Den of Geek has a great new interview with Sylvester McCoy who’s been cast in the role of the Wizard Radagast the Brown in The Hobbit. A few excerpts follow:
You’re heading off next to New Zealand to do The Hobbit, then! This must be the biggest adventure of all now?
I think it is, yeah. I think it’s a big one. I’ve had quite a lot of wonderful adventures in my life, and this one, I’m so excited.
When did you first hear, then, that you were close to landing a part inThe Hobbit? Because the rumour mill had been going for a while.
Well, last summer, Peter Jackson, Fran, and Phillippa flew over, and invited me for tea. So they got me a car, and drove over for tea. I thought it was more auditioning, because I’d screentested for it. But when I got there, they said would you play the part? Would I? No! Of course not!
They knew you from before…
Well, they saw my screentest for Radagast The Brown, and Guillermo del Toro, who was going to direct it, he’d okayed it. He was keen that I play the part. I didn’t know this, but I got it from the screentest. It wasn’t until I went to see them for tea that I knew. They were asking my permission to be in it!
There’s more Hobbit-related bits in the interview, and trust us, you’ll want to read all of them!
From the Dominion Post: Gig-goers at the 
Peter Jackson, along with Guillermo del Toro, James Cameron and other Hollywood heavy-hitters, has signed a petition protesting the ‘Premium Video On Demand’ plans of studios and cable providers. In the proposed plan (Actually already in place on my DirecTV) consumers will be able to download and watch hi-res versions of films a mere 60 days after their release in theaters. The normal timeframe for DVD release is 120 days. The petitioners forsee many issues as a result of continuing this plan: cannibalization of theatrical revenue; theater closure; the death of small budget films; an increase in piracy. Click ‘continue reading’ for the complete release and list of signees. (Thanks to Ringer Irfon for the heads up)