Fans will recall that prior to Peter Jackson’s coming down with that nasty stomach ulcer earlier this month (the man’s doing fine now, bless him!), filming of The Hobbit was supposed to begin on 14th February 2011, with Ian McKellen’s first day of filming due yesterday, 21st February 2011.
So it only makes sense that with the films’ official start date now pushed to 21st March 2011, the Grey Wizard is EARLY! He consequently took the time today to make his first blog post ‘From the middle of Middle Earth‘ in a neat little section titled Notes from Imladris on his official website. Excerpts follow:
I hadn’t intended last Thursday to arrive in Wellington for The Hobbit filming, five weeks early. Yet, what’s new? Just a year ago I had expected to start shooting in July 2010, with Guillermo del Toro in charge… A year on, filming was to start at the end of February 2011. Then, Peter Jackson had his stomach operation. The insurance company has insisted on five weeks recuperation. Which is why, yet again, I’m here early. Waiting for Bilbo.
In related news, our friend Jack who lives down in New Zealand has updated his ‘Noldor Blog‘ with an interesting post. Between running into Sir Richard Taylor and Peter Lyon, he also ran into none other than Andy Serkis this last Saturday night at a diner in Wellington.
Looks like the place is abuzz with activity with The Hobbit shoot now less than a month away!
Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf) will take time off from The Hobbit this summer to star in ‘The Syndicate’ a the Chichester Festival Theater:
Running July 21-Aug. 20 with an Aug. 2 opening at the venue’s 283-seat Minerva Theater, the play is Mike Poulton’s new version of Eduardo di Filippo’s “Il Sindaco Del Rione Sanita,” one of three world premieres in the venue’s 2011 season.
If you plan on attending the production, please send us your thoughts and reactions to Sir Ian’s performance. Thanks to Ringer Kookie for sending in the link. [Read More]
From The Dominion Post: Though the rest of the cast have expressed their enthusiasm for being in New Zealand, it seems The hobbit actor Sir Ian McKellen isn’t quite as excited. In a blog, McKellen – who will reprise his role as Gandalf – said he was relieved to have negotiated an “escape clause from Middle-earh” so he could play a Mafia don on stage. He will take a break during the 18 months of filming to fly back to Britain and star in The Syndicate, at the Chichester Festival Theatre, The Daily Mail reported. On his blog, McKellen also questioned his decision to play Gandalf, saying sequels aren’t necessarily as rewarding to act in as their originals. “My worry that I could not escape from Middle-earth was lifted.” McKellen is apparently on holiday in India, and will travel direct from there to New Zealand, where he will start filming on February 21.
UPDATE Sir Ian took to Twitter to correct a mistake in the above story. His start date for filming is now March 28th, and not February 21st.
Bruce Hopkins writes: I have uploaded this 2007 audio from an early morning visit to the studio by Sir Ian McKellen, Sylvester McCoy and Jonathan Hyde, truly the A Team of acting. They were in NZ with the Royal Shakespeare Co, performing King Lear and The Seagull. I took them on some sight seeing around Auckland and after the final show took them to a bar called Shanghai Lils. When I said I had to go to my talkback radio show Ian inquired if they were coming also, and so they did. The callers to the show didn’t really know who the guests were and my co-host Joe, wasn’t making a big deal of it. Highlights include Sylvester playing the spoons while a regular caller, 75yr old “Leggy Peggy” plays a knees up medley on piano. It’s 20mins long but has some great moments! Thanks to the producer Jason Beaumont for having the sense to record it. More..
Lausus writes: Conan O’Brien had a brief sketch on his Jan 11th episode showing some disappointment in the announcement that Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood are returning to their roles as Gandalf and Frodo. Pretty amusing stuff. The sketch starts at about 10:15 into the monologue at the top of the show which is free to watch at www.teamcoco.com.
From Eric Spitznagel at Vanity Fair: If you’re the kind of person who gets obsessive about all things Tolkienian, it’s been a pretty big week. Sir Ian McKellen made it official Tuesday, announcing on his Web site that he’ll playing Gandalf in the upcoming two-part movie adaptation of The Hobbit, which begins filming in New Zealand next month. Along with recent reports that Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, and the guy who plays Gollum are also Hobbit-ready, it would seem that the band, as they say, is really getting back together. But for anybody who’s followed the Internet hand-wringing about the on-again-off-again production, it can feel presumptuous to assume anything until we actually see the opening credits roll. For most of 2010, McKellen kept us guessing about his involvement in the Lord of the Rings prequel the way some actors keep us guessing about their sexuality. As least with McKellen, there’s never been any mystery about the latter. This is a man who famously went on a talk show in Singapore, a country with strict laws against homosexuality, and asked the host, “Can you recommend any decent gay bars?” But when it comes to his future as Middle Earth’s favorite wizard, he’s been downright cagey. More..
Fans will recall that prior to Peter Jackson’s coming down with that nasty stomach ulcer earlier this month (the man’s doing fine now, bless him!), filming of The Hobbit was supposed to begin on 14th February 2011, with Ian McKellen’s first day of filming due yesterday, 21st February 2011.
