Date: --
Written by: Rebecca Murray
Source: About.Com Movies
Ewan McGregor and Alison Lohman play the younger versions of Albert Finney and Jessica Lange in the
fantasy/drama “Big Fish,” directed by Tim Burton and based on the Daniel Wallace novel, “Big Fish:
A Story of Mythic Proportions.”
The filmmakers were inspired to cast Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney as Edward Bloom at different ages after
seeing a photo of McGregor and Finney side by side at the same age. Producer Bruce Cohen recalls, "There it
was, the same smile, the same dimple, the same sparkle in the eyes. They looked eerily and brilliantly alike."
On casting Alison Lohman and Jessica Lange to play Sandra, producer Dan Jinks feels fortune smiled on the
production twice. "Who could wish for two better actors to play Sandra, and who could deny the similarities -
the cheek bones, the smile, the same feminine physicality."
What do you think of two British actors playing an American?
EWAN McGREGOR: I think we're all players and that we should get to play whatever. I didn't question that
it was two British people playing an American guy. To be in a film with Albert Finney at all would be a
huge honor, but to get to play him was insane, in my thinking. Although we didn't get to act together,
it was such a beautiful experience getting to know him because he is a diamond. He's a lovely man.
Can you remember the moment when you began to think of your parents as people, not just parents?
ALISON LOHMAN: I think it's just gradual but you don't really notice it. For me there wasn't one big moment. You
kind of change and grow together, and things change. I don't know.
How tough was getting the accent down?
EWAN McGREGOR: You worked hard on this (indicating Alison). For me, as a Scot, it's a much easier accent to
do then a standard American accent because you can really hear it. You can get your teeth into it. Standard
American is much harder because…
ALISON LOHMAN: It's more lyrical, isn't it?
EWAN McGREGOR: Yeah, there's just sounds in it that my ear recognizes more than in a straight American. It seems
to be a bit tougher. But it's a really lovely accent to use. I loved listening to especially older people down there
in Alabama. There's a real beauty in the way they use not just the sounds, but the way they use words. It's really
lovely [and] comforting.
ALISON LOHMAN: The perfect accent to tell stories.
EWAN McGREGOR: Yeah, I think that's right. It's probably no mistake that it's set down there. I met this great
old farmer, ropin' old cattleman down there, a f**king real cowboy, this guy who was in his - he's called Bubba
and he was maybe in his '70s. We just met him and we had a party at his farm. He had all my kids and all the
local kids around. He threw this big party for the children, really, and he was lovely. He's really flirtatious
with my mother-in-law, which was hilarious, I remember. But he was a real old cowboy and just a man of the earth.
He was fantastic.
Was he working on the movie?
EWAN McGREGOR: No, he wasn't working on the movie. He's just a guy down there, a rancher from down that way, a nice bloke.
Why should people see “Big Fish?”
EWAN McGREGOR: I think it's a rather beautiful story about a father and a son.
ALISON LOHMAN: It's a Tim Burton movie.
EWAN McGREGOR: And it's a Tim Burton movie, yeah. It's not a hugely explored relationship in movies. It can connect to
all of us because whatever our relationship is or has been with our parents, we can all relate to that. And it's a
reparation of a severed relationship. It's hugely moving and it's a beautiful, simple tale.
Did you feel the sense of whimsy while filming, or was it just technical?
ALISON LOHMAN: I think Tim was great with that, like the daffodils. He actually had all those daffodils, so he makes
it very realistic for you. The actor doesn't really have to work. You're not acting. He tries to make it as genuine
as he can.
How did the finished film compare to what you imagined it would?
EWAN McGREGOR: It matched exactly. It kind of matched how I saw it frame by frame almost, because you're familiar
with Tim Burton and his work and his style. When I read the script, it was no surprise to me that he was directing
it. I couldn't have imagined anyone else directing it, you know. So none of it came as a surprise. The fish looked
like I imagined the fish would look like. Before you start reading the script, you've got that because you filter
through [Tim Burton’s] visual sense. None of it came as a surprise.
Can you talk about the circus scene and the elephant poop?
EWAN McGREGOR: Genius. How amazing was that moment when the elephant craps on screen? We'd shot the wide shot where
you see the two elephant's bums and then me. We'd shot that and we'd moved in to do a close-up, so they were setting
the camera here, so you just see a bit of elephant's leg. You didn't see his bum or anything. And as we were setting
that up, it lifted its tail and we all went “QUICK,” and they widened the camera out. I got ready and there was no
turnover. They just turned the camera on and I played the scene as it dumped next to me. Genius, and none of us thought
it would make it to the film but it's genius that it did. There's not many elephants pooing on the big screen that I
can remember. Not enough, actually. I'm trying to bring it back.
There were other animals there too. Working with the elephant was a real treat. You don't meet elephants every day
and that elephant was around [a while]. We were shooting the circus stuff for a couple of weeks. It was lovely that
big elephant lumbering through. It was just beautiful and you got to go up and give it an apple.
You bonded with the elephant?
EWAN McGREGOR: Yeah, it was nice. We all did. They're incredible animals. It's a real treat. I loved the circus people
we worked with. I found them really interesting that there was a gypsy quality in their lives that's not dissimilar to
ours, in a way, when it's on the move. I liked meeting the lion people, the big cat people. They were interesting. She
was an Englishwoman. She spent her life with big cats and her son, who trained some of the tigers and stuff, since he
was a kid he's been working with big cats.
Was any of that down with CG?
EWAN McGREGOR: No. See, this is the lovely thing about Tim is that we did most of it in the camera. There was very
little effects stuff. WE did all the making Matthew bigger than he is, even though he's a very big guy, it was all
done in the camera with forced perspectives. We didn't do green screen stuff. We did camera tricks, but we did them
on the set there. And the special effects people built a beautiful lion's head. It was absolutely beautiful to look at,
which is the lion's mouth my head is in is a prosthetic head. And then when you pull out for the wider shot, that's the
real lion.
What was shooting in Alabama like?
EWAN McGREGOR: I loved it. I really did like it. I have very fond memories of working down there. My wife and my
children were with me, and there's a great neighborliness about the South. People did come over with pies when
we arrived. It was quite genuine. That's the way it is down there. I'd come home from work and there'd be [people]
everywhere. All the neighborhood kids would be kicking around in backyards. That's how I grew up in Scotland. You'd
come home from school and you'd just kick about the streets with all your mates. In London we can't do that [and I]
certainly don't know that most people do that here.
How much could you relate to the parenting theme of this movie?
EWAN McGREGOR: I responded more as a son as opposed to as a father, I think. I think it's about a father and son
relationship and so therefore I thought a lot about my dad while we were doing it. My father isn't dissimilar to
Edward Bloom in that he's very gregarious and he loves telling stories, my dad. He doesn't tell huge stories about
his life like Albert's Edward Bloom does, but he loves telling stories. If you were to go back to my hometown with
him, he wouldn't be able to walk down the street without (telling old stories). He used to frustrate us in our
childhood because it would take us so long to get anywhere, because he'd always be stopping to speak to someone -
it would take hours to get anywhere.
There was a rumor your wife was going to make a movie but she wanted Johnny Depp to star in it, not you...
EWAN McGREGOR: No, such nonsense. It was a funny story about [how] my wife adapted a Spanish novel, wrote a script,
and said that she would like Johnny Depp to play [in it]. But it was such a small joke between me and my wife, I don't
know how it ended up in a magazine.
Will you miss working on “Star Wars?”
EWAN McGREGOR: It is over. It'll never be over because I'll always be in them. I'll always have been in them, so
it's not something that's gone. It's something that the third one will come out in 2005 and I'll always be very
happy to have been in them. I won’t miss the blue screen experience. I won't miss making them because I find them
very difficult to make, but I'll always be glad to have been in them.
|
|
Delirious
Out now in the US
Playing K'Harma Leeds
Director: Tom DiCillo
Photos | Trailer | More
Official Site | Buy DVD
Things We Lost In The..
Out October 19th 2007
Playing Kelly
Director: Susanne Bier
Photos | Trailer |
More
Official Site | Buy DVD
Beowulf
Out November 29 2007
Playing Ursula
Dir: Robert Zemeckis
Photos | Trailer |
More
Official Site | Buy DVD
Also Coming Soon
Under The Blue Sky (2008)
Game (2009)
Copyright © 2006-2007
A-Lohman.com is a non-profit, non-official fansite with no contact with Ms. Lohman. Content may be downloaded for private and educational use only.
This site is made as an educational resource to provide information on Ms. Lohman's career. We have no financial gain from this fan site and no infringements are ever intended.
All images and text copyright to their owners. We are proudly hosted at Fan-Sites.org. Please add our site to your bookmarks. This fan site is owned and operated by April. STALKERAZZI
Users Online [ Stats ]
|
