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From The Independant...
So inspirational is the life story of Rory Stewart, an Eton-educated former diplomat, that he is to become the subject of a Hollywood biopic starring the English-born actor Orlando Bloom.
Stewart has earned an international reputation at the relatively tender age of 35 for his work in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans. He has taught Princes William and Harry, run a charity in Kabul, written three books and received an OBE.
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Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom said on Tuesday he was stepping aside from the big productions that made him a star to work in a film about life in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo during the 1992-95 siege.The film is based on the book Fools Rush In by American writer and filmmaker Bill Carter who lived in Sarajevo at the height of the siege. It will be directed by Brazilian director Andrucha Waddington and produced by Elliot Lewitt.
"A film is a very specific and personal account of Bill Carter's experience in Sarajevo during the war and we would very much like to make the film here," the star of the Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lord of the Rings told reporters in Sarajevo.
"This is a departure from the very big Hollywood productions," Bloom said after the film's crew met with the Sarajevo Mayor, who promised financial and other support for the film.
"I'm not in fact playing Bill in this movie but I read the script and the very human story at the very core of this film spoke to me very clearly," he added.
In the book, Carter described his life as an aid worker in besieged Sarajevo in 1993-94 and difficulties and joys he shared with local people trying to preserve the sanity during the 43-month-long shelling of the city by the Bosnian Serb forces.
Bloom declined to provide more details about the film but said he hoped the shooting would start at the end of the year.
"Hopefully, we can get this movie to be made at the end of this year. To come here and shoot would be just wonderful," he said.
Carter made documentary Miss Sarajevo, produced by U2's singer Bono and late Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, after he managed to make the first satellite link between Sarajevo and U2's Zooropa tour in 1993.
'When tragedy strikes Bill Carter's life he finds himself drawn to an unlikely place -- Bosnia, in the midst of its civil war. Searching for meaning in the heart of darkness, he manages to find lodging in an abandoned tower block and sets out getting supplies to the starved, besieged citizens of Sarajevo. It is there that Carter emerges from his stupor. Inspired by a community of people working to bring relief to the city, he daringly enlists the help of music group U2 and its lead singer, Bono, who set up satellite links on the band's Zooropa tour that allowed ordinary citizens of Sarajevo to speak unedited and live on 90-foot television screens to thousands of concertgoers worldwide.'To date no official announcement has been made, we will keep our eyes open and report any news as we get it.
ORLANDO Bloom, one of Hollywood's biggest stars, strides through the foyer of an Edinburgh church with all the swaggering style of his Pirates of the Caribbean film role.
But a quartet of elderly ladies enjoying tea and scones in the cafe at St George's Church West hardly give him a second glance – it's Edinburgh, it's the Fringe, and they are unaware they are in company of a celebrity.
Bloom, 31, is in town to deliver an acting masterclass to his elder sister Samantha, 32, who is making her Fringe debut.
As Bloom mounts the stage to help Samantha transform herself into the male mindset of Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky in his tale of unrequited love, there is a brief, respectful silence.
Bloom stops Samantha as she acts out a scene where Mayakovsky pricks his finger.
"Don't do it like that, don't suck your finger like that, that's what a woman does. Do it like this" and acts out a quick gnawing mannerism with his finger held at the side of his mouth and in that moment the star quality beams out.
Earlier, Bloom talking about his sister's appearance in A Cloud in Trousers, at the city's Underbelly venue, said: "I've been very fortunate but my sister's had to work very hard to carve out a career.
"It's been quite an undertaking for her and to begin with I marvelled at how it seemed almost like a stream of consciousness.
"Appearing on stage in a theatre rather than a Hollywood film is like using a different sort of muscle for an actor..."
Suddenly the hall is plunged into darkness as lights are tested. Then power is restored.
Bloom, without missing a beat, smiles and continues: "At first I thought Samantha was joking about being on stage alone for 40 minutes I don't know if I could do it, it's a different sort of journey."
Taking a break from the masterclass Samantha said she had no qualms accepting advice from her brother: "He encourages and supports me in everything I do and I like to ask his opinion.
I'd been interested in playing a male role, but rather than playing a tough guy what I discovered was the fragility of men's emotions and the basic instincts we share."
As Orlando Bloom leaves the venue to fly to Sarajevo for filming commitments, a member of the Zawose Family, a group of musicians from Tanzania, appearing at the church venue enquires via co-ordinator and translator Robert Ngoroma, "Who is that guy?"
Told he is a big Hollywood star and quite a heart throb, he responds: "Like Mr Bean?"
It's Edinburgh, it's the Fringe, egos are left at the door.
Photo: Wireimage
