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After the release of 2014’s Annie, in which Cameron Diaz played Miss Hannigan, Diaz took a break from acting. By 2018, when she reunited with her co-stars from The Sweetest Thing for an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she described herself as “retired,” and stayed that way for the next several years — until now. Today sees the release of Back in Action, a straight-to-Netflix feature film that lured Diaz back onto a film set. At an event in October, Diaz explained that she had stepped away from her professional career because she had to “reclaim” her life and that what she was “passionate” about at the time was building her family, but that she agreed to Back in Action to re-team with her Annie co-star: “I couldn’t say no to Jamie.”

I accept that as her official reason, but having watched the movie, I now think she took the part...

When Cameron Diaz was still in high school, she signed her first modeling contract and appeared in ads for Levi's and Calvin Klein. She became recognizable nationwide when she appeared on the cover of Seventeen Magazine in 1990. Fittingly enough, she was actually 17. Diaz continued to model for a few years and even appeared in a Coca-Cola campaign before successfully auditioning for the role of Tina in Chuck Russell's comedic superhero noir "The Mask" in 1994. The star of "The Mask" was Jim Carrey, then experiencing a massive career upswing, and Diaz was swept up with him, becoming a household name almost immediately.

Diaz almost instantly became a media sensation, and her acting career took off. In the years after "The Mask," Diaz appeared in notable indie dramas like "She's the One," "The Last Supper," and "Feeling Minnesota," all of them with notable co-stars. By 1997, she moved into Hollywood's top tier,...

Throughout her already prolific career, producer/actor Margot Robbie has proven herself to have a taste that's as discerning as it is eclectic. Most actors attempt to demonstrate their ability to take on as large of a range of projects as possible, yet the demands of the business and marketing sides of the film industry usually see them typecast in some form, usually in a genre if not a specific type of role. This is why Robbie's career is worth pointing out for how diverse it is; she's been able to find a niche for herself that has allowed her to easily move between action films, dramas, period pieces like "Mary Queen Of Scots," comedies, genre flicks, and prestige pics, all while growing her A-list status and not being relegated to either an awards-bait character actor or a paycheck-bait comic book movie star. As a producer, she's demonstrated a steady...

Civil War filmmaker Alex Garland and Trainspotting producer Andrew Macdonald will deliver keynote speeches as part of the industry programme at this year’s Edinburgh Film Festival.

Garland and Macdonald will deliver their keynote on August 18 at the Tollcross Central Hall after a networking brunch hosted by the festival at the city’s Summerhall Library Gallery. Macdonald, best known as the producer of titles like Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary, and The Beach, is also the chair of the Edinburgh Film Festival.

The Scottish festival’s industry schedule will also feature an onstage in conversation session with filmmaker Gaspar Noe on August 17, where Noe will discuss his work and career. Other headline industry sessions include Scrapper To Screen, a case study talk on the development and distribution of the hit 2023 feature Scrapper. The session will be moderated by Melanie Iredale (Reclaim the Frame) with panelists including the film’s director Charlotte Regan,...

Leonardo DiCaprio has been an A-list talk of the town ever since he starred in 1996’s Romeo + Juliet. He has only grown in his craft, morphing from a romance actor to one of the greatest talents to have ever existed in Hollywood. While such attention has always been beneficial for his career, it would seem that there was one instance where he seriously backfired.

The Beach (2000) Directed by Danny Boyle I 20th Century Fox

While the fallout was not experienced by him, DiCaprio did end up getting in between Hollywood’s most iconic duos. All because of his fame and status.

Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor—The Great Duo of Hollywood

Long before Ewan McGregor was holding a lightsaber and Danny Boyle was getting nominated and winning Oscars, the pair were making a name for themselves together. Duos are not a new concept in Hollywood. Oftentimes, two creators fit...

Today, Paramount+ announced that Academy Award winner Holly Hunter will star in the upcoming original series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy as the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy.

The series will follow the adventures of a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the galaxy’s most legendary places. Produced by CBS Studios, it will begin production later this summer.

“It feels like we’ve spent our entire lives watching Holly Hunter be a stone-cold genius,” said co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau. “To have her extraordinary authenticity, fearlessness, sense of humor, and across-the-board brilliance leading the charge on Starfleet Academy is a gift to all of us and to the enduring legacy of Star Trek.”

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy introduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors,...

Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, from Danny Boyle, will both be back on UK cinema screens in May 2024.

Danny Boyle’s two breakthrough movies – Shallow Grave and Trainspotting – are getting UK re-releases, we’ve discovered. Both of them will be back on UK cinema screens in May of this very year.

The strike actions of 2023 have presented cinemas with a surprisingly sparse collection of films to show in 2024, as you may have noticed. That, though, is leaving lots of gaps for independent movies and re-releases to get some very welcome screen space. Park Circus, a company that’s been bringing lots of older films back to cinemas, has a couple more lined up. This time, those aforementioned two features from Danny Boyle.

On 10th May, Danny Boyle’s debut feature, Shallow Grave, is getting a limited cinema re-release. It’s in a small-ish number of screens, so it may be that...

28 Years Later, the hot package from director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, has landed at Sony.

The Culver City-based studio has come out on top after a protracted bidding war to win the rights to the sequel package to the 2002 horror classic 28 Days Later.

Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland have reunited to write and direct the sequel, which also comes with a Part 2, to be written by Garland. Boyle would only direct the first project, with the sequel’s director to be determined at a later stage. Cillian Murphy, whose career was launched thanks to the original movie, is also returning as an executive producer. The Oppenheimer star could also possibly act in the project, although details are being quarantined.

WME, which reps Boyle and Garland, took the package out to the Hollywood studios and streamers almost three weeks ago, generating immediate interest and intense wooing.

Now a week into the new year, Max is, like many of us, cleaning house. The streamer is ushering in a new month of library additions and new originals, and, like usual, we have to give to get.

While the streamer has lost a few titles already this month, including 2018’s “The Nun,” nearly all of Max’s departures will make their exit during the final week of the month, including “Birdman,” “Barbarian,” and more!

Before January comes to an end, check out The Streamable’s top picks of what to watch before they’re gone, and see the full list of what’s leaving Max throughout the rest of the month!

7-Day Free Trial $9.99+ / month Max via amazon.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Leaving Max in January 2024? “Barbarian” | Wednesday, Jan. 24

Georgina Campbell leads the horror-thriller as Tess, a young woman who books a rental home only to...

Trainspotting producer Andrew Macdonald has been appointed as the new Chair of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff).

As part of the role, Macdonald will lead the formation of a new organization that will deliver Eiff from 2024. Macdonald will now recruit a board and executive team to lead the Festival’s development from September 2023.

Like many Scottish film professionals, Macdonald is an Eiff alum. He worked at the festival in 1992, during which he made a video diary about raising cash to produce his first feature film, Shallow Grave. The film was finally made in 1993 and had its world premiere at Eiff in 1994.

Written by John Hodge and directed by Danny Boyle, the film was a box office success and won the BAFTA for Best British Film. Macdonald went on to produce several films with Boyle, including Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach, and T2 Trainspotting. Since 1997 he’s headed DNA Films,...

The Scottish producer will lead on the formation of a new organisation that will deliver the festival going forward.

DNA Films’ producer Andrew Macdonald has been named chair of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) for 2024 and beyond, and will lead on the formation of a new organisation that will deliver the festival going forward.

Macdonald will now recruit a board and executive team to lead the festival’s development from September 2023. Further information regarding the new Eiff chaired by Macdonald will follow after the 2023 festival.

Screen Scotland announced in May of this year it was seeking a chair to spearhead the festival’s revival,...

Summer is heating up on Max.

Back in May, Max added programming from TLC, HGTV and Food Network. That means Discovery’s popular Shark Week will be available to stream when it kicks off on July 23, with programming to be announced soon.

For fans of unscripted series, Season 3 or “90 Day Fiancé: Love in Paradise: Pillow Talk” (July 4) and Season 5 of “90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way” (July 10) are both streaming, as well as the series premiere of “90 Day Fiancé: UK.”

Home renovation fans will want to catch Season 16 of “Barnwood Builders” (July 6) and the special “Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge” (July 16), hosted by Ashley Graham, just in time for the feature film.

Also Read:

Here’s What’s New on Amazon Prime Video in July 2023

“Project Greenlight” (July 13) returns, with executive producer Issa Rae along with Kumail Nanjiani and Gina Prince-Bythewood serve as mentors throughout the season.

Finally, the six-episode Max Original limited series “Full Circle,...

Ewan and Clara McGregor with her dad's Crystal Globe in Karlovy Vary Photo: Film Servis Karlovy Vary Working for the first time with his daughter Clara on You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder - the debut feature of director Emma Westenberg - gave Ewan McGregor the same kind of energy rush he experienced when he burst on the scene with Danny Boyle in Shallow Grave in 1994.

“It was the first first film for many of us working on it. Danny set the bar very high in what you can expect in the relationship between an actor and a director. We went on to make Trainspotting, then A Life Less Ordinary and then Trainspotting 2, all films that left their mark on British cinema,” said McGregor, 52, at a media gathering after his latest film's premiere in the 57th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

His daughter, 27, co-wrote the script...

Ewan McGregor not only received a lifetime achievement award, but also much love and adoration during a brief, but emotional ceremony at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Saturday night.

During the event at the big cinema celebration in the Czech spa town, organizers and fans feted the Scottish actor, director and producer as the President’s Award for lifetime achievement was bestowed upon him. On Friday’s opening night of the fest, Alicia Vikander received the same award, while Russell Crowe was honored with the festival’s Crystal Globe.

A warm welcome to McGregor by a host was followed by a particularly well-received career highlights reel that repeatedly drew laughs and cheers for scenes from the likes of the Star Wars universe, I Love You Phillip Morris and, of course, Trainspotting.

“This is like a dream to see that,” McGregor told the audience at the Hotel Thermal, the...

Max is following DC’s lead with its list of new releases for July 2023.

The two big ticket items this month are of the superhero variety. My Adventures with Superman arrives to Max on July 7 after making its Adult Swim premiere the night before. The end of the month sees Harley Quinn season 4 making its long-awaited debut on July 27. Other original TV titles of note are the Steven Soderbergh-directed Full Circle (July 13) and the third and final season of How To With John Wilson on July 28.

On the movie side of things, documentary Glitch: The Rise and Fall of HQ Trivia premieres on July 20. Before that on July 13 is both a fresh reboot of filmmaking competition Project Greenlight and the movie that came of it, Gray Matter. Library movies in July include Pulp Fiction, V for Vendetta, Lethal Weapon, and more on July 1.

Here is everything else coming to HBO and Max this month.

Apart from its original series and exclusive streaming titles, Max is set to feature a selection of the most beloved movie franchises on its platform in July. Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon collaborate on the Max Original limited series Full Circle, releasing July 13. The series revolves around an investigation into a failed kidnapping and stars Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Jim Gaffigan, Dennis Quaid, and many more. On the movie side, Max will have access to the Rush Hour and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trilogy starting July 1, alongside all the Lethal Weapon films. However, the Mimic trilogy and some James Bond movies will leave the platform later this month. Here, check out what else is coming and going. Titles Coming to Max in July: July 1 300, (2006) 17 Again, (2009) 20th Century Women, (2016) A Life Less Ordinary, (1997) A Walk in the Woods, (2015) American Sniper, (2014) Angels Sing, (2013) Ballet 422, (2014) Barbershop, (2002) Barbershop 2: Back in Business,...

The original Max series “Full Circle” debuts on July 13. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the new drama investigates a kidnapping gone wrong in New York, revealing the secrets and lies of multiple characters. Or as the trailer warns: “Everything is connected.” The six-episode limited series stars Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Jim Gaffigan, Jharrel Jerome, Timothy Olyphant, and Dennis Quaid.

Watch the “Full Circle” trailer:

The four-part documentary “Last Call: When A Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York” is set in the early 1990s as the AIDS crisis worsens. The media’s distorted coverage of the gay victims, coupled with the homophobic biases of the criminal justice system, undermine the investigation. The docuseries — which premieres on Max on July 9 — illustrates how the LGBTQ+ community fought to solve the murders and demand attention for those murdered.

Preview “Last Call: When A Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York”:

Arriving on the platform on...

Timothy Olyphant, Claire Danes, and Dennis Quaid in ‘Full Circle’ (Photograph by Sarah Shatz)

Max’s July 2023 schedule includes the premiere of the drama Full Circle and the return of Shark Week. The hot summer month’s lineup also includes the final season of How To With John Wilson, the premiere of Project Greenlight, and the final episodes of the popular comedy The Righteous Gemstones.

The two-part documentary The Golden Boy about the life and career of Oscar De La Hoya joins the streaming service’s lineup on July 24th. Shaun White: The Last Run, a docuseries about the Olympian, is set to premiere on July 6th.

Series & Films Arriving On Max In July 2023:

July 1

300 (2006)

17 Again (2009)

20th Century Women (2016)

A Life Less Ordinary (1997)

A Walk in the Woods (2015)

American Sniper (2014)

Angels Sing (2013)

Ballet 422 (2014)

Barbershop (2002)

Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004)

Beauty Shop (2005)

Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)

Brandi Carlile: In the...

The episode of Revisited covering 28 Weeks Later was Written by Andrew Hatfield, Narrated by Jason Hewlett, Edited by Paul Bookstaber, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

2007 was a perfect year for films. We were graced with the first Transformers film in the series, which is still the best. Spider-Man 3 showed us that Tobey Maguire has some of the best dance moves in town, Judd Apatow provided us with great summer laughs in both Knocked Up and Superbad, Bruce Willis’s John McClaine returned in Live Free or Die Hard and a little rat warmed our hearts by serving us a dish of perfection in Ratatouille. While that’s all perfect, I’d say that I had my highest hopes for one movie in particular… 28 Weeks Later (watch it Here). You may be thinking, of all the films, that’s the...

Ewan McGregor has said he was reticent to play Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

In the mid-1990s, when the Scottish actor was cast in the George Lucas science-fiction series, he was most famous for his work in edgier films from British director Danny Boyle, including Trainspotting and A Life Less Ordinary.

In an interview released Monday (29 August), McGregor explained how his image initially dampened his enthusiasm for the Star Wars role.

“I really had to think about it,” McGregor said on the podcast Smartless, hosted by actors Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman, and Will Arnett. “It came right after that Trainspotting period and by that time I was so full of myself.”

He joked about his mentality at the time. “I am Danny Boyle’s actor. I am f***ing urban grunge. I am the Oasis of the British movie industry,” he said, laughing.

Eventually,...

R.E.M. will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their 10th studio album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, with a major reissue package, out October 29th via Craft Recordings.

The deluxe edition of the set will feature a remastered version of the album and a collection of B-sides and rarities. To accompany the announcement, R.E.M. have shared one of those bonus tracks, “Leave — Alternate Version,” which was first recorded for the A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack before a different version appeared on New Adventures.

“I actually might prefer this...

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between.

Today, we’ve got a great guest on to talk about a great Scotsman – Ewan McGregor! Conor and I are blessed to have the wonderful Fiona Underhill (of JumpCut Online) on to talk through the underrated actor’s incredibly diverse career. We focus on: The Pillow Book, A Life Less Ordinary, Down With Love, and Perfect Sense.

We dish on Ewan’s iconic looks, the full frontal nudity that punctuated his early films, the conflicted accent work, that James Joyce movie he did, and the long feud between him and Danny Boyle that happened because of The Beach.

Additional items include the animated film Robots (from the now-shuttered studio Blue Sky), an especially-effective short film called Desserts, and...

“I think I’m… quite ready for another adventure!” -Bilbo Baggins

Ian Holm, esteemed knighted British actor and standout of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Alien, is dead at the age of 88, having succumbed to complications from Parkinson’s disease. Holm passed away in a London hospital peacefully near his family and caregiver, as his agent confirmed to The Guardian, referring to the late actor as “charming, kind and ferociously talented,” and that “we will miss him hugely.”

Holm stood as a peer amongst other knighted legends like Ian McKellen and Laurence Olivier, but he never saw himself as a marquee-dominating movie star type, having maintained the grounded approach of a working actor. It’s a conceit evidenced by the way in which he selected roles across his 60-year career on stage and screen, rarely revisiting thematically similar characters, lest he become typecast. However, it’s also the...

Every month comes and every month this article demands to be written. It’s a tragic, inescapable fact that movies leave streaming services all the time, but it’s a privilege to be able to inform you when their number is up. I well up every time. No joke. I put a box of Kleenex on standby. Honest.

Today’s departure list concerns every film leaving Hulu at the end of July (on the 31st). Lots of names you won’t necessarily be familiar with, but I guarantee one will be impossible to miss.

A Life Less Ordinary (1997)

Batman Begins (2005)

Billy the Kid (2013)

The Chumscrubber (2005)

Constantine (2005)

The Dark Knight (2008)

Destiny Turns on the Radio (1995)

Diary of a Hitman (1991)

The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

Freddy Vs Jason (2003)

Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)

The Graduate (1967)

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

Lady in a Cage (1964)

Men With Brooms (2002)

Moll Flanders (1996)

Mutant Species...

There are few surefire successes in television. It just so happens that with its new releases for May 2020, Hulu almost certainly found itself one. May 8 sees the debut of all eight episodes of Solar Opposites, the latest sci-fi animated effort from Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland. This is a brand new story featuring a family of aliens crashing to Earth and learning to live amongst the rest of us weirdos. But the animation style and sci-fi themes hew so closely to Rick and Morty that there’s no way this won’t be a hit.

On the off chance Solar Opposites doesn’t set the world ablaze, Hulu has some other intriguing content lottery tickets for May. The Great premieres on May 15 and is a comedic period piece about Catherine the Great starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult. You can’t accuse Hulu of not taking big swings this month!

It goes without saying that the pandemic is keeping everyone stuck inside with little to do besides watch television, play video games, and read. Here’s some great news, though: There’s plenty coming to Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime in May, so put away the books and the games, and get ready to binge some excellent shows and films.

On Netflix, you can catch some notable comedy entries next month like the Jim Carrey-led Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Fun with Dick and Jane, while action-horror fans may be delighted to hear that multiple Underworld films will be dropping on the service. The lesser-known Jarhead trilogy will be available on the 1st, and the first two pics in the Back to the Future trilogy will join the third film for streaming. Dozens more movies and shows will join these as well to ensure that Netflix reigns as...

Hulu is out with its list of new additions coming in May, and everything that will be leaving the streaming service at the end of the months.

Highlights include Season 2 of “Ramy,” from Muslim American comedian Ramy Youssef, a new episode of “Into the Dark” called “Delivered,” in which a pregnant woman’s life is thrown into jeopardy when she realizes someone close to her has dark plans for her and the baby, and the series premiere of Hulu original series “The Great” about Catherine the Great, the famous Empress of Russia.

Leaving at the end of the month is “Good Will Hunting,” all three “Free Willy” films, 2006’s “Night of the Living Dead” and 2012’s “Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection,” “Zombieland,” 2002’s “Spider-Man,” and more.

Also Read: Julia Child Documentary From 'Rbg' Directors Acquired by Sony Pictures Classics

Here is the full list of everything coming and going...

First the movies were silent, and then early Hollywood composers like Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold filled them with sound. By the time “American Graffiti” arrived in 1973 with a chart-topping soundtrack that ranged from Fats Domino to The Beach Boys, it was clear that songs — and not just scores — could be woven into the auditory fabric of a film. Since then, the cinematic relationship between image and music has only grown more exciting, more open-ended, and more liable to get lost in translation.

Fortunately, a brilliant new breed of interpreter has emerged over the last few decades: the music supervisor. And no music supervisor has been more instrumental in shaping the best movies of the last 30 years than Randall Poster. After producing an unsuccessful indie called “A Matter of Degrees” with some of his friends in the early ’90s, Poster realized that his passion for (and encyclopedic knowledge of...

Danny Boyle is a filmmaker with undeniable style, and his earliest works distinguished him among a crop of up-and-comers as a cinematic voice worth paying attention to. Since then, however, that style has proved increasingly divisive, not just to critics and fans stymied by the unevenness of his output, but in the movies themselves, which frequently attempt to blend discordant narrative, thematic, and emotional ideas with grand visuals, and often fail. For every one of his movies that perfectly captures the febrile energy of a famous book or fascinating character, there are two or three others that scuttle a promising start with an explanation or ending that comes out of nowhere.

13. “Trance” (2013)

This follow-up to the acclaimed “127 Hours” feels like the movie every director whose work is considered “stylish” is born to make — a crime-based psychological potboiler with wild twists and turns that keep the characters and audience alike...

Danny Boyle is finally talking about James Bond. The filmmaker exited the film in August of last year after months of chatter about his involvement, and production is currently underway with Cary Fukunaga as director and “Fleabag” creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge as a script polisher. The Brit breakout has intimated that the bulk of her work on the script isn’t just to add a “female voice” to the continued adventures of the super-spy and his various female cohorts, but instead to liven up the entire enterprise.

Now, Boyle has indicated that he wouldn’t have gone that route. In a new interview with The Independent, Boyle was asked about the lack of female characters across his entire filmmaking canon, including his new release “Yesterday,” out later this week. On some level, it’s an unfair question: While Jacob Stolworthy writes that, of Boyle’s films, “only one has...

Danny Boyle has left Bond 25 over “creative differences,” according to a tweet published on the film’s verified account Tuesday.

“Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli Danny Boyle and Daniel Craig today announced that due to creative differences Danny Boyle has decided to no longer direct Bond 25,” it read.

Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig today announced that due to creative differences Danny Boyle has decided to no longer direct Bond 25. pic.twitter.com/0Thl116eAd

— James Bond (@007) August 21, 2018

“We are working on a script right now,” Boyle told Metro back in March. “And it all depends on that really. I am working on a Richard Curtis script at the moment. We hope to start shooting that in 6 or 7 weeks. Then Bond would be right at the end of the year. But we are working on them both right now.”

Boyle said John Hodge is currently working on the script.

With the current season of Saturday Night Live winding down, star Kate McKinnon has found a new movie to shoot over her summer hiatus. The actress has entered negotiations to star in an Untitled Danny Boyle Comedy that will put her alongside Lily James. Universal Pictures is eyeing a summer production start for this untitled project, so we could be getting more casting updates in the very near future.

While Universal is keeping any specific plot details under wraps, the story is said to be musically-themed and set in either the 1960s or 1970s. Kate McKinnon has been set to play a talent agent, while Lily James is playing a school teacher. Danny Boyle (T2 Trainspotting) is slated to direct from a script by Richard Curtis (Love Actually), although the studio has yet to set a release date at this time. Universal Pictures will be distributing and producing alongside Working Title FIlms.

Last month it was reported that director Danny Boyle (Steve Jobs, Trainspotting 2) is being eyed to direct the highly-anticipated James Bond 25, and now the director has confirmed his involvement in the project. During a red carpet interview at a New York screening of his FX series Trust, the filmmaker also essentially confirmed another report, that his involvement hinged on how the script comes out. Here's what the director had to say, confirming he is working on the script with his longtime writing collaborator John Hodge, while he's also working on a script for a Richard Curtis project that will shoot fairly soon.

"We are working on a script right now. And it all depends on that, really. I am working on a Richard Curtis script at the moment. We hope to start shooting that in six or seven weeks. Then Bond would be right at the end of the year.

“The Beach” arrived at an interesting time for Danny Boyle and his star Leonardo DiCaprio. The director was still nursing the wounds after the poorly received “A Life Less Ordinary,” his followup to the breakout hit “Trainspotting.” As for the actor, he was still riding the global superstardom high following “Titanic,” and the project offered him a way to rough up his glossy, heartthrob magazine image.

In 1997, a film cynic was born.

Seeing Star Wars ruined should have been a sign that 1997 would be the worst year ever for blockbusters. George Lucas’s Special Editions, intended to “improve” the original trilogy but mostly doing the opposite, started arriving in January. By the time of the release of the new version of Return of the Jedi in March, my anticipation for anything ought to have been demolished. But I couldn’t have imagined that was only the beginning.

Actually, the first steps towards the end of an era were made in the early ’90s. That just wasn’t a great time for big movies compared to the prior decade. Some of my biggest letdowns of all time included Hudson Hawk in 1991 and Death Becomes Her in 1992. Jurassic Park wasn’t good enough for me, having read the book. Independence Day put me to sleep in the theater. Beloved...

Directors’ trademarks is a series of articles that examines the “signatures” that filmmakers leave behind in their work. This month, with the release of T2 Trainspotting, we’re looking at the trademark style and calling signs of Danny Boyle as director.

After almost deciding to become a priest early in his teens, Boyle instead found something else that sparked his interest; drama. He studied English and drama in college, and upon graduating worked for several theatre companies. Eventually, he began to direct productions, something he still does to this day between film projects. In 1987 he left theater to work for BBC in Ireland and became a producer and director of television shows. He directed several TV movies before making his first feature film in 1994, Shallow Grave. That film found widespread appeal in audiences and critics alike, and became the highest grossing British film in 1995. The success of that film allowed...

Chicago – Rarely does a filmmaker have a long or influential enough career to revisit a story and characters that they’ve explored in a previous film. Oscar winner Danny Boyle has both qualifications, as he again takes on – 20 years after its 1996 release – his classic film “Trainspotting, which is elegantly titled “T2 Trainspotting.”

The boys of the original “Trainspotting” have reunited for the outing, portrayed by Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Ewen Bremner and Jonny Lee Miller. Middle age angst is the theme, as each of the characters are going through some life changes, but the spirit of their larcenous souls are still intact. The first film launched the uber-careers of Ewan McGregor and director Danny Boyle, and the re-exploration of the energetic style and quick-cutting scene work are back in the new story as well.

Jonny Lee Miller and Ewan McGregor in ‘T2 Trainspotting,’ directed by Danny Boyle

Photo credit: Sony Pictures Releasing...

"I'm not sure that Americans have penises," Ewan McGregor declares, carefully and painstakingly keeping his expression as deadpan as possible.

Danny Boyle's ears suddenly perk up. "Wait, your penis isn't there? Did they blur it out?" He lets out a laugh that might be characterized as the sound of exploding joy. "That would explain a lot!"

"They have to import them from Scotland," Jonny Lee Miller adds, at which point McGregor's stone-faced look begins to crack a bit.

"Scottish sausage!" Ewan Bremner chimes in, chuckling. "It's where the term comes from.

The most remarkable thing about “T2 Trainspotting” (other than the sequel’s stupid in-joke of a title) is that all of the original film’s heroin junkie heroes are somehow still alive. It’s been 21 years since Danny Boyle first made smack look a little bit too cool, and 1996 feels several eons removed from the post-Brexit nonsense we’re dealing with now, but Scotland’s four favorite dope fiends haven’t changed nearly as much as the world around them. They’re still addicts, even if some of them have found a new drug of choice. They’re still fools, even if Boyle has made so many slick movies about the perils of romanticizing self-destruction (e.g. “A Life Less Ordinary,” “The Beach,” and “Steve Jobs”) that it’s hard to take him seriously as a voice of reason. Worst of all, they’re still a lot of fun to watch,...

Director Danny Boyle returns to the Berlin Film Festival with T2 Trainspotting, the sequel to the 1997 cult hit that peacefully reunites the director with his early discovery, Ewan McGregor. The two had a falling out after McGregor, who starred in Boyle’s first three films (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and A Life Less Ordinary), was led to believe that he’d also lead the buzzy adaptation of Alex Garland’s The Beach. The role instead went to Leonardo DiCaprio, triggering a 10-year feud between Boyle and McGregor.

The Beach — about an explorer’s dangerous search for an idyllic, isolated paradise — bowed in 2000...

Simon Brew Feb 1, 2017

Director Danny Boyle reflects on 2000’s The Beach, and his mended relationship with Ewan McGregor.

Following Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, Danny Boyle chose a couple – as he always seems to do – of interesting projects to tackle next. He moved onto the underrated A Life Less Ordinary, before being fully lured to Hollywood to adapt Alex Garland’s The Beach.

Bits of the story here you probably know. This was a big studio film, and after the lead role was originally earmarked for Ewan McGregor, Leonardo DiCaprio ended up taking it. It caused a rift between Boyle and McGregor that was ultimately resolved, but also cost us all seeing them make films together, until the newly released T2 Trainspotting.

Boyle was in fine form on the Kermode & Mayo Film Review programme last Friday, promoting the new movie. And he was asked about The Beach, by a listener who...

Ryan Lambie Jan 31, 2017

Shot well over 18 years ago, Danny Boyle's sci-fi short film Alien Love Triangle has never been released - despite a starry cast...

In the late 90s, two very different filmmakers were still in the (relatively) early stages of their careers. Mexican director Guillermo del Toro had released his first feature, Cronos (1993) to widespread acclaim. The UK's Danny Boyle had captured the zeitgeist with his second movie, Trainspotting, and was about to embark on his next film, A Life Less Ordinary (1997).

See related A closer look at Jodorowsky's Dune The fall and rise of Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune Looking back at David Lynch’s Blue Velvet

Had everything gone to plan, del Toro and Boyle could have wound up directing their own chapters of a three-part anthology movie - the sci-fi equivalent of, say, Amicus Productions' portmanteau horror films of the 60s and 70s, such as The House That Dripped Blood...

Ewan McGregor and Danny Boyle were a ‘90s indie film dynamic duo, with the actor starring in the director’s first three films: “Shallow Grave,” “Trainspotting” and “A Life Less Ordinary.” McGregor, who prided himself as being “Danny Boyle’s actor,” then had a dramatic breakup and parted ways with the filmmaker after Leonardo DiCaprio, coming from his “Titanic” stardom, was chosen as the lead in 2000’s “The Beach” and not him. The two didn’t speak to each other until nine years later in 2009.

Now, McGregor and Boyle have reunited in the upcoming “Trainspotting” sequel “T2,” and while on “The Graham Norton Show” the host brought up the decade-long feud.

“It was over a film, a misunderstanding,” McGregor explained. “It’s a big regret of mine that it went on for so long, and a real shame we didn’t work together all those years. Not because of any particular film,...

Though the Star Wars prequels have been a huge point of ridicule for both fans and critics alike over the years, most everyone agrees that Ewan McGregor's portrayal of a young Obi-Wan Kenobi was one of the best things to come out of the three films. But Ewan McGregor almost didn't play Padawan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. He had his reasons. But it was creator and director of that movie George Lucas that changed his mind.

Before accepting his role as Qui-Gon Jinn's Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1999's Phantom Menace, McGregor admits that he struggled quite hard with the decision. The reason was simple. He felt the role was just too mainstream for him. FemaleFirst has his quote from Telegraph magazine. He has this to say about taking on the biggest role of his lifetime.

"Star Wars is Star Wars, it's something I...

Europe’s Largest South Asian Film Event, the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival, now into year seven, returns to London, from 14 – 24 July and we can’t wait! We have a sneak peek into what will be playing at BFI Southbank.

The full line up of the festival, which will be announced in June promises a schedule of some of the most prestigious and audacious new independent films from South Asia, and if the BFI Southbank schedule is anything to go by, this year, the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival will certainly live up to its reputation of showcasing the most cutting edge films from across the Indian subcontinent.

The meticulously curated sessions with BFI Southbank include some spectacular talks by top talent including South Indian and Bollywood superstar Kamal Haasan, who gives a rare Screen Talk, and Director Shekhar Kapur, most famous for his multiple top tier award winning “Elizabeth” films,...

One year after Sony let go of Danny Boyle and his “Steve Jobs” movie, the studio’s TriStar label has closed a deal for a sequel to “Trainspotting” that will reunite the director with his original cast. Ewan McGregor will return to star alongside Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner, and Robert Carlyle, while screenwriter John Hodge is back for the as-yet-untitled sequel, which is based on “Trainspotting” author Irvine Welsh‘s follow-up novel “Porno.” Sony chief Tom Rothman has long been in Boyle’s corner, having worked with the director at Fox Searchlight on “A Life Less Ordinary,” “28 Days Later,...

Twenty years in the making, it sounds like Trainspotting 2 is ready to go! The movie will be a follow-up to the 1996 cult hit Trainspotting, with original director Danny Boyle saying it will be his next project. He revealed the big news this past weekend at the Telluride after-party for the "work-in-progress" screening of his latest movie, the biopic Steve Jobs. About getting the sequel off the ground, he had this to say to Deadline.

"All the four main actors want to come back and do it. Now it is only a matter of getting all their schedules together which is complicated by two of them doing American TV series."

The four main cast members in question, who headlined the original, include Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle. Kevin McKidd was also a main cast member, but his character died in the first Trainspotting. Kelly Macdonald was the female lead,...

Good news, Netflix’s very funny looking original animated show BoJack Horseman featuring the voices of Will Arnett, Aaron Paul and Alison Brie will appear on Netflix on Friday 22nd August just in time to binge watch over the bank holiday weekend.

From what I have seen so far it looks promising but then so did Hemlock Grove. Expect a full report next week. In related news, Netflix have announced a whole slate of stand-up comedy exclusive to its service after the success of the recent Aziz Ansari special. So the likes of Chelsea Handler, Jim Jefferies, Bill Cosby, Bill Burr and Chelsea Peretti will be adding stand up shows to streaming between now and December. I have only heard of a couple of these acts but there again one of the best things to do with an hour to spare is browse Netflix for its plentiful supply of stand-up...

The best movie culture writing from around the internet-o-sphere. There will be a quiz later. Just leave a tab open for us, will ya? “The Inbetweeners 2 and the teen sex comedy renaissance” — Robbie Collin at the Telegraph connects a new franchise success to the beach bunny party flicks of the 60s while watching the ebbs and flows of young people trying to fuck on film. “Nietzsche’s 10 rules for writers” — Brain Pickings checks out some style tips from a mad philosopher with an amazing mustache. “A Life Less Ordinary: The Films of Joaquim Pinto” — Max Nelson at Film Comment explores the religion and nature of a filmmaker reflecting on two decades with HIV. “His first two films as a director must have made for a jarring contrast with the formally radical high-modernist movies he was making at the time with Oliveira and Ruiz. Tall Stories (88) and Where the Sun Beats (89) are tough, compassionate...

With Jealousy opening in New York on Friday before rolling out across the country, Eric Hynes profiles Philippe Garrel and his son, Louis Garrel in the Times. More goings on in the City: The Film Society of Lincoln Center series A Life Less Ordinary: The Films of Joaquim Pinto, BAMcinématek's Luis Buñuel retrospective, Frank Simon’s The Queen (1968) and an evening of "Radical Sex Education Films" at Light Industry. Plus, a few notes on happenings in London. » - David Hudson...