Sir Ian at Cannes Film Festival 19 May 2003
Stella Artois Gold Party

Ian with John Brock,
CEO of InterBrew

THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM: Ian McKellen first came to Cannes 10 years ago, hat in hand, looking for money to produce his "Richard III," but he left empty-handed. Two years ago, he visited Cannes as part of the promotional circus surrounding the launch of "The Lord of the Rings." This year, he jetted in from London where he is performing August Strindberg's "Dance of Death" onstage for an overnight visit to promote his newest film, a purposefully modest Canadian indie titled "Emile" and directed by Carl Bessai. Third time around, Sir Ian was hailed as if he were visiting royalty at a Carlton Beach fest at which he was the guest of honor. Comparing the distance he's traveled between Cannes encounters, McKellen observed, "I've seen that (commercial) side of it – the meetings in hotel bedrooms, hotels that aren't quite on the Croisette and certainly not on the yacht where I'm spending the night tonight." Although he has become a worldwide presence because of profile appearances in such blockbusters as the "Lord of the Rings" films and the current "X2: X Men United," McKellen's next role finds him throwing off the trappings of big budget filmmaking. "I wasn't sure the script was really for me," he admitted but Bassai convinced him otherwise. While he shot just 15 days on "X2" over 15 weeks, the 20 days he spent shooting "Emile" amounted to the filming schedule for the entire movie. "It was sort of guerrilla filmmaking," says the man for all seasons, "but it was no different than working in a small theater with not many resources." (Gregg Kilday)