Street roots., January 27, 2017, Page 8, Image 8

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Page 8
Street Roots •
P H O T O B Y S H A N N O N STA PLETO N /R EU TER S
b est k n o w n f o r h is n o v e l “T r a i n s p o t tin g .”, H e h a s a ls o w r itte n a s h o r t ^ q r y fo z jh e , Internationa l Network o f Street P apers*,.. .,
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B Y A N D R E W BURNS
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
rvine Welsh, the best-selling Scottish
author of “Trainspotting,” points to the
autumn of 2013, when he wrote “He
Ain’t Lager.” The short story Was penned
exclusively for the International Network of
Street Papers, which includes Street Roots.
It is about one of his most memorable
characters, Trainspotting’s unpredictable
violent psychopath Francis Begbie. It was
crucial in setting the wheels in motion for a
“Trainspotting” reunion, he said.
“I always associate Christmas with
psychopaths,” Welsh said. “Then when you
(The UK street paper, Big Issue) got in
touch, I decided it was time to update
Begbie. I thought, what if he was the
calmest person in the room? Then I began
to think, what would make him this way?”
The 59-year-old recently reprised his
cameo role as drug dealer Mikey Forrester
in “T2 Trainspotting,” the long-awaited
sequel to Danny Boyle’s 1996 adaptation of.
the 1993 debut novel that brought Welsh
fame and fortune.
After this initial reprise generated a
rapturous response, Welsh announced
Begbie was getting his own novel, “The
Blade Artist.”
“I didn’t really think anything would
happen with it, but I got interested again
and began to think, what if he’s not this
reformed guy, he’s just faking it? What if
he’s just become more cold-blooded and he’s
still a killer?”
Around the same time, Welsh, Boyle,
“Trainspotting” screenwriter John Hodge
and producers Andrew Macdonald and
i
P H O T O BY S O N Y PICTURES
From left: D anny Boyle, Irvine Welsh a n d Robert Carlye work on “T 2 Trainspotting.”
Christian Colson got together to flesh out
two decades’ worth of notes and ideas for
“T2.” Finally, it was reality.
“Being back in there with these
characters again, it was very interesting,”
Welsh said.
Coming out of nowhere, at the height of
Britpop in 1996, the film adaptation -
starring Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor,
Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller and Kelly
Macdonald - was the defining British film of
its era. It saw Boyle dubbed the “British
Tarantino,” transformed Welsh into a
household name and catapulted its stars to
Hollywood.
A sequel, loosely based on Welsh’s 2002
book “Porno,” struggled to get off the
ground for more than a decade, besetby
various spats that included McGregor, who
played central character Renton, and Boyle.
Obviously people had fallen out with one
another and had their differences, which has
been patched up now,” Welsh said. “But far
more significant is that everybody has been
so busy. It had to be the same creative
team, the same actors. Once you decide on
that, it becomes difficult, as you need to get
everyone to say yes at the same time. To
sync up these people, with the best will in
the world, becomes very hard. The logistics
operate against you.
“No one wants to trash the legacy, and
See WELSH, page 9