And speaking of Paul Gross --

And speaking of Paul Gross (which I was in my last post where I said my farewells to Canadian character actor Maury Chaykin), the man is back and looking terrific in a Canadian comedy-western called Gunless.

I stand no chance of seeing this movie, because as a low budget Canadian family comedy it won't play the theaters downunder, it won't be on TV here, it won't find its way into the Quickflix (local version of Netflix) catalog, and Amazon refuses to ship an American DVD to an Aussie address. Which is also why I don't have a copy of Buried on Sunday ... but have seen it on VHS a looooong time ago.

I could have a bit of a rant here about the unavailability of "lesser" movies in Aus. Or I could have a bit of a rant about the way American viewers are dissing the movie for not being a Hollywood style blockbuster ... as if a movie can be made on a teensy-weensy Canadian sized budget and come out looking like a Hollywood monster ... wake up, people!!

Or I could just run some pix of Paul Gross looking terrific, and hope to one day be able to see the movie! Um ... all things being equal, I choose the lesser of all those weevils. So, enjoy the pix, folks!

Goodbye, Maury

If your only interest in movies is for hot bods and sexy action, you're probably going to say, "Maury who?" But if you appreciate great performances from rock-solid character actors, you'll more than likely have known Maury Chaykin since Dances With Wolves, and that's a loooong time ago. Or maybe you saw him in several Canadian movies he made with Paul Gross (including, but not limited to the wonderful Buried on Sunday). Or perhaps you saw him as the XXXL outsized Goa'ould on Stargate SG-1, who departed the Earth with a wheelie-suitcase of cupcakes! Or you might recall him in Mystery Alaska, with Russell Crowe. He made a career out of being out-sized and trading on not being physically beautiful!

Yes, you have him now! Wonderful actor who could make you laugh or chill you (for example, in Cold Comfort, also with Paul gross). He's a character actor, and a Canadian, of extraordinary ability...

Maurie Chaykin died in a Toronto hospital last Tuesday. He'd been suffering from kidney problems. He was 61. Here's the full story, if you can somehow endure the stupid, intrusive, aggravating interface at CinemaBlend.com. And here is Maury's IMDB page ... what a list of credits!

Goodbye, Maury. We'll miss you.

Ewan McGregor talks about playing gay

With the indie I LOVE YOU PHILIP MORRIS languishing -- tough to find a distributor for such an out-n-out gay movie -- it's good to hear Ewan McGregor talk openly about playing gay characters. Which he does quite often, and enjoys doing...


This feature appeared online in OUT a few months ago ... and as you probably know, I've been working so hard, so long, I haven't had the chance to post much. So ... belatedly ... here's Ewan: Filthy and Gorgeous -- Ewan McGregor comes clean.

Makes interesting reading, well worth the click other there, trust me! Ewan McGregor has become quite the gay icon in the last decade and a half or so. Which is pretty good going for a straight guy --! Here's a very small quote which, for me, says it all:

“I’m always interested in playing different people, in different situations,” he says, sitting bolt upright, suddenly serious and eyeing the Pacific Ocean stretching below us. “It doesn’t matter to me whether someone is in love with a man or a woman. I find the idea of love and romance interesting. I’m a sucker for it. I like playing someone who’s falling in love because I like the sensation of it.” He pauses to give Syd [his dog] an affectionate pat. “People do extraordinary things when they’re falling in love.” http://out.com/detail.asp?id=26508