Ewan McGregor’s Directorial Debut Failed

The Scottish thesp Ewan McGregor who became widely recognized for his portrayal of heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting (1996) had been researching for a while a 1968 yacht race to be the focus of his first effort behind the camera.Maybe next year Santa will be more forthcoming and fulfill his desire to direct. This year, Christmas present he wanted to gift to his wife Eve Mavrakis has already been sold. In fact, McGregor was forced to abandon plans for his directorial debut when he discovered a film based on his boat race idea is already in the works by another production company. The actor spoke to Nylon Guys:

My wife was going to design it, I wasn't going to be in it. And then I found out someone else is doing it. I was gutted.

The Moulin Rouge! star still has ambitions to helm a film, though he knows he has a lot to learn. He added:

I think it would be so fascinating and satisfying. But I don't pretend… I would be starting right at the bottom.

Well, McGregor is a keen motorcyclist since his youth, so we could assume that his directorial debut might be still racing related theme. In an interview with the Santa Monica Mirror, he admitted,

I've been slightly nervous about it because it's such a big idea. I also never wanted to do it just to be a director but rather to do it because I want to tell a particular story and I'm still waiting for that story to find me.

Meanwhile, it has been announced that Ewan's next movie, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is set to be the opening film at this year's Palm Springs International Film Festival at the Californian event, which takes place from January 5th to January 16th 2012. Check out the trailer for the movie directed by Lasse Hallstrom, which also stars Kristen Scott Thomas, Rachel Stirling and Amr Waked. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wOF_7JMy5U[/youtube]

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen – Trailer