Story filed: 12:18 Thursday 7th February 2002 Ewan McGregor has taken a flight with his fighter pilot brother to boost a charity for terminally ill children. Colin McGregor is a Flight Lieutenant with XV Squadron of the Royal Air Force. The squadron has launched a campaign to raise funds for the Children's Hospice Association Scotland. The actor described the flight from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray as an "extraordinary opportunity." The brothers' route included a fly-past at children's hospice, Rachel House, in Kinross, Perthshire. Before taking off in the RAF Tornado, Ewan said: "It will be a really nice experience. "I like speed very much, I ride motorbikes and stuff, I'm on race tracks ridiculously fast and this is like the next level." McGregor is a staunch supporter of the Children's Hospice Association Scotland, CHAS, which was founded in 1992 by a small group of parents and professionals, to provide hospice services in Scotland to children and their families. Four years later the group opened Rachel House, Scotland's first children's hospice, to provide specialist respite and emergency care for youngsters. Source: Ananova ewanspotting.com Wednesday, February 6, 2002 // 11:39 a.m. From Annanova: McGregor and uncle to make TV maths movie Ewan McGregor is teaming up with his uncle, Denis Lawson, for a short movie about maths. The TV drama is based on a story by Ian McEwan. Lawson previously directed McGregor in the stage play Little Malcolm And His Struggle Against The Eunuchs. He has landed a grant from the New Found Land film production scheme for the new film. "I'm going up to Edinburgh to shoot it in seven days," McGregor said. "It's a 20-minute short for television, about mathematics and stuff." The film tells the story of a successful advertising executive who inherits a relative's diaries which contain a mathematical concept which he applies to his own life. Thanks to Aleta for passing this along. More on the project from Scottish TV: Scottish TV, Grampian TV and Scottish Screen today announced details of the six exciting dramas which will be produced for cinema and television next year, as New Found Land reaches its third successful year. New Found Land is a short film production scheme which encourages new talent in the film and television industry in Scotland. Making it a very successful pitching season for the extended McGregor family, Dennis Lawson, Ewan McGregor’s uncle, and was the star of ‘Leonard’ one of the very successful films made in the 2001 season, has won a commission to make ‘Solid Geometry’ which he has written and will direct. The script has been based on an Ian McEwan short story. SOLID GEOMETRY Director: Denis Lawson, Producer: Gill Parry Phil has a successful career in advertising. He and Maisie are a happy, young married couple in Edinburgh - until Phil inherits his great-grandfather’s diaries from the 19th century. He becomes obsessed with editing them, to the exclusion of everything else - including Maisie. Gradually, their relationship becomes fractured. Phil discovers a section in the diaries which deals with ‘The Plane without a Surface’ with detailed instructions on how to make objects and people ‘disappear’. He succeeds in doing just that - with disastrous consequences. Thanks to perditum for posting this on the Ewanspotting board. Best of Ewan McGregor Wednesday, February 6, 2002 // 07:31 a.m. Ewan's Sixties Homage 06/02/2002 Ewan McGregor was in a talkative mood when Empire Online stopped him for a chat at the Empire Awards, and one of the first things he wanted to tell us about was his new project with Renee Zellweger which will be filming in the States this summer. 'It's called Down With Love and it's a film that's based on the sex comedies that Rock Hudson and Doris day did, and Cary Grant. But it's a new script, not a rewrite. Not only will the script be a homage to its sixties inspirations, but the production will embrace the old school values as well. 'It's going to be shot like one of those sixties movies,' Ewan told us, 'so we're going to film it all in the studio. It'll be back projection in the cars, and split screens and we'll do all the outside scenes in New York in the back lot in Universal or wherever.' If Renee is playing a female advice author, what's Ewan's role in all this? 'I play a bloke called Catcher Block? He's a ladies man, man's man, man about town. Bit of an all-round kind of guy. It should be right scream I reckon.' And what about the other, oft-mentioned project, Attack of the Clones? 'Star Wars 2 is looking really, really good,' he enthused. 'I saw a lot of my stuff while we were doing the looping and it looks really full-on. The title's not a good title but there we are. He keeps that completely to himself George. No one ever knows what it's going to be called and then one day it's just announced and he doesn't let anybody know. When I initially heard about it I was doing a press line up in America and somebody went, 'What do you think of Attack of The Clones' and I said 'I didn't see it.' So they said 'No, what do you think of that?' And they hadn't even fucking told me, you know? So I said 'I think it sounds terrible, because it does sound like a sort of 40s… It sounds like Flash Gordon in A-t-t-a-c-k O-f T-h-e C-l-o-n-e-s. But I suppose in a way it is a kind of serialised Science Fiction thing so maybe that's just the way it should be.' Source: Empire Online Thank you MarGwan, Jaina and Chris for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Tuesday, February 5, 2002 // 06:24 p.m. Empire Awards: The Results 05/02/2002 A goodly proportion of The Lord of the Rings cast donned their party gear tonight to help celebrate the Empire Awards 2002. Christopher Lee, Sir Ian McKellen, and the youthful LOTR contingent of Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan joined a clutch of British stars as honoured guests at our annual celebration of all that's good and right in the world of film. Other stars of the screen who popped in to show support included Saffron Burrows, James Nesbitt, Bond Girl Rosamund Pike, Jason Isaacs, Kelly MacDonald, director Michael Mann and Kate Winslet. Once the likes of Ewan McGregor, Olivia Williams and Tim Roth had sipped champagne demurely at London's Dorchester hotel, it was time to move on to nuts and bolts of the evening - the awards themselves, voted for by the esteemed readers of Empire. [...] No less than three of the actors vying for Best British actor turned up on the night, but it was Ewan McGregor who went home with the award for his performance in Moulin Rouge. McGregor's was the first of a hat trick of awards for the musical; Nicole Kidman won for Best Actress and Baz Luhrmann won the coveted Best Director award. Neither were able to be at tonight's ceremony, but Ewan picked up the award for Luhrmann and Kidman sent a video thank-you from the set of Lars Von Trier's Dogville in Sweden. [...] Keep your eye on Empire Online's Awards 2002 mini-site. Source (and rest of the article at): Empire Online Thank you Chris for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Sunday, February 3, 2002 // 09:55 a.m. Star Ewan wings it in fighter jet By Bill Hicks It will be a case of Planespotting, not Trainspotting for actor Ewan McGregor this week when he takes to the skies over Scotland. The star of Black Hawk Down won’t be in a helicopter over hot and dusty Somalia but will be winging it over wet and windy Kinross at up to 620 miles per hour to raise money for Scotland’s only children’s hospice. Campaign Along with his brother, Flight Lieutenant Colin McGregor, Ewan will be helping to kick off the RAF’s 2002 campaign to raise thousands of pounds for Rachel House. RAF Lossiemouth send a two-man Tornado crew to air shows throughout Europe every year and this time it’s Colin’s turn to get behind the cockpit controls along with Flight Lieutenant Andi McColl. For seasoned airman Colin (32), skimming above Rachel House at just 100 feet won’t be too much of a problem. However, brother Ewan (30) may just feel his world is being turned upside down. Because if Colin throws in a couple of loops, carries out a few rolls or takes theTornado up to its maximum 620 miles per hour — all part of a normal Tornado GR 4 Display Team day — it will be more than Ewan’s used to. “When we were teenagers I took Ewan up in a Cessna,” says Colin, a member of XV Squadron and an RAF man for 14 years. “He’s never been in one of our jets though, so this is something completely new. He assures me he’s looking forward to it. “Although the display season doesn't start until May, Ewan agreed to climb into the cockpit to help raise cash for Rachel House.” RAF Lossiemouth has already raised a four-figure sum for the hospice, and it’s hoped when the display season closes at the end of September the target of £20,000 will have been reached. Display team There will be another first on Thursday because Andi, who comes from St Helens in Merseyside, is the first female member to become part of a fast jet display team. “Ever since I was young all I ever wanted to do was fly with the RAF, and this is a dream come true,” says Andi, who joined as an assistant air traffic controller 16 years ago and is now a regular fast jet pilot. The fact that she'll be leading one of Scotland’s top film stars a merry dance above the skies of Kinross is an added bonus. For great news of The Sunday Post’s hospice campaign click here! Source: The Sunday Post Thank you Shirley Ann for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Thursday, January 31, 2002 // 11:35 p.m. ROMANTIC EWAN IS ROCK 'N' ROLE STAR Friday, February 01, 2002 ACTOR Ewan McGregor is swapping US army fatigues for man-about-town style in his latest role. Black Hawk Down heartthrob Ewan will appear opposite Renee Zellweger (Bridget Jones), in their new movie, called Down With Love. They will play a "Doris Day-Rock Hudson" couple in a 1960s romance. Crieff-born McGregor's war drama Black Hawk Down is currently at the top of the box office. A spokeswoman for his agent confirmed he had signed for the new role but declined to give details. The movie will start shooting in May and is being produced by the team behind American Beauty. It is modelled on the tongue-in-cheek romantic Day-Hudson movies Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back. Ewan's film is set in New York in the '60s, said movie makers Fox. A spokesman added: "Ewan will play Catcher Block, who's a man's man, a ladies' man, a man about town. "Zellweger is an agony aunt who has all the answers - until McGregor starts asking the questions." Source: Daily Record Thank you Chris for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Thursday, January 31, 2002 // 07:35 a.m. Fox romancing McGregor with lead in 'Love' Jan. 31, 2002 Ewan McGregor is in negotiations to star alongside Renee Zellweger in Fox 2000's romantic comedy "Down With Love" for director Peyton Reed and producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen of the Jinks/Cohen Co. Shooting is scheduled to begin in late May, marking the first Jinks/Cohen project to head into production since 1999's "American Beauty," the Oscar winner for best picture at the 2000 ceremony. Written by Eve Ahlert and Dennis Drake, "Love" is described as an homage to the early 1960s sex comedies that starred Rock Hudson and Doris Day. The story follows a best-selling female advice author (Zellweger) who has all the answers until a sly journalist playboy (McGregor) starts asking the questions. Source: The Hollywood Reporter Best of Ewan McGregor Wednesday, January 30, 2002 // 11:07 p.m. First For Trainspotters Thursday, January 31, 2002 ACTORS Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle have made it into Who's Who 2002 edition for the first time. The two Scots, who shot to fame in Trainspotting, join England football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and "domestic goddess" Nigella Lawson among the new entries. The 154th edition of the book now lists about 30,000 achievers from around the world. Entries remain in the book until death, when they are transferred to Who Was Who. Source: Daily Record Thank you Chris for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Thursday, January 30, 2002 // 11:06 p.m. Ewan up again as Most Attractive Male at Hello! Magazine Once again, you can vote for Ewan as Most Attractive Male on Hello! magazine's website. Thank you Chris for the heads-up! ewanspotting.com Tuesday, January 29, 2002 // 11:12 a.m. The SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Award nominations have been announced. The awards are to be handed out March 10 and over 98,000 members around the United States vote on these acting honors. For Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture A BEAUTIFUL MIND GOSFORD PARK IN THE BEDROOM THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING MOULIN ROUGE 20th Century FOX Jim Broadbent Harold Zidler Nicole Kidman Satine John Leguizamo Toulouse-Lautrec Ewan McGregor Christian Richard Roxburgh The Duke ewanspotting.com Monday, January 28, 2002 // 10:04 a.m. Lots of award shows news to report. First off, the BAFTA nominations have been announced. Moulin Rouge got 12 nominations (Best Film, Best Direction, Best Supporting Actor for Jim Broadbent, Best Original Screenplay, Music, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, Editing, Sound, Special Visual Effects, and Make Up/Hair) and Black Hawk Down got 3 (Cinematography, Editing, and Sound). The BAFTA awards ceremony takes place February 24 at the Odeon Leicester Square in London. The Empire awards will be presented at London's Dorchester Hotel on February 5. These awards are voted on by readers of Empire Magazine. Nominations for Moulin Rouge include Best British Actor for Ewan, Best Actress for Nicole (she also got a nod for her work in The Others), Best Director, and Best Film. Best of Ewan McGregor Thursday, January 24, 2002 // 07:55 p.m. Ewan wins Hello! magazine's Most Attractive Male poll! Nearly 12,000 hellomagazine.com readers selected Ewan McGregor as their favourite for 'Most Attractive Male', placing the Scottish cutie just in front of Andrea's brother Jim Corr to take the title. See: www.hellomagazine.com/2002/01/24/voteresults Thank you sharrybeary for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Thursday, January 24, 2002 // 06:59 p.m. Ewan on NBC's Today show This morning, Ewan was on NBC's Today show, talking about Black Hawk Down, Moulin Rouge and Attack of the Clones. You can see the interview on the Today show website (it's the 9th video). Don't wait too long before visiting the site, the videos don't tend to stay up there for very long. Thank you Chris and TheForce.net for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Wednesday, January 23, 2002 // 10:13 p.m. SHARLEEN SHINES AT BURNS SUPPER Thursday, January 24, 2002 SHARLEEN Spiteri and Ewan McGregor were the toast of London last night at a star-studded Burns supper. Famous Scots and celebrity fans of the Bard flocked to St Martin's Lane Hotel for the event, which raised tens of thousands for children's charities. Sharleen may well have started a new trend when she arrived wearing a sporran as an over-the- shoulder bag. And Ewan swelled the ranks of the sporran legion when he donned Highland dress to toast the lassies. Texas star Sharleen gave the reply - and both easily slipped into 18th century vernacular Among the guests were famous Scots such as actors Dougray Scott, Robert Carlyle and Ewan's uncle, Denis Lawson. Others included author Irvine Welsh, film director Bill Forsyth, TV presenter Richard Jobson, and fashion designers Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney. Guests happily tucked into the traditional haggis and neeps and also took part in a draw for a stay at the Carnegie Club, Skibo Castle and a kilt designed by Alexander McQueen. Tickets for the £100 a head dinner were snapped up by celebrities and all proceeds will go to two Scots children charities - Rachel House hospice and Sarjent Cancer Care. Rachel House in Kinross - which Daily Record readers raised millions of pounds to build - is Scotland's only hospice for terminally ill children. The charity are fundraising to build another in Balloch near Loch Lomond. Sharleen, 34, who turned down the female lead opposite Ewan in Moulin Rouge due to band commitments, will make her acting debut in 3 Blind Mice as a computer hacker-turned-detective. She is rumoured to be taking time out from her band later this year to try for a family with boyfriend, magazine editor Ashley Heath. Last night, a friend of Sharleen said: "Ewan and Sharleen are great pals and thought this was an ideal way to help the charities." And with rumours that Burns will soon be making the transition to the big screen perhaps the makers need look no further than their own backyard for the bard and his lassies. Source: Daily Record Thank you Chris and Duckie for the heads-up! ewanspotting.com Wednesday, January 23, 2002 // 12:13 p.m. More award show news... first, nominees were announced by for the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) award: Roger Deakins - The Man Who Wasn't There Bruno Delbonnel - Amelie Andrew Lesnie - The Lord of the Rings Donald McAlpine - Moulin Rouge John Schwartzman - Pearl Harbor The Phoenix Film Critics nominations were announced. Baz got a nomination for best director for Moulin Rouge and Black Hawk Down got a nod for Best Acting Ensemble. 'Come What May' also got a nomination for Best Song. The other nominations are: Best Score, Best Use Of Previously Published or Recorded Music, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Makeup - Moulin Rouge, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing - Black Hawk Down and Moulin Rouge. Source: Oscarwatch.com Lastly, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the finalists being considered for nominations for the Best Makeup Oscar: A. I. Artificial Intelligence A Beautiful Mind Hannibal Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Moulin Rouge Planet of the Apes "Ten-minute clips from each of the films will be screened for the Makeup Award Nominating Committee on Saturday, February 9th. The members may nominate up to three of the films for Oscar consideration, recommend a single film for a Special Achievement Award or elect to recommend that no award be given in this category. Any nominated films will be announced along with nominations in 23 other categories on Tuesday, February 12, at 5:30 a.m. (PST)." Source: The One Ring Best of Ewan McGregor Tuesday, January 22, 2002 // 05:27 p.m. Director's Guild Announces Nominees Tuesday January 22 3:12 PM ET LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Directors Guild of America imported most nominees from overseas for its top filmmaking honors on Tuesday. "A Beautiful Mind" filmmaker Ron Howard was the only American picked for the competition. The other nominees: New Zealand director Peter Jackson for "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," Australian Baz Luhrmann for "Moulin Rouge" and British-born filmmakers Christopher Nolan for "Memento" and Ridley Scott for "Black Hawk Down." [...] The winner will be announced at a March 9 ceremony. On the Net: www.dga.org Source (and full article): Yahoo Daily News Thank you Chris for the heads-up! ewanspotting.com Tuesday, January 22, 2002 // 10:46 a.m. McCelebs brave the cold from This is London, 22 January 2002 by Nick Curtis When the McFashionable set gather at the St Martins Lane hotel on Wednesday night they will not, for once, have to worry about what to wear. The event is a Burns Supper hosted by Ewan McGregor, singer Sharleen Spiteri and Lady Helen Taylor, so the expat Scotterati will be turning out in force and in tartan - albeit probably tartan as interpreted by Westwood, Gaultier, Galliano, or that wellknown Scot, Alexander McQueen. As well as commemorating their most famous poet, the assembled McCelebs will also be dispelling their nation's reputation for meanness. All proceeds from the £100-a-head affair will go to Sargent Cancer Care for Children, and Scotland's first children's hospice, Rachel House. "It's not just a matter of turning up and smiling for a few hours," says Spiteri. "We're going to make it a party to remember. Hopefully we'll raise a lot of money and it could become an annual event." McGregor promises that "it's going to be a great night". No wonder, then, that every well-known Jock and Jackie who has made the trip over Hadrian's Wall seems to have been eager to get involved. The committee organising the event includes the likes of TV presenter Richard Jobson (who will MC the evening), film director Bill Forsyth, actor Robert Carlyle and A-lister Dan Macmillan. Irvine Welsh, who did so much with McGregor to improve the image of Edinburgh in Trainspotting, will also be present, as will Ewan's uncle, actor Denis Lawson. Dougray Scott and Richard Wilson are attending, as are some - like Stella McCartney and Mario Testino - whose Scottish roots range from the remote to the hitherto unsuspected. "I've never been to a Burns Night, so it seemed a good idea," says co-host Lady Helen Taylor. "And, after all, the Scots do know how to party." Indeed! Purists may baulk, however, at the fact that the McGregor/Spiteri supper takes place two days before Robert Burns's birthday on 25 January, but that date was only categorically confirmed in the 1820s, some 25 years after the poet's death. The evening also starts with cocktails, although drams of whisky are the favoured tipple of the Burns enthusiast. Some traditions, though, cannot be lightly abandoned. I'm talking, of course, about haggis. After a starter of Scotch Broth and before the "whisky-based dessert", a sheep's stomach stuffed with oatmeal, suet and lamb's liver - there is presumably a vegetarian option for Stella McCartney - will be ceremonially bagpiped into the room. Ewan and Sharleen will intone verses one, two, three and eight of Burns's Address to the Haggis ("Great chieftain o' the Puddin'-race") and toast the poet's immortal memory, before Ewan proposes the Toast to the Lassies and lassie Sharleen replies. There won't be much time for readings of other Burns poems or songs - though Richard Wilson intoning "wee sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie" would be well worth hearing - because an auction kicks off shortly after the toasts. Guests will have a chance to bid for lots, including one weekend at the stars' favoured hitching-post, Skibo Castle; watching the exclusive final of the Dunhill Links at St Andrews, and a bespoke Alexander McQueen kilt. Sadly, all tickets for the Supper are already sold out, so none of us misbegotten weans (as Burns would put it) will get a chance to bid, to see whether Ewan kicks off the Scottish dancing, or to ask him if anything is worn under his kilt. Mind you, judging from his film performances, it's all in perfect working order. Thanks to Darth Mystique and Pima for passing this information along. ewanspotting.com Tuesday, January 22, 2002 // 10:39 a.m. FilmFour will be talking to Ewan in an interview by Mark Kermode to be shown on the FilmFour Channel later this year. FilmFour is giving fans the to e-mail your questions you want to ask him. The best question will win a Moulin Rouge book signed Ewan himself. Find out more at: http://www.filmfour.com/ewan. Thanks to Marina for this information. Best of Ewan McGregor Monday, January 21, 2002 // 06:14 p.m. Moulin Rouge sweeps the 2001 Golden Satellite Awards The International Press Academy (IPA) 6th Annual Golden Satellite Awards honor artistic and technical excellence in motion picture, television and interactive media achievements from 2001. Among the winners: Picture - Musical/Comedy: Moulin Rouge Actor in a Leading Role - Musical/Comedy: Ewan McGregor, Moulin Rouge Actress in a Leading Role - Musical/Comedy: Nicole Kidman, Moulin Rouge Actor in a Supporting Role - Musical/Comedy: Jim Broadbent, Moulin Rouge Director: Baz Luhrman, Moulin Rouge Production Design: Moulin Rouge Costume Design: Moulin Rouge Original Score: Moulin Rouge Visual Effects: Moulin Rouge Source (and full list of winners): Golden Satellite Awards 2001 Thank you Dee for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Sunday, January 20, 2002 // 10:31 p.m. Moulin Rouge and Nicole Kidman win Golden Globes Congratulations to Nicole Kidman for winning best actress in a comedy or musical for Moulin Rouge, to Baz Luhrmann and the entire Moulin Rouge cast and crew for best comedy or musical, and to Craig Armstrong for original score for Moulin Rouge! Best of Ewan McGregor Sunday, January 20, 2002 // 09:38 a.m. SMARTEN UP, EWAN Sunday, January 20, 2002 Stars told to put on glam for Golden Globes SCRUFFY screen hunk Ewan McGregor has been told to smarten up for tonight's Golden Globe awards. The major film studios have ordered their top stars to put on a glittering show in defiance of terrorist threats. Ewan, who is nominated for best actor for Moulin Rouge, turned up at the London premiere of Long Time Dead in jeans and T-shirt on Friday night. But he is expected to wear a kilt to accompany co-star Nicole Kidman to the Los Angeles awards, seen as an indicator of who will triumph at the Oscars. He will join a host of top stars who plan to put the glamour back into Tinseltown. Stars dressed down at November's Emmy awards as a mark of respect to victims of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center. But they feel it is time to put on a show for the rest of the world. Top movie wardrobe stylist Vincent Boucher said: "Hollywood is itching to get back to what it does best. Actors are going back to doing their job, which is to be glamorous and a little bit larger than life." America is refusing to take any chances at the biggest gathering of stars since September 11. Police, FBI agents, bomb squads and special assault teams will be on full alert. Everyone entering the Hilton in Beverly Hills will have their bags searched and will pass through metal detectors. Even stars like Russell Crowe, Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet will face rigorous security checks. Airspace over Los Angeles has been restricted and surrounding streets cordoned off. Eight Brits, including Ewan, have been nominated for awards. Dame Judi Dench and Kate Winslet are in the running for Best Supporting Actress for the portrayal of the old and young novelist Iris Murdoch in Iris. Jim Broadbent, who played Iris's husband, has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Julian Fellows is up for Best Screenplay for Gossford Park, a 1930's comedy of morals and murder. Co-stars Helen Mirren and Dame Maggie Smith have also received nominations. Other British contenders include Tilda Swinton, for The Deep End, and Ben Kingsley for Sexy Beast. A Beautiful Mind and Moulin Rouge lead with six nominations a piece, including Best Picture bids and honours for actors Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Nicole Kidman and Ewan. David Lynch's Mulholland Drive and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring have snared four nominations each including Best Dramatic Picture. Presenters include Tom Hanks, Benjamin Bratt, Renee Zellweger, Kelsey Grammer, Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Mel Gibson, Josh Hartnett, Kate Hudson, Martin Sheen and Sela Ward. Harrison Ford is this year's Cecil B. DeMille Award winner for his "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field." It is rumoured he will arrive with new love Minnie Driver. Source: Sunday Mail Thank you Chris for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Thursday, January 17, 2002 // 06:56 p.m. Hawk swoops into London Thursday, 17 January, 2002, 23:28 GMT US war drama Black Hawk Down premièred in the UK on Thursday night at the Empire cinema in London's Leicester Square. Pearl Harbour star Josh Hartnet attended the event along with British cast members Ewan McGregor and Ioan Gruffudd. The film - which is already tipped for several Oscar nominations - portrays the events of the failed US military mission to Somalia in 1993. Directed by British-born Ridley Scott, it tells the story of the ill-fated attempt by an elite group of US soldiers to capture hostile warlords in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, and final US casualties totalled 18 dead and 73 wounded. The US soldiers were part of a UN force trying to arrest local warlord Mohamed Farah Aideed. After the battle, the body of one of the dead US soldiers was dragged through Mogadishu, in view of television cameras. The $95m (£66m) film's cast also includes Tom Sizemore. The actors spent a week training with the US Special Forces in Georgia before filming began and McGregor said it had been an eye-opening experience. "When you see what those guys go through and experience the camaraderie they share it is very humbling," he said. Scott, whose other film credits include cult classic Blade Runner and Oscar-winner Gladiator, has denied that the feature is a recruiting film for the US military and described it as an "anti-war" movie. Speaking at the UK premiere, he said the film was entirely relevant to the current allied action in Afghanistan. "The film fundamentally discusses two things about intervention," he said. "First, should we intervene and secondly when should we do that. But it also raises the question about paying attention to what else is going on in the world," he said. The release date has been moved forward because studio bosses believed it would have resonance with the US and British audiences, he added. US Defence secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has already seen the film after joining a special screening for the US military in Washington. Source: BBC News Thank you Athenia and Perditum for the heads-up! ewanspotting.com Tuesday, January 15, 2002 // 10:48 a.m. Check out E! Online's new quiz on Ewan as part of their promotion for Ewan's upcoming appearance on Revealed with Jules Asner. As a reminder Revealed with Ewan will premiere: Jan. 16, 10 p.m. ET/PT with encores on Jan. 17, 9 a.m., 1 p.m.; Jan. 19, 12 p.m.; Jan. 20, 11 a.m., 8 p.m. ewanspotting.com Monday, January 14, 2002 // 03:08 p.m. Congratulations to Baz Luhrmann for being awarded best director for Moulin Rouge by the Broadcast Critics Association. He shared the honor with Ron Howard. The ceremony which was held last Friday, will air on E! tonight at at 7 p.m. ET/PT. ewanspotting.com Monday, January 14, 2002 // 03:05 p.m. Director and producer Ted Demme passed away yesterday of a heart attack at the young age of 38. His death is being reported in many different news wires. Most reports include the following mention: Demme had been preparing to direct the upcoming Nautica, starring Ewan McGregor and Heath Ledger in the story of a murder that takes place on a yacht in the Carribean. Ted Demme's untimely passing puts any plans for this project in doubt. Condolences to the Demme family. Best of Ewan McGregor Monday, January 14, 2002 // 08:07 a.m. AMPAS Announces Films Competing for Visual Effects Oscar January 12, 2002 BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Zap2it.com) - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the names of the eight films which will be considered for competition in the category of Achievement in Visual Effects for the 74th Academy Awards®. In alphabetical order, they are: "A. I. Artificial Intelligence," "Black Hawk Down," "Cats and Dogs," "The Fast and the Furious," "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," "Jurassic Park III," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Pearl Harbor." The Visual Effects Award Nominating Committee will screen fifteen-minute clips from each of the films on Feb. 6 and will then nominate three films for Oscar® consideration. On Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 5:30 a.m. PST they will be announced with nominations in 23 other categories. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2001 will be given out Sunday, March 24, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland. The ceremony will air live on ABC TV starting at 5 p.m. PST. A half-hour arrivals show will precede the awards ceremony. Go to the official Academy Awards website: www.oscars.org for more information about screenings and historical info. Source: Zap 2 It Best of Ewan McGregor Sunday, January 13, 2002 // 09:05 a.m. Scottish eyes are smiling after Ireland trumped in fight for McGregor movie Sun 13 Jan 2002 TOBY McDONALD SCOTLAND has won a crucial victory in its battle with Ireland to attract film-makers with big budgets. The producers of Ewan McGregor’s latest movie, Young Adam, have revealed it will be filmed in Scotland after weeks of speculation that the project might go across the Irish Sea. The screen version of Scot Alexander Trocchi’s controversial novel will be shot on location in Edinburgh and Glasgow, starting in two months’ time. The rivalry between Scotland and Ireland was sparked when the Dublin government persuaded Mel Gibson to take filming of his blockbuster Braveheart across the Irish Sea in 1994. The Irish even threw in the army as extras. McGregor, who will take the lead role in Young Adam, has been pushing for it to be filmed in Scotland and is said to be delighted by the decision, which was confirmed by the movie’s director, David Mackenzie. "I am looking at locations in Glasgow and Edinburgh at the moment. Filming will begin in March," Mackenzie said. The Irish government had offered tax concessions for the film’s producers, the Recorded Picture Company, to take the production to Dublin. Mackenzie said: "It would be very, very stupid to make the film in Ireland. As far as I am concerned, the Irish option was primarily investigated as a financial consideration." Young Adam will be the first film that McGregor, who plays the lead opposite Tilda Swinton, has shot in Scotland for five years. It is the story of a loner who becomes embroiled in a murder mystery while travelling on a barge. Trocchi’s novel was set in the 1950s around the Clyde. Financial backers were hard to find for the film because of its theme and strong sexual content, and McGregor personally appealed for cash. Behind the scenes there was strong lobbying for Young Adam to be made in Scotland, with fears that if it went overseas it could lose its £500,000 grant from the Scottish Lottery Film Fund. Steve McIntyre, the chief executive of the government-funded locations agency Scottish Screen, said: "We’ve been committed to this film for six or nine months. I know they looked at some Irish potential locations. "There are some tax advantages to shooting in Ireland - but on the other hand costs are higher. "One of the key factors is that it is difficult for Ireland to replicate the background needed by the film, the industrial canals and so on, whereas Scotland has those in abundance." Celia Stevenson, also from Scottish Screen, estimated the production could mean substantial income for Scotland, both in the short term through money spent on hotels to accommodate a 60 to 80-strong production crew and in the long term through increased tourism. John Archer, the former chief executive of Scottish Screen, said: "It would have been a great shame if this had gone elsewhere." The actor and director Peter Mullan’s latest film, Magdalene, was shot in Dumfries, despite being set in Ireland, after Mullan received a joint grant of £50,000 from Scottish Screen and Dumfries and Galloway Council. It is expected to be released later this month. Source: The Scotsman Best of Ewan McGregor Saturday, January 12, 2002 // 10:21 a.m. Black Hawk Down reviewed on Film 2002 What: Film 2002 Where: BBC One When: Mon 14 Jan, 23:35 - 00:05 30 mins Jonathan Ross reviews 'Black Hawk Down' with Ewan McGregor and hit US police drama 'Training Day' starring Denzel Washington. Plus, Sir Tom Courtenay talks about 'Last Orders'. Source: BBC Best of Ewan McGregor Friday, January 11, 2002 // 07:42 a.m. Stars expected at premiere of Black Hawk Down Story filed: 11:57 Friday 11th January 2002 Ewan McGregor and Josh Hartnett will be at the UK premiere of Black Hawk Down next week. Director Ridley Scott will also be at the screening at the Empire in London's Leicester Square on January 17. Tom Sizemore, Jason Isaacs and ex-Coronation Street actor Matthew Marsden are also expected. They are also in the cast of Black Hawk Down, which is released on January 18. Source: Ananova Best of Ewan McGregor Wednesday, January 9, 2002 // 07:46 a.m. The Jedi Mullet 08/01/2002 You've got to hand it to Arena magazine. It's several months to the opening of Episode 2 and they've managed to do the impossible - get Ewan McGregor to open up and talk about the production. Speaking to the actor at the recent Black Hawk Down junket in London, the February issue of the magazine has Ewan positively enthusing about the prospect of seeing Attack of the Clones. 'Episode 1 had to do a lot of work to set up all the political stuff with the Senate - and with a children's movie you have to be careful with all that stuff. This time there's more of a spirit of the first three. It's definitely hotting up.' In particular, it seems the bearded one has lightened the script up a little. 'There was a big sigh of relief that we were able to get a lot more humour into it,' Ewan says, 'Although I don't know about the Jedi mullet.' So does he take back all the stuff he said about The Phantom Menace? 'I said a lot of things. I was very mouthy about it and not quite rightly so...[Episode 2] called on me to be completely alone in a totally blue room for days and days, playing a character in a situation with other actors who aren't there...So it's hard work, but we're not getting paid to have a great time, we're getting paid to do a job. 'It's a unique acting experience and if you pull it off then you've risen to quite a hefty challenge.' Source: Empire Online Best of Ewan McGregor Tuesday, January 8, 2002 // 06:36 p.m. Black Hawk Down Ebert & Roeper's Top 10 of 2001 Visit Ebert & Roeper's Top 10 of 2001 page and listen to their review of Black Hawk Down. Thank you Beth for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Saturday, January 5, 2002 // 11:44 p.m. AFI Awards honor Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge took home the editing award (Jill Bilcock) and the music composition award (Craig Armstrong) at tonight's American Film Institute Awards. Congratulations to the winners! Source: Associated Press Best of Ewan McGregor Friday, January 4, 2002 // 07:51 a.m. Listen to Ewan's interview on BBC2 Click on the link below and select Ewan McGregor from the pull-down menu to hear a lovely 7-minute interview with Ewan. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/ Thank you Josie and Perditum for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Wednesday, January 2, 2002 // 09:09 p.m. And The Winner Is... Ewan thanks us for voting Moulin Rouge best film for 2001. Click on the link to see! www.bbc.co.uk (Real Video) Thank you smbumblebee and Peggy for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Wednesday, January 2, 2002 // 11:37 a.m. Final vote for Hello's Most Attractive Man of 2001 poll Please vote for Ewan in Hello's Most Attractive Man of 2001 poll! He has won twice, in September and December. Hello's Most Attractive Man of 2001 Poll Thank you Chris and Sharrybeary for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Sunday, December 30, 2001 // 06:55 p.m. Pucker Up For Perfect Lips 26 December 2001 THE season to pucker up and smooch is about to go into overdrive... But the kissing season arrives at the same time as the cold weather, which creates havoc with lips. The delicate skin on your lips is thinner and finer than on the rest of your face. Neglect it and you can expect lips that are dry, chapped and cracked. Thankfully, shops are full of lip balms, salves, moisturising lipsticks and lip treatments. [...] According to a survey conducted by Aero, a quarter of women in Scotland fancy kissing Ewan McGregor, with Brad Pitt following a close second. Scottish men put Kylie Minogue on top of their kiss list, with Saturday morning favourite, Cat Deeley coming second. The biggest turn off for men was the thought of snogging Margaret Thatcher, while woman hated the idea of kissing Chris Evans. Source (and full article): This is North Scotland Thank you Perditum for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Sunday, December 30, 2001 // 07:14 a.m. Daredevil Ewan To Dive Under Arctic Ice Sunday, December 30, 2001 BRAVE Hollywood star Ewan McGregor is to take his life in his hands by diving under the Arctic ice. He will risk meeting polar bears and whales in the freezing Canadian waters to shoot a documentary with Scots TV producer Doug Allan. Ewan, who has already survived 10 days in the Honduras jungle, said: "I'm doing a trip in May with Doug, who shot a lot of the BBC's Blue Planet series. We're going to dive under the ice in the Arctic." The Moulin Rouge star was seen by millions of viewers being pushed to his limits as he braved the rainforest in Honduras for the BBC show Trips Money Can't Buy. He said: "It was very very tough. I wanted to challenge myself. I actually do have a great taste for that kind of adventure." But Trainspotting and Star Wars hero doesn't like to be away from his family too long. He will tell BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs listeners today of his fears for his oldest child Clara, five, who was hit by a meningitis scare. Ewan said: "Clara got meningitis just before she was one. I was away in LA. "The very real risk that you're about to lose your child is something that takes a lot of getting over." Sunday Mail Thank you Chris for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Sunday, December 30, 2001 // 07:11 a.m. Ewan McGregor threatens to quit acting Story filed: 09:30 Sunday 30th December 2001 Ewan McGregor is threatening to give up acting. He says he feels much more at home as an adventurer and documentary maker. McGregor tells BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs he's not interested in being famous. "I have a great taste for adventure. I feel much more like me, and I'm not surrounded by people who are doing stuff for me," McGregor said. "I've spent far too long on film sets surrounded by hundreds of people where every decision is made for you." "I've worked with some actors whose goal and mission is to be as famous as they can be, but I'm not interested in that," he said. "It's very hard to work with those people." Source: Ananova Talk about jumping to conclusions... Read the quotes... he doesn't threaten to quit! Sheesh. Best of Ewan McGregor Thursday, December 27, 2001 // 10:21 a.m. Ewan's jungle trek to air on the Travel Channel in the U.S. Ewan's hour-longTrips Money Can't Buy, in which he treks through a Central American jungle for 10 days with guide Ray Mears will air on: Tuesday, January 22nd at 8pm and at 11pm, and on Saturday, January 26th at 3pm. All times are U.S. Eastern. Source: TV Now Thank you Melinda for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Wednesday, December 26, 2001 // 11:03 p.m. Civil War re-enacted in battle for viewers THURSDAY DECEMBER 27 2001 BY ADAM SHERWIN, MEDIA REPORTER AFTER the bodice-ripping dramas of Elizabeth I, the bloody battles of the Civil War will dominate cinema and television screens next year as audiences for popular history continue to increase. Rupert Everett will play Charles I, vanquished by Tim Roth’s Cromwell in a £15 million British film. On BBC2, a Civil War series will begin next month, presented by Tristram Hunt, 27, who promises to bring the gory drama of the battle of Marston Moor, the Irish Rebellion and the execution of Charles I into the nation’s living rooms. History has become a “sexy” subject for filmmakers, with Professor David Starkey’s Channel 4 series on Elizabeth I and Henry VIII attracting more viewers than the hit comedy Friends. The 1998 film Elizabeth, about the monarch’s early years and starring Cate Blanchett, took £50 million at the box office. The Civil War also proved one of the most popular sections of Simon Schama’s BBC series The History of Britain, and Natural Nylon, the film company backed by Jude Law and Ewan McGregor, believes that the revolutionary events contain all the elements of a box-office hit. Cromwell and Fairfax, which begins shooting at Hampton Court Palace next month with Mike Barker as director, focuses on the King’s final days and the struggle to build a new state in place of the defeated monarchy. Dougray Scott plays Thomas Fairfax, the general of the parliamentary armies, whose victories at Marston Moor in 1644 and Naseby the year after brought the war to an end. Although the battles of the 1640s cost a quarter of a million lives, feature film producers have shied away from the subject. No big-screen attempt has been made since 1970 when Richard Harris played Cromwell and Alec Guinness played Charles in the ill-fated Cromwell. Kevin Loader, the new film’s producer, said: “I am often shocked how little people know about this fascinating period. Tim Roth will play a very contemporary, edgy Cromwell, and with Rupert Everett and Dougray Scott we have the best British talent to bring this period to a new audience.” The script, by Jennie Mayhew, will focus on Charles’s trial for treason and the psychological struggle between Cromwell and Fairfax, friends on the battlefield who are driven apart by the demands of building a new English state. Everett’s Charles will be a dignified figure who clings to his belief in the “divine right” of kings to his execution. Cromwell is presented as an “iron-willed military genius”. Mr Loader said: “The film raises a question very topical in Afghanistan — after the civil war, how can a new government be formed to unite a nation?” Dr Hunt’s series aims to explode the myth of an “English” civil war. He presents a conflict, provoked by religious disputes rather than taxation, that spread through England, Scotland and Ireland, the resonances of which can still be heard. “I go to Portadown during the Orange Order marches and explain their roots in the events of the 1640s,” Dr Hunt said. “We will be re- creating famous battles, but the basic issues are as relevant today — the role of the monarchy and how to govern the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland as a united entity.” Sex inevitably plays a major role in popular history and Dr Hunt has a ready-made femme fatale in Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I. He said: “Her Roman Catholic faith made her an object of suspicion in England and this contributed to the rebellion.” Dr Hunt is being marketed by the BBC as “the naked historian”. He has engineered a spat with Dr Starkey, unfavourably comparing the other’s approach to history to that of a “gossip columnist”. If popular history contains many elements of soap opera, its public faces are learning to adopt the same marketing techniques in the battle to attract viewers. Source: The Times Thank you Chris for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Monday, December 24, 2001 // 12:32 p.m. Vote for favorite film of 2001 at Ananova Ananova has a poll at the bottom of their main Entertainment page, asking which one was your favorite film of 2001: Harry Potter Ghost World Amelie Moulin Rouge Shrek You know what to do. ;-) Vote for favorite film of 2001 at Ananova Thank you Chris for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Monday, December 24, 2001 // 11:35 a.m. Hello's Monthly Vote - Most Attractive man: Ewan is up again! Ewan won the last round so if he wins this one (against Pierce Brosnan, Russell Crowe and Goran Ivanesevic) he will go to their Grand Finale 2001. www.hellomagazine.com/vote/mostattractiveman/month Thank you Joy for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Sunday, December 23, 2001 // 08:40 p.m. Ewan's Polar Bear documentary to air on PBS in May PBS' schedule lists: May 19 - Polar Bears with Ewan McGregor (coming May 17) Thank you Kris on the Ewan McGregor Media Alert list for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Sunday, December 23, 2001 // 12:21 a.m. CRIVVENS, IT'S OOR EWAN Sunday, December 23, 2001 EWAN McGregor wants to play comic hero Oor Wullie in a movie. Ewan revealed he was a life-long fan on a BBC show to mark the 65th anniversary of the spikey-haired cartoon legend. And he would love an all-star Scottish cast to join the fun. He said: "You could have Dougie Henshaw playing Wee Eck and Peter Mullan playing PC Murdoch. "I grew up with Oor Wullie. I recently found a bunch of the annuals again at my parent's house in Perthshire and I'm reading them again." Source: The Daily Record Best of Ewan McGregor Sunday, December 23, 2001 // 12:17 a.m. St Mary’s reaches for the stars in opting-out battle Sun 23 Dec 2001 KAREN RICE EDUCATION CORRESPONDENT MILLIONAIRE businessman Sir Tom Farmer is backing a Scottish primary school in its legal battle to stay out of council control. Campaigners at St Mary’s Episcopalian Primary in Dunblane have sent letters to several rich and famous Scots asking them to help raise hundreds of thousands of pounds towards court costs. Farmer has already ridden to their aid, last night criticising moves by the Scottish Executive to bring the school under public control. The school, which intends to take its case to the House of Lords, is now waiting on replies from potential backers including Ewan McGregor, Carol Smillie, Sir Sean Connery and Stagecoach boss Brian Souter. St Mary’s lost the first round of its legal battle a week ago when a judge said the Scottish Executive’s decision to return control of the primary school to Stirling Council did not breach human rights laws. The school has instructed lawyers to start appeal proceedings against the decision but will need an estimated £1m to bankroll the appeal all the way to the Lords. Farmer, the chairman of Kwik-Fit, has thrown his weight behind the campaign, saying it seems unfair to force a school back under local authority control when it was successful as an independent school. He told Scotland on Sunday: "It’s unfortunate that the parents have been put into this position. It seems strange that a very, very successful school, for some reason that nobody seems to be able to give a proper explanation for, is being forced to make changes against the wishes of the parents. "What is important is to allow for parent’s wishes and children’s interests. If the school has been successful then it seems rather strange they have made changes to bring it back into the system." He added: "Sometimes it is worth having something out of the system. You can learn from it; you can’t put everyone into boxes. "I thought we were meant to be trying to find ways and means of taking the strain away from local authorities. Is this just a political reason? It seems strange that this is put above the wishes of the pupils and the parents." Farmer said he would carry out a more detailed investigation into the St Mary’s case before deciding whether to contribute to their court costs. Earlier this year, the then education minister, Jack McConnell, banned the policy of schools opting out of local authority control and said St Mary’s would be returned to the council. The handover was due to go ahead on January 7 next year, but the Scottish Executive has delayed the decision until April 1 to allow time for the appeal. Since St Mary’s opted out under the last Conservative government, the once failing school has blossomed into one of the most successful in Scotland. Giles Dove, vice-chairman of the board of St Mary’s, said parents had already built up a substantial fighting fund but more money was needed. Dove said: "The school is actively seeking a major backer who will be prepared to underwrite the school’s legal fight and make a large donation to the fighting fund. "We are absolutely delighted that Sir Tom is supportive of the school as it is and its current status. He’s known to be a kind, generous and caring person. That sense of justice shows in the comments he had made in support of the school." The school has also contacted comedian Billy Connolly, author J K Rowling, actor Ewan McGregor and bus millionaires Ann Gloag and Brian Souter. Dove continued: "We have written to a number of prominent Scots, people who have one way or another, expressed interest and support for education, and in some cases, may be seen to champion causes that do not have government support. "Sean Connery is an Edinburgh lad who has been extremely successful and who has an understanding of the importance of education. He may be prepared to support high quality education of the sort St Mary’s offers. "We are confident people will see the injustice of the Scottish Executive and will give us their support." The appeal will be heard before three judges in the Court of Session in Edinburgh. If unsuccessful, the school could then appeal to the House of Lords. A Scottish Executive spokesman said: "Our position has not changed, we still think it’s in the best interests of the school." Source: Scotland on Sunday Best of Ewan McGregor Saturday, December 22, 2001 // 08:09 p.m. Sorry, what's your name again? by Wendy Holden 21 December 2001 Contrary to popular belief, not just anyone can be a celebrity. The entertainment industry is riddled with people who have everything going for them - looks, talent, a filmography which embraces blockbusting movies and the odd award - yet who can walk, untroubled, through a flock of rampant paparazzi. They do all the right things, get cast in the right roles, date the right people, turn up at the right premieres wearing the right designer frocks. But somehow, lesser individuals - Kerry Katona, who isn't even in Atomic Kitten any more, Liz Hurley - are much more famous. Consider Ioan Gruffudd, dishy, talented star of the Hornblower TV adaptations and the critically acclaimed BBC1 drama Warriors. Against all the odds, he seems destined to be the eternal subject of Next Big Thing interviews. And Jeremy Northam, tall, dark and handsome, wildly successful. He's been the on-screen love interest of Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma, Sandra Bullock in The Net and Kate Winslet in Enigma. How is he less famous than ex-This Life actor Steve John Shepherd, who went out with Martine McCutcheon for about five minutes? Or what about John Simm, Stuart Townsend, Max Beesley, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Keely Hawes, Sienna Guillory, Sophie Okonedo, Sean Pertwee, James Purefoy, Matthew Rhys? Stars of cult Brit flicks, girlfriends and boyfriends of extraordinarily famous people, cohorts of Ewan McGregor and Jude Law. On paper, they're the stuff that the A list is made of. In practice, they're just not as famous as they should be. It's hard to say what, precisely, stymies these people in their pursuit of recognition. Which fame chromosomes they're missing. But maybe their non-fame says more about us than it does about them - about our tendency to celebrate trashier, less-accomplished people at the expense of more deserving cases. But then again, maybe it's down to personal choice. Maybe Gruffudd, Townsend and the rest are deliberately avoiding fame. After all, right now, being a not-famous famous person - a stealth celebrity - is hot. Star fatigue has set in. As far as the press and public are concerned, celebrities currently have the potential to morph overnight from objects of endless fascination to terminally dull attention-seeking horrors. An increasingly knowing public is getting cynical about some of the lines issued by certain PR departments: are Robbie and Nicole the new Chris Evans and Geri? According to style-watcher AA Gill, reality TV is also to blame. 'The point of fame used to be that it was a lucky and incredibly rare thing, but Big Brother and Temptation Island destroyed all that. It showed that anyone could be famous, and devalued the currency so now it's worth much less than it was.' Everybody who's anybody now wants to be a nobody. JK Rowling tries so hard to keep out of the papers, she's in them all the time. Author Jonathan Franzen spent years frantically typing away in an attic, refusing prime-time Oprah Book Club endorsement, before striking literary gold with The Corrections. Toby Young's Manhattan mag disasters, detailed in the best-selling How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, have made failure positively fashionable. In music, the hottest band of the moment is a pared-down, unassuming, New Wave-influenced brother-and-sister outfit from Detroit called The White Stripes. They became famous through word of mouth rather than global advertising blitz. As for fashion, the current Gap campaign features such non-household names as Ali Larter (who?) and Kate Capshaw, an actress whom massive fame continuously eludes, despite the fact that she's married to Steven Spielberg. Think about it. What is mere fame when, like Capshaw, you're a member of what AA Gill describes as 'the most elite club in the world'? Hoi polloi can be famous with everyone - how much more gratifying to be famous only among people who are famous. Famous in The Ivy. Famous like Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, who can walk through Bluewater and never be recognised, and yet who are the most powerful people in the British film industry. They've got film stars fawning over them. These days it's status that counts, not the outward trappings of fame. 'The most rewarding part of being a celebrity,' says Mark Frith, editor of Heat, 'isn't the paparazzi and the free handbags. It's the front row at fashion shows and being invited to Mick Jagger's parties.' In truly august celebrity circles, being considered obscure is the highest of accolades. It's recognition of your skill. 'Actors such as Alec Guinness worked very hard at not being famous,' says AA Gill. 'There used to be a tradition in the theatre that you should not be recognised outside it, because you so utterly became your role when you were in it. To walk out of the stage door and not be recognised was therefore the greatest of compliments. Much, much better than being a mere star.' So, all those who are not as famous as they should be, remember this: you're making a very modern style statement. Except maybe for you, Ioan Gruffudd. We suspect people are just too worried about pronouncing your name wrong to talk about you a lot. Source: This is London Best of Ewan McGregor Saturday, December 22, 2001 // 08:06 p.m. Name your person of the year Friday, 21 December, 2001, 13:26 GMT Click on this link to nominate your personality of the year. Nominations for Good Morning Scotland's Man and Woman of 2001 Awards have been flooding in since the straw poll was announced two weeks ago. Listeners have been choosing those people they most admire - from people in private and public life to the worlds of politics, sports, science and the arts. Not surprisingly the terrorist attacks in the US have had a bearing on those appearing on the list. A popular choice has been Rudi Giuliani, the Mayor of New York. And many people have created their own category - a group nomination for the New York Fire Department. Few politicians have been picked so far, but Scotland's party leaders have offered their own nominations. First Minister Jack McConnell has backed Mayor Giuliani and Liberal Democrat Leader and Justice Minister Jim Wallace said New York's brave fire fighters have been the year's big achievers. Scottish National Party Leader John Swinney picked Scottish aid workers in Afghanistan and Tory Leader David McLetchie's vote went to American President George W Bush. Yacht race Scottish Socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan went for a group nomination and decided the big achievers of 2001 were NHS staff in Scotland - from porters and auxiliary nurses to surgeons and consultants. The BBC Sports Personality of the Year runner-up, Ellen MacArthur, has emerged as a popular choice for Woman of the Year 2001. The yachtswoman captured people's hearts and imaginations when she came second in the Vendee Globe Race between November 2000 and February 2001. A few Scottish personalities have been nominated for the race, including National Farmers' Union President Jim Walker, comedian Billy Connolly and actor Ewan McGregor. But listeners have been inspired by the non-famous as well and chosen "ordinary" members of the public such as care workers, those who look after the sick and people who help children and work in deprived communities. There is still time to register your vote. The winners will be announced during Good Morning Scotland's Hogmanay programme on Monday, 31 December. So, if you have not yet nominated, have a think about who has inspired, entertained or impressed you this year. Source: BBC News Best of Ewan McGregor Saturday, December 22, 2001 // 08:04 p.m. Scots in Film: Portraits By Donald MacLellan 20 December 2001 At: Scottish National Portrait Gallery 01 Jun 2001 - 30 Sep 2002 Specific dates have yet to be announced but will run from June-Sept. Born in Locahaber, Donald MacLellan is a leading portrait photographer whose work is widely published in current news media and magazines. This fascinating exhibition of thirty works will celebrate the growing prominence of Scottish actors in contemporary cinema and television. It will focus on some of Scotland's most famous faces, including Robert Carlyle, Robbie Coltrane, Brian Cox and Billy Connolly. The younger generation of Scottish talent will be represented by actors like Ewan McGregor, Daniella Nardini and Dougray Scott. Source: This is London Best of Ewan McGregor Saturday, December 22, 2001 // 07:58 p.m. Now it's Ewan Macho-Gregor 20 December 2001 Ewan McGregor will be showing off his macho side as an American soldier trapped behind enemy lines in his next film, Black Hawk Down. The role is a distinct change for McGregor, who was last seen singing ballads with Nicole Kidman as a starving poet in Moulin Rouge. The Ridley Scott film tells the true story of the disastrous American special forces operation in Somalia in 1993, when US soldiers were sent into Mogadishu with the UN. In an effort to put a stop to the country's civil war, the mission attempted to abduct several top lieutenants of a Somalian warlord, costing the lives of 18 Americans. The 15-hour battle was said to have contributed to America's decision to pull out of the country. The film also stars Josh Hartnett and Tom Sizemore, who both appeared in last year's Pearl Harbor. It premieres in the West End on 17 January. Source: This is London Thank you Dee for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Friday, December 21, 2001 // 06:41 p.m. Ewan on E! on January 16th Ewan will be revealed on E! Entertainment Television's Revealed with Jules Asner, which is described as an "intimate interview and biography show" on January 16th. Keep an eye on their online schedule for the exact date and time (you never know, it never hurts to be cautious and check a few days beforehand). Thank you cathy111 for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Friday, December 21, 2001 // 12:04 p.m. Ewan's So Proud 21/12/2001 With over eleven nominations for British actors and films in this year's Golden Globes, Empire Online decided to track down one of the honoured nominees for their reaction. He may be on holiday, but that didn't deter us from calling up Ewan McGregor to find out what he thought about being nominated for Best Actor in the Musical or Comedy category. 'It’s so exciting after putting so much work into the film to be recognised for it,' the chuffed actor told us, 'and that goes for all the other nominations we got too. It makes me very proud.' Source: Empire Online Thank you Perditum for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Thursday, December 20, 2001 // 08:01 p.m. EWAN McGREGOR ON BLACK HAWK DOWN The Daily Mail, Dec 20, 2001 WHEN Ewan McGregor turned up for filming on his latest movie he had to dodge bullets and missiles - for real. When Ewan agreed to play a US Ranger in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, he found that his world of make-believe had been replaced by the harsh realities of war. Ewan said: "As an acting challenge, Black Hawk Down was really quite easy. In fact, it was more like a re-acting challenge. When a missile was being shot at you, it really was being shot at you. "When gunfire was raking the street it really was doing that, when bombs were going off there really were explosions. All we had to do was react quite naturally to what was going on. We were terrified."The film is a painstaking re-enactment of one of the most terrible battles in the history of modern warfare and Ewan is in the thick of the action throughout. Set in Somalia in 1993, it charts how the US army decided to storm into the heart of a militia-held area of the capital, Mogadishu, to arrest rebel leaders. With a budget of more than pounds 80 million, Gladiator director Scott depicts the real horror of what happened in Mogadishu. And for Ewan and his co-stars - including Trainspotting's Ewen Bremner, Pearl Harbor's Josh Hartnett and The Patriot's Jason Isaacs - the experience of making the movie on location in the dry heat of southern Morocco was one they will never forget. He said: "If this had been for real, none of us would have lasted five minutes." However, Ewan admits that his experience making the film in Africa earlier this summer was nothing compared to what the soldiers were up against for real in 1993. The Americans, part of a UN force in Somalia struggling to impose peace on a raging civil war, decided to make their move against the militia leaders in Mogadishu - nicknamed Mog by the US armed forces. The plan was to be in and out of the hostile area in just 39 minutes. But the Americans hadn't bargained on the militia being able to shoot down two of their helicopters, the Black Hawks. From then on the incident became a rescue mission as the Rangers, fighting alongside the specialist Delta Force, stood by their code, now a slogan for the film: "Leave no man behind." The result was a 15-hour firefight on the hostile, bombed out streets of Mogadishu, which left 18 Americans dead, 73 injured and which claimed the lives of perhaps as many as 1000 Somalians. The incident led to the withdrawal of the American forces from Somalia and the virtual end to their "world policeman" role until this year's intervention by Osama Bin Laden's terrorist organisation. Although Ewan's character is a fictional composite of several soldiers involved, he knew just how important this film would be to the men who had been in Somalia - and to the bereaved families. This truth was hammered home to him when he spent eight days at the Rangers' training base at Fort Benning in Georgia. Ewan said: "At first, there was a part of me which remembered as a kid playing soldiers and I suppose that's what I thought it would be like. "But as soon as I had met people who had been there and who had lost their friends there, I got the sense of pride in not just the soldiers who died there but in all those who fought there and in the regiment itself." After the type of work he had to do on the second Star Wars instalment, the down-to-earth 30-year-old Scot admits he found the gritty truthfulness of Ridley Scott's movie to be quite refreshing. He said: "It is more satisfying as an actor when things are around you. Star Wars is mainly done on blue screens with the special effects added later. Here we had actors, a set, special effects we could see. It all seemed more real somehow." Ewan, whose wife Ève gave birth to their second daughter in November, agreed to work on the film even though his character, Grimes, a regimental office clerk, starts off as a coward and is no more than a supporting role to Josh Hartnett's Ranger sergeant. Ewan admitted: "If you are only going to choose great stonking lead roles you are cutting off 80 per cent of the workplace." There is already talk of Black Hawk Down earning Ewan an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor - perhaps to go alongside another nomination for his lead role in Moulin Rouge. But McGregor admits that he didn't read the script for the film when it was sent to him in 1998. It was only a chance meeting with Scott on a TV show that eventually led to the actor reading Mark Bowden's book about the battle and to his saying yes. "I was going off to Honduras to go trekking with the BBC," the actor recalled, referring to the Trip Of A Lifetime programme screened in September. "The day before I left, a brown envelope arrived with Mark's book inside. There was no letter or explanation. "I took it on the plane with me and just couldn't stop turning the pages. I had to keep reminding myself that these were real characters and it really happened. "I've always been rather fascinated by, not so much the war itself, but men in war. How does it work? How can you hold yourself together to perform strategic actions when you are under fire? "I was fortunate enough to have worked once with a props master who had done two tours of duty in Vietnam and he was very open about talking about that with me. "A combination of all these things led me, while I was in the rainforest, to get on the satellite phone to tell Ridley I'd do it." The shoot meant a couple of months working in the heat of poverty-stricken southern Morocco, which stood in for the still war-torn Somalia. But Ewan is delighted with the way the film has turned out. He said: "I think it is a very important story that we've told." Since September 11, Hollywood has moved away from releasing war films or features with terrorist themes. But in the case of Black Hawk Down, studio bosses felt Ridley Scott's movie reflected the national mood and moved its release date in America forward. But the question remains as to whether it is right to ever make an "entertainment" out of such recent, tragic events - be it Somalia in 1993 or September 11, 2001. Ewan said: "I don't think there should be any kind of limit on what you can make a film about. Would I want to be in a film about September 11? Sure, why not, if it was a cracking script I'd be there. "It shouldn't be a moral question. We should be able to make films about anything that happens and September 11 happened. It is the same as with this film. It was our task to represent the people who fought and died in Somalia to a level that would make them proud." Black Hawk Down opens in cinemas across the UK and North America on January 18. Source: Cinemayhem BHD Forum (typed in by qwepoi) Thank you Dee for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Thursday, December 20, 2001 // 09:51 a.m. HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION 2002 Golden Globe Awards For the year ended December 31, 2001 Nominations Press Release (Edited for brevity) 4. BEST MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY a. BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY Working Title Production; Miramax Films b. GOSFORD PARK Sand Castle 5/Chicago Films; USA Films c. LEGALLY BLONDE Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures d. MOULIN ROUGE 20th Century Fox; 20th Century Fox e. SHREK PDI/DreamWorks Prods.; DreamWorks Pictures 5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY a. THORA BIRCH Ghost World b. CATE BLANCHETT Bandits c. NICOLE KIDMAN Moulin Rouge d. REESE WITHERSPOON Legally Blonde e. RENEE ZELLWEGER Bridget Jones’s Diary 6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY a. GENE HACKMAN The Royal Tenenbaums b. HUGH JACKMAN Kate & Leopold c. EWAN MCGREGOR Moulin Rouge d. JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL Hedwig And The Angry Inch e. BILLY BOB THORNTON Bandits 10. BEST DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE a. ROBERT ALTMAN Gosford Park b. RON HOWARD A Beautiful Mind c. PETER JACKSON The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring d. BAZ LUHRMANN Moulin Rouge e. DAVID LYNCH Mulholland Drive f. STEVEN SPIELBERG A.I. Artificial Intelligence 12. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MOTION PICTURE a. CRAIG ARMSTRONG Moulin Rouge b. ANGELO BADALAMENTI Mulholland Drive c. LISA GERRARD & PIETER BOURKE Ali d. JAMES HORNER A Beautiful Mind e. HOWARD SHORE The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring f. JOHN WILLIAMS A.I. Artificial Intelligence g. CHRISTOPHER YOUNG The Shipping News h. HANS ZIMMER Pearl Harbor 13. BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MOTION PICTURE a. COME WHAT MAY – Moulin Rouge Music and Lyrics: David Baerwald b. MAY IT BE – The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring Music and Lyrics: Enya c. THERE YOU’LL BE – Pearl Harbor Music and Lyrics: Diane Warren d. UNTIL… – Kate & Leopold Music and Lyrics: Sting e. VANILLA SKY – Vanilla Sky Music and Lyrics: Paul McCartney Source: Hollywood Foreign Press Association Thank you Pfyre, Melinda and Tracy for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Wednesday, December 19, 2001 // 08:22 p.m. Oor Wullie, Your Wullie, A’body’s Wullie Radio Scotland 1st January, 1.00pm - 1.30pm and 9:30pm - 10pm (UK Time) It just wouldnae be Hogmanay without a dose of Oor Wullie. A special 65th anniversary celebration with contributions from famous fans, including Ewan McGregor, Midge Ure, Malky McCormick, Craig Brown, Marti Pellow and Lorraine Kelly. You can listen to the broadcast here on New Year's Day at 8am - 9:30am and 4:30pm - 5pm (U.S. Eastern time). Thank you Josie for the heads-up! ewanspotting.com Wednesday, December 19, 2001 // 12:51 p.m. With the award season upon us... more nominations and honors are being announced almost every day. Here's a quick run down of all the latest. Moulin Rouge was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress for Nicole Kidman and Best Director for Baz Luhrmann by the Broadcast Film Critics Association for their annual film awards. Winners will be announced on January 11 and the ceremony broadcast live on E! January 14, 7 pm. Moulin Rouge also garnered nods for Best Picture (Comedy or Musical), Actor (Comedy or Musical) for Ewan, Actress (Comedy or Musical) for Nicole (who also got a nod for her work in The Others), Supporting Actor (Comedy or Musical) for Jim Broadbent (who also got a nod for his work in Iris), Director for Baz, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Production Design, Original Score, Original Song (Come What May), Sound, and Visual Effects from the International Press Academy for the sixth annual Golden Satellite Awards. Moulin Rouge lead the field with a total of 14 nominations. The awards ceremony will be held Jan. 19 at the St. Regis Hotel in Century City. Moulin Rouge was named Best Production Design by the San Diego Critics Association and by the Los Angeles Critics Association. Moulin Rouge and Black Hawk Down have made it to many top 10 films of the year lists including Entertainment Weekly, Time Magazine and Rolling Stone. Best of Ewan McGregor Wednesday, December 19, 2001 // 11:10 a.m. Pictures of Ewan from last night's Black Hawk Down premiere Thank you MarGwan for the find! Best of Ewan McGregor Monday, December 17, 2001 // 04:59 p.m. Ewan on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn Tuesday Ewan will be a guest on this Tuesday's The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, which airs on Wednesday at 12:35am on CBS. The show's official site does not list Ewan as being a guest, but since Ewan is supposed to be in L.A. for the Black Hawk Down premiere, it's quite possible he will be there and TV Guide Online does list Ewan as being a guest on Tuesday night's show. Thank youk klpreheim and nutbar for the heads-up! Update: Ewan was not on the show. We checked TV Guide Online again last night and he was still listed as being on. Best of Ewan McGregor Monday, December 17, 2001 // 11:38 a.m. 5 noms apiece for 'Black Hawk,' 'Gosford', 3 noms for 'Moulin Rouge' in 1st AFI awards Dec. 17, 2001 NEW YORK -- "Gosford Park," a period mystery piece directed by Robert Altman, and "Black Hawk," director Ridley Scott's bloody and gritty war film based on the real life story of American soldiers in Somalia set in 1993 each drew five nominations in the first American Film Institute Awards, announced in Los Angeles this morning. Winners in the 19 film and TV categories will be presented Jan. 5 from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Ten films were nominated for AFI movie of the year. Besides Columbia Pictures' "Black Hawk Down," and USA Films "Gosford Park," other film nominees are Universal/DreamWorks "A Beautiful Mind"; Miramax's "In the Bedroom"; New Line's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"; USA Films' "The Man Who Wasn't There"; Newmarket's "Memento"; Lions Gate's "Monster's Ball"; Twentieth Century Fox's "Moulin Rouge"; Universal Focus' "Mulholland Drive"; and DreamWorks' "Shrek." (Jim McConville) The nominations are as follows, we've only listed those featuring Moulin Rouge or Black Hawk Down. Note: no nominations for Ewan, Nicole or Jim Broadbent. To see all nominations go here. Movie of the Year A Beautiful Mind Black Hawk Down In the Bedroom The Lord of the Rings The Man Who Wasn't There Memento Monster's Ball Moulin Rouge Mulholland Drive Shrek Director Todd Field, IN THE BEDROOM David Lynch, MULHOLLAND DRIVE Ridley Scott, BLACK HAWK DOWN Cinematographer Ericson Core, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS Roger Deakins, THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE Slawomir Idziak, BLACK HAWK DOWN Janusz Kaminski, A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Editor Jill Bilcock, MOULIN ROUGE Dody Dorn, MEMENTO Pietro Scalia, BLACK HAWK DOWN Tim Squyres, GOSFORD PARK Production Designer Stephen Altman, GOSFORD PARK Rick Carter, A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Grant Major, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING Arthur Max, BLACK HAWK DOWN Composer Craig Armstrong, MOULIN ROUGE Angelo Badalementi, MULHOLLAND DRIVE Patrick Doyle, GOSFORD PARK Howard Shore, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING Source: The Hollywood Reporter Thank you Perditum for the heads-up! Best of Ewan McGregor Monday, December 17, 2001 // 10:42 a.m. Moulin Rouge on DVD tomorrow "This story is about truth, beauty, freedom; but above all things, this story is about love." The National Board of Review chose Moulin Rouge (DVD) as its "Best Picture" of 2001. And, even though the NBR is under some scrutiny of late, it's hard not to agree with their choice. During its release this summer we said: "This isn't a musical; it's an arrangement. And a grand and glorious one at that culminating in a near impossible soufflé of song, dance, and passion. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor are perfect (and amazing singers and entertainers to boot). If you know someone who doesn't love it, stomp on their toes." The DVD will keep you on your toes with features such as "The Making of Moulin Rouge", six extended scenes, four re-cut dance sequences much, much, more. Source: The Internet Movie Database Best of Ewan McGregor Monday, December 17, 2001 // 10:03 a.m. My mother, the film-maker Brian Pendreigh Monday, 17th December 2001 Ewan McGregor's mother Carol, pictured, who has been granted £60,000 to produce a Tartan Shorts film. EWAN McGregor’s mother is following in her son’s footsteps by entering the world of film production. Carol McGregor, a 57-year-old former teacher, is short-listed for a £60,000 grant to make one of Scotland’s world-renowned <