Trainspotting Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Our pals at Moviefone have posted an interview with Ewan McGregor in which the always-charming Scotsman expresses his opinion on a number of highly relevant topics, starting with his work in Angels & Demons and extending to issues such as onscreen nudity and Megan Fox awareness.

First, though, the news: despite director Danny Boyle's enthusiasm for the idea, McGregor has no interest in appearing in a sequel to Trainspotting. "I didn't think the book was very good," he said, referring to the Trainspotting novel's sequel, Porno. "The novel of Trainspotting was quite fantastic ... and then I find that the sequel ... it didn't move me as much."

He also said the sequel's story is too similar to Trainspotting's. "Renton walks away with all the money at the end again. And I thought I don't want to make the same story again. And, also, I think just the idea of getting the cast together again 10 to 15 years later isn't good enough, you need more than that."

So that's it on the Trainspotting sequel. Then, in news sure to astonish certain Cinematical editors I could name, McGregor is asked whether he has a tattoo sleeve like Megan Fox said he did, and McGregor says, "No. I have a tattoo ... but who's Megan Fox?"

Who's Megan Fox?! One can only conclude that McGregor doesn't go to movies about giant space robots that harass teenage girls who wear ill-fitting T-shirts, and that he also doesn't read Cinematical. The guy's really missing out.

Earlier this month, Cinematical managed to chat up director Danny Boyle, whose film Slumdog Millionaire (one of my favorites of the year, actually) hits select theaters tomorrow. We'll post our full interview a bit later on, but we couldn't wait to share a bit more Trainspotting news with you. As you may or may not already know, Boyle is keen on making a Trainspotting sequel (based on that book's follow-up, Porno). However, because the film would have to take place roughly ten years after the events of the original, Boyle has insisted that he'd like to wait awhile to let the actors age. But here's been the big question: While Boyle is down, would his original cast be back?

Here's what Boyle had to say when I asked him just that: "Actually, I've got a bit of news on that one. We've had this plan for awhile now to make a film that's generational; how they would be guys now who were clearly and visibly middle aged. Well, what's just happened in Britain is that they're preparing to release a new DVD of [Trainspotting], and they've done a series of interviews for the special features on the DVD ... and good news is all the actors have come back to participate in these interviews. So I think that's a sign that if we do get them looking right, they'll be prepared to do it -- that they're getting to a point where they're thinking, 'Yeah, that could be interesting.' Because everyone will have to be in the right frame of mind in order to do it; they need to age a bit still. I want them to feel different ... and older."

Boyle later told me that he does hope to eventually make the sequel one day. That, coupled with the news that the original cast have reunited for a new Trainspotting DVD, means another flick is most certainly in the cards.

Tomorrow brings Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott to the screen as Role Models. Energy drink and driving bandits, they crash the company truck, and get one of two choices as punishment -- sign up to mentor children, or go to the slammer. Of course, they choose mentoring, having no idea what they're really getting into.

It's always been an interesting idea -- make ne'er-do-wells change their ways by making them do good deeds and be role models. But sometimes it's not such a good idea. In the world of film, there are MANY characters who should never, ever be allowed to act as role models to impressionable youths. Menaces to children everywhere, they'd most likely do the exact opposite of what was intended. This list is, by no means, complete; but consider it a starting point. Read on, reminisce about these bad influences and then comment below about who you would include.

And be warned: These clips may include strong language, and all sorts of adult conduct.

I didn't get beyond the fifth Harry Potter novel, so I'm not familiar with what goes on in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I never would have thought, however, that it features an adorable version of Voldemort (which reminded our own Kim Voynar of the young Anakin of The Phantom Menace), nor would I have ever imagined, in my wildest years, that it is anything like Trainspotting. Yet that's what Daniel "Harry Potter" Radcliffe told Empire regarding the upcoming movie adaptation. He specifically likened Half-Blood Prince to the heroin-heavy movie, admitting that it is indeed strange to mention those two films in the same sentence. He also stated that in his movie, "there's a fair amount of sexual energy and drug parallels."

Now, of course, that doesn't mean there's actual sex and drugs featured in the movie. And this wouldn't be the first time the Harry Potter films included suggestive imagery or content. One of the early installments (I think it was the original, Sorcerer's Stone) features a scene in which Harry experiments with his wand under the covers late at night. Like with a similar scene from Spider-Man, in which Peter Parker wakes up in his own sticky web, it's pretty obvious what real-world experience the scene is meant to parallel. So, I'm not surprised that as the Harry Potter movies get darker and the cast grows up that we'll be seeing other kinds of innuendo. And knowing the franchise so far, even if the suggestive imagery or content is easily deciphered, there's sure to be good messages tied in. It's not like Warner Bros. would permit improper subliminal encouragements.

I haven't seen Four Weddings and a Funeral since it came out, but I remember it being a fun, quality movie -- more so than your usual rom-com flavor. The Hugh Grant-starring film not only brought in a good chunk of coin and fans, but it also received Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Screenplay. However, is it the best British movie of all time? That I'm not so sure about. Yes folks, the Hugh Grant comedy was recently listed the best British Film, according to a poll conducted by Virgin Media (via AOL UK).

Having polled 1,000 adults on June 25 and 26, Virgin notes that Four Weddings took in 22% of the vote, to get the top spot. The rom-com squeaked right by the wonderful Monty Python's Life of Brian, which suffered defeat by just 1% and grabbed the #2 spot. (It's also the only film that boasts a little age.) After that comedy classic, things get rougher and tougher. Next came Trainspotting with 15% of the vote, then Casino Royale with 10%, and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels came in #5 with 8%.

There's a pretty informative story about how, after getting the gig to adapt his own novel The Cider House Rules, John Irving sat down feeling fairly confident, thinking something to the effect that "Hey, all I have to do is re-type who people are, what they do and what they say -- this'll be a breeze ..." and, after doing that with his novel, found he had enough screenplay pages ... for a nine-hour film. Adaptations are tough: What do you leave in, what do you leave out? Is fidelity the only true measure of worth, or can carefully-made changes actually improve the film version of a book? Below are some of my picks for the best adapted screenplays of the past ten years; as ever, this list is wildly subjective, and our ever-hungry comments section awaits your picks. ...

1) Jackie Brown (1997)

A great example of how tweaking a good book can make it even better -- Quentin Tarantino's adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel Rum Punch moved the setting from one coast to another, changed the race of one of the leads -- and, by ignoring such petty details, wound with a film that completely nails the talky, criminal, human spirit of Elmore Leonard's amazing body of work. Leonard's work also gave Tarantino the first grown-up story he's ever worked with, and Tarantino stepped up to the plate and delivered -- as fond as I am of Pulp Fiction's incendiary inventions, I still think Jackie Brown is the better actual film.

2) Children of Men (2006)

Another case where the screenwriters modified much of the book to the improvement of the story -- P.D. James's novel takes place over a period of months, while Curaron's film speeds by over a few days like a fever-dream nightmare. There are other changes, too (Clive Owen's lead is no longer related to England's all-powerful Big Brother, but, instead, Danny Huston's minor functionary), but the decision to strip Children of Men down to a few nightmare days was incredibly insightful -- and made for an adaptation that works as an amazing film.

Ever since I found this story earlier today, I've been singing Purple Rain to myself all morning. And this is one of those songs I don't have memorized, so if you were near me you'd hear something like this: [To Purple Rain tune] "Don't tell me ... you could ever see me again -- Purple Rain ... Purrrple Rain." C'mon, like I'm the only person out there who fudges the words to songs. Guaranteed you will start humming this tune now, it's that addictive. Just don't blame me. Anyway, Vanity Fair magazine decided to list the 50 greatest movie soundtracks of all time, and at the top sits Purple Rain -- which consists of such memorable Prince tunes like Let's Go Crazy, When Doves Cry and I Would Die 4 U, among others. Personally, I think the soundtrack is great (even if the movie was kind of terrible), but I'm not crazy about giving the top spot to a soundtrack that featured one artist. Or perhaps that's more of a reason to reward it? Here's Vanity Fair's reasoning behind the choice: "[The] Purple Rain soundtrack was a flawless combination of funk, R&B, pop, metal, and even psychedelia into a sound that defined the '80s."

Be that as it may, but should Prince beat out, say, The Beatles? Yes, coming in at number two on their list is A Hard Day's Night, followed by an interesting choice in The Harder They Come. The rest of the top ten is as follows: Pulp Fiction, The Graduate, Superfly, Trainspotting, Saturday Night Fever, American Graffiti and The Big Chill. All very good soundtracks, although I may have pushed Pulp Fiction higher up on the list ... but I'm just a sucker for the music from that film. Unfortunately, Zach Braff's Garden State soundtrack did not reach the top 10. Sorry kids. And what's The Big Chill doing all the way at number 10? I mean, c'mon -- that soundtrack ruled (and as he says that, he opens up iTunes in a separate window). What do you think? Did they get the top 10 right? Would you have shifted things around. And please tell me which songs are now stuck in your head after reading this ...

By now, I think most of us have given up on ever seeing that Trainspotting sequel, so at least we can get the next best thing, another Danny Boyle film. Variety reports that Celador Films and Film4 have given the green light for Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire. Slumdog will Boyle's first film with Film4 since working with them on A Life Less Ordinary, Trainspotting and Shallow Grave. Slumdog is based on the true story of a young street kid who goes on to be a champion on the Indian Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. But according to Boyle, the film is really a love story. Boyle describes the film as, "a love story set in the most extreme city on earth. The Maximum City -- Mumbai. From its slums, a kid challenges for the biggest prize on world television. All he knows is that the girl that he loves - and whom he has lost in the chaos of Mumbai - watches the show every night ... if he can stay on the show as long as possible, he might find her again".

Starring newcomer Dev Patel in the lead, the film was written by The Full Monty scribe, Simon Beaufoy. Boyle has always been drawn to different projects, ranging from horror to musicals, so a romance film isn't that far from the realm of possibility for the director (you can also read James' round table interview with the director here). Slumdog is set to start shooting on location in Mumbai this November.

The latest on the Trainspotting sequel is that it all depends on when John Hodge's screenplay is ready. At least, that's what novelist Irvine Welsh has told an audience in Edinburgh, according to Empire magazine. Welsh wrote the book of Trainspotting and of its sequel, titled Porno, and this week he's at the Edinburgh Film Festival promoting his directorial debut, a short film called Nuts. When asked about the status of the Porno adaptation during a Q&A, Welsh claimed it's all about the status of the script. Of course, Hodge, who earned an Oscar nomination for the first Trainspotting, turned in a draft at least as early as March of this year. Sure, it's probably being tweaked and whatnot before director Danny Boyle goes into production with it, but we've already been given the real reason for the delay.

No, it doesn't have anything to do with Boyle's falling out with Ewan McGregor, who starred in the original film, and maybe has actually agreed to do the sequel. The main reason Trainspotting 2 hasn't been made yet is because Boyle wants the cast to be at least 20 years older than they were in Trainspotting 1. That would put the shoot at least nine more years down the line. If the filmmakers want authenticity, anyway. As recent as Boyle's promotion of his latest film, Sunshine, the director insisted that Renton, Spud, Sick Boy, Begbie and whoever else returns be middle-aged. The point of the sequel is that they're at a time in their life where they're too old to keep pushing the limits of their bodies. Unless Welsh knows something completely new, he's simply out of the loop and spouting incorrect info.

The novelist, and now film director, also told the Edinburgh audience about The Meat Trade, a feature film he's scripted, which will be directed by Antonia Bird (Ravenous) and will star Colin Firth and Robert Carlyle as a duo who murders people in order to steal and then sell their body organs. Welsh is also currently adapting Alan Warner's novel The Man Who Walks, which is about a one-eyed man who robs his local pub of its World Cup lottery. His latest book, a collection of short stories, titled If You Liked School, You'll Love Work, hits U.S. bookstores September 4.

Although the audio tape is pretty much dead, people still love making mix tapes, even if they now come in CD form. It's funny how this ritual of appreciation has transcended age and time. We used to scour radio stations for the perfect mix of songs, and now we whip up aural delights from thousands of mp3s. Mixes were useful to tell that certain boy or girl that you liked them in school, and today we often send mixes to say hello, or to gently shake a person and show them all the good music that they are missing.

There's also no short supply of movies that have absolutely fantastic soundtracks that work like a visual mix tape, sending the viewer through an optical pathway of music, sometimes even bringing new meaning and depth to the tunes that are played. While I would love to gush about Beethoven's music set to drama in Immortal Beloved, or even the brilliance that is Simon and Garfunkle in The Graduate, this space is reserved for the films with varied soundtracks full of a myriad of sounds and artists, which somehow all morph together into a cohesive and enjoyable whole. Sometimes they are just great collections of music, and sometimes they completely make you rethink something you might have heard many times before. If only I could list 14, or even 21! But I can't, so here are 7 films to inspire you into a mix-making frenzy:

High Fidelity

This almost seems like cheating, being such an obvious and no-brainer sort of choice, but you really can't talk about the power of mix tapes and movies without talking about the film that is all about creating musical mixes that portray slices of life. John Cusack stars as Rob Gordon, the music store owner who is at a crossroads in his life -- his serious girlfriend is leaving him, and through music, he delves into his less-than-desirable relationships with women. The beauty of this movie's soundtrack is how many different slices of music it tastes -- from the melodic Dry the Rain from The Beta Band to Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady. The old is mixed with the new, introducing us to what we might not have heard, while reminding us of songs we might have forgotten.