Ewan McGregor cast in Australian film Son of a Gun
Trainspotting and Star Wars star Ewan McGregor has been cast in a new Australian thriller Son of a Gun, to be directed by first time feature film-maker Julius Avery.
The film is a heist thriller, written and directed by Avery, with McGregor set to play a master criminal, who takes on an apprentice.
Avery previously won the Jury Prize at Cannes International Film Festival and a Best Short Film award at the AFIs for his 2008 film Jerrycan.
Avery told Encore: “I’d always had Ewan up there in my top of the list and it just so happened, my agent in the US reps Ewan, and he put us together. Ewan read the script and connected with it and we had a good chat and felt he was right for the role.”
Avery also wrote Yardbird, directed by Good Oil’s Michael Spiccia, which screened at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Tim White who produced Two Hands, Ned Kelly, and most recently Sleeping Beauty is producing the film with John Collee, writer of Master and Commander and Happy Feet, as script editor.
Avery said: “Tim knew John well, and he and I were first thinking of a script consultant and we both though John. I’d wanted to work with John on another project but he wasn’t available. But he’s been a very vital part of the development of Son of a Gun and been there for every draft. He’s been keeping me on track, he’s hands on and he is real mentor to me.
WA culture and arts minister John Day made the casting announcement: “This latest news that the star of Star Wars, Trainspotting and Moulin Rouge, Ewan McGregor will star in a locally-made film further shows that the WA film industry is making its international mark following on from the success of Red Dog and the anticipation surrounding Drift, starring Sam Worthington.
The film has received funding from Screen Australia.
McGregor shot episodes II and III of Star Wars as well as Moulin Rouge in Australia in the early 2000s.
