Ewan McGregor Joins Amelia Earhart Biopic
Filed under: Drama, Romance, Casting, Newsstand
According to Variety, Ewan McGregor has skirted in at the last minute to co-star alongside Hilary Swank in Amelia, the biopic detailing the life and loves of the famous aviator.McGregor will play Gene Vidal (yes, the father of Gore Vidal), who had a passionate affair with Earhart. According to Susan Butler's acclaimed 1997 biography, he was the love of her life. Vidal claims his father didn't marry her because she was too boyish -- something George Putnam (played by Richard Gere in the movie) didn't have a problem with. We'll see if the movie goes into that!
Apparently, the filmmakers have been trying to land McGregor for some time, but his schedule continued to conflict. Filming on I Love You, Philip Morris is about to wrap, and he is set to begin work on Angels and Demons in June -- so, the plan is for McGregor to sandwich his Amelia role in between. It speaks well for the project if McGregor is willing to crunch his workload like this, and not simply walk away for a vacation. I'm glad to see him taking on big projects again; he's been a bit absent of late. (I don't count this year's Deception because that movie was delayed for ages.)
I'm really looking forward to this biopic, though it's a hesitant thing. Historical movies are rarely a thing of in-between; they're either brilliant or terrible. But Swank is best in drama, and she bears an uncanny resemblance to Earhart -- not to mention the addition of McGregor really rounds out a great cast. I'll keep my hopes up, even if her costume choices are frightening.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-27-2008 @ 12:06PM
Tigerlily said...
I am so interested in this movie. Amelia Earhart has always fascinated me. I think McGregor is a great actor, so the film has certainly got an outstanding cast. The potential for a great film is there, lets hope they pull it off.
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5-27-2008 @ 12:43PM
George Myers said...
If some one's interested further, the archaeological investigation "The Earhart Project" at tighar.org has done recent research and perhaps the film could donate to it some funds. I recall reading in a Westchester, NY paper where she was quoted joking about having a garden in one town and serving the vegetables from her garden in another, the line running through the backyard apparently. Sounds like an interesting biopic and I wish it well, and Gore Vidal too, he was in a few recent films commenting on the lack of coverage the large protests against the US war in Iraq in the media, and also in another flight picture, as Director Josef in "Gattaca" (outside the IMDb box).
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