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Obi-Wan is Obi-Wan ... McGregor turning into a Guiness..?

Discussion in 'Archive: Revenge of the Sith (Non-Spoilers)' started by Adali-Kiri, Apr 22, 2001.

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  1. Adali-Kiri

    Adali-Kiri Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2000
    ...and i don't mean the brew...

    There is a piece on the front today with an excerpt from a recent Ewan McGregor interview, where he talks a little bit about Star Wars. The thing that's bugging me is how Ewan seems to be almost regretting his involvement in the SW PT ... he goes on a bit about how it's impacting everything he does (not in a positive way, I guess) and goes on to mock the toys a little, like he usually does. And he says something along the lines of "maybe I won't even have to be there for EpIII...", possibly feeling a little put off by SFX, like Neeson did back in 1999.

    Now, I know about Ewan's trademark sarcastic tone and I don't expect him to say that he bloody loves anything to do with SW. But I almost seem to sense a little pattern in his interviews; If it's done while promoting the films it's all smiles and "yeah, it's so cool" kinda stuff. But if it's not while promoting SW he often seems to be bored and disappointed with it - like on that recent TV show where he said that TPM was really a bit disappointing.

    I don't know ... am I imagining this..?

    Sometimes I think he seems resentful about his gig, and when someone with a gig millions of people would cut off their right arm for (and thus being unable to do the gig, haha) seems to be bored and resentful about it ... well, it certainly makes me think of another actor who has portrayed the Jedi Kenobi ...

    Can anyone restore my faith in McGregor?
    Or am I on to something..?

    ?[face_plain]
     
  2. The Mentos® Strikes Back

    The Mentos® Strikes Back Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2000
    First thing first, TPM stunk. I can see where he complains about it. Especially since he had such a manual role.

    Second of all, may be he does resent Star Wars and what it has done to him. So what, he's under contract. :)

    Third, he only has 1 movie left. For the time being, he will have to keep his mouth shut to an extent. After Episode III, he can rant and rave all he wants. ;)
     
  3. Adali-Kiri

    Adali-Kiri Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2000
    Yeah, I agree with that. Except the bit about TPM stinking... ;)

    And I'm not gonna deny the dude his right to say whatever he wants about SW.
    But do you people think he regrets jumping into it? Does it seem like he does?
     
  4. JediMight

    JediMight Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 30, 2000
    I think it's because he'll never have another moment of privacy again.
     
  5. ami-padme

    ami-padme Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 19, 1999
    I have to say, I have a lot less sympathy for the PT actors. They absolutely have the right to complain about whatever they like...but they KNEW what they were getting into by agreeing to do the series. The first time around, nobody knew if SW would even make 50 cents, and they certainly couldn't have anticipated the phenomenon it became. I can see the OT actors not being happy in certain ways with what they got themselves into. But the PT actors? They know exactly how big it is, they know what kind of movies we're talking about here ("There are lots of special effects in this? I'm shocked! How boring! And I always thought that GL was a Shakespearean writer, what's with this dialogue?")...to complain or go sour on things afterwards strikes me as a little silly. JMHO.
     
  6. hew

    hew Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 8, 1999
    I wonder if he really regrets signing on for the films, or if he feels like he needs to distance himself from them in order to save face and keep his indie credibility.
     
  7. Obi Anne

    Obi Anne Celebration Mistress of Ceremonies star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1998
    If everyone he met just asked about SW, I would be a bit tired of the whole thing too.
     
  8. Son of the Suns

    Son of the Suns Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 6, 1999
    I didn't really get the feeling that Ewan was angry at Star Wars or that he regrets working on it from that interview. I think he was just joking around about the many things that go with being in a SW film. He hasn't turned into Stamp or Guinness yet, from what I've seen.
     
  9. The Mentos® Strikes Back

    The Mentos® Strikes Back Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Apr 4, 2000
    Just remember, these movies aren't his shindig, there Hayden Christensen's. That may irk him too.
     
  10. random_trooper

    random_trooper Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 1, 2000
    don't take too much out of context:

    The comment about "maybe I won't have to be there for Episode 3" referred to the scanning of the toys, not the actual film.

    Relax, all is not lost ;)
     
  11. Joey7F

    Joey7F Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 18, 2000
    No, I think that was just him being sarcastic like, "George likes technology so much I won't even need to be there blah blah blah, he can scan my face and my voice."

    I think he, like most celebrities, is a bit of an egomaniac, as long as it doesn't show up in the films, who cares?

    --Joey
     
  12. yodaman

    yodaman Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 26, 1999
    His last comment sounded like a joke. I don't think there's anything more to it than that.
     
  13. Adali-Kiri

    Adali-Kiri Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2000
    I think you guys are right. :)

    Ewan has never said a bad word about Lucas and his directing, like Stamp or Quarshie did. He supported Lucas quite rigorously in the August 1999 issue of Empire, saying that Lucas is belittling (?) himself by saying that he doesn't write very well and doesn't really know how to talk to actors. Ewan said that was just the shy Lucas not wanting to beat his own drum, and that Lucas really knows what he's doing.

    He must have known what he let himself in for, and judging by most of his interviews I guess it's pretty clear that he's having the time of his life playing Obi-Wan Kenobi. I guess he's just not that over-Hollywood style actor who goes "Oooooooh, it was SO faantaaastic! It was SOOOOO greaaat! Unbelievable!" all the bloody time.

    And I agree with Ami-Padme - it would be bleedin' ridiculous to resent getting into SW these days, especially in a leading role, as you know very well how the world will always remember you for that one part in SW.

    But then again, Guiness had a certain idea of what might happen as well, as he scored 2.5% of the movie's income when he signed the 3 picture contract back in 75/76. And if he thought the film might be a huge success - and knowing very well that it was aiming for an audience with little knowledge about Alec Guiness - he should have thought about the very obvious consequence of a whole generation of movie-goers forever identifying his face with the Jedi Master Kenobi.

    And I don't think moaning about it helped him much either...like pulling that silly stunt about having talked Lucas into killing off his character to get out of the franchise, when in fact Lucas had trouble getting him onboard for the very reason that his character was killed in the script...

    To Lucas credit he never said a bad word about the bloke.

    And finally - judging by pictures from the set Ewan seem to be having a ball. Like in the one where he's in regular clothes and watching a scene alongside Lucas, smiling broadly. Not the stuff of an egomaniac rock star type guy fed up with his gig, I think.

    I rest my case. Faith restored. Ewan is cool.
    :)
     
  14. NRDigital

    NRDigital Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 23, 2000
    Well, Lucas is a sucky director.

    NR
     
  15. Joey7F

    Joey7F Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 18, 2000
    Really Nr? What movie were you in that Lucas directed?

    --Joey
     
  16. Commander Antilles

    Commander Antilles Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 21, 1999
    "But then again, Guiness had a certain idea of what might happen as well, as he scored 2.5% of the movie's income when he signed the 3 picture contract back in 75/76." \

    Actually, I thought that deal was because he didn't expect the film to make much money and knew that Lucas was on a tight budget in making ANH, and agreed to what seemed like an arrangement that would be a lot less than his usual salary because he was intrigued by the film.
     
  17. Starfox

    Starfox Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 31, 2001
    The actors of the PT will truly have to drag Star Wars behind them for the rest of the career as an actor. Ewan McGregor will no longer be remembered for the great roleplay in Trainspotting, but as Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars.

    This happened to Mark Hamill, for example, and I think that's the reason why he hasn't acted much after Star Wars. Hamill is still remembered only for the role of Luke - I think he never expected such a fame and I think he's not enjoying it much. He has only done small roles in some films every now and then, for reasons I don't know, but his talent was used to Star Wars; and even as a great actor, he didn't want to act after SW anymore.

    And, knowing the style of McGregor ( seeing some interviews ), he was throwing sarcastic jokes about the computer-made-TPM - I'm pretty sure :)
     
  18. random_trooper

    random_trooper Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 1, 2000
    I love Marky Mark and all, but I really think it's his fault that he didn't shave off the typecast. Everyone else managed to pull it off...look at Harrison, he did 2 action trilogies!!!

    I think Mark just made some bad choices afterwards...
     
  19. Commander Antilles

    Commander Antilles Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 21, 1999
    Harrison Ford really only became a star because of Indiana Jones. Name me one film that he was in between ANH and Raiders, excluding ESB. Had he not gotten the part of Indy, and the ensuing blockbusters, it's probable that he'd have sunk into semi-obscurity, like Mark and Carrie.
    Mark Hamill didn't go the same way as Ford because after ROTJ, he spent a great deal of time doing stage work and animation. He's always been doing things, but never anything that comes close to the limelight that the OT gave him.
     
  20. k kanos

    k kanos Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    May 1, 2000
    True Commander Antilles. Mark Hamil wasn't very choosy with his roles when it came to movies (Corvette summer). He then went to stage acting. There was too much of a time span between Star Wars and the time he really wanted to get back into movies. Everyone only knew of him as Luke Skywalker. He then tried to get the black pearl off the ground and that died. I just have to think that if he had played more diversified roles like Harrison and Ewan have that he wouldn't have gotten typecast.

    I agree that Obi Wan wasn't much more thatn a supporting character, but I think Episode III is going to be a big one as far as screen time goes for Ewan. Don't worry about Ewan being typecast everyone. He will do just fine. Episode I just made everyone more aware of him as a house hold name. However, you have to admit, aside from Star Wars, that he doesn't play your average characters (Train-spotting, night watch, Eye of the Beholder, Moulan Rouge etc...) As long as they are making strange movies, Ewan will always have a job.
     
  21. Adali-Kiri

    Adali-Kiri Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Jul 31, 2000
    We'll never know what *would* have happened *if*, but the fact is that Ford went on to a career almost unparallelled in Hollywood history while Hamill has done zip of importance apart from SW. And it might have to do with talent, but I don't know. The star quality, they say.

    Ford had it mega in the 80s - 80:TESB, 81:Raiders, 82; Blade Runner, 83; RotJ, 84; ?, 85; Indy 2 etc...
    He may have messed it up a bit lately with stuff like Air Force One and Random Hearts (oh, dread...) and dropping out of Traffic, but I thought What Lies Beneath was very good. So there is hope that there may be more good ones. Indy 4, of course!

    And he did get the Blade Runner part before the release of Raiders, but I agree that he might not have been as big if it wasn't for Indy.

    As for Guiness; I really don't know the true story about his SW deals, as it depends on who is talking about it. But it doesn't sound immediately logical to me that he went for a deal where he got 2.5% of future grosses because he thought the movie wouldn't sell and that he was simply intrigued by it. In that case he could just have cut his fee to be able to take part in this movie he was so intrigued by, couldn't he? I think the old fella was smart enough to see there was something up with Lucas and his movie, and thought he just might secure his future by doing this 2.5% deal.

    Anyway, it's SW that was responsible for the fact that Guiness and all his family could live extremely wealthy lives for all forseeable future. There are quite a few people in that large family who have George Lucas to thank for the fact that they will never ever have to worry about money. So I think a little dignity and thankful tones from Sir Alec towards Lucas and SW would have been appropriate, however sick and tired he was with being Obi-Wan to millions of people.

    I hope Ewan will never pull that stunt!
     
  22. clark1016

    clark1016 Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 10, 2001
    I do believe that he was a little bored with TPM, but I took his comments in the interview to which you refer as being jokingly sarcastic.
    In my opinion, typecasting is one thing he'll never have to worry about as he's already done a number of diverse roles and seems to manage to look a little different from film to film.
     
  23. Adali-Kiri

    Adali-Kiri Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2000
    I think you are right.

    And Ewan is still mostly playing to our generation and a bit to one that's slightly younger than us, while Sir Alec was almost completely unknown to one or two generations that broadly embraced ANH and thus got typecast in their eyes. I don't think Ewan will have to worry about that, as he's still just at the start of his career. Sir Alec was approaching the end of his. I'm sure Ewan will do lots of work after 2005 that will take away the Obi-Wan focus easily.

    Or like Ewan said himself when asked if he wasn't afraid of taking on the Kenobi role as people might only link him with lightsabers all his life - he said that so far people were only linking him with swimming in toilets, so he didn't see any danger. :)

    And in Empire Aug 99 he said - "It would take a braver actor than me to say no, when they offer it to you."
     
  24. MissPadme

    MissPadme Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 9, 1998
    You pretty much have to take Ewan for what he is...a cheeky young fella. He doesn't mean any harm by it even if he does on occasion put his foot in his mouth.
     
  25. theunbeliever

    theunbeliever Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Apr 25, 2001
    I just think the nerdy element of the starwars fan annoy him, I mean he was talking on an interview here (UK) about someone coming up to him and challenging him to a lightsabre duel in the street.
    C'mon geta life!

    I love starwars but there sure is some nutters out there.
     
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