Sir Sean Connery watching over the welfare of Scottish films
SCREEN icon and probably the most famous Scotsman alive today, Sir Sean Connery, is due back in Edinburgh this week, to join cinema fans at the Edinburgh International Film Festival for a gala screening of one of his most famous films: The Man Who Would Be King.
The Fountainbridge-born milkman-turned-superstar will attend in his role as the festival's most famous patron. His presence will also be a chance for fans in his home city to wish him birthday greetings – he will be 80 in August.
But while we may think we know all there is to know about him, there are facets to Sir Sean's character that only a privileged few ever see.
It's partly down to him, for example, that Edinburgh now has an exciting new movie venue – the Festival Theatre has undergone a £245,000 investment to make it Scotland's largest digital cinema. It's there that the Edinburgh International Film Festival will kick off tonight with a gala opening screening of The Illusionist – an animated movie with the Capital itself as one of its leading stars. And it's there The Man Who Would Be King will be screened on Sunday. "Sean Connery was an early advocate of the conversion of the Festival Theatre for cinema," says the EIFF's former managing director Ginny Atkinson, who has worked directly with the Hollywood star in his role of patron, which he's been for nearly 20 years. "Just having his support can make a huge difference, doors can open...
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http://commanderbond...quicknews/58321 - The Scotsman