ActorEwan McGregorhas certainly been keeping busy lately, filming his long-awaited sequelTrainspotting 2and also signing on for his first major American TV role, starring in Season 3 of FX’sFargo. The actor is also getting ready to debut his directorial debutAmerican Pastoral, with the first trailer arriving over the weekend. The first-time filmmaker also stars in this drama set during the Vietnam War.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Phillip Roth novel,American Pastoralfollows a family whose seemingly idyllic existence is shattered by the social and political turmoil of the 1960s.Ewan McGregor(Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Beginners) makes his directorial debut and stars as Seymour “Swede” Levov, a once legendary high school athlete who is now a successful businessman married to Dawn, a former beauty queen. But turmoil brews beneath the polished veneer of Swede’s life. When his beloved teenage daughter, Merry, disappears after being accused of committing a violent act, Swede dedicates himself to finding her and reuniting his family.
What he discovers shakes him to the core, forcing him to look beneath the surface and confront the chaos that is shaping the world around him. BeforeEwan McGregorcame aboard to direct, another actor/filmmaker was set to take the helm,Fisher Stevens, but he eventually parted ways with the project. We’ll have to wait and see ifEwan McGregor’s take on this beloved novel will lure in audiences to theaters this fall.
American Pastoralalso stars Academy Award winnerJennifer Connelly(A Beautiful Mind) as Dawn,Dakota Fanning(The Runaways,The Twilight Saga) as Merry, Emmy winnerUzo Aduba(Orange Is the New Black), and Academy Award nomineeDavid Strathairn(Lincoln,Good Night, and Good Luck). We’ll have to wait and see how much more footage will be released between now and this fall when the movie hits theaters. However, it will have plenty of competition when it opens.
American Pastoralhits theaters on October 21, arelease datewhere there are already six movies opening in wide release. Lionsgate’sBoo! A Madea Halloween, Paramount’sJack Reacher: Never Go Back, Focus Features’A Monster Calls, 20th Century Fox’sKeeping Up With the Jonses, Universal’sOuija: Origin of Eviland PureFlix’sI’m Not Ashamedare all set to open. Take a look at the first trailer forAmerican Pastoralcourtesy ofYoutube.
