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

I think Ewan is still a Star Wars fans, but he's not a Jedi Council-type Star Wars fan. If you know what I mean

 

Good job he isn't!

 

This comes from a Moulin Rouge feature in the latest Entertainment Weekly:

After 188 days of shooting, Luhrmann left the Sydney studios - but he wasn't finished. He had to make way for McGregor's next movie - Star Wars: Episode II. "It was depressing to go on that quickly; I was yearning for more," says McGregor. "[Moulin Rouge] was so emotionally charged to make. I've never been happier to do anything in my life." Which explains why McGregor sounds angry recalling the wrecking balls that demolished the Moulin Rouge set. "That was awful. I resent [Star Wars] for that," he says. "[The set] could have been put up somewhere else and used as a c ub or something. It was that fabulous."

Uh oh. What's he angry at Star Wars for? It's not Lucas' responsibility to preserve the Moulin Rouge set. That was up to Luhrmann and/or Fox.

 

Yeah. He's definitely aiming his frustration at the wrong people .
Ewan - don't give in to anger!

 

Ewan can definitely stick his foot in his mouth with the best of them. He definitely could have worded his little diatribe better--it was Baz Luhrmann's responsibility to clear his own sets since he's the one who went way over schedule. HA! Nicole Kidman admitted on the Leno show that she broke her rib the first time--which halted shooting for six weeks--because Ewan dropped her during a dance move.

As someone who has always defended Ewan's "off the cuff" charm like a blathering ditz, lately I have come to believe that perhaps I might have been more wise to admire his work as opposed to admiring him. Just recently at Cannes Ewan did an interview with Jonathan Ross, a notoriously rude and obnoxious British media personality. I saw it on a Real Player Movie Clip. No misquotes this time.

You can blame Mr. Ross all you want for bringing it up first, but Ewan isn't a shrinking violet. Laughing a blue streak with Ross about Ross's remark that Oprah Winfrey only appeals to "disenfranchised overweight single women" considering the fact that Oprah devoted an entire show to promote Moulin Rouge wasn't exactly polite nor was it very smart on Ewan's part. Oprah raved about the movie because she loved it so much. Since she executive produces she can choose her own subject matter. Nicole Kidman was of course the epitome of charm, but needless to say this little RealPlayer clip wasn't included on the show. Laughing with Ross about "fat chicks" was bad enough, but then Ewan made a really snide remark about "lonely single women" to whom his character would appeal, and let me just say he didn't come off as a very nice guy. A girlfriend of mine who saw the clip hit the nail on the head when she described his attitude. She said he seemd to have this "my, aren't all these female fans who follow my career pathetic little darlings?" kind of attitude. Quite frankly, he did come across as being pretty darn condescending to a large segment of his fan base. Not a brilliant move on his part.

Trust me, ladies and gents, if that clip were to get played on the Today Show when he appears May 28, Ewan would be hard pressed to charm his way out of it, (for the record I *am* married and no longer overweight I just don't happen to enjoy women getting dissed). I don't know which part sounded worse, the fat chick jokes that Ewan was laughing at or the catty single women remark he made. Quite frankly he and Mr. Ross sounded like a couple of obnoxious 17 year old high school jocks. Male movie stars who've been blessed with talent and good looks who diss women aren't very high on my list, and I suspect I'm not alone in that sentiment. It's not like it ruined my day or anything, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it was pretty disappointing listening to that clip. It was definitely a lesson for me not to emulate celebrities too much, because more often than not they aren't the sweetest of people.

Believe me I don't expect EM to be perfect; I've always said it was ridiculous to criticize him for trifles like implying the Episode 1 script wasn't wonderful by praising Episode 2's script, but expecting him to be polite is not above and beyond the call of duty. Good manners should be expected of everyone, especially handsome actors with a great many blessings. A few of my [non-British] friends told me it's just "the British sense of humor." What they call British I call a euphemism for thoughtlessness (they're rabid Ewan fans...can't admit that he does anything wrong). I'm acquainted with several British folks and most of them are the epitome of good manners. That explanation doesn't fly. Ewan came off sounding really bad in the interview and there's no way around it. I can just imagine the "deer caught in the headlights" look that would spread over his face if Katie Couric (not always a rail thin lass herself) ever got hold of this clip. Hoo boy.....

Ewan isn't the "bad boy" indie kid anymore. If he wants to appeal to large audiences outside of the UK

 

Dear me...

 

Well, it made me laugh...

 

Oakessteve, I'm sure it did. I notice that many people around these forums place a high premium on shallow behavior. What ever happened to teaching young men good manners? A little above your momma's capabilities or just not high on her list of priorities?

 

Well, I'm easily amused, just like some people are easily offended.

 

I think we gotta remember that acting is this guy's JOB....albeit a very cool one. Everyone gets sick of their jobs sometimes; I complain about my managers, my dad complains about his boss, etc. Also, everytime the guy does an interview from now til 2005 he's gonna be asked about SW-even if he is trying to promote another film. That's gotta get old and some of the sarcastic comments he's made were probably the result of this.

(There was a comment in Entertainment Weekly about how he resented that SW tore down the Moulin Rouge sets in case anybody was interested.)

Plus (I can feel the flames coming) TPM probably wasn't THAT fun to make; it's a blast to watch, but (aside from the lightsaber scenes) it probably wasn't fun to make. Especially for Ewan, who is missing for the entire middle section and, when he's on the scene, mainly just stands there. This might be part of his disapointment. I can see it in my mind: GL offering Ewan the part of Obi-Wan, really beefing it up about how he trains Anakin, is a great general, etc. Which is all true. So Ewan takes the job and then gets the script and is like "^$*#...where's my character?" Of course, Obi-Wan gets the juicy role in the end, and Ewan probably liked making Ep. II and will like Ep. III...but he had to go through the tough filming of TPM to get there.

 

don't read too much into something. The man was just joking. from his performance in TPM, i think he enjoys playing obi wan.
He showed us what the Jedi can do, i.e., as a Jedi in action, which we'd been waiting so long to see. But to him, it's just one role out of many and he can do anything, acting-wise, he's got incredible range and talent.

 

Is Ewan MGregor complaining about Star Wars again? This information is from an article on theForce.net

In an article in Empire magazine, McGregor was fussing about going in front of the blue screen in Episode 2, like he did in Episode 1. He also added to a pot shot he took at Episode 1 a few months back, saying Ep 2's script was much better (in the previous interview, he added something like, "But that isn't saying much".)

And he mentioned that the pickup shots he did were a "laugh". Does that mean he had a good time doing them, or does that mean they were a joke?

Please Ewan. No one blames you for being honest. But if you're gonna complain about the Star Wars prequels, please do it after all three movies are done.

Whether he's speaking the truth or not, is not the point.

I just don't think you go and insult a movie that you know you're going to be making two more parts for.

It'd be like the Rock coming out and ripping "The Mummy Returns", when he knows he's gonna have to turn right around and make "The Scorpion King". It's taboo.

I like McGregor, and think he's a good actor. I just think he needs to keep a lid on it until all three movies are done. Then he can rip Star Wars all he wants. If he has a real problem with these movies, and the way they are made, then he needs to sit down to the side with Lucas and complain to him privately. Lucas is a nice guy, and I'm sure he'll not kill McGregor. I don't think that Lucas will change, just because of McGregor's suggestions. But complaining to the press is certainly not going to help things. It's not going to help Lucas, Ewan, or Star Wars.

 

I'm with you.

Have to say that I'm getting a little unsure of Ewan's commitment and/or enjoyment for these movies, as he seems to go back and forth all the time. I mean, I appreciate that he's not doing the "oooh, aaah, it's so FANTASTIC" Hollywood spiel all the time. But why does he have to resent it so often when it comes up? I don't get it. If he's worried about getting typecast and remembered only for Star Wars in a few years, I really don't think moaning about it will help. Look what that did for Sir Alec...

And considering that he's got a day job that many people on the planet would cut off their right arm to get, this thing is just sounding incredibly arrogant.

 

I think we (as fans who have never met Ewan) don't have enough information to judge how he feels about SW, or if he's a nice guy, or if he hates 'fat chicks', etc. Interviews and talk shows are short, edited, advertisements that don't necessarily represent the celebrity accurately. All sorts of personal factors that we have absolutely no knowledge of could explain his statements, so it's probably not worth worrying over.

Or, he could just be evil.

 

I think Ewan is trying to cover his butt for future roles. Type casting is a real danger for actors. I thought it was going away but it seems like Duchovny and Anderson are fighting it. I don't think it will ever get to the level of Adam West or Bob Denver, (That would be the TV Batman and Gilligan for the youngsters) but its there. Most actors are smart today. They require picture deals that let them act out different characters and the time span between the movies is usually enough to save them. Moulin Rouge should keep Ewan safe. It sounds like he has plenty of projects in the works.

As for Mark Hamill, I think several factors lead to his acting demise. First, bad choices. Did anyone actually see Corvette Summer or The Lights Went Out in Georgia??? Please. Those were badddd movies. I honestly can't recall any other movie he was in. Second, he was in two car accidents that so severely altered his face that they wondered whether he was going to finish his stint on Star Wars. He was a mess. Why do you think they added the Wampa scene and the bacta tank? They needed something to explain all his scars. I heard his second accident almost completely disfigured him and he spent a long time in therapy. And lastly, Hamill is not that great of an actor. He did his job in OT but that's about it. Have you seen any of his B-movies or TV appearences? He overacts worse than Charleton Heston. I think that's why it was such a natural transition to doing cartoon voices. I do really like his work on the Joker in BTAS.

I like how he's learned to poke fun at himself. The Just Shoot Me cameo rocked and so did the Simpsons. Don't get me wrong, he's cool. I would give anything to have a beer with him and yap SW. And, I don't mean fanboy style.

 

Well, about typecasting. Ewan himself said (before TPM came out, though) that he wasn't really worried about it. In his own words, he thought it wasn't much worse being remembered for lightsaber fighting than for swimming in toilets.

But I mean, Ewan's not stupid. He MUST have considered what SW would/could do to his career before he took the gig. And the SW phenomenon is well known to just about everybody, so there's no way he could have been surprised by the level of attention he receives these days, is there?

 

I think Ewan should be careful by saying those bad things, even if it is said with humor. Because he's not the only one to be able to criticise things, I myself wasn't 100% satisfied with his acting in TPM in certain scenes (what about the scene where Boss Nass says that the Gungans and the people from Theed can be friend, look at him when everyone one stands up, it's quite funny in fact), as if he did not believe in the movie (I mean, playing a jedi means that you have to put yourself in this role and somewhat "believe" in it). I have nothing against him, he's a great ObiWan, but he should not behave like this, repeating to everybody that acting in SW was boring...

 

folks, i work with actors. and i hate to say it, but sometimes, the bigger the talent the bigger the a-hole. i'm not saying that he's an a-hole or he's not talented, i think he's extremely talented.

and don't worry about him being typecast. he's played a drug addict, a 70's rock star, an english poet-lover and several regular joes. he doesn't need to worry about not getting roles. because he's talented.

kc

 

He's done it again!

"I guess you could say that the lack of depth is...erm...challenging."

That isn't just being critical. That is being a complete a**hole about it. What the hmpf does Ewan think the OT is? Extremely deep? That Harrison Ford reached for his inner child while making it? And that the PT is so shallow in comparison?

This is 100% complete BS! Now he's gone too far!
Why is he in SW if he hates it???

 

He's probably fed up to the back teeth with the part, and even if you absolutely love what your doing, you can get a bit annoyed with it occasionally. And maybe he hasn't enjoyed making Episode II at all, but he can't do anything about it because he's signed up for all three films. If that's the case, he's got a right to complain, I think. Or maybe he's just going through a stage where he does nothing but bash Star Wars. It happened with Peter Davison and Tom Baker with Doctor Who, and probably like those two actors, Ewan McGregor has had to deal with some pretty loopy fans from time to time, and it must create enormous pressure on him. I'm sure somebody will say well he shouldn't have become an actor then, but he probably wanted to become an actor because he wanted to express himself through the roles he plays, not because he wanted lots of fans obsessing about every comment he makes about a particular film he did. While I don't really agree with Ewan's comments, he certainly does have a point, and it's good that at least someone has got the courage to stand up and say, "Actually, it isn't the greatest thing in the world to be in a Star Wars film,". At least, I think it is.

 

I wouldn't say he shouldn't have become an actor, but maybe he just shouldn't have signed up for SW. He knew (or, at least, should have known) what he was getting into -- did he think the prequels were going to be any or more less "deep" than the OT? That the SW fans who have been around for twenty years would suddenly become less obsessive? Guiness, and the other OT actors really had no idea what they were getting into, so if they have or had problems with it, I'm much more understanding of it. The prequel actors knew, and chose to do the movies anyway...I don't think it takes much courage to complain about it after the fact.

 

U said it! they are some lunnatics who have tried to use the force as if it realy exists!!! wonder where u can find one as such.. hmmm...
regardless i think McGregor is realy starwars to the flesh on Obi-Wan's role on the movie. which i yet wait to see for Anakin's role.
And it is a waste to have so much film wasted on jar jar when there we have a truly worthy Obi-Wan.
The question is not weather Lucas was wrong with the computerised character but weather he will ever admit it.
He is a great man. He will be even greater if he admits his mistake.

 

He's at it again...

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Even Ewan McGregor has failed to find merit with the name, commenting to ITN that Attack of The Clones was "a terrible, terrible title."

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From empireonline.co.uk, who took it from ITN.

 

It's funny how most of the threads on these forums at the moment are in some way attacking (ha!) Attack of the Clones, but as soon as someone who's actually acting in it criticises it, everyone jumps down his throat. It's like when Peter Davison said that Time Flight, a story that's considered by many Doctor Who fans to be crap, was crap, everyone got annoyed with him, too. I would have thought that if anyone would be entitled to criticise a film they've been in, it just be the actors. Anyway, has it also occured to anyone that Ewan might be making all these comments as a joke, but the magazines and websites are just making it seem as if he's serious? I'm a media student, and I know very well that newspapers, magazines, and websites will edited down a comment for space reasons, and it will lose a lot of it's original meaning, so maybe Ewan said all these comments in good humour. But then again, there's no real way of knowing, is there?