Scottish Actors: December 2007

Sunday, 30 December 2007

Water Horse opens in seventh place

Family film, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep came in seventh place at the North American box office over the weekend beginning December 28. It's weekend gross was US$9.2 million and it's total gross from opening on Christmas Day is US$16.8 million. The film stars Scottish actor Brian Cox who plays the narrator of a tale about the Loch Ness Monster.

James McAvoy talks about Penelope

Production Blog added a James McAvoy interview two days ago along with some behind the scenes footage of the movie Penelope. It's taken a long time for this film to be released in North American theatres, but thankfully it will finally be released February 29, 2008.

Photo from http://www.apple.com/

Recent pics of Ewan McGregor in Othello

Eccentricity Online, a Ewan McGregor fan site added some rare pictures of Ewan as Iago in Othello about two weeks ago. The site seems to be one of the few online that has such a large gallery of Othello pictures. The play runs until February 23, 2008 at the Donmar Warehouse. Though tickets have been sold out, according to www.donmarwarehouse.com there will be 10 day seats available for each performance on sale from the box office each day from 10.30am and standing will be sold on the day once the performance including day seats is sold out. Tickets available in person at the Box Office, and there are only two tickets per person to be paid by credit/debit card only. Good luck people.

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Saturday, 29 December 2007

New James McAvoy fans!

I got a few e-mails this week with people asking about 'that actor in Atonement'; they usually just want to know a little more about him. I'm always overjoyed at meeting a new James McAvoy fan, and thanks to Atonement there are even more.

For new fans, there are three things about James you should know: James McAvoy is happily married (*sigh*), James McAvoy is sexy (People Magazine says so), and James McAvoy is unbelievably talented (he was recently nominated for a Golden Globe).

Since this site accommodates other actors as well, I recommend new fans visit www.jamesmcavoy.com/
for more comprehensive info on James. For more sites on James you can also scroll down a little to check out the links at the right side of the page. Also check out the rest of this site for any news on James you may have missed.

If you want to catch more of James' films you could try The Last King of Scotland, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Inside I'm Dancing (aka Rory O'Shea Was Here). They are among his best.

Thanks for the e-mails from everyone and you can continue to e-mail me at saltireflower@yahoo.com to ask any questions or leave suggestions. Hope everyone's recent discovery of James turns into an obsession as healthy as mine!

Photo from http://www.people.com/

Cashback with Sean Biggerstaff finally has a UK release

It has taken a long time for the indie film to be released in its native country, but Cashback will be released in the UK in April of 2008. It is not available on DVD in the UK even though its been released in other countries over the past year. Anyone in the UK who really wants to see Sean Biggerstaff (greatest last name on earth!) as a tortured, artistic insomniac will have to order a copy from another country in Europe. Or try really hard to wait until the end of April.

Photo from http://www.indiewire.com/

Friday, 28 December 2007

News on Gerard Butler's upcoming movie Game

Writers on UnderGroundOnline were among the lucky few to visit the New Mexico set of Game. Gerard Butler stars as Kable in the futuristic thriller, set in 2017. The film is being shot with a Red One Camera, a new type of technology that makes low budget productions look like theyv'e been shot with a much larger budget. The article has lots more information on the movie so check it out.

Brand new James McAvoy site!

A new website dedicated to the very talented James McAvoy has gone up, so be sure to check out the link below. Many thanks to the awesome posters at imdb for getting the word out.

www.jamesmcavoyfan.com

Photo from www.thisislondon.co.uk

Wednesday, 26 December 2007

In case you missed the Doctor Who Christmas special

Don't worry if you missed David Tennant's Doctor Who Christmas special. According to the Press Association the BBC will be showing special outdoor screenings of the episode non-stop on Thursday December 27 across the UK. The outdoor screenings will take place in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Hull, Derby, Rotherham and Bradford.

UK viewers can also catch David Tennant on television this Thursday during the season finale of Extras. The 85 minute episode will air on BBC1 and don't panic if you don't see David during the first 45 minutes - he'll turn up, I promise.

Photo from www.blogcritics.org

Monday, 24 December 2007

David Tennant isn't going anywhere

Despite even more rumours about David Tennant leaving Doctor Who (this time fueled by Catherine Tate an actual star on the show and not just some hack journalist), there is of course, as usual no truth to the rumours. You can read this for more information and an statement from David Tennant. In actual David Tennant news, lucky viewers in the UK will get to catch him tomorrow in the Droctor Who Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned on BBC1 at 6:50 pm. The episode also stars Scottish actor Gray O'Brien. A special Doctor Who Confidential will follow shortly after the episode on BBC3 at 8.30pm. You can go here for the official trailer. Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

Photo from www.gallifreyone.com

James McAvoy gets unscripted

I don't know how I missed this, but moviefone added James McAvoy's Unscripted interview with his Atonement co-star Keira Knightley a few days ago. Check it out here if you missed it. James is pretty funny in it. Don't forget to visit www.moviefone.com/unscripted from time to time to see stars interview each other.

Picture from Telegraph Newspaper online

P.S. I Love You opens in sixth place

P.S. I Love You, starring Gerard Butler, opened in sixth place at the US box office, just behind Sweeney Todd. According to www.boxofficemojo.com the film earned a little over US$6.5 million on 2,454 screens. Not too impressive, but when your competition is a zombie movie, and a sequel, you probably shouldn't expect too much.

Picture from www.starpulse.com

Sunday, 23 December 2007

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner may have only been released a week ago in the US, but it's had high praise from critics for months now. Guardian Unlimited has a wonderful article on the movie, starring Scottish actor n the rise, Khalid Abdalla, and makes an unlikely comparison between the film and another award worthy epic, Atonement. Since December 14, the film has earned over US$700,885 on just 377 across the US and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Here's a trailer for the film. Enjoy!

Saturday, 22 December 2007

P.S. I Love You, opens today

So go out, take a friend, take your girlfriend, take your boyfriend, whatever and watch Gerard Butler.

The soundtrack is now available and features musicians like James Blunt and Scotsman, Paolo Nutini. The movie's theme song, Same Mistake is the second single from James Blunt's album, All The Lost Souls and you can watch the video here. You can also watch Paolo Nutini's video for Rewind here.

Picture from www.allmoviephoto.com/

Who wouldn't want a diamond from Ewan McGregor?

VisitScotland, Scotland's national tourism organisation released the results of its Winter White Campaign poll. According to the poll, hottie Ewan McGregor is the Scot most people would like to receive a diamond from. You can check out an earlier post I uploaded to see the other Scottish actors included in the poll. Visit this site to if you're interested in visiting Scotland this winter (who knows, you might bump into Ewan himself).

Picture from http://www.actors-pictures.com/

Friday, 21 December 2007

Gerard Butler and James McAvoy have a lot in common

They're Scottish and they're hot. And the editors of the Daily Record seem to think so too. The Daily Record just released their picks for the 100 hottest Scots and a good deal of them are actors. From Khalid Abdalla (who is marvelous in recently released The Kite Runner) to Doctor Who himself, David Tennant, go here to find out who else made the grade and how they ranked.

Picture from www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/

Thursday, 20 December 2007

John Barrowman stars on stage (for a limited time anyway)

According to http://www.playbill.com/ Christmas pantomime Aladdin, starring John Barrowman began yesterday December 19th at the Birmingham Hippodrome in the UK. The show will continue for a limited time, until January 27, 2008. To book tickets you can call 0870 730 1234 or visit http://www.aladdinhippodrome.co.uk/. You can watch an interview with John Barrowman about Aladdin here.

Picture from http://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/

Trailer for new Gerard Butler movie to be on the big screen

According to reports from production company Walden Media, the first trailer for Gerard Butler's upcoming film, Nim's Island will be previewed before some screenings of The Water Horse, another film starring a Scottish actor, Brian Cox. The Water Horse opens on Christmas Day in the US.

In other Gerard Butler news, the actor is still currently shooting scenes for his new, sci-fi, action movie, Game, in Albuquerque. The film is set to be released in 2009.

Picture from http://www.flixster.com/

Wednesday, 19 December 2007

Finally! The brand new Gerard Butler trailer for Nim's Island

Yahoo recently posted the brand new trailer for Gerard Butler's upcoming spring release, Nim's Island. The adventure movie was shot in Queensland, Australia, and Gerard Butler plays not one, but two characters - Nim's father, and Nim's imaginary hero, Alex Rover. As Nim's father, Gerard adopted an American accent, while keeping his Scottish accent to play adventurer, Alex Rover. Watch the brand new trailer here.

Picture from www.cinemablend.com

Tuesday, 18 December 2007

James McAvoy won't go to the Golden Globes?!

For those of you hoping this is a joke - it isn't. According to www.hollywood.com/ Golden Globe nominee James McAvoy, will not be attending the Golden Globe Awards ceremony. To support the writer's strike James and other nominees have promised not to attend the awards if striking writers choose to protest at the ceremony on January 13. For a look at more stars who will not be attending you can read this article.

Picture from http://www.hollyscoop.com/

John Barrowman for Christmas

If you missed John Barrowman's Christmas Voices interview on BBC1 or if you don't live in the UK, someone posted the interview here so you can watch it (for now anyway). Go here to listen to him sing.

Picture from www.mediablvd.com/

New Exclusive clip with Gerard Butler

P.S. I Love You may be coming out this Friday in the US, but you can catch a brand new exclusive clip from www.rottentomatoes.com/. Just go here to watch.

For a comprehensive list of P.S. I Love You videos, clips, and cast interviews check out this site.

Enjoy!

Picture from http://www.firstshowing.net/

Sunday, 16 December 2007

Gerard Butler week!

In honor of Gerard Butler's upcoming film, P.S. I Love You, which opens in the US Dec. 21, (Jan 4. in the UK) I'll post as many things on Gerard as I possibly can. So, if you're a gigantic fan, be sure to visit from time to time all this week. You can view the trailer below:

Robert Carlyle appears in Flood on ION

Scottish actor Robert Carlyle, best known for his role in Trainspotting, appears on US television tonight at 7 pm Eastern time. Flood, a four hour miniseries (yes four at once) event airs on the ION Television Network.

David Tennant is still on TV

Despite the usual, David Tennant is leaving Dr. Who rumours, lucky US viewers can catch him on the Extras series finale tonight at 9 pm. If you can't catch him tonight, don't worry, HBO will re-air the 80 minute finale at various times from December 19-January 13. You can check out HBO's home page to catch a preview.

It's probably an injustice to UK viewers who have to wait until December 27 to catch David Tennant in the finale.

Picture from http://www.planetgallifrey.blogspot.com/

Ewan McGregor's upcoming movie may be a studio nightmare

According to the New York Daily news, Ewan McGregor's latest film, Cassandra's Dream has been pushed back (again!) to a January 18 US release date. It was scheduled for a December 28 opening which would have qualified if for the Academy Awards. The film has gotten mostly positive reviews despite its release day being toyed with. Here's a great quote from www.filmsinreview.com by Victoria Alexander.

"McGregor’s sexual appeal is more fully on display here than in the past. He must be highly charismatic in person but has consistently failed to translate it on the screen. ... He’s sexy, selfish, and vibrant. [Colin] Farrell has the more difficult role and he does a terrific job taking the collapse of his character and making it believable."

Check out the rest of the review right here, with minor spoilers.

Ewan's other upcoming, terrorist themed film Incendiary was picked up by the Sundance Film Festival which runs from January 17 to January 27, 2008. I don't know how I missed this piece of news, but its good news nonetheless.

Picture from http://www.iwatchstuff.com/

Saturday, 15 December 2007

Save Kevin McKidd (and Journeyman)

NBC will air its time travelling chronicle Journeyman's remaining new shows next week, according to www.eonline.com. The first will air on Monday after Heroes, and the last will air on Dec. 19.

Though early word is that the show will be getting cancelled, NBC has not actually reported on whether the show starring Scotsman Kevin McKidd, will continue after the writer's strike is over. The deadline for a full season pickup was on December 11, yet three days later, there remains no word from NBC on the fate of the show. If you're a fan and would like to save this show please visit the Save Journeyman blog.

Picture from www.sidereel.com

Gerard Butler speaks

Gerard Butler talks about love, upcoming movies, and that much hyped (is he, or isn't he) role as Sabretooth in this audio interview at www.collider.com/.

Picture from www.gerardbutlerusa.com/

New smokin' hot pics of James McAvoy in Wanted

The world may have gone a bit Atonement crazy, but there are brand new pictures of James McAvoy and other cast members from the action movie, Wanted, on imdb. You can view them in their glorious entirety here.

For those of you who are Atonement crazy, the Golden Globe nominated film opens in wider release in the US today. There are also reports that the film will open even wider on January 4 so if you live in a smaller town there may be a bit of a wait for you. Hopefully news that the film grossed $1.13 million in just six days in the US, according to http://www.boxofficemojo.com/, may ease the pain. If you are lucky enough to have seen the film you can post a review of what you think of it.

Picture from http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/

Thursday, 13 December 2007

David Tennant or Ewan McGregor: who would you like to receive a white diamond from?

According to the BBC, Scottish stars like David Tennant and Ewan McGregor are taking part in VisitScotland's new online tourism campaign. The new Winter White Campaign is designed to attract visitors to Scotland this winter. The online polls asks women (and probably a few men) which Scottish celebrity they would most want to receive a white diamond from this Christmas. Other Scottish actors on the poll are Dougray Scott and the greatest of all Scottish actors, Sean Connery. It will also hopefully attract visitors to surf the VisitScotland website to see the great events and activities taking place in Scotland this winter season.

You can cast your vote here for your pick and check out the BBC article for more details.

Picture from http://www.oldmaid.blog.co.uk/

Atonement leads with the most Golden Globe nominations

Atonement was just honored with seven Golden Globe nominations including best drama, best actor for James McAvoy and best actress Keira Knightley. Also nominated are Saoirse Ronan for supporting actress, Joe Wright for director, Christopher Hampton for screenplay, and Dario Marianelli for musical score.

Picture from www.moviefreak.com

James McAvoy honored with a Golden Globe nomination!

James McAvoy was just nominated for Atonement. I'll put more Atonement nominations in my next post. I'm dancing with joy for him!

James McAvoy is finally a leading man

Hollywood finally takes notice. Watch and enjoy!

Only 8 hours until the Golden Globe nominations!

Can't wait that long to see if James McAvoy is honored for his work in Atonement? I can't either. To ease the pain you can watch the clip with Atonement's brilliant score by Dario Marianelli who will hopefully be honored with a Golden Globe nomination as well.

Vote for Ewan McGregor

Ewan McGregor is up for most attractive man on Hello Magazine's monthly vote. There are only five days left to vote for him. If Ewan wins he'll be entered into the grand finale at the end of the year. Two other Scottish actors, Gerard Butler and David Tennant won in March and July respectively. You can vote for Ewan here.

You can also vote for James McAvoy for hunkiest guy of 2007 here.

Picture from http://www.donyell.net/

Wednesday, 12 December 2007

New photo of Gerard Butler in RocknRolla!

Picture from www.slashfilm.com

Atonement, Atonement, Atonement!

The Broadcast Film Critics Association announced their nominations for 2007 earlier today, with Atonement up for five awards. There was also a nomination for Alan Cumming's Tin Man in the Picture Made for Television category. The awards will air live on VH1 in the US on January 7.

Here's a breakdown of Atonement's nominations:

Picture: "American Gangster," "Atonement," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "Into the Wild," "Juno," "The Kite Runner," "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men," "Sweeney Todd," "There Will Be Blood."

Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"; Catherine Keener, "Into the Wild"; Vanessa Redgrave, "Atonement"; Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"; Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton."

Director: Tim Burton, "Sweeney Todd"; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"; Sidney Lumet, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"; Sean Penn, "Into the Wild"; Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"; Joe Wright, "Atonement."

Young Actress: Nikki Blonsky, "Hairspray"; Dakota Blue Richards, "The Golden Compass"; AnnaSophia Robb, "Bridge to Terabithia"; Saoirse Ronan, "Atonement."

Composer: Marco Beltrami, "3:10 to Yuma"; Alexandre Desplat, "Lust, Caution"; Clint Eastwood, "Grace Is Gone"; Jonny Greenwood, "There Will Be Blood"; Dario Marianelli, "Atonement"; Alan Menken, "Enchanted."

Sadly, there was no mention of the brilliant James McAvoy, so let's hope the Golden Globe nominations will make up for this ridiculous and unpardonable snub later on this week.

Don't forget to go to http://www.awardsdaily.com/ for a complete list of the nominees.

Picture from http://www.rialtocinemas.com/

Tuesday, 11 December 2007

Ewan McGregor: His career gets more gruesome

The story of West Port murderers, Burke and Hare is set to hit the big screen sometime in 2009. It will likely star Ewan McGregor (who can be seen this month in Cassandra's Dream) and Jude Law since Robert Carlyle and Colin Firth are reportedly no longer attached to the project.

The film, tentatively titled The Meat Trade will begin shooting in Edinburgh next year and is expected to add a much deserved boost to the Scottish film industry.

Picture from flixster.com

Alan Cumming in Tin Man

The Si-Fi Channel's mini-series, based on The Wizard of Oz may be over in the US but the official Tin Man DVD release date will be March 11, 2008. There has been no official word as to when the epic three-part series will air in Australia or the UK. I'll keep you up to date when the word gets out. For more of your favorite shows on DVD check this site out for more info.

If you can't wait that long for more Alan Cumming (who plays Glitch, a re imagining of the Scarecrow) watch this video from men.style.com, where Alan channels his inner James Bond.

Scotland: Land of Mystery & Legend

Tourism organisation VisitScotland, is using the upcoming family film The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep to attract more tourists to Scotland. Click here for the rest of the article from The Daily Record.

The Walden Media produced film, based on Dick King-Smith's fantasy novel, features Scottish actor, Brian Cox and is set to hit theatres Christmas Day in the United States.
(If anyone knows anything about the role Brian Cox is playing I'd be really grateful if they'd post it. So far I've found almost nothing!)

Poster from http://www.movieposteraddict.com/

John Barrowman & David Tennant take over the world

I wish! But they are taking over TV and radio in the UK and the US all December long.Here's a snippet of their Christmas TV and radio appearance schedule:

16/12/07 - Christmas Voices - BBC1 - John Barrowman
16/12/07 - Extras Christmas Special - HBO - David Tennant (USA)

For more of where to catch John Barrowman on TV and the radio follow this link: http://raisededge.livejournal.com/32449.html

Picture from http://www.watchingdrwho.com/

Golden Globe Predictions - Atonement Could Sweep the Board

The Golden Globe nominations are bright and early Thursday morning. You may not want to be up so early, so I'll do it for you and post all the nominations Atonement (and hopefully James McAvoy) may receive.

Before then, I'll post my predictions, and please, go ahead and post yours in the comments section as well. I'd love to see if mine match up with anyone else's. And if yours match up on Thursday, you'll probably have bragging rights until next year's award season rolls around!

Best Picture - Drama
3:10 to Yuma
Atonement
Gone Baby Gone
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Director
Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone)
Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)
Tim Burton (Sweeney Todd)
Ethan & Joel Coen (No Country for Old Men)
Joe Wright (Atonement)

Best Actor - Drama
Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild)
Frank Langella (Starting Out in the Evening)
James McAvoy (Atonement)
Denzel Washington (American Gangster)

Best Actress - Drama
Halle Berry (Things We Lost in the Fire)
Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age)
Marion Cotillard (La Vie en rose)
Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart)
Keira Knightley (Atonement)

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There)
Romola Garai (Atonement)
Vanessa Redgrave (Atonement)
Saoirse Ronan (Atonement)
Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard (Gone Baby Gone)
David Benioff (The Kite Runner)
Ethan & Joel Coen (No Country for Old Men)
Christopher Hampton (Atonement)
Ronald Harwood (The Diving Bell & the Butterfly)

Best Score
Paul Cantelon (The Diving Bell & the Butterfly)
Clint Eastwood (Grace is Gone)
Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová (Once)
Alberto Iglesias (The Kite Runner)
Dario Marianelli (Atonement)

Picture from http://www.seeing-stars.com/

Monday, 10 December 2007

First Poll!

The year may be drawing to a close, but our very first poll has gone up. It's been a remarkable year for Scottish actors with juggernauts like Harry Potter and 300, and smaller fare like Woody Allen's latest feature, Cassandra's Dream out December 28.

Go ahead and choose your favorite and don't forget to leave your opinion about the films you loved in the comments section. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Sunday, 9 December 2007

Atonement opens barely a week before major awards nominations announced

According to http://www.boxofficemojo.com/ Atonement garnered $817,000 opening weekend on just over 30 screens in New York and Los Angeles. It will expand to wide release on December 14, 2007. The film has mostly very positive reviews and is expected to recieve numerous Golden Globe nominations. James McAvoy is on awardaily's top five actors and you can visit http://www.awardsdaily.com/ for much more news on Atonement, James, and the cast and crew. It's a great blog for the awards junkie.

Hayden Panettiere will announce the Golden Globe nominations on Thursday December 13, 2007, and I'll be up bright and early to watch and give you all the news on Atonement nominations. And be sure to come back Thursday December 20, 2007 for SAG nominations as well. Keep your fingers crossed!

The Atonement poster is from http://www.movieposteraddict.com/

Gerard Butler to make a one two punch in RocknRolla

Director Guy Ritchie confirmed that shooting for RocknRolla has wrapped and the film is now in post-production. Gerard Butler stars as the aptly named mobster, One Two, opposite the lovely Thandie Newton, who plays his love interest. I cannot imagine a sexier onscreen couple!

The upcoming film's release date has not yet been announced yet by its distributor Warner Bros. but Ritchie states that he does have an interest in shooting a sequal to RocknRolla. Let's hope Gerard's character survives to fight another day in that film.

Just follow the link to find the only picture of Gerard I could find from the film. Trust it to be imdb that has all the answers!
http://www.imdb.com/gallery/hh/0455057/iid_1356903.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=King%2C%20Matt%20(I)&seq=4

Saturday, 8 December 2007

James McAvoy

Here's a recent interview with rising star James McAvoy about his new movie Atonement. James is charming and funny in it, as always.

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