Jennifer Connelly To Star With Ewan McGregor In His Directorial Debut
Jennifer Connelly is about to make a comeback alongside Ewan McGregor. American Pastoral is an upcoming adaptation of the bestselling novel by Pulitzer winner Philip Roth.
American Pastoral is the story about a legendary high school athlete, Seymour “Swede” Levov (McGregor), who marries former beauty queen Dawn (Connelly). After inheriting his father’s business, Levov faces a life-changing battle when their daughter (Dakota Fanning) commits an act of political terrorism during the Vietnam War.
Jennifer Connelly and Ewan McGregor have both been victims of having been cast in movies that nearly ruined their careers, and this film adaptation may help turn things around for both of them.
Connelly was the female lead in Eric Bana’s ill-received Hulk, which had done so poorly in the cinema that Marvel had to reboot it with Edward Norton and Liv Tyler.
McGregor was arguably the best actor in the Star Wars prequels, but that isn’t saying much. After Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, McGregor hasn’t been in the spotlight much, aside from another critical flop, Mortdecai.
After Phillip Noyce stepped down from the director’s chair for American Pastoral, McGregor stepped up.
According to the Hollywood Reporter through Yahoo News, Ewan McGregor has shown a degree of excitement about his chance to direct and star in American Pastoral.
“I’ve wanted to direct for years and wanted to wait until I found a story that I ‘had’ to tell, and in this script I knew I had found that story.”
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of being on both sides of the camera, especially knowing I’ll be working with Jennifer and Dakota.”
Lakeshore CEO Tom Rosenberg agrees with the first-time director.
“Ewan’s talent goes far beyond his onscreen work and we’re excited to be working with a director who is as passionate as we are about telling the story of American Pastoral.”
Jennifer Connelly and Ewan McGregor will begin filming John Romano’s adaptation of the novel in September.
[Photos by Valerie Macon / Getty Images, Jason Kempin / Getty Images]
