Bremner Goes To War

Trainspotting star Ewen Bremner has been cast in Ridley Scotts's next movie, the military drama Black Hawk Down. The Edinburgh-born actor, who can currently be seen in Harmony Korine's low-budget schizophrenia-themed dogme effort, Julien Donkey-Boy, will play a supporting role alongside Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan) and Josh Hartnett (The Virgin Suicides) in Scott's follow up to next month's Hannibal. And, while Black Hawk Down is being co-produced by the king of the high concept blockbuster, Jerry Bruckheimer, don't expect the $75 million film to be a formulaic popcorn crowd-pleaser. "Black Hawk Down is a serious film about US involvement in Somalia," Bremner told the Sunday Herald yesterday (14 January). "I don't know if you'd call it an action film. It's got lot's of action but none of it gratuitous." The film is based on journalist Mark Bowden's book, 'Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War', an account of the real life events surrounding the Battle of Mogadishu during the Somalian Civil War in 1993. The film will focus on a US army mission which attempted to capture two Somalian lieutenants but went disastrously wrong, resulting in hundreds of American and Somalian casualties. Filming is scheduled to start in March with a Stateside release set for 2 November 2001. Before that, Bremner will be seen in another Bruckheimer production of another true-life war story, which coincidentally, also stars Josh Hartnett: this summer's guaranteed money-spinner, Pearl Harbor. "Doing a commercial film is good for your career," Bremner admitted to the Sunday Herald with regard to his more high profile choice of film roles. We think he's stating the obvious, just a little bit.