by Andrew ClarkeNovember 1, 2006It may have a slightly erotic, come-hither, title but to East Anglian film-makers Ed Blum and Aschlin Ditta, Scenes of a Sexual Nature, their debut movie together, is a gentle, poignant – and above all funny – look at the lives of seven couples who pass by one another on Hampstead Heath.It’s obviously an opinion shared by most of Britain’s acting luminaries because, based on the quality of the script alone, Ewan McGregor, Adrian Lester (Hustle), Catherine Tate, Hugh Bonneville, Gina McKee (Notting Hill), Benjamin Whitrow (Pride and Prejudice), Eileen Atkins, Douglas Hodge (Red Cap), Mark Strong (Syriana), Polly Walker (Rome), Andrew Lincoln (This Life) and Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) all signed up to take parts in the film for Equity minimum wages and with no financing for the film in place.Newmarket-born director Ed Blum is still is state of shock. He says that with two weeks before filming began, they had virtually no cast and no money. Hugh Bonneville was the first to come on board, then Gina McKee, then Ewan McGregor and Douglas Hodge – who were then appearing in Guys and Dolls together at the Piccadilly Theatre.Ed remembers the moment when he took the phone call which told him that Ewan, Britain’s biggest contemporary movie star, had committed to his debut feature. “It took a minute or two for the news to sink in. Then I put the phone down and just started jumping up and down.”Source: www.edp24.co.ukThanks to Roberta for the link