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The Big Picture
- Despite the lack of success with American Pastoral, Ewan McGregor had an amazing experience directing the film and loved working with the actors.
- McGregor found post-production to be the trickiest part of directing, as it was all new to him, but he learned the most from that process.
- McGregor would consider directing again, but only if he finds a story he is passionate about telling and is waiting for it to come to him.
Ewan McGregor may not have had the most successful time with American Pastoral, his debut directorial effort, but that hasn’t dampened the actor’s enthusiasm to try the role again in future. During an interview with Collider’s Maggie Lovitt at this weekend’s San Francisco Fan Expo, McGregor was asked about his experiences of directing American Pastoral, and the lessons he’d learned from the film which clearly meant a lot to him, even if it failed to connect with audiences at the time of its release in 2016, amidst the backdrop of an inflammatory election campaign.
“I had the most amazing experience with the actors,” he said. “Rehearsing every scene, I would clear everybody but the actors out and it just felt like we were making a film without a director, like we were getting away with something. It would be me and the actors, be it Jennifer Connelly or Dakota Fanning, and we’d play the scene until we got it right. Then we’d get the crew it and we’d set about shooting it, and it was wonderful.
“Post-production was tricky, I didn’t have any experience in doing it. All my experience was in pre-production. What you do afterwards with the editing, the sound design, the colour grading, was all new to me and that’s where I learned the most.”
When asked if he would consider directing again, McGregor immediately joked “No, never” before admitting he would love to get behind the camera again — but it would have to be for the first reasons.
“I loved it, I would definitely do it again. You put so much of yourself into it. I’ve gained so much more understanding for other directors as a result of it. I know now, what you put of yourself into that, is an unbelievable commitment. I couldn’t do it again just for the sake of it, I’d need to find a story I had to tell, and I’m lazy, I’m waiting for it to find me.”
Later in the interview, when asked about stories from Scotland he would like to see on screen, McGregor joked that maybe he would direct his next film in Scotland, while casting his uncle Denis Lawson in the lead role (TK link to the Ewan/Scotland article).
What is ‘American Pastoral’ About?
American Pastoral is a film adaptation of Philip Roth‘s novel of the same name. The movie, released in 2016, was directed by McGregor, who also starred in the lead role as Seymour “Swede” Levov. The film’s plot closely follows the novel’s narrative, focusing on the impact of social and political upheaval on the Levov family during the 1960s.
In the film, Swede Levov’s daughter, Merry (Dakota Fanning), becomes involved in radical political activities, leading to tragic consequences for the family. The story explores themes of identity, idealism, and the unraveling of the American Dream.
Commercially, the film had a limited release and did not perform well at the box office, grossing just $1.7 million on a $10 million budget. The film faced mixed reviews from critics and struggled to attract a wide audience.
You can find where to watch American Pastoral here.
American Pastoral
- Release Date
- October 20, 2016
- Director
- Ewan McGregor
- Cast
- Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 126
- Main Genre
- Drama
