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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2017)
• Jan. 27-Feb. 2, 2017 News Page 9 WELSH, from page 8 there was a bit of trepidation,” Welsh said. “We had to find something that wasn’t going to make people think we were in search of a quick buck.” They certainly could not be accused of rushing it. In the intervening two decades, three of Welsh s other books hit the big screen: “The Acid House” (1998), ^Ecstasy” (2011) and “Filth” (2013). Finally, all the pieces fell into place for “T2.” “I thought all the ingredients are there, we can t fuck this up. But I was blown away by how good it was. It’s much, much stronger than the f a t film. It’s got all that energy of the first film, but it’s also got much more depth. It’s a film student’s wet dream. There’s so much subtext to it, so much going on, they’ll be looking at it, talking about it and debating it for- years. “The way it references the f a t film, we don’t make films of that scale, with that epic ambition, in Britain anymore. It feels like a European Godfather.” PH 'QTO Where Trainspotting was set in Edinburgh’s Ewan McGregor plays M ark Renton and Jonny Lee Miller plays Simon in “T2 Trainspotting. mid-1980s heroin culture, “T2” finds Renton, Begbie, Sick Boy (Miller) and Spud (Bremner) can capture all of this. But it does. And it days after Donald Trump was sworn in as the older and grayer. The Cool Britannia hedonism captures it all on an incredible emotional level.” 45 th president of Welsh’s adopted homeland. and chaos that underpinned Trainspotting Welsh had first-hand experience of the “It’s strange,” he said. “If there’s one guy makes way for a theme we can all relate to: poverty and drug addiction that his hovels who was never equipped to be president, it was aging. depict. Today, his life is unrecognizable from him. They’ve probably elected the very last guy “Trainspotting was fundamental to so many those days. He lives in Chicago with his wife, you want to be president, particularly in this people’s culture growing up,” Welsh said. • Beth Quinn, dividing his time between the day and age. From the point of view of people “When people see ‘T2,’ they’ll think about what Windy City and Miami, with the odd trip back living here, it’s going to get quite horrible for they were doing when they saw the first movie, to Edinburgh. some, hut from my own point of view as a how their lives have gone. They will identify Politically motivated throughout his career - writer and artist, you want as many pricks - and th e b ig g e st fucking pricks - in pow er to he has spoken candidly about the deterioration with the characters as they are also engaged in kick against. Brexit and-Trump aré ^cloud,but of his Once-treasured Labour Party and was that quest. * there’s a silver lining if you’re an artist. It strongly in favor of Scottish independence in “We’ve lived in. such a narcissistic, becomes more interesting and galvanizing, and individualistic culture for 30 years. I don’t think 2014 - Welsh keeps a close eye on politics. He acknowledges that living overseas offers a for me, it’s going to be fascinating. that'people get old in the same way now. We “These things never exist in a vacuum. I can rebel and fight against it. You go to a rave these different viewpoint to the circus back home. “You see the good things, and you see the see a lot of resistance and opposition to Trump. days, and there’s three generations of the one lunacies,” he said. “Everything is up in the air. I can-see Trump falling out with the Republican family jumping around. But we do age. There s We’re aware that we’re transitioning, but we’ve Party and all softs of weird stuff going on,” he a reality of the looming mortality. said. “It’s definitely not going to be dull.” “We’re also doing this within a disintegrating no idea what kind of society we’re transitioning towards. We listen too much to opportunistic “T2” will be released in the United States on society, a society that’s falling apart, that can’t loudmouths who don’t have a fucking clue, but March 17. afford to pay people wages. It’s facing up to because they make most noise, we fall in line these big existential crises. It’s such an Courtesy o fIN S P .n g o / th e B ig Issue UK with them.” interesting and vibrant place for all of this to bigissue.com @BigIssue “T2” premiered in Welsh’s birthplace two play out. It’s very hard to say that one movie B Y S O N Y PICTURES All Profits to Social Justice Cannabis with Benefits Panacea is a non-dividend, triple-bottom-line company. We commit 100% of profits to affordable housing and social justice. Everyone else is just sellin7 weed. Recycle your cannabis money back to the community at Panacea. 6714 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, Oregon • 503-477-5083 www.panaceapdx.com «panacea_pdx Mon-Sat, 10-8, Sun 11 -5
