From Metro.co.uk: Veteran actor Sir Ian McKellen has been made a Companion of Honour for services to drama and equality. The Order of the Companions of Honour consists of the Queen and only 65 other members, all outstanding talents in their fields from painters Lucian Freud and Sir David Hockney to acclaimed actress Dame Judi Dench. He’s known around the globe for his role as Wizard Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which earned him an Oscar nomination in 2002. His other nomination was in 1999 for Gods and Monsters. Read More
Month: June 2008
SciFi.com caught up with director Guillermo del Toro at the Saturn Awards and talked to him a bit about the upcoming ‘Hobbit’ films. Del Toro had this to say about his adaptation of ‘The Hobbit:’
“I’m trying to be faithful,” del Toro said in an interview after accepting the George Pal Memorial Award at the Saturn Awards in Universal City, Calif., on June 24. “Like, when I was trying to create a screenplay about Tarzan and people asked me, ‘Is it going to be horror?’ I said, ‘No, no, no.’ The thing is, I’m trying to re-create on the screen the feeling I had when I was 11 in my bed reading the book. How excited I got. How great I thought it was. That’s what I’m trying to honor.”
Read the full article over at SciFi.com. [Read More]
In an interview with IESB.net, actor Doug Jones (who is one of Guillermo del Toro’s regulars) and director Guillermo del Toro had a wonderful banter about the possiblity of Doug Jones appearing in the Hobbit. Guillermo had this to say:
“I believe he (Doug Jones) will be there. I’ll give him a very hard thing (to do). That will be very difficult for him to pull off. He will suffer and he will spend long hours in make-up. That is all I can say.”
To this Doug Jones replied, “And what else is new?”
Thanks to forum member Empedocles for the heads up. For the complete video interview with Doug Jones and Guillermo del Toro about Hellboy II: The Golden Army, jump on over to IESB.net. [IESB.net]
From Hollywood.com: The Hobbit, Hellboy II, a lifetime achievement award … it seems Guillermo del Toro is unstoppable. When the Oscar nominated director postponed his Los Angeles Film Festival appearance from Monday to Thursday we couldn’t wait to talk with him about his upcoming projects. Instead Hollywood.com caught up with del Toro at the Saturn Awards where he was being honored for his life’s work. “It’s premature but I accept it anyway because I love the f*cking trophy,” he told us. ‘Hobbit’ Update: The Latest from Director Guillermo del Toro
From the Otago Daily Times: Reader’s Digest commissioned an independent research firm to survey a representative sample of 500 New Zealand adults. The Most Trusted survey asked respondents about three categories: individuals, professions and brands.
“Cuddly filmmaker Peter Jackson is right up there at 14, while Queen Elizabeth ties with Richie McCaw at 20th equal just ahead of food-in-a- minute merchant Allyson Gofton and Hayley Westenra.”
Most Trusted? Well, if a man is willing to bare his soul… or the soles of his feet, he’s pretty much an open book.
A reminder that “The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring” will be shown this coming Monday, June 30, by the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences as part of their “Great to be Nominated” series. Since we first reported this story here the participants in the discussion panel have been finalized and what a panel it will be! From VFX World.com:
“Following the screening, producer Barrie Osborne, executive producer Mark Ordesky, film editor John Gilbert, supervising sound editor Ethan Van der Ryn, Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Jim Rygiel and U.S. casting director Victoria Burrows will participate in a discussion about the film.”
Check out vfxworld.com for more information. Thanks to message board member diedye for the reminder. Oh, and if any of you are lucky enough to be there, be sure to send a report to us at spymaster@theonering.net!