They had me at naked.
In the news: Monday morning reading list
- Cloverfield smashes January box office records, including the one held by the ANH Special Edition.
- Lightsaber named top movie weapon in 20th Century Fox poll. (Huh.) The Death Star and Indiana Jones’ whip also made the list, and Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones are among the favorite weapon-wielding heroes.
- Skywalker Sound up for BAFTA for There Will Be Blood.
- AICN has a report from the cancer-free Fanboys.
- Ewan McGregor claiming Trainspotting had more influence than Star Wars prequels. On his career, perhaps.
Friday morning reading list
NEWS
- Who is Hal Wamsley, the Jawa impersonator?
- Star Wars takes over ferry terminal.
- J.K. Rowling badmouths Star Wars prequels? Or did she? Two-bit celebrity wire services, ehh.
LISTS & THE LIKE
- Eight life lessons from Star Wars all kids should learn
- Three lessons Darth Vader taught me about money.
PASSING REFERENCES
- Time namechecks Artoo and Threepio in their obligatory gay Dumbledore article.
- Be Leia for Halloween.
PEOPLE
- Ewan McGregor to be the face for new fragrance.
- George Lucas Educational Foundation teaches schools to be more green.
- Review of the 30 Rock episode Carrie Fisher guest-starred in.
- Interview with Natalie Portman on her appearance in tonight’s Animal Planet documentary Gorillas on the Brink. She also has a piece in this week’s Parade.
THE LAST WORD
Long Way Down book released in UK
The book detailing Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s epic journey from John O’Groats, Scotland to Cape Agulhas, South Africa has been released in the United Kingdom. The going rate on Amazon.co.uk is £10.
Amazon.ca is showing an October 30 release date and wants $28 CDN for it.
Amazon in the U.S. has no listing for it at all.
The Amazon UK site is also taking pre-orders for a 3 December DVD release of the television series. Rumour has it the series will air on BBC 2 in the UK starting on October 28.
Friday morning reading list
Could Obi-Wan bring peace to Iraq? Okay, that’s a little beyond the scope of this blog, but Ewan McGregor was in Basra to present an award to Staff Sgt Michelle Cunningham, a British bomb disposal expert.
Elsewhere…
- SWTV news! George Lucas interviewing writers in Los Angeles next week.
- Darth Vader hot air balloon comes to America.
- Father shows his daughter Star Wars for the first time.
- Behind the scenes with George in Chicago.
- Lynn Cheney brought John Stewart a Darth Vader figure on The Daily Show Wednesday night.
Yav’s… er… Cassandra’s Dream
Mr. McGregor was on hand for the premiere of Woody Allen’s new film, Cassandra’s Dream, at the Toronto International Film Festival.
And one very lucky person was close enough to smell his breath mint. Thanks for the pictures, Oncidium!
Reviews have been mixed to terrible. But Oncidium liked it, and it’s bound to be better than Nightwatch.
Movie News: Americas Next Big SuperFlop
The big news this week seems to IESB’s report that a Justice League of America movie has been fast-tracked by Warner Bros. Ryan Reynolds has been talking up The Flash, but Christian Bale pleads ignorance. A Justice League without Batman? The fanboys will love it!
Michael Bay’s hissyfits, let me show you them
- Wait wait wait, Anthony Michael Hall is in The Dark Knight? Possible spoilers.
- They are remaking Logan’s Run. You just can’t keep rewarmed crap down.
- Rose McGowen to play Barbarella? See above.
- Aliens vs. Predator sequel gets a name. Don’t worry, it’s probably still going to suck.
- Steve Spielberg and Michael Bay pissed about Blu-Ray. Good news, guys: The audience doesn’t care.
- Irvine Welsh talks Trainspotting sequel. Someone musta loved writing that headline. In more promising news for Ewan McGregor fans, the trailer for Cassandra’s Dream is out.
“Absolutely brilliant!”
So says Charley Boorman. The post-trip interviews are starting to pop up on the net.
The BBC confirms that Ewan McGregor did not, indeed, deliver a baby during the trip. Although he has now promised to do so live on the Beeb when he gets home.
And iVillage talks to McGregor about the trip. And ladies and gentlemen, we’re talking some fabulously wild hair!
They made it!
Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman have completed their amazing John O’ Groats, Scotland to Cape Agulhas, South Africa motorcycle journey. That’s some 15,000 miles in 85 days. And they’re still alive!
There will be a series! It’ll be airing on BBC Two in the fall. Hopefully the rest of the world will get it some time after that. And there are certain to be DVDs.
Ewan and Charley yet still alive!
Intrepid travellers Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman have made it to South Africa, the final border crossing on their three month trip from northern Scotland to southern Africa. Woot!
Standing next to the border sign, Ewan yells their destination.
‘Look where we’ve got to, look! ‘Welcome to South Africa’! We’re in South Africa, we made it! We made it all the way down from John O’ Groats to our last border crossing into South Africa. Well done mate!’
‘Well done,’ replies Charley. ‘It’s been an incredible journey really. It’s just, fourteen countries!’
Don’t miss the video to the right of the pictures, where they literally skip to the border.