Paul Fischer
Next up for Ewan McGregor, currently starring in “Angels and Demons”, is the “The Men who Stare at Goats”, a new film from director Grant Heslov. We had the chance to ask McGregor about the movie, which also stars George Clooney and Kevin Spacey, at the press days for the abovementioned “Da Vinci Code” follow-up.
Says McGregor, “I play a journalist, at the beginning of the film whose wife, who’s also a journalist in this small newspaper in Ann Arbor – The Ann Arbor Daily Telegram-cheats on him with her one-armed editor, Dave. And I see her flirting with him. But then she comes clean, and she’s going to leave me for this one-armed man, Dave. And I, in my misery, take myself to Iraq. It’s the beginning of the Iraq War. And I go to become embedded, but all I do is end up in a swanky hotel in Kuwait, and can’t get into Iraq. I’m not embedded with any troops, so I’m stuck in this four-star hotel, having wanted to prove my manhood by going to war, you know? Where I meet George Clooney’s character, and we embark on a kind of road trip through Iraq, looking for his buddies in this strange and secret section of the American Army. It’s a very funny film, and I had such a lovely time working with George, and with Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. And it was the four of us, and it was just hilarious. It was great fun.”
The movie was shot in “Puerto Rico”, the actor laughs, “Because it looks so much like Iraq.”
Next for McGregor, “Will be a story with David Mackenzie set in Glasgow, which is meant to be Glasgow. And then a story with Mike Mills in LA, which is meant to be in LA. I hope. I mean, you know, you never quite know until they give you the go-ahead. LA can very easily become New Mexico, or very easily become Vancouver, you know? Before you know it. But hopefully it’s going to be shot in LA.”
You can read the full interview with the always amiable McGregor here.
