Ewan McGregor on Miles Ahead, Beauty and the Beast, and His Directorial Debut American Pastoral

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• published: 01 Apr 2016
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With Don Cheadle's directorial debut, Miles Ahead, opening in L.A. and NYC this weekend, I recently sat down with Ewan McGregor for an exclusive interview. In our wide-ranging conversation he talked about why he wanted to be part of the project, his thoughts on why it’s taken so long to make a film about Miles Davis, memorable moments from filming, and more. In addition, McGregor talked about why he wanted to make his directorial debut with American Pastoral (based on Philip Roth’s novel), how Alexandre Desplat will compose the score, what it was like making Bill Condon’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, and the chances of doing another documentary with Charley Boorman. For those not familiar with Miles Ahead (here’s the trailer), the film tracks jazz pioneer Miles Davis’ (Cheadle) fight to own his music and his relationship with Rolling Stone journalist David Brill (McGregor). The film also stars Michael Stuhlbarg and Emayatzy Corinealdi. Previously Cheadle explained how Miles Ahead isn’t a traditional biopic: “You can [call it that] if you want, and there are elements of it that would make it that. But to me, that was something I was rejecting. I wasn’t interested in that, and I’m not interested by all the things that a traditional biopic does. I want to tell a hot story that’s full of his music that feels impressionistic in that it finds a way to incorporate all his musical styles and influences and ideas. It needs to feel like his approach: “I don’t care about what happened before. I’m about what’s happening now and about what’s happening next.” That’s Miles’ marching orders to me.” Ewan McGregor: What are the chances of doing another documentary with Charley Boorman? :55 – Has he seen Batman v Superman? 1:10 – Why has it taken so long to make a film about Miles Davis? 2:25 – How was he presented with the project and was it an immediate “yes”? 3:35 – How much changed about the story during production? 4:20 – Memorable moments from filming. 5:20 – How has his “process” as an actor changed during his career? 7:12 – What was it like making the live-action Beauty and the Beast movie? 8:34 – Why did he direct American Pastoral and what it’s about. 10:00 – When will we see a trailer? Says we should see the film end of the year. Reveals Alexandre Desplat will be composing the score. For More Collider: http://collider.com/ https://www.facebook.com/colliderdotcom Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ColliderNews Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ColliderVideo Follow us on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ColliderVideo