Official Long Way Round site updated

There's an update on the official site. A fascinating travelogue from the Mongolian border to Ulaan Bataar covering May 19 to 28 (containing two tiny pictures).

Three new pictures were added in the image gallery ("Crew car & carcass", "A camel" and "Around the camp fire").

Four fun videos have also been added, including one where Ewan sings!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Tuesday, June 29, 2004 // 07:13 a.m.

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Official Long Way Round updated

The official Long Way Round site has been updated a new travelogue covering May 16 to 19 in Almaty and the Altai Region. It includes two small images.

The image gallery has 7 new photographs.

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 // 07:50 a.m.

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Solid Geometry now available on DVD

Ewan McGregor and Ruth Millar star as Phil and Maisie, a succesful advertising executive and his wildcat young wife, whose hedonistic lifestyle is thrown into turmoil by Phil's dangerous obsession with his great-great grandfather's secret diaries.

Directed by Denis Lawson, and based on the compelling short story by Ian McEwan, this critically acclaimed supernatural thriller is an edgy, erotically charged tale of passion, obsession and the unknown.

This is the official premiere DVD release of the film, which has not previously been seen outside of the UK and film festivals. NTSC and PAL versions are available with international shipping options. Please note these DVDs are multi-region and will play anywhere. The DVDs are currently available at a special introductory price of £7.99 (approx $14.60) plus shipping

Running time: 30mins, Colour, English language, certificate 15.

This is an independent release by the filmakers, please spread the word!

If you have any enquiries about the release, please mail to: mail@solidgeometry.net

You may order Solid Geometry directly from the official Solid Geometry site.

Special thanks to Gill Parry, producer of Solid Geometry, for the information and the photographs!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Sunday, June 20, 2004 // 10:26 a.m.

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Ewan McGregor spends three days in Yakutsk

June 18 2004
Note: Text translated using Babel Fish, which was extremely clumsy and difficult to understand. Interpreted and corrected by Claude Marcotte.

Without pomp and circumstance, within the framework of a round-the-world journey, the star of "Moulin Rouge" and "Star Wars" - Hollywood actor Ewan McGregor - arrived almost incognito in Yakutsk this week.

Along were actor Charlie Borrman, producers Russ Malkin and David Alexanian, camera operators James Simak and Claudio Planta. The Russian part of the group was represented by doctor Vasiliy Nishipenko and bodyguard Sergey Grabovets.

McGregor stayed for three days.

"NV" reporter Hope Teterina will describe the details.

McGregor's journey began in London in mid-April. The group rapidly crossed Europe on their motorcycles, and were then in the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Altai, and Mongolia. The travellers planned to arrive in Yakutsk at the beginning June, but incidents along the way delayed them.

Moderators, who answered for the organization of their visit, met the guests on June 14 at approximately 11 p.m. In their dusty suits looking emaciated, Ewan was sporting a beard and at first he was not recognized as a Hollywood celebrity.

The representatives of the ministry for matters of enterprise RS(YA) and the main agency of air traffic of Yakutiya drove to meet the travellers at the republic's border. The group was comprised of three BMW motorcycles, a "Mitsubishi Segun" jeep with a cow's skull fastened on the cowling and a UAZ-"sanitarka". The cow's skull was installed in Mongolia in memory of a terrible accident, in which one of the two jeeps was damaged and had to abandon the journey.

As they arrived in Russia, they immediately purchased a gray "female medical orderly" (a trailer perhaps?), after estimating that for our roads, good capacity and passability was necessary.

The welcomed guests settled in the "Ontario" hotel, since this out-of-town hotel has a garage.

During the first day those get tiredded, dusty arrived. Since the profits late, immediately lay to sleep.

They also left the following day to leisure. The producer and bodyguard went into the city in order to supplement their supplies of food for the journey. On the third day of their stay, June 16, the guests went out on excursions. Elvira Prozatet, tourism division chief, was occupied by the touristic part of their visit to the earth Olonkho. He described to "NV" that Ewan McGregor and his associates were shown the museum of archaeology, the museum of mammoths and the underground laboratory of the institute of permafrost studies.

The group of travellers did not manage to avoid adventures in Merzlotke. The group's jeep drove into a nearby swamp and got stuck. The process of extracting the vehicle was also filmed for the documentary. It is necessary to say that the entire run time was conducted practically continuously, operators James and Claudio tried to imprint all the details of the Yakut's soil and proceeding events.

In their Diamond-park they were fed, shashlik(?) was pleasing to the guests. The visitors did not drink alcohol, instead they drank Coca-Cola. However, the Hollywood actor touched glass to container with the living sights of park - parrot by Matvei. The spent much time on the shooting range, shooting at the flanges. They spent a long and joyful time with a bear cub, after taking it out of its cage.

To their supper they brought in Ytyk-Khaya to the atlas. Curious guests tried the national dishes and acknowledged that they were omnivorous and found the food unpretentious.

Producer immediately warned yakutyan: "do not wait for interviews with the star!", but for free-lance correspondent "NV" Larissa Makarovoy it was nevertheless possible to ask the well-known actor several questions. Naturally, in English.

"NV": How to you like Yakutsk?

Ewan: To me here, in principle, I am pleased - especially the people, your hospitality and friendliness. But things here are expensive and very complex.

"NV": You are here only three days in order to learn city rather better. You should come again.

Ewan: Thanks for the invitation! I would want to visit again, but I do not know when. It's necessary to finish this trip, we still have a long journey ahead of us.

"NV": But when you finish, what will you do?

Ewan: It's complicated to say right now. I will be with the family. My wife and two daughters are already tired of waiting for me and I miss them. But the airing of the documentary is planned towards the end of the year.

After talking with McGregor, Larissa noted that Ewan was an open person, quite sociable, which seems quite uncommon for a star of his level.

By the way, you do know, how many Yakut fans obtained permission to meet with their idol?

vzhivuyu? You will not believe it: only four. Security at first did not want to allow them to approach the actor, but then, after noting the proper behavior of girls, permitted them to approach the actor. Ewan gave autographs, and was photographed willingly.

Returning from supper, McGregor and its friend Boorman discovered an uncommon sight: a large inscription "Ewan and Charley", made with lipstick directly on the asphalt in front of the Ontario hotel's entrance. The actors laughed and were photographed lying on the pavement, next to the uncommon graffiti.

Yesterday the group of foreign travellers departed at 11 a.m. By the way, now on Ewan's motorcycle is a sticker bearing the coat of arms of the city and the inscription "Yakutsk".

There are still difficulties ahead of them. From Neryungri to Yakutsk, the road is more or less normal, but after that, the cold pole and the complex section of route to Tomtora. Those who have driven in that direction know that there are clamps(?) and rivers that unpredictably flood the road.

The guests said that the most extreme roads for them were in Mongolia.

We will see what they will say after Yakutiya, but it is useless to worry. The group will be accompanied to the Magadan region group by the representative of the ministry of enterprise Rail Zalyalov, who knows this section of the road quite well.

The travellers plan to reach Magadan in order to cross by aircraft to Alaska, and to then cross Canada and the USA. They will end krugosvetka( their trip?) in New York, and the result will become 10-part documentary "Long Way Round", in which there will be chapter about hospitable Yakutiya.

From Nashe Vremya, photos by Yakutsk Vecherniy

Source: NV Press (article and color photos) and YA Online (b&w photos)

Thanks to Lucy for the find!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Friday, June 18, 2004 // 08:02 p.m.

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Ewan reads Chekhov stories repeated on BBC Radio

During the week starting Monday 28th June, BBC Radio 4 are repeating the series of short stories by Anton Chekhov that Ewan read for them a few years ago.

1. Disappointment: His Wife - Monday 28th June 3:30-3:45pm
2. Disappointment: The Bet - Tuesday 29th June 3:30-3:45pm
3. Disappointment: The Beauty - Wednesday 30th June 3:30-3:45pm
4. Disappointment: Concerning Love - Thursday 1 July 3:30-3:45pm
5. Disappointment: Vanka - Friday 2 July 3:30-3:45pm

All times are GMT (subtract 5 hours for U.S. Eastern time).

Radio frequencies:
92.4-94.6FM, 103.6-104.9FM, 720AM

Freeview Channel: 74

Sky Digital: 854

Or you can listen to it online at: BBC Radio 4

Each episode will probably be available there until the next one is aired, so just search for it on the right hand side if you miss it. It will probably either be under 'Disappointment' or in the Arts and Drama section.

Thanks to Holly CKY for the heads up!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Thursday, June 17, 2004 // 09:36 p.m.

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Faster available on DVD for Canada and U.S.A.

Faster, the motorbike film narrated by Ewan, is now available for purchase online and by phone to Canadian and American fans!

Visit the official Faster site for details.

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 // 06:27 p.m.

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Relieved mum says Ewan is on course

Mon 14 Jun 2004
The Gossip of the Glitterati - edited by Edward Black

Devotees of Scotland’s leading man Ewan McGregor, who are concerned for his whereabouts since he set off on his round-the-world motorbike trip, will be relieved to know that the actor has phoned home to report all is well.

"Yes, I had a phone call from Ewan recently," said his relieved mother, Carol, at the UK première of the film she helped produce - Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius - at the New Picture House in St Andrews.

"He has just finished driving through Russia and into Mongolia and has been thoroughly enjoying it. There have obviously been a few ups and downs along the way, but so far nothing serious. He did say that a lot of the scenery he has passed is so like Scotland it has made him feel homesick."

Having helped to marshal a film crew, extras, première and party for the Bobby Jones biopic, which marked the big-screen debut of the hallowed contours of the Old Course, Carol was more than relieved that all had gone smoothly.

Source: The Scotsman

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Sunday, June 13, 2004 // 09:52 p.m.

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The official Long Way Round site has been updated!

Ewan and Charley’s journey between London and Western Kazakhstan is now on-line in a new Travelogue section. Don’t forget to check out the Image Gallery for additional pics.

www.longwayround.com

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Friday, June 11, 2004 // 11:59 a.m.

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The Long Way Round - Update

28/05/04

Note: This article is rather behind in the news as this happened several weeks ago.



Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman reach the Kazakhstan border


Away the lads!

After three months of intensive preparation, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman finally hit the road. Following a small send off party at the Long Way Round headquarters in London the duo crossed into Europe, via the Eurotunnel, for a first overnight stop in Brussels. The next day they rode to their first landmark – the Nürburgring in Germany, a motorcyclists’ Mecca.

On the third night Ewan and Charley managed to reach Prague. Neither had visited the beautiful city before and were both extremely impressed. They just had enough time to sneak a look around the underground Catacombs, which are normally closed to the public.

After spending as much time in Prague as they dared, the duo headed into Slovakia via the eerie Church of Bones in Kutna Hora and through the Moravian Karst. They visited the fairy tale castle in Bojnice and stopped overnight with a family in a small village near Kosice.

At the Ukraine border Ewan and Charlie encountered their first hitch. A delay of over 12 hours meant that by the time clearance had been finalised, they were exhausted. With a dogged refusal to accept the inevitable, the pair simply gritted their teeth and rode on. In the end, their bloody-minded determination paid off and they made up the lost hours to arrive in Kiev bang on schedule. This gave them enough time to tour Kiev and visit a UNICEF project, which aims to help and provide support for children affected by the Chernobyl disaster.

While on the way out of the country, Ewan and Charlie visited a Ukrainian family who took them to see a working mine in operation. They were briefed about safety and then rode the train that was being used in the mine shaft.

The next day the two riders crossed the border into Russia – this time without a hitch. By stopping at Volgograd for a few days to assess stocks and check essential equipment, the pair were able to replenish depleted energy levels. After that it was back on the road again and a quick overnight stop in Astrakhan before reaching the Russia/Kazakhstan border.

As reported exclusively in Motor Cycle News, here is Ewan And Charley’s assessment of the trip so far:

CHARLEY BOORMAN

“We’re having a great time so far, and the bikes are holding up fantastically well to the tough terrain. It was great to finally get away after all the preparation and planning. Someone told me before hand that if we could get through the preparation, the journey would be easy – and they were almost right!

“It was awesome when we got into Europe. We made sure we went to the N ü rburgring in Germany. I’ve been there before, but it was Ewan’s first time – it’s quite an experience. We didn’t actually do any laps of the old track, but spent a while there just watching other bikes fly by. Our first actual stop after leaving the UK was in Brussels, followed by the N ü rburgring, then we rode straight through to Prague in just one day – which was quite a ride. It has to be said the bikes simply soaked up the miles, though – they’re fantastic machines.

“Once we got over the Czech border we could really notice we were leaving Europe. The road conditions change quite significantly.”

EWAN MCGREGOR

“We had out first day off in Prague – just to have a break from the riding – and then jumped straight back on the bikes and raced across to Slovakia. We had a bit of a problem at the border there. Because we’re carrying so much kit – all the cameras and sound gear for the TV programme – we have to carry documents to prove we haven’t sold anything in the countries we visit. They get stamped on the way into each country, and again on the way out to show you still have the same amount of stuff. But we forgot to get them stamped on the way into the Czech Republic, which took a bit of explaining when we got to the next border crossing!

“There’s a totally different vibe in eastern Europe – it all gets a bit crumbly – but now we’re really in the swing of things. We had the bikes serviced in the Ukraine and put new tyres on. We’re using knobblies for the trip, and they’ve been surprisingly good on the road, but they’re quite soft so they wear out fast. The bikes have taken quite a battering, but have stood up to it incredibly well. Some of the electronics in the top boxes have got absolutely shattered, though.”

THE BIKES

During the first few weeks the bikes and all the equipment have performed perfectly. The only minor incident, so far, occurred 10 minutes after they left. Charley was filling up with petrol and dropped the bike! There was minor damage to a mirror but a new one was dispatched immediately by BMW, and Ewan and Charley continued on their way. The bikes were serviced by a BMW dealership in Kiev to make sure they were in perfect condition for the drive through Russia and Kazakhstan.

THE TV SERIES AND THE BOOK

Long Way Round, is being made into a major TV series to be screened on Sky One (UK) and Bravo (USA), with a book of their personal memoirs to be published by Time Warner Books (UK) and Atria (USA). The friends will film most of the programme themselves, via individual hand-held cameras and state-of-the-art bike-mounted cameras, and will be joined periodically by a third rider who will film the pair at specific points. The Long Way Roundtelevision seriesis being produced by David Alexanian (Elixir Films) and Russ Malkin (Image Wizard TV), and co-produced by Ewan and Charley.

NEXT ...

The next update will cover Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s trip through Russia and Kazakhstan.


Source: World of BMW

Thank you Barbara for the find!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Thursday, June 3, 2004 // 12:37 p.m.

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Ewan McGregor crosses the Altai Mountains into China

31-05-2004
Text translated using Babel Fish, which was extremely clumsy and difficult to understand. Interpreted and corrected by Claude Marcotte and Igor.

Last week, the well-known Hollywood film actor left for China via the Altai mountains, reports the committee on the information policy of the government of the Altai Republic.

The actor and his friend Charley Boorman are on a round-the-world journey via London, Europe, Russia, Asia, Alaska, New York and London. The round-the-world journey will become a ten-part documentary called Long Way Round which will be shown throughout the world.

Their route of travel along the territory of the republic via the Altai Mountains passed along the basic transport corridor - Mayma - Tashanta, which is traditional for tourists. Supposedly, later, the actor departed into the Chinese province of Xinjiang (map of China).

Source: Altay Daily Review (Russia)

Thanks to Lucy for the find!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Monday, May 31, 2004 // 08:15 p.m.

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Solid Geometry on DVD June 15

30 min drama directed by Denis Lawson, based on the short story by Ian McEwan, starring Ewan McGregor, Ruth Millar, Peter Capaldi, Jonathan Watson; critically acclaimed supernatural thriller is an edgy, erotically charged tale of passion, obsession and the unknown. Running time: 30min Rating: 15 Specification: PAL (Europe) & NTSC (North America and Japan) DVD Language: English Presented in widescreen 16:9 Optional Audio description for the visually impaired This item will be despatched on 15 June. Order page: solid geometry :: shop :: simbiotic

Source: solidgeometry.net

Thank you Barbara for the heads up!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Wednesday, May 26, 2004 // 05:00 p.m.

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Solid Geometry on UK TV Tonight

According to their television listings, it's playing tonight on Channel 4:

22:00 Solid Geometry
[repeat] [subtitles]

An eerie, provocative tale of obsession, mathematics and strange disappearances. Starring Ewan McGregor in a rare TV role, and adapted from the cult short story by Ian McEwan. Also starring Peter Capaldi and Jonathan Watson.

Source: Channel 4


Solid Geometry
starring: Ewan McGregor, Peter Capaldi, Ruth Millar, Jonathan Watson
written by: Denis Lawson
directed by: Denis Lawson
30 minutes UK (2002)

Ewan McGregor stars in this half-hour adaptation of an Ian McEwan short story. A young man inherits his great grandfather's diaries and discovers the gateway to another dimension.

Denis Lawson's Solid Geometry is a slick quickie adapted from a story in Ian McEwan's collection 'First Love, Last Rites'. Made for Scottish TV in association with Channel 4, it's an erotically-charged tale of the unexpected that blends sex, obsession and mystical maths to highly intriguing effect.

Phil (McGregor) and Maisie (Millar) are a young Edinburgh couple whose relationship is upset by the arrival of the possessions of his great-grandfather (Capaldi). As well as an ancient penis in a jar, these include documents relating to the discovery of "the plane without a surface," an arcane geometrical figure that operates as a one-way ticket to another dimension. Increasingly obsessed, Phil recreates his great-grandfather's research, then tests the results on Maisie.

Reportedly a labour of love for McGregor and writer-director Lawson, the style of Solid Geometry recalls his work with Danny Boyle while the tone puts it firmly in the tradition of 'The Twilight Zone'. Millar and Capaldi provide charismatic support and though the ending is purposefully cryptic, it's a clever little curio that unfolds with high style.

Verdict

Bold, good-looking and unashamedly sexy TV drama. At half-an-hour long it's unlikely to outstay its welcome and Lawson's slick direction ensures it stands up very respectably next to McGregor's more high profile work.

Source: Channel 4

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 // 07:15 a.m.

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Young Adam U.S. DVD release date

According to an inside source at Sony, Young Adam will be released in the U.S. on September 14.

Thanks to xcbug for the information!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Friday, May 21, 2004 // 09:29 p.m.

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Motorcycle Jedi. Hollywood actor Ewan McGregor visits Barnaul

Ewan rummages in his motorcycle in the rear court of the "Siberia" Hotel

18 May 2004

Text translated using Babel Fish, which was extremely clumsy and difficult to understand. Interpreted and corrected by Claude Marcotte and Igor.

It was possible to assume that Ewan McGregor was capable with fencing, after seeing it in the means of a happy drug addict in Trainspotting. After the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I, it became possible to believe that he was ready to suffer deprivations and fight. But no one could think that this cutie would sit down at the controls of a motorcycle and leave for Krugosvetku, but already those more it will cover along the road into Barnaul!

Nevertheless in the evening of May 16 the Jedi entered into the edge of the capital of Altai. The project by the name of Long Way Round began in England a month ago. They visited five countries in Europe. They arrived to us through Kazakhstan, where they were detained for two days. "Terrible roads, awesome hospitality. They wouldn't have let us leave the table and made us eat mutton" - says Ewan. In Barnaul, it was possible for the travellers to pass unnoticed. They stayed in the Siberia Hotel, and their iron horses were covered from curious eyes in the rear court. The cavalcade of tourists consisted of three BMW R1150GS motorcycles and a Mitsubishi jeep. Ewan showed off in our town on the bike, which had been highly tuned to the limit.. He repaired "the horse" himself. Generally, he proved to be a simple and merry fellow. He diligently pronounced "thank you" and "please" in Russian and endlessly repeated "beautiful", being enraptured by Barnaul. "Cozy green city, approachable people", noted McGregor.

The group spent the night of May 16-17 and half of the next day in Barnaul. The guys visited a branch of one of the cellular companies to add some money to their accounts. Also they were inoculated against tick-borne encephalitis and stocked up on immunoglobulin. "I could hardly have persuaded them to that," complains Russian doctor Vasiliy Nichipenko. "They do not understand for sure what tongs and snakes are, and do not take care". Also, the travellers bought a lot of motorcycling clothes in a local store.

McGregor was accompanied by six people. Among them - his friend actor Charley Boorman, bodyguard Sergey Grabovets, doctor Vasiliy Nichipenko, and the team of the British television channel "Image Wizard-TV". Jim Simac does most of the film shooting. He is the only cameraman, who did film Osama Bin Laden(!). Jim will get one million dollars for his work. In autumn 2004 "Image Wizard-TV" will release 10-part documentary. While McGregor will write a book about the journey, he did not accept acting contracts for the entire year.

From Barnaul kaval'kada, they travelled to the Altai mountain. From there they will go to Mongolia, back to Russia, and then by airplane - to America. The tour's end is planned in the middle of July in New York.

Source: Alpapress (Russia)

Thanks to Lucy for the find!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 // 07:44 a.m.

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Ewan McGregor in Barnaul

May 17, 2004

Note: The original Russian text was translated using Babel Fish. It was clumsy and difficult to read. The text was re-written by Claude Marcotte. Claude knows it's not perfect, but it's much easier to read than it originally was.

McGregor's route around the world took him through our border. His project, "Long Way Round", started in London in the middle of April. McGregor, along with the "Image Wizard TV" film crew visited Great Britain, Belgium, and from Russia will go to Canada and the United States.

Let us note that Ewan McGregor arrived only yesterday in Barnaul, although he had been expected since Friday. Ewan refused to meet with journalists. Within minutes he was on his way to the Altai mountains.

Yesterday, along the road to Barnaul, the expedition met a biker from the Altai Region. The name of the biker was not revealed. The Hollywood guests liked the resident of the land very much, and even decided to take him with them on the ride. According to radio “Europe Plus Barnaul”, now the biker tries on the special uniform for the journey.

Source: Barnaul.org

Thanks to Lucy for the find and Igor for the help with the translation!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Monday, May 17, 2004 // 07:37 a.m.

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McGregor arrives at Altai border

15 May 2004
Text translated using Babel Fish, interpreted and corrected by Claude Marcotte

Barnaul. 15 May. Interfaks-Siberia - Well-known Hollywood actor Ewan McGregor, who is doing a round-the-world journey by motorcycle, arrived at the Altai (in Russia) border.

A procession of two motorcycles, two Mitsubishi jeeps and a trailer, is expected to cross the Altai border into Russia on Saturday, as reported by the local media.

Ewan McGregor and his friend Charley Boorman's round-the-world journey is taking them through Altai. Ewan McGregor is known for his films "Trainspotting", "Star Wars", "Moulin Rouge", "Big Fish" and "Young Adam".

"Long Way Round", which started in the middle of April in London, follows the journey of the actor and his friend through Great Britain, Belgium, Russia, Canada and the United States.

Accompanying the travellers is a film crew for Image Wizard Television. The filmed material will become the basis of a 10-part documentary.

Source: interfax

Thanks to Lucy for the find!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Sunday, May 16, 2004 // 11:01 a.m.

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Extreme Ewan

Written by Danil Shemratov
Translated and adapted by Igor and Claude
Photos: Danil Shemratov (Shymkent)
14/05/2004

Hollywood star Ewan McGregor is riding on across Kazakhstan

The escort team of McGregor had to be really concerned and nervous about the star's life and health somewhere in the middle of the trip across Kazakhstan. A sort of blood-sucking insect stung the "Moulin Rouge" and "Star Wars" actor on the forehead.

The species of the insect had never been clearly identified. So, the English and Kazakhstan doctors had been conducting a true conference over mobile phones and Internet; the most dangerous variant was considered as well - the sting of the encephalitic tick.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

That close encounter with the fauna of Kazakhstan took place before McGregor's visit to Turkestan. Together with his friend and companion Charley Boorman, Ewan made up his mind to experience the utmost romantice and sleep in a double tent right in the middle of the Kazakh steppe. While the decision confused the English organizers' plans, no one dared contradict the stars. That's how the Jedi appeared face to face with the creatures, which were unaware of the world popularity of their victim or traditional Kazakh hospitality.

In the morning the famous traveler woke up with a red, substantial swelling on his forehead. The people in charge of McGregor's safety were really anxious and searched through the whole tent trying to find the blood-sucker, but not a trace of it was found, of course.

The team's doctor made calls to the British and American Toxicology Centers to get a detailed consultation. The English toxicologists requested special charts of the natural habitats of blood-sucking and stinging insects of Kazakhstan, which were provided immediately by their colleagues from Kazakhstan.

When the British found out that McGregor got stung by an unknown insect living in the habitat of the encephalitic tick (which is considered to be one of the most dangerous insects, since the antidotes available for it are less than effective), the project appeared to be under the threat of failure. The foreign toxicologists didn't wish to make default conclusions and recommended McGregor urgently fly to the UK for a thorough medical examination.

However by that time McGregor was on his way to entering Turkestan, and he was examined by the Kazakh doctors. According to the doctors from South Kazakhstan, the very fact that McGregor was able to get up and then ride for hundreds of kilometers proved that an encephalitic tick bite could be excluded.

Ewan McGregor went through the incident calmly, as he reasoned that various parasites had already bitten him.

Real Jedi

They had been waiting for Ewan McGregor in Shymkent since the second of May. Two weeks earlier the regional press-center had advised the local journalists, in particular, that the actor tries to avoid contact with the representatives of the media. Moreover, all the filming rights are reserved for the British organizers of the project, who are working on a documentary about McGregor's and Boorman's travels. So, all video and photo materials can be presented and published in the local media only.

That was also the reason why their visit in the South Kazakhstan Region was considered to be a private compared to a formal one. That is why no official meetings with the authorities had been planned. Nevertheless, due to their pre-planned program, the Shymkent guests were supposed to attend the Kazakh national equestrian competitions.

The team had reached Shymkent only by the evening of May 7. It was raining, but in spite of the wet weather, Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman and the their cameraman were riding at average 120 km/h.

At the "gates" to the city of Shymkent the guests were welcomed by the representatives of sports popular in South Kazakhstan and Shymkent. The guests were treated to traditional courses including koumiss (fermented mare's milk) around improvised "dastarkhan" ("dastarkhan" is a traditional Kazakh, very low table; people are usually sitting on the floor, on a carpet. Also "dastarkhan" is referred to the dining ritual in general). When Ewan started to taste the drink, the accompanying people were nervous (they were afraid of everything, including the drinks... Well, they might be poisoned, or could make McGregor sick for whatever reason) as the recent incident with the sting was still vivid in their minds. But McGregor and Boorman drained their Kazakh keses ("kese" is a special drinking bowl used in Central Asia, see photo above), and they seemed to like koumiss very much.

The citizens of Shymkent were not able to see the Hollywood star, or even to cast a cursory glance at the bikes. Right away McGregor and Co. headed to the country hippodrome by the circuit road. At the hippodrome they were shown all kinds of national equestrian sports, including kokpar (when horse-riders are fighting for a goat carcass, you could've seen the game in the Rambo movie) and baiga (long-distance horse-race). McGregor and Boorman especially liked "the kiss of a Dzhigit" ("dzhigit" is a skillful horseman). The Englishmen appeared to be enthusiastic supporters of the horsemen.

After the end of the official sports program, McGregor and Boorman walked down to the riding arena and tried to ride the Shymkent horses. They just switched their bikes for the horses, and showed their excellent riding skills, galloping almost during the entire loop. The horse riders of Shymkent cheered up McGregor, exclaiming "The real Jedi!"

McGregor shook hands with all the horsemen from Shymkent, and was especially happy to shake hands with the female riders (most of them were 14-16 years old), and had memorable pictures taken.

Generally, Ivan Makarov-Grigoryev, as Ewan McGregor was nicknamed by both Kazakhs and Russians, in spite of the language barrier, was eager to communicate with all the locals. He was willingly photographed with them, and gave out autographs. As a farewell he said "rakhmet" (goodbye) in the Kazakh language, which caused storm of applause and cheers from the crowd at the Shymkent hippodrome.

After the horse-races, the guests were brought to one of the local restaurants where they tasted national dishes and then went to a private hotel. In the morning the riders headed to the former capital of Kazakhstan - Almaty.

Source: caravan.kz

Thanks to Igor for the find and the translation!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Sunday, May 16, 2004 // 11:00 a.m.

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Ewan McGregor hypnotized by the road

07/05/2004
By Aygerim Mekisheva

Note: The original Russian text was translated using Babel Fish. It was very clumsy and very hard to read. The text was re-written by Claude Marcotte and mrlzbth. Claude knows it's not perfect. But it's much easier to read than it originally was.

Film star Ewan McGregor and its friend, actor Charlie Boorman, who, on April 14 left for a 3-month motorcycle trip from London to New York, successfully crossed the border of Kazakhstan and even had time to visit in Atyrau.

As reported by MID, the actors and their tracking group will be in Kazakhstan for two weeks. But roads are the the only thing that await them; remarkable stops are also on their itinerary. Planned are a visit of the mausoleum Hodja by Ahmet yasavi, the national horse jumping competition in Shymkent, the 3-copeck piece in Charynskogo Canyon, hunting, and also a bath after so long a journey. Ewan will be bathing in Arasan (waterfalls). Furthermore, the renowned Jedi and his fellow motorcyclists must continue across the Tien Shan (mountain range). But Ewan will not be allowed into Baikonur (one of the biggest space centers in the world), as his documents are not in order.

But this is not simple adventure, but an entire project. Together with Ewan along for the trip is a film crew. They will subsequently release a documentary film of "Long Way 'Round" and a book, which narrates how Evan and his friend Charlie, where they met on the set of "The Serpent's Kiss" and became friends thanks to their love of motorcycles, will drive 32 thousand kilometers through all of Europe, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia and North America. True, the friends crossed the English Channel along the railroad under the strait, and they will fly over the Bering strait in an aircraft.

However, before the journey, the Britons took survival courses under extreme conditions, self-defence, first-aid with British commandos, and also learned basic language skills, cultural awareness skills and etiquette. So the star of "Trainspotting" and "Star Wars", etc. will arrive prepared into Almaty.

The friends are traveling on BMW R1150GS motorcycles. They took a minimum of items including global positioning navigation systems and satellite telephones.

Ewan about his enthusiasm: "I cannot clearly explain, but there is this "road hypnosis". You either love this or it has no interest for you. Nothing better for me."

Source: caravan.kz

Thanks to Lucy for the find and to mrlzbth for her help with fixing up the text!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Thursday, May 13, 2004 // 10:12 p.m.

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McGregor in the middle of nowhere

Olga Danilevskaya
Translated and edited by Igor and Claude

Our city was visited by well-known British actor Ewan McGregor; the very same Obi-Wan Kenobi from "Star Wars", Mark Renton from "Trainspotting" and writer Christian from the musical "Moulin Rouge".

News about Ewan McGregor's visit was unofficial, and people knew about it by word of mouth only, but in the end at the meeting point there were so many journalists, you would never see this many at any official event in this town. There it was, a world-scale event! Aktyubinsk became one of the stops of the ride of 33-year-old actor, whose challenge is to ride around the world with his friend Charley Boorman from London to New York. The ride will cover around 32,000 kilometers, or 20,000 miles, and the team plans to complete the trip within three and a half months. The riders are accompanied by a film crew through the numerous countries and continents their route will take them. A cameraman is making a documentary during the ride, which is supposed to show the adventures of the brave men, but will also depict the culture, life styles and nature of the places the riders will visit. The team started off on April 15, 2004, and had reached Kazakhstan by the first of May, having ridden across Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, the Ukraine and Russia. The actor spent two days in Atyrau near the Caspian Sea. Our journalist-colleagues from Atyrau were less lucky, as they got the information about McGregor's visit only after he had left their town.

The Shubarkuduk administration didn't expect such important guests in their town. The day before they had been instructed to only provide safety measures for the travelers. It was planned for the team to just cross the area of Temirsk, and the Shubarkuduk authorities were supposed to provide the police and ambulance escort until the Mugalzharsk region border. But suddenly the plans were changed, and the town administration had to welcome the unexpected guests.

"At around nine in the evening two big cars arrived, and about an hour later a jeep and three motorcyclists showed up," said Mr. Nurmukhan Utepov, representative of the Temirsk region administration. "The foreigners were so exhausted that they wouldn't ride any longer. They asked for a place to spend the night and were ready to sleep anywhere." Six people checked in the Shubarkuduk hotel: McGregor himself, his friend Boorman and the cameraman; onboard the escorting jeep were a doctor, an interpreter and the driver. Two other cars, who had been waiting for the riders to arrive, headed to Aktobe.

The local population of Shubarkuduk were really surprised by the motorcycles: they said the bikes were spacecraft-like machines, equipped with computers and other gadgets. The expensive machines were kept in the guarded garage overnight.

"Of course, there was no food specially made for the event, since we didn't expect the guests," continued Mr. Utepov. "We had to offer what we had in the menu of our restaurant. In the morning the guests had some tea and off they were".

The next stop was planned in Aktyubinsk. At noon the area near Central Stadium was crowded with people who knew about the star's visit. The journalists were warned: "Only photos are allowed".

The star was late, and the crowd was getting nervous and concerned: "What if he doesn't show up?.." McGregor arrived quietly. The motorcyclists, escorted by a police car with flashing lights eventually appeared on the site. There were three riders: Ewan McGregor, his friend, actor Charley Boorman and the cameraman. When Ewan took off his helmet, I did not see the cute guy who sang "Come What May" with Nicole Kidman, but a tired, unshaven foreigner knee-deep covered with mud.

In spite of the warning that the actor didn't wish to speak to journalists, surrounded by the crowd, McGregor did answer their questions.

- How do you like Kazakhstan?

Ewan: We've only been here for three days, so I can't tell much. But I'd like to point out that Kazakhstan and Russia are the most interesting countries on our route. Mongolia might turn out to be an exotic country for us as well.

- Where do you stop during the journey?

Ewan: In hotels. The idea is not to ride around the world suffering and spending the night in tents, but to just ride around the world. When we stay in hotels, we can wash ourselves, clean our clothes, check up our gear and equipment.

- What do you have for meals?

Ewan: We've got food supplies, but every place we've stopped, the locals give us a treat. For instance, in Kazakhstan we were treated to koumiss (fermented mare's milk) and meat.

- What else do you plan to do after the ride, besides working on the documentary?

Ewan: I'd like to write a book about the ride.

- How to you like our roads?

Ewan: (laughing) Very interesting. If it were not for those special wheels…

The actors had been planning and preparing for their ride thoroughly for a long period of time. In one interview McGregor explained: "We went through intensive training. Well, generally, mainly, we were trained to fall off the bikes. Then we took a long course on how to behave in hostile situations, taught by former infantrymen. The course included medical skills, just in case one of us gets shot. We studied survival skills - we were trained how to start a fire, and what gear we might need. Also we learned Russian and trained to increase our physical endurance by running and rowing".

The riders are traveling on BMW R1150GS motorbikes.

The team will be riding across Kazakhstan for around two weeks. Tonight the team is expected to reach Aral. Then their route takes them through Kyzylorda and Almaty to Mongolia, Siberia, Canada and the USA.

Source: Diapazon

Thanks to Lucy, Gail, Josie and Baby Jefer for the find!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Thursday, May 13, 2004 // 07:34 a.m.

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Looks like the Daily Record is still catching up to our translated article from last week...

Ewan is a Miner Star in Ukraine

May 12 2004

FILM idol Ewan McGregor has been declared an honorary coal miner after a hazardous 250ft journey into a Ukrainian pit.

The Scot made the perilous descent during his 20,000-mile motorcycle trek across eastern Europe and North America.

McGregor, 33, and his biking companion, actor Charlie Boorman, were invited to inspect the mine by officials in the Donbass region.

They were both rewarded with diplomas declaring them 'honorary miners of Donbass'.

Russian film-maker Stanislav Komarov accompanied McGregor and Boorman, son of film director John Boorman, into the mine.

Last night, he revealed the actors had wanted to go even deeper into the pit but it was declared too dangerous.

Komarov said: 'Our descent under the ground was prepared very carefully.

'Ewan, Charlie and myself had to change into miners' clothing and we were given a safety pack to use should we have to be rescued.

'Ewan and Charlie wanted to go all the way down to the bottom but the doctor on the trip was against this idea.

'We were lowered by a trolley into a diagonal shaft to a depth of 250 feet. It was still terrifying and the air very thick and heavy.'

McGregor and Boorman, 37, set off on their marathon bike trek in the middle of April.

It will take them across eastern Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

They will cross some of the world's harshest terrain in areas such as Siberia as they head east from London to New York.

The actors will then cross by aircraft to Alaska before passing through Canada and the United States to complete their journey in two months.

The entire trip is being made into a TV documentary which will be shown later in the year.

Source: Daily Record

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 // 09:02 p.m.

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Armed guards block McGregor’s trip

ROBERT MCAULAY
May 10 2004

EWAN McGregor was held by armed Ukrainian militiamen during his epic 20,000-mile motorcycle world tour.

The Hollywood actor and his friend, Charley Boorman, were detained by armed border guards as they crossed into the Ukraine. The guards failed to recognise either McGregor or Boorman, the son of the film director John Boorman.

They refused to let them continue until they produced relevant travel documents and McGregor, 33, made a plea for help by satellite telephone.

But before help could arrive, Igor Vaytsekhovskiy, a local businessman, recognised the celebrities and persuaded the guards to set them free.

Mr. Vaytsekhovskiy then took them back to his home where they spent the night on the floor in sleeping bags.

Stanislav Komarov, part of a documentary team filming the pair, said McGregor and Boorman had set off on their own for the border crossing when they ran into trouble.

He said: "Four hours after their departure our satellite phone rang. It was Ewan, and he sounded very alarmed. He told us they were being detained by Ukrainian militiamen."

McGregor and Boorman left on their trek last month.

Source: The Herald

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Sunday, May 9, 2004 // 09:34 p.m.

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International film star continuing motorbike journey in Kazakhstan

BBC Worldwide Monitoring,
May 5, 2004, Wednesday

Text of report by Kazakh newspaper Kazakhstanskaya Pravda on 5 May

Aktyubinsk residents welcomed Hollywood and British star Ewan McGregor and his friend Charley Boorman, who are on the Long Way Road motorbike journey, with baursaks Kazakh traditional pastry-like food fried in oil and kumys Kazakh traditional fermented horse milk.

They are making a three-month motorbike journey from London to New York along the Europe-Russia-Central Asia-Alaska (USA)-Canada route other sources reported it was a four-month journey. The motorbike tourists started their journey in the British capital and are intending to stay in Kazakhstan for two weeks to visit Atyrau, Aktyubinsk, Kyzyl-Orda, South Kazakhstan, Zhambyl, Almaty and East Kazakhstan regions.

"Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan are the most remarkable countries I have ever seen," McGregor told journalists. He said that now he had a break in his cinema career.

Answering a question about what impressions Kazakh roads made on him, the actor began to laugh and said diplomatically: "Very interesting", and added that he was not sorry for installing special tyres on his motorbike. By the way, the stars are travelling at a speed of 120 miles an hour.

On their journey, they are familiarizing themselves with the lives, cultures and traditions of the countries they cross. For instance, in the centre of Shubarkuduk District, the travellers stayed for a night at the home of one of the district residents. In addition, the travellers are recording everything on video tape. The video will be used as a basis for a documentary film which is expected to be broadcast by leading world television channel.

SOURCE: Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, Almaty, in Russian 5 May 04 p 2

Thanks to Angelvelvet for the article!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Friday, May 7, 2004 // 05:14 p.m.

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Russian journalist "MK" spent six days in the round-the-world journey with Hollywood superstar Ewan McGregor

06.05.2004
Stanislav Komarov

Note: the original Russian text was translated using Alta Vista's Babel Fish. The translation was clumsy and some words did not get translated. The text was re-written by Claude Marcotte to make it more legible (and she acknowledges that it is far from perfect, she is not a professional writer! You can read the original Babel Fish translation here; the original Russian text is here). If anyone speaks Russian and can help us fix up the text, please contact us.


Several days ago at the Ukrainian-Russian border, in strict secrecy, crossed an unusual procession of vehicles. Two super-powerful BMW motorcycles followed by no-less imposing Mitsubishi off-road vehicles. Even the border guards and customs officers were surprised at how well-equipped the procession was. The motorcycles and jeeps were literally overflowing with enormous quantities of unique remote-control equipment, carefully-planned supplies, spare parts. So different than what normal tourists carry. After looking intently at the face of one of the motorbike drivers, it was revealed that before them was one of the most popular Hollywood actors, the star of "Star Wars" and "Moulin Rouge": Ewan McGregor. Thus began the Russian part of the round-the-word journey, "Long Way 'Round", witnessed first-hand by MK (Moscow Komsomol) journalist, Stanislav Komarov, who spent several days following the improbable adventures.

The publishing house, "Moscow Komsomol" became the exclusive partner of the round-the-word journey "Long Way Round" in Russia. Two friends - actors Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman - left London in the middle of April on motorcycles. They were not overcome by their motorcycle journey of 20,000 miles across Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, then cross by aircraft to Alaska, through Canada and the U.S. to complete their journey in New York.

During March, two producers approached the "MK" editorial staff and shared their idea. We thought that this undertaking was not practical. However, "MK" could not stay away from this unprecedented event. Our participation in this project coincides with our 85th anniversary. We had to prepare official papers for the State Customs Committee of Russia and RF border service to ensure passage at check points, visa support and with the help of our regional editorial staff to render aid to travellers in the country's territory as needed. The "MK" journalist took heaps of official letters went to Kharkov, where he transmitted the documents to allow travellers to cross the Russian border.

Day One

Ewan McGregor and his friend originally did not want any attention on their trip. In Europe, they stopped in small hotels, trying not to attract anyone's attention. A similar hotel was also chosen in Kharkov, in the outskirts of the city. It was there that the "MK" journalist had to bring papers and await the arrival of the group of vehicles. Charlie and Ewan, on their motorcycles, arrived first towards the evening. It seemed from the side that they entered into the hotel's internal court. Their powerful motorcycle are equipped with satellite communication and the newest navigation instruments which make it possible to get oriented quickly anywhere in the world. All-weather motorcycle suits are equipped with a temperature-adjusting system and their helmets hold video cameras. After being greeted by the shocked hotel owners, the travellers went in in order to settle down. The tracking jeeps arrived a while later.

Here was the entire group. Producer David Alexanian affably waved. I became acquainted with the remaining participants in the group. James Simak, is the headquarter cameraman. Everyone calls him Jimmy. The health of the crew rests on the shoulders of Dr. Vasiliy Ivanovich Nichipenko. Sergey Grabovets is a jack-of-all trades: bodyguard, driver and translator. None of the foreigners speak Russian, and Sergey is their only link to everyone here. We chat together. Complete democracy at the table, Vodka is shared but McGregor is limited to Coca-Cola. He has not touched alcohol during the entire journey although there is a sea of drinks on the tables. The DJ plays a song from "Moulin Rouge" featuring Nicole Kidman. Ewan smiles knowingly, gives thanks for supper and goes off to rest. The rest of the expedition members stay at the table to discuss the potential problems on the path ahead.

According to them, the first serious tire puncture occurred on the Slovakian-Ukrainian border - it did not prove important enough to document. They were kept for 14 hours at customs. However, there were more pleasant memories from Kreshchatike and cutlets in Kiev.

Day Two

In the morning, Ewan and Charlie settle on their motorcycles and take off. Emkovets will go with the producer and the camera operator. Four hours after their departure, their satellite phone rings. Ewan's alarmed voice says, "we are being detained at the post by Ukrainian militia men. They require documents. Come quickly." We were totally bewildered and the producer was in shock. The situation became clear later in the evening, when we at long last find fugitives in the outskirts of an Ukrainian miner town. They had already settled, in an enormous house; in the drawing room was a covered table where a feast was being served to a large number of people - our heroes among them.

As is happened, a friend of the owner of the traffic control post recognized them as popular actors and in the very literal sense, took them out of the tenacious claws of the Ukrainian traffic cops. We spent the night in businessman Igor Vaytsekhovskiy's large house, sleeping all together on the floor in sleeping bags. Ewan and Igor alternately entertained us with a guitar and song, Ewan with English ballads and Vaytsekhovskiy with "eyes black" and the song Of vysotskogo. The businessman's wife said, "I will tell friends and none will believe me: Ewan McGregor is my guess, in my kitchen taking care of dirty dishes." During the celebratory mean, Vaytsekhovskiy, a former miner, proposed to conduct an excursion to one of the local mines and go inside it - indeed we are in the very heart of Donbass, the center of the coal-mining industry of the Ukraine. Vaytsekhovskiy's idea was met with enthusiams by all participants.

Day Three

At 11:30 in the morning we were driving up to the hauling machines of the legendary "partisan" mine. This is one of the oldest working mines of Donbass. Our descent under the ground is prepared carefully: travellers change into miner clothing, they get instructions on proper safety and are supplied with everything they need should they have to be rescued. Hot heads propose to go all the way down, where a layer of carbon monoxide gas exists; however, the doctor is dead set against this idea. The health of the Hollywood stars come first. An hour and a half later, they go down. We are lowered by trolley in a diagonal shaft to a depth of 80 meters. But even here it becomes terrifying, the air is very thick and heavy.

Our excursion into the netherworld concludes without problems. The management of the mine presented Ewan and Charlie special diplomas declaring them honorary miners of Donbass. But we must hurry back to say goodbye, at the house which gave us lodging for the night, to prepare for crossing the Ukrainian-Russian border. We head towards Volgograd. However, we understand that the trip will take longer than there is daylight left. It is necessary to search for lodging along the way. The Rostovskaya province administration recommend we stop in the small town of Kalitva. This is a former Cossack village which celebrated its 300th birthday in 2003. It was in this place, as history claims, that the decisive battle of Prince Igor and the Polovetss occurred.

Day Four

In the morning, the chieftains Donskoy of Cossack troops meet us at the doors of the hotel with a parade and entertainment. McGregor and Boorman go on an excursion to the highest point of the city, where the Cossack watch post stood but now has a small museum. Many cossacks appear on horses and present Cossack 70%-alcohol home-brew. Ewan listens attentively to the translator, who tells the history of Don cossack, and happily tries on a (something) uniform and joins in singing deveil-may-care Cossack songs. Kalitva remains behind, and we travel several kilometers to Volgograd. However, before reaching the city's outskirts, we have an extremely unpleasant adventure. At one of the service stations, Charlie Boorman has problems with the gasoline pump's hose. The pump's pistol escapes from his hands and poisonous liquid splashes Ewan's face and eyes and he writhes from the pain. Thank goodness, a doctor is nearby and instantly gives him first aid. Everyone is downright frightened but Ewan calms everyone and he is ready to keep going.

It is decided to stop for the night someplace quiet, the former (something) residence in the very center of the city. This residence, according to old citizens, was constructed especially for Nikita Khrushchev. The four-room Presidential suite, which McGregor settle dinto, had been inhabited by Iosip of Broz Tito, Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin and Alla Of pugacheva. In the guest house there's a Russian bath, which our tired travellers visited without delay. The day was completed with a holiday supper, black caviar and unending convesations about what is interesting to see in Volgograd.

Day five

In the morning, two additional people join our party: expedition cameraman Claudio Planta and the producer. We decide that today we drive along the Volga river, organize a picnic, catch fish and arrange to go go-carting. Three hours by motorboat with our honorable guests. On the lower deck everything is already prepared for the picnic: boiled sturgeon, boiled crab and russian fish soup... "king's fish soup". It is explained that Ewan McGregor knows how to eat ccrab, he knows how to catch fish and although it was impossible to catch anything today, the fishermen appraised/assessed his skill with the rod and reel.

Generally the Jedi leaves a very pleasant impression. He isn't arrogant and doesn't behave like a movie star. He is simple and pleasant, he knows how to do things for himself, he learns quickly, he listens attentively to people, he is stable and shares the tedious burdens and deprivations of life on the road. After the jaunt along the Volga, the restless company is moved to the improvised autodrome. Children chase adult peasants go-carting, squeezing all the horsepower from the old machines. None of the laps reveal a winner.

Day Six

In the morning, "MK" journalist bids goodbye to the participants of this unique motorcycle trip. Going along with the travellers as far as Astrakhan, it was necessary for him to return to Moscow. A final group photo with the project's participants, Charlie and Ewan gave autographs and placed souvenir stickers saying "Moscow Komsomol member" on their bikes and then left. We will describe in future articles how their trip will continue.

Source: Moscow Komsomol

Thanks to Angelvelvet for the heads up, and to Mary and Nutbar for the help with the text!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Thursday, May 6, 2004 // 07:20 p.m.

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'Big Fish' Tops DVD Sales, Rental Charts

Thu, May 06, 2004
By Brett Sporich

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Director Tim Burton's "Big Fish" was the nation's best-selling DVD in its debut week on store shelves with nearly 2 million units sold to consumers and rental stores during its first five days in release, according to industry sources.

The fishy fable, starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney and Billy Crudup, also was the best-renting title for the week ending May 2, generating an estimated $13.5 million in gross rental revenue during the frame, according to Video Store magazine research.

"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," starring Russell Crowe, continued to sell briskly on DVD, with consumers picking up nearly 500,000 copies last week alone, taking the two-week sales total to nearly 4 million units, according to industry sources.

The seafaring epic was the second-best-renting video last week, generating an estimated $13.32 million in gross rental revenue for a 12-day haul of about $29.3 million.

"Stuck on You," starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twins, was the nation's No. 3 video rental, generating an estimated $13.27 million in gross rental revenue during its first week in release. The comedy also was the seventh-best-selling DVD, according to Nielsen VideoScan's First Alert DVD sales chart for the same frame.

Fox executives said that "Stuck" sold nearly 1.5 million DVDs to consumers and rental stores during its first week in release.

"Kill Bill-Vol. 1" was the No. 4 video rental for the week ending May 2, generating an estimated $9.6 million for a 19-day total of $34.5 million.

"Love Actually" debuted as the nation's second-best-selling DVD and the No. 4 VHS for the week ending May 2, according to VideoScan. The romantic comedy, whose ensemble cast includes Hugh Grant (news), Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson, generated an estimated $9.41 million in gross rental revenue for the same frame, according to Video Store magazine.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Source: Yahoo News

Thank you Barbara for the heads up!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Thursday, May 6, 2004 // 07:26 a.m.

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New video at Scotland Today

There's a new video available at Scotland Today! Ewan's mum talks about the film shes been involved with and Ewan keeping in touch while on his bike ride.

Huge thanks to John Kilbride of Scotland Today!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Wednesday, May 5, 2004 // 04:26 p.m.

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FASTER Special Preview Edition DVD Available in the U.S. as of June 1

May 3, 2004

Exclusively Through www.fastermovie.com

The Special Preview Edition includes the full-length film along with footage from the 2003 Cannes Film Festival and Market, where director Mark Neale and FASTER narrator Ewan McGregor ("Star Wars" I, II & III, "Black Hawk Down") led a cavalcade of some of the world's best riders, including Loris Capirossi, Colin Edwards, Alex Hoffman, John Hopkins, Olivier Jacque, Garry McCoy, and reigning champion Valentino Rossi. This video will be available for shipment within the United States only. Check back here for upcoming news on availability outside the U.S.

Source: Faster Official Website

Thank you Georginita for the heads up!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Tuesday, May 4, 2004 // 06:29 p.m.

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British Actor Ewan McGregor Arrives in Kazakh West on Motorbike

BBC Monitoring International Reports May 3, 2004

The star of the new British cinema and the hero of Hollywood blockbusters, Ewan McGregor, was a guest in (western Kazakh) Atyrau Region on 2 May.

Thirty-two-year-old McGregor and his friend Charley Boorman, accompanied by two assistants, are making a motorbike journey round the world.

They left London on 14 April, and are intending to cover 20,000 miles within four months along the London-Europe-Russia-Kazakhstan-Mongolia-Alaska route, from where the travellers, with all their equipment - motorbikes and Jeeps, will fly to Anchorage and get to New York via US territory.

McGregor and Boorman have already signed a 1m-pound agreement with editors and movie producers on stories about their unique journey.

However, the actor clarified that they were not making this journey for the sake of money.

This is a journey we have dreamt about for many years, and it seems to us that we will never make it unless we do it now, McGregor had said before the beginning of the journey.

In Atyrau, the actor visited the Caspian Sea. Today the group continued its journey through Kazakh territory with a trip to (western) Aktyubinsk (Region), our correspondent from Atyrau, Viktor Syutyagin, reported.

Source: Khabar Television, Almaty, in Russia

Thanks to AngelVelvet for the heads up!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Monday, May 3, 2004 // 06:24 p.m.

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Rutting and Nothingness

By John Powers

The dankly compelling Young Adam is adapted from the slim 1954 cult novel by the Scottish Beat writer Alexander Trocchi, a minor but pungent talent whose gutbucket existentialism is in the tradition of Roberto Arlt’s 7 Madmen, George Simenon’s Dirty Snow and any Jim Thompson book you might care to name. Set in the early ’50s, it begins with a woman’s corpse floating in the river. The body is discovered by Joe (Ewan McGregor), a young drifter who’s working for Les (Peter Mullan) and Ella Gault (Tilda Swinton) on a barge carrying coal from Glasgow to Edinburgh. In his own way, Joe is something of a ladykiller: a selfish, would-be bohemian who gloms onto women for sex and material support but flees if they expect anything of him. Soon, he and acrid-tongued Ella are rutting like mad seals in the barge’s cramped quarters while the impotent Les tosses darts at the pub. Meanwhile, Joe’s mind is filled with thoughts of the pliant, young Cathie (Emily Mortimer), the girl he left behind.

Young Adam was written and directed by David Mackenzie, a previously unheralded Scottish director who has taken on the tricky task of transforming a thinly plotted first-person novel into a piece of visual storytelling. Drenching his world in lovely-bleak blues, grays and browns — the film is finely shot by The Deep End’s Gilles Nuttgens — Mackenzie evokes a dingy, post–World War II Scotland of dinky flats, slag heaps and pinched lives. Everyone desperately seeks to flee into something: alcohol, suburban bliss, a journey to China, another person’s arms. Orgasm is the closest these characters get to transcendence, and what binds Joe to Ella, as to Cathie before him, is the desperate slap of flesh on flesh atop damp grass or beneath oily truck beds. (British cinema hasn’t lost its knack for sordid sex scenes.) Escape remains a mirage that beckons alluringly in the distance, like the fun-fair whirligig that Joe sees from the barge; when he finally gets there, it starts raining.

The movie is another showcase for the underappreciated McGregor, who disappears into his character so discreetly that, even as his face lets us track Joe’s every thought, you never feel you’re watching a Performance. He’s not a self-serious Method man like Sean Penn, whose work seems designed to make us think, “What a powerful piece of acting!” Nor does he vaunt his own courage at playing an unlikable cad such as Joe, a floundering avant-garde writer who lives off Cathie’s earnings and repays her with abuse, most notably in a sequence involving custard, ketchup and sodomy — Last Tango in Glasgow. McGregor’s lack of vanity finds its perfect complement in Swinton. Revived by the attentions of the unreliable Joe, Ella shakes off the slump-shouldered acrimony of an unhappy wife and becomes almost coltish.

The source novel is a piece of lightweight Camus (it has affinities with both The Stranger and The Fall), but one senses that Trocchi thinks of it as a big statement about guilt, responsibility and the hell of other people. In fact, his vision is too reductive for that. For all the symbolic weight of its title, Young Adam doesn’t come close to giving us Existence. But it does give us one limited human being. And so does Mackenzie’s film, which, in its grimy claustrophobia and casual amorality, is a portrait of the artist as a selfish young bastard, a man who thinks the world around him is soiled, and finds it just terrible, but wants to believe that, in the final analysis, it has nothing to do with him.

Source: LA Weekly

Thank you ParisRouge for the heads up!

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 // 06:31 p.m.

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McGregor and Boorman on their way

15 Apr 2004

Ewan McGregor has finally set-off on his 20,000-mile round-the-world trip with close friend and fellow actor Charley Boorman.

The two will be on the road for three months on a route taking them through the Ukraine, Mongolia and Siberia on their BMW R1150GS Adventures.

McGregor has played many action roles in films such as Star Wars but isn’t underestimating the very real challenge the trip presents.

Despite a rigorous training regime and making plans to deal with most eventualities, he had to admit: "I’ve no idea what to expect from one day to the next."

MCN and motorcyclenews.com will be the only places in the world you can read about their trip, with McGregor’s team sending us exclusive notes from their diaries. For more go to www.longwayround.com Keep checking this site for updates.

Source: MCN

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Thursday, April 15, 2004 // 07:45 a.m.

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Long Way 'Round site is up!

Head on over to the official Long Way Round site and check out the bios, image galleries (with gorgeous pictures of Ewan and Charlie!)... lots of info!

Be warned, though, that the site will work best using a screen resolution of at least 1024 X 768, a fast Internet connection and Flash MX installed on your browser.

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 // 08:18 p.m.

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Tuesday April 13, 12:15 PM

Actor Ewan McGregor, left, and his long time friend Charlie Boorman pose for the media in London, Tuesday, April 13, 2004, ahead of their 3-month round-the-world bike ride, in which they will ride a motor bike from London to New York. The bike ride will be filmed and made into a TV documentary for the U.S. networks. (AP Photo/Richard Lewis)



Thank you Fuumin for the find!

Getty Images has lots of photos, too:

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 // 11:04 a.m.

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Ewan McGregor, the not-so-easy rider!

Motorbike-mad Ewan McGregor is getting his motor running for a three month motorcycle trip to some of the remotest and most hostile environments on the planet.

Later this week, the movie star and his actor friend Charley Boorman will set off on a 20,000-mile journey to Alaska, Siberia and Mongolia.

But Ewan, who has taken on everybody from rogue Jedis to rebel troops, says they're ready for anything:

"We've been preparing for the trip full-time since the beginning of January. We did some training with a company that prepares people for hostile environments."

"We've had quite extensive medical training because some of the places we're going to be, like in Siberia, are quite far away from any doctors or hospitals or anything."

"We've also done physical training, off road motorcycle training and GPS training."

Source: BBC Radio 1

Posted by Best of Ewan McGregor on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 // 11:03 a.m.

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Ewan McGregor Plans Round-The-World Trip

By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press Writer

LONDON - Ewan McGregor is getting ready to travel from London to New York. But there will be no first-class comfort for the down-to-earth Scot. He's going by road.

McGregor and fellow actor Charley Boorman plan to set out this week — the exact date is not being disclosed — on a motorcycle journey across Europe, Asia and North America that will get them to New York City by about July.

"It's such an obvious route," McGregor insisted Tuesday. "It's just straight across — you just go from London to New York, going east. I'm surprised more people don't do it."

Spurred by a desire for adventure and a hankering for the open road, McGregor and Boorman hatched a plan for a riding