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

From Arena magazine:

" McGregor claims to have seen 60 or 70% of AOTC, and enthuses, almost as if he is surprised himself, that it is going to be: "very good. Actually very good." By that does he mean it's better than the first one? " Yeah, because we've done the groundwork and now we can get on with it. Ep1 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." He confirms Obi Wan will play a more central role and says" There was a big sigh of relief that we were able to get a lot more humour into it." Hayden Christenson who plays Anakin Skywalker is apparently a "******* lovely guy and brilliant to work with" and yes he does like the fact Obi Wan gets to have a beard "Although I don't know about the jedi mullet."

The interview moves onto the badmouthing SW thing, Ewan says " I said a lot of things" he admits " I was very mouthy about it and not quite rightly so. The SW films are unquestionably very hard work and technically very demanding. This second one was even more so - it 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. There's one scene where I'm across a table from an alien character who's not there, so I'm playing to mid-air and my reactions to what he's saying are my reactions to what I imagine he might do. You're compltely triple guessing the whole time. And the last thing the computer guys creating the alien would think of is to ask the character who plays opposite what he thought he was doing. They're not even there on the day to see it.

So, it's hard work, but we're not getting paid to have a great time, we're getting paid to do a job. The films are creatively rewarding because it's a unique acting experience and if you pull it iff then you've risen to quite a hefty challenge." I stiil can't resist asking him if he actually enjoys filming on SW set. "Yeah" comes the reply although the word sounds like it's been forced out of his throat like a lodged chicken bone. There next follows a full two seconds silence after which we both collapse into simultaneous laughter. "Playing a part in SW is challenging but I do love being in these films. I mean I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi - how ******** good is that?"

 

Good lord! He really does like it.

 

Hooray!

 

He also has this to say in the Sunday Herald on the weekend:

Following Black Hawk Down, our next chance to see McGregor on the big screen will be in Attack Of The Clones, the latest instalment of the Star Wars saga. It's funny talking to him about Star Wars because he clearly has serious reservations about the films but can't quite bring himself to say so. Asking outright whether he liked The Phantom Menace is to witness one of our most loquacious actors being, for once, lost for words. After a Death Star sized pause he finally says 'Yeah, fine.'

He might as well be honest, I say.

'No, it was fine, it was alright. It wasn't quite as I'd ... I suppose I was ... No, it was fine.' He chuckles like a choirboy who's farted in church. 'I have to be so careful because they come down on me like a ton of bricks.'

Does he feel under pressure to get it right with Attack Of The Clones? 'I don't feel under any pressure. That's all George Lucas's pressure.'

But surely, as one of the public faces of the film, it will be McGregor who has to take responsibility if it's no good? 'I suppose, but I still don't feel any pressure. I really don't. I think there was much more room for us to play in Episode II, and that's certainly something that needed to happen. There was something very humourless about The Phantom Menace. Everything was so straight and flat. And certainly in Episode II there is much more room for expression and wit. We had more fun. There's more humour in there. It's warmer and has more of a traditional Star Wars feel to it. More battles and ... you know, I shouldn't give anything away really.'

 

I think Ewan was a little embarassed to have been in a big-budget, FX-filled, stinker when TPM came out. Now that he's seen most of AotC he seems as proud to be a part of it as the day he was cast. I can think of no better assurance that AotC will not divide SW fans like TPM did.

"He likes it"

AtoC is Kix and Ewan is Mikey. If he actually likes it, there's a good chance most people will.

 

I think it can basically be stated as fact that:
1. Ewan likes Star Wars
2. Ewan thought TPM could be better
3. Ewan doesn't like working with blue screens and special effects too much
4. Ewan thinks AOTC is better (maybe much better) than TPM.

 

W00T!

Anyway, I can imagine how hard it is to work with bluescreens. It's tough really. But as Chris Lee said, it also shows a good actor. It's challenging, and something you should shoot for

 

Woah, I hadn't seen this! Was on the road for a few days when Hew posted the interview. But anyway, I was checking in to see if anyone had brought up that interview and someone had. I must admit that I feel twice as excited about AotC now that Ewan also says he's excited about it. Gullible me...

 

Has anyone seen this pic yet? It's from the Official site. Its the cover to a magazine. When I saw it, I was blown away by the instant recognition of Obi-Wan. I mean there's something in the overall look which made me think of Guiness' Obi-Wan. Maybe some of you will agree.

Obi-Wan Kenobi


Isurus

 

Wow, Isurus, I had not seen that. I agree, it is a striking resemblence. I never doubted Ewan before, but Georgie is just furthering my trust in his decision making abilities.

 

Re: the whole Alec Guiness thing, I'd just like to point out a few things. First off, he gave the real story about Obi-Wan's death in his autobiography. In it he says that George Lucas took him out to lunch and broke the news that Obi-Wan would be dying halfway through the movie. Also that he was dismayed by that news. So, okay, he made some stupid claims about Obi-Wan's death being his idea, but he obviously regretted it later, because he did set the record straight in a source that's about as officially the horse's mouth as you can get.

Secondly, remember that by 1977, Guiness had been an actor for 43 years. He had been very well known, at least in the UK, for much of that time. He didn't get his eventual knighthood for Star Wars. He got it for lifetime contributions to British film and live theatre. He was considered an elder statesman among British actors. He never had quite the same Hollywood success as Laurence Olivier, but he was considered one of the premier serious actors of his generation.

Suddenly, Star Wars comes out, and a whole bunch of reporters etc. are acting like this is his big break. Like Obi-Wan is the definitive role of his career. When that career had already spanned four decades and included many awards and honours. I can easily see him feeling insulted. Suddenly his entire career is being reduced to a supporting role in a popular film.

Now, I don't think he handled the situation with much grace, but I can see where the frustration came from. I mean, I daresay Patrick Stewart gets annoyed sometimes that after a lifetime of working his ass off in Shakespearian roles, most people just remember him as Captain Picard. There are other examples of serious actors who are best known for the jobs they probably feel don't showcase their abilities very well.

Also, some reporters are incredibly ignorant. I read an interview with Ian McKellen once where the reporter didn't seem to have a clue. The guy was going on about how McKellen must've been so excited to get a role like Magneto in X-Men, how it was so great for his career. McKellen, who by this point already had a Best Actor Oscar nomination and a knighthood under his belt, made some snarky comments. I imagine that he got the same kind of thing from fans and reporters after Lord of the Rings came out, and some people acted like Gandalf was the first big role he'd ever had. I can easily see fans/reporters who didn't have a clue about Guiness's body of work pissing him off obsessing over Obi-Wan.

All that said, I still think Guiness shouldn't have been rude to child fans. That's rude, ungracious, and generally just plain mean. But I can understand some of the bitchiness he and McGregor have lobbed at adult fans. I mean, it's one thing to see an actor and politely, respectfully ask for an autograph and say, by the way, I really enjoy your work. It's a whole other thing to walk up to an actor and address him as Obi-Wan, or challenge him to a lightsabre duel. It's not very grown-up behaviour.