It’s really a shame. One of the positive by-products of the studio system’s reluctance to hire strong, visioned directors has been a decent uptick in actors and writers stepping into the director’s chair. They’re being welcomed, and those uninterested in the mainstream are also putting their own blood, sweat, and financing into making art their own way. Sadly, not all projects will make it through. According to Cinema Blend, that’s the story with Ewan McGregor‘s directorial debut – a story about a 1968 yacht race. Apparently someone else got to the idea (legally) before he did. In a statement to Nylon Guys Magazine, the actor said, “My wife was going to design it, I wasn’t going to be in it. And then I found out someone else is doing it. I was gutted.” I find myself gutted, too, because McGregor is the kind of talent that seems like he could beautifully translate to the language behind the camera. Fortunately, this isn’t the end of the story. This particular project might be gone (or it might always return…), but McGregor is intent on finding a solid subject matter and taking his first turn calling out “Action!”. Hopefully he finds something worthwhile soon.

It’s almost always a toss-up when an actor turns to directing, but there have been just as many truly incredible success stories as forgotten failures. However, something about Meg Ryan‘s acting career makes me believe she’ll be a strong director. She’s known for romantic comedies, sure, but she’s also been surrounded by a lot of different story styles (from Joe vs The Volcano to The Doors), and some insanely talented directors (from Rob Reiner to Nora Eprhon to Oliver Stone), so it would be almost impossible for anyone to avoid picking up some directing pointers. We’ll find out how many pointers she picked up when she directs Into the Beautiful, a movie scant on plot details right now except that it involves a group of friends reuniting. According to Variety, this is the movie Ryan will make her first directorial mark on. It’s unclear whether this was the mystery project she was talking about at Cannes a year ago (some speculated it was a drama called Little Black Train), but Forrest Gump and Devil Wears Prada producer Wendy Finerman (who was also attached to Little Black Train) will be helping the project along.

With any luck, he’ll run his set with National Socialist-like precision.

After over 100 film and television appearances and almost a dozen writing gigs, William H. Macy is taking his turn behind the camera. And he’s convinced Milla Jovovich to play an ex-stripper. Pretty good for a first-timer.