Jim Sturgess Fan

From MSN News

Jim Sturgess, who portrays British double agent Martin McGartland in Fifty Dead Men Walking, revealed that he felt little fear about filming with close contact with the IRA.
“I felt unstoppable. We had the IRA around us,” he admitted at the film’s press conference in Toronto.
“They knew where we were at every moment. So I felt fine. It was a weird feeling knowing that this organisation was looking after me and Kevin in particular, making sure we were ok and respected by everybody. We were going to places we would never dream of going if we weren’t with them. It was a thrilling experience, a thrilling ride.”

But the 27-year-old did have a moment of doubt.
“I had a few moments when we were filming in a fairly rough area of Belfast – we were doing a night shoot – and slowly, the crowds grew and grew,” he recalled. “There were kids everywhere stealing our sandwiches and drinking our tea, and they multiplied, they were everywhere. We were doing a scene, and there was a stone that smacked me in the head. There were kids effing and blinding and shouting at me. That was the only time I thought, ‘ok, maybe I’m not as safe as I think I am’.”
However, director Kari Skogland painted a different story.
“Because he (Jim) was playing a character they were not sure of, or that they don’t like at all, we had a very close watch on him,” she revealed.

I added some pictures from The Other Boleyn Girl Premiere in UK back in February.

From PA Entertainment:

They may have visited Toronto to promote their latest films, but the stars were just as keen to bag some goodies during their stay. Jennifer Aniston, Paris Hilton, Thandie Newton, Anne Hathaway and Claire Danes were some of the celebrities spotted at the IT Lounge and Hollywood Life House gift suites, created to coincide with the Toronto International Film Festival. And the guys didn’t want to miss out either, with Jim Sturgess, Geoffrey Rush, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges and Tim Robbins all popping in too.
At the IT Lounge in the Windsor Arms hotel, hotel heiress Paris, who arrived with boyfriend Benji Madden, left with a Hero necklace by Right Hand Gal, along with One Tree Hill’s Sophia Bush – the jewellery label is loved by Brit beauty Hayley Atwell and Heather Graham. Former Friends star Jennifer, Jim and Tim will hit the ski slopes in style after picking up pieces by Ripzone and Powder Room.
At the Hollywood Life House, held at Empire bar, French Connection, Hamilton watches and Parasuco Denim styled the stars. High School Musical’s Zac Efron loved French Connection’s checked shirts and schoolboy cardigans, while Geoffrey and Ludacris received Hamilton wristpieces.

Lainey Gossip

A few stars who dropped in to the IT Lounge?
Scott Speedman, seen here posing in front of the Wall of Heroes for Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Sophia Bush who took home a Hero Necklace, and … sigh… Jim Sturgess with Kevin Zegers. Jim left the lounge with some Cookie & Joe tiny tees for his nieces and/or nephews.

And Lainey has another article about meeting Jim in person, it’s hilarious. Read it here

Variety has a positive review of the movie Fifty Dead Men Walking. I really couldn’t wait to see this movie! Here’s what they say:

Packing a high-caliber performance by Jim Sturgess and enough thrills to start a theme park, “Fifty Dead Men Walking” is a classic about the Irish “troubles.” Despite the unavoidably convoluted facts of the real-life story, pic boasts plausibly written, solidly acted characters and a conflict that pushes the viewer’s righteous-indignation buttons, and as such could become a crossover hit.
Skogland has done the right thing in making “Fifty Dead Men Walking” a movie about characters, and character: Thanks to Sturgess, the viewer feels deep sympathy with a character whose clandestine activities are looked upon by his closest community as satanic. Martin is an amorphous entity but a fascinating one, portrayed with just the right doses of cockiness and desperation.

And another review from Screendaily

It was only in the aftermath of the Vietnam War that filmmakers were able to create a substantial body of work reflecting the complexities of what had happened there. The same is proving to be true of the recent “Troubles” that tore Northern Ireland apart for the best part of forty years. This year has already seen Steve McQueen’s triumphant debut Hunger. Now, Canadian director Kari Skogland brings her eye to bear on the heat of the conflict with a slick thriller that plays like Scorsese lite. A confident production, it has the dynamism and commercial instincts to connect with a mainstream audience and can only benefit from the rising profile of 21 star Jim Sturgess.
Fifty Dead Men works best as a conventional but politically charged thriller. A heavy-handed use of music and a fondness for burnished visuals tends to over-egg the film, making it feel glossy rather than gritty.
Sturgess once again confirms his ability to carry a film with a performance that is just as commanding but very different from his most notable roles in Across The Universe and 21. Kevin Zegers is virtually unrecognisable and sports an entirely convincing Irish accent as his closest friend and die-hard IRA supporter. Only Ben Kingsley seems miscast as British handler Fergus, although he does invest the character with a dry humour.

Hi guys I just added a bunch of pictures from Toronto International Film Festival where Fifty Dead Men Walking premiered at September 10th. Jim attended the press conference, the screening, and was there to on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Party with co-stars Sir Ben Kingsley, Rose McGowan, and Kevin Zegers, also director Kari Skogland

Fifty Dead Men Walking Premiere (TIFF) September 10th, 2008

Fifty Dead Men Walking Press Conference (TIFF)

Attending TIFF Hollywood Foreign Press Association Party September 9th, 2008

I also found some videos from the event:
Kevin Zegers and Jim Sturges stop by the eTalk Lounge to talk about their controversial film “50 Dead Men Walking

InStyle party brought out some of Hollywood’s hottest guys and we caught them all on the red carpet!

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Great news guys, the dispute between Martin McGartland with the filmmakers of Fifty Dead Men Walking has been settled.
According to globeandmail, McGartland has finally dropped his objections.

What a difference a few thousand dollars makes. Martin McGartland, the former IRA informer whose memoir Fifty Dead Men Walking inspired the drama of the same name at this year’s TIFF, has withdrawn his threat of legal action against the film’s producers after having seen the film and getting a nice little cheque. Good thing, too: the legal tussle had threatened to hold up tomorrow night’s red carpet gala, at which the stars Jim Sturgess, (Sir) Ben Kingsley, and Kevin Zegers are slated to appear alongside Kari Skogland, the film’s Canadian director. The Hollywood Reporter and others are reporting that McGartland, who was rumoured to be considering a trip to TIFF to confront the filmmakers in person, dropped his objections after producers sent him a copy of the film and then doubled their payoff offer to 20,000 pounds. “As a result,” read a statement he released today, “I can confirm I am happy with the film.” And, presumably, his bank account.

The Star has an interview with Jim that you can read here. Here are some highlights under the cut.

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I added 3 stills from Fifty Dead Men Walking.

I also added some old pictures to the gallery, haven’t got time to do this before. So yeah finally some gallery updates.(:

32nd Annual TIFF (Sep 10th 2007)
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Hey guys, sorry for being terrible with the updates. I have some pictures to add but right now I have a terrible headache so I’ll add them tomorrow. Anyway, as you might already knew (or not), there were some controversies arouse on the movie Fifty Dead Men Walking. Martin McGartland, whose story was the background of the movie, has some objections about the movie and even ready to undertake some legal action. However the movie creators are standing behind the movie’s controversy.

Creators of the film “50 Dead Men Walking” are standing behind the thriller amid accusations they’ve misrepresented the life of a security agent who infiltrated the Irish Republican Army.
Martin McGartland, formerly with the Royal Ulster Constabulary, has objected to several scenes drawn from his life story and has threatened legal action.
Co-producers of the film, directed by Canada’s Kari Skogland, say the plot, “although inspired by the contents, is not a representation of Mr. McGartland’s life.”

TIFF has official dates of the movie’s gala presentations:
Wednesday September 10 at 09:30PM (ROY THOMSON HALL)
Thursday September 11 at 09:00AM (RYERSON)

Jim Sturgess (dynamic in last year’s Across the Universe) turns in a star-making performance opposite Ben Kingsley in Fifty Dead Men Walking, a sweeping political thriller that gives a face to what Northern Ireland wryly calls “the Troubles.” Directed by Kari Skogland with grit, precision and a focus on the human drama, this widescreen story highlights the personal toll wrought by the larger civil conflict. Martin (Sturgess) is a small-time Belfast hustler working in the late eighties. Part of a tight group of mates, he’s more concerned with regular pub attendance and easing his way through British military checkpoints than with the reasons the checkpoints stand there in the first place.

On other notes, JSF has new affiliates, Taylor Swift Online is JSF’s new elite affiliate, and Forever Moore – a Dudley Moore fan site- is JSF’s newest (and first!) top affiliate. Please visit them and if you have a fan site and would like to be affiliated with Jim Sturgess Fan, please apply here!
Also, I added the link to older news on the sidebar, you can read JSF previous news before I converted the site to wordpress.