Christopher Frank Carandini Lee CBE; it was a mouthful even before the announcement of his knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List last month, shortly before his 87th birthday, for services to the dramatic arts. Unofficially, Christopher Lee remains the king of the franchises, the only common denominator between the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Star Wars series, the Bond films and the Hammer horrors.
By the estimation of most movie buffs Lee is the most prolific actor alive, possibly in cinematic history, with more than 350 big-screen credits to his name. Nor is there any sign of him slowing down. He plays a Spanish psychiatrist in the forthcoming Triage, one of four 2009 releases graced by his distinctive basso-profundo tones, if not always his aristocratic features (one of them is the animation Monster Mania, which he gleefully describes as “extremely funny”). More..
stormcrow20 writes: Sir Christopher Lee is once again collaborating with Tim Burton in the director’s adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland”. Mr. Lee will be portraying the Jabberwock. Check out the link for more casting information, as well as a small assortment of photos of the main players. More..
June 13th, 2009 by Calisuri
| Source: BBC
| Discuss
As you may be aware, The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals’ personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom. Bestowed by the Queen, it is one of the highest honours a citizen of the UK can achieve. We already have a few other knighted cast members from The Lord of the Rings, and now we are happy to report Christopher Lee will be joining their ranks. Lee needs no introduction to The Lord of the Rings community, as his portrayal of Saruman in The Lord of the Rings community has been widely praised and well-received among fandom. Congratulations Sir Christopher Lee! Thanks to all the Ringers sending in the link. [Read More]
Christopher Frank Carandini Lee CBE, CStJ (born 27 May 1922) is an English actor and singer. He initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films. Other notable roles include Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man (1973), Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Count Dooku in the Star Wars series, as well as Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Lee’s most important role, according to him, was his portrayal of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998). Lee has performed roles in over 220 films since 1948. Along with Rock Hudson, Lou Ferrigno, Vincent Price, Sterling Hayden, Vince Vaughn and few others, he is, at 195.6 centimetres (6 feet, 5 inches), one of the tallest leading actors of all time.
Lee was born in Belgravia, England, the son of Contessa Estelle Marie (née Carandini di Sarzano) and Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffrey Trollope Lee of the 60th King’s Royal Rifle Corps. Lee’s mother was a famous Edwardian beauty who was painted by Sir John Lavery, as well as Oswald Birley and Olive Snell, and was sculpted by Clare F. Sheridan. Lee’s maternal great-grandfather had been an Italian political refugee who sought refuge in Australia; his great-grandmother was Australian opera singer Marie Carandini. christopherleeweb.com
morten writes: I just saw the news that Christopher Lee is going to be at the LOTR in Concert in Copenhagen. I am looking forward to it - the people behind it are the Tolkien Ensemble, who has created some beautiful and moody music for LotR and the illustrations for the LotR created by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe the 2nd will be a part of the experience. Just thought I’d let you know since I haven’t heard a mention of it on theonering.net so far. Here is the link, in Danish (sorry!). Christopher Lee At LOTR in Concert in Copenhagen
February 11th, 2009 by Altaira
| Source: IGN.com
| Discuss
Message board member diedye found this IGN interview in which Christopher Lee discusses his role as a Bond baddie in “Man with the Golden Gun,” and speculates about reprising the role of Saruman in the upcoming Hobbit films. This part, in particular, sounds promising:
“IGN: Would you be willing to reprise the role? Lee: In the spirit very much so. But I’ve reached an age now [86] where going to New Zealand again would be a very considerable effort. It would not be easy because it’s an exhausting journey. Even with a break I’m not sure I could do it. IGN: If they could film your part in London, would you be interested? Lee: Oh yes, of course. I’d be delighted.”
Nienna sends in this story: British actors Hugh Laurie and Christopher Lee have had their status as top Hollywood stars confirmed with entries in the Guinness World Records 2009. The latest list of record-breaking achievements, which goes on sale on Wednesday, will see 86-year-old acting veteran Lee crowned Most Connected Living Actor. A database created by the University of Virginia mapped the working relationships between more than a million actors and actresses, and identified Lee as living “in the centre of the Hollywood universe”. London-born Lee, who has been made a CBE, was listed in the 2001 record book as the star with the most screen appearances to his name - after playing about 300 film and TV roles. Read More
Another week, another great FLASHBACK from Ringer Diedye. This week’s flashback details the events that took place in the Tolkien universe between August 3rd and August 9th. This is a weekly feature that Diedye posts in the forum, so if there is ever a time we don’t post it on the homepage of TORn, make sure to check the Main board in our forums. Click on the link below to transported in time!
Thanks to Ringer Diedye for the heads up on this one! Empire Magazine has an exclusive interview with Christopher Lee in which he clearly states he would be more than happy to reprise his role as Saruman in the upcoming ‘Hobbit’ Films. How you might ask? Well, Christopher Lee has some theories of his own in Empire’s complete article.
“I’d be interested in seeing how that transition from good to evil occurred and, yes, of course I would return to the role if I was asked.”
Read the full article over at EmpireOnline.com! [Read More]
Sideshow Collectibles has started taking pre-orders for the ‘Dark Counsel‘ diorama - featuring Brad Dourif as Grima Wormtongue and Bernard Hill as Theoden. They have also posted a 360° turnaround of the piece (see image). In other LOTR updates, Sideshow has posted their production photography for the Sam and Frodo 12-inch figures - if you haven’t picked up you figures yet, now is the time. The Samwise Gamgee and the Frodo Baggins Exclusive Editions (only available via Sideshow’s website and have an extra accessory) are on second chance and should sell out shortly. Also on second chance is the popular ‘Treachery of Saruman‘ diorama which is getting some great reviews. And last, if you are on the fence about any of these collectibles, check out the ‘Backstage Pass‘ features. They are neat little videos that explain the figure and showcase what makes Sideshow items worth owning. [Dark Counsel Diorama] [Frodo 12-inch Exclusive] [Samwise 12-inch Exclusive] [Hobbit Backstage Pass Video] [Treachery of Saruman Diorama] [Treachery of Saruman Backstage Pass Video]
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Christopher Frank Carandini Lee CBE; it was a mouthful even before the announcement of his knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List last month, shortly before his 87th birthday, for services to the dramatic arts. Unofficially, Christopher Lee remains the king of the franchises, the only common denominator between the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Star Wars series, the Bond films and the Hammer horrors.
As you may be aware, The 
