Ewan McGregor shooting 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'

Shooting on Salmon Fishing in the Yemen reportedly (via Best of Ewan) started on August 6. The nine week production will take place in London, Scotland, and Morocco. Ewan McGregor plays Dr. Alfred Jones alongside Emily Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Amr Waked. Photos of Ewan shooting on August 6 are above.

Happy birthday Kevin McKidd

Today is Kevin's 37th birthday. Hope he had a wonderful day.

Weekly schedule for Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Mo 8/9: Lindsay Sloane, Vampire Weekend
Tu 8/10: David Duchovny, Dave Barry
We 8/11: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Betty White, Julie Gribble
Th 8/12: Emma Thompson, Carlos Alazraqui
Fr 8/13: Alfred Molina, Chris Hardwick, Anna Kendrick

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James McAvoy campaigns for the UK Film Council

James McAvoy is among the more than 50 actors protesting plans to scrap the UK Film Council. An open letter was published on Thursday in The Daily Telegraph:

In a joint letter, they wrote that David Cameron's decision to axe the council as part of his savage costcutting drive threatened a "British success story".

They said the expertise of camera crews, lighting experts and set builders was the reason so many top Hollywood directors chose to make films here.

And they pointed out the industry made money for Britain, bringing in £5 for every £1 invested.

The letter said: "Everyone knows that times are tough. But the UKFC doesn't waste money, it makes it. Thanks to its efforts, our film industry, worth £4.5billion a year, has rarely been stronger."

The Government's plans have provoked outrage, with 42,000 people signing a Facebook petition.

Since the UKFC was established in 2000, British films have laid claim to 23% of box office takings.

It is responsible for some of the most successful UK hits including In the Loop, Bend it Like Beckham and Gosford Park. Last year it received £63.3million income from the Lottery and grant-in-aid.

Axing it would save just £3million a year. [Mirror.co.uk]

'Don Quixote' delayed; Ewan McGregor still attached

Back in May Ewan McGregor revealed that he was unsure about Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote ever getting off the ground. In an interview with MTV (via The Playlist) Gilliam explained that the film may be delayed because of some financial trouble:

MTV: So..."Don Quixote." Where are you at right now? I have my fingers crossed that you're still moving forward.

Terry Gilliam: We moved forward and then we stepped back a bit. Originally, I thought we were going to be in pre-production right now, but there's been a little hiccup. And me doing this thing with Arcade Fire is a result of this hiccup with "Don Quixote." Robert Duvall is still Quixote and Ewan McGregor is still involved — all that stuff is still happening. There's just been a financial hiccup.

...MTV: Is it really still going to happen?

Gilliam: I'll get back to it, but at the moment out there, if you're not spending a couple hundred million dollars in Hollywood, it's pretty rough. It's hard to predict anything. Everyone's having these problems. I'm not different from anybody else. [Eric Ditzain]

'Burlesque' gets a fall release date

It's a bit of a slow news day, but Screen Gems recently announced the release date for Burlesque which stars Alan Cumming. The film is set to open on November 24 in the US. No MPAA rating has been announced yet. A detailed synopsis is below:

Ali (Christina Aguilera) is a small-town girl with a big voice who escapes hardship and an uncertain future to follow her dreams to LA. After stumbling upon The Burlesque Lounge, a majestic but ailing theater that is home to an inspired musical revue, Ali lands a job as a cocktail waitress from Tess (Cher), the club’s proprietor and headliner. Burlesque’s outrageous costumes and bold choreography enrapture the young ingenue, who vows to perform there one day.

Soon enough, Ali builds a friendship with a featured dancer (Julianne Hough), finds an enemy in a troubled, jealous performer (Kristen Bell), and garners the affection of Jack (Cam Gigandet), a bartender and fellow musician. With the help of a sharp-witted stage manager (Stanley Tucci) and gender-bending host (Alan Cumming), Ali makes her way from the bar to the stage. Her spectacular voice restores The Burlesque Lounge to its former glory, though not before a charismatic entrepreneur (Eric Dane) arrives with an enticing proposal…

Craig Ferguson on The Early Show

Craig Ferguson appeared on The Early Show this morning to talk about Shark Week.

James McAvoy attached to 'Cloud Atlas'; distribution deal set for 'Gnomeo and Juliet'?

Several weeks ago, Production Weekly announced that James McAvoy and several other actors had been offered roles in Tom Tykwer's adaptation of Cloud Atlas. According to The Playlist, Tykewer was recently in LA, meeting with potential cast members and James McAvoy is now officially attached to the film. Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, and Natalie Portman are also officially attached, but Ian McKellen's involvement is still up in the air. Cloud Atlas doesn't have any financing or studio backing yet, so the project is still a long way from production. Based on David Mitchell's 2003 novel, Cloud Atlas focuses on six main characters and spans across thousands of years - from the 19th century to the distant future.

On the Gnomeo and Juliet front, the 3D animated film has just completed a UK and Canadian distribution deal with E1. It's schedule to open in February 2011 in the UK and Canada. Meanwhile, Disney will be distributing the film in America on February 11, 2011.

James McAvoy (Gnomeo), Emily Blunt (Juliet), Matt Lucas (Benny), Maggie Smith (Lady Blueberry), Michael Caine (Lord Redbrick), Stephen Merchant (Paris), Ashley Jensen (Nanette), Jason Statham (Tybalt) and Ozzy Osborne lend their voices to the comic make-over of Shakespeare’s tragedy set in the world of warring indoor and outdoor gnomes. [Screen Daily]

'The Tempest' to screen at the New York Film Festival

The Tempest, which stars Alan Cumming, will be the Centerpiece selection at this year's New York Film Festival. After it closes the Venice Film Festival on September 11, it will then have its North American debut at the NYFF on Saturday, October 2, 2010.

Robert Carlyle at Comic-Con

Robert Carlyle spoke to Fused Film at this year's San Diego Comic-Con and the interview is now online. He revealed some details on the second season of Stargate Universe, which is halfway through shooting, and will air on Syfy in October. You can watch the entire interview below.

Weekly schedule for Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Mo 8/2: Eddie Izzard, George Hamilton
Tu 8/3: Jeffrey Tambor, Drew Thomas
We 8/4: Julie Chen, Paula Poundstone
Th 8/5: Paris Hilton, Alex Dryden, Fred MacAulay
Fr 8/6: Mark Wahlberg, Jacinda Barrett

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Reminder: Shark Week returns with Craig Ferguson

Discovery Channel's 23rd annual Shark Week starts today at 9pm ET with its first special "Ultimate Air Jaws". Host Craig Ferguson will be getting his own special episode "Shark Bites", which is set to air on Wednesday, August 4 at 9pm ET.

Edit: Craig's special Shark Bites: Adventures in Shark Week will actually be airing at 10pm e/p on Wednesday, August 4. Thanks to @SariesWick for pointing this out.

On the set of 'Decoy Bride'

The folks over at For Argyll have a pretty extensive look at what shooting is like for David Tennant, and the rest of the cast and crew on the set of Decoy Bride. You can check out on-set photos and the entire article here; For Argyll does reveal that the movie will likely screen at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Photo by Rebecca Martin

John Hannah at the 'Spartacus' Comic-Con panel

John Hannah and the rest of the Spartacus cast appeared at Comic-Con to talk about the upcoming prequel season, which is titled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. The season will premiere in January 2011 on Starz. Photos from the panel are below and shaky footage of the panel has appeared on YouTube, so you can watch the first part of the panel here.