Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller just won the Olivier for Best Actor, which they share for their co-starring performance in Frankenstein where they swapped the roles of Dr. Frankenstein and the Creature. This is not the first time a Best Actor award has been bestowed upon their tandem performance, and only confirms the brilliance of this show. Luckily, for those of us who did not get to see the play, the National Theater will be broadcasting both performances at theaters all over the UK, USA and Canada for now, with other countries in the works. You can find out how to get a chance to see this broadcast at National Theater.
You can read all about the Olivier Awards and this win on their website at Olivier Awards. Benedict was unable to appear, he’s got a very busy schedule, but word has it that Johnny Lee Miller had a lovely acceptance speech. On behalf of TheOneRing.net, a really big congratulations to both actors.
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In a clip from the show “Extras” on HBO featuring Ricky Gervais, Ian McKellen playing a parody of himself explains how he managed to portray a wizard in Peter Jackson’s films. Not new, but timeless. We can only assume he will use the same techniques for the The Hobbit films. Video after the break. Continue reading “Ian McKellen explains the secret to becoming Gandalf”
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Ever ready to support a worthy cause, Sir Ian McKellen isn’t putting his feet up during his time off from Middle-earth. As busy as he surely is on The Hobbit movie set, the actor will be taking time during the weekends in May and June to perform a one man show around New Zealand, to raise money for the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch. Following last year’s terrible earthquakes, the theatre has been closed because of ‘structural issues’. Back in 2010 McKellen appeared in Waiting for Godot at the theatre, and he’s keen to see it restored and reopened. Full details and dates for his touring one man show can be found here and here; in the included video newsreel in the first link, McKellen hints that the one man show may include singing! Perhaps he’s been inspired by Viggo Mortensen’s recent recitals??
Thanks to the various TORn spies who contacted us about Sir Ian’s shows; if you are lucky enough to get to one of these performances, we’d love to hear about it!
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British actor Stephen Fry, who will appear as the Master of Laketown in the upcoming Hobbit movies (though perhaps only in the second one?? – just a guess…), has – according to the press – finished filming in New Zealand. He’s clearly sad to go, as reported here. (If you’re curious about Fry’s comments about broadband services, as mentioned in the article, you can read more here!)
What this means regarding what is ‘in the can’ and what is still to be shot can only be speculated. Are all Laketown scenes filmed? Have the technical wizards already started adding in a CGI Smaug? Might Fry be called back for pick-ups after the first movie has been released? Right now, the question I’m pondering is this: once he’s back in Britain, I wonder how soon the actor will find time to stop by the Hobbit pub in Southampton? Perhaps he’ll wait till cast mate Ian McKellen can join him, later in the summer….
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2012 will be a watermark year for the movie business but this week looks a lot like the 1990s and presented some problems for TheOneRing.net’s Film Friday. I didn’t want to watch “Titanic,” or “American Reunion,” which are likely this week’s biggest new releases. In each case, I feel like I have been there before.
I have been much more interested this week in a discussion with some Facebook friends about which films will rule the 2012 box office numbers. “The Hunger Games,” is proving to be a powerful financial force. Some of these friends are fans of “The Hobbit,” but don’t think the film can win the finally tally for the year’s biggest moneymaker. I disagree. (Oh and while we are talking about the film, any media member who writes that it is a prequel is lazy, inaccurate and deserves a gentle kick in the shins. The story stands alone, came first and is so much more than just a lead-up to LOTR.)
While studios care deeply about the financial returns, fans are a lot more interested in art and a thrill at the movies. Still, there is some fun in watching the box office derby and it seems like a dozen websites have sprung up devoted to doing just that.
Lets take a look at one man’s predictions of the final top 10 box office films released in 2012. Continue reading “Film Friday: Can ‘The Hobbit’ rule them all in 2012?”
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Greetings all, Quickbeam here.
Rumors are flying as far as the Great Eagle’s sight that our newest wizard, Radagast the Brown, will have a more prominent role in the first installment of THE HOBBIT: ‘An Unexpected Journey.’ I am very excited by what Sylvester McCoy may bring to the role. The rumors are strongly suggesting Radagast’s rustic home on the eaves of Mirkwood Forest — Rhosgobel — will be more heavily featured than first suspected.
Color me intrigued! This kind of “newly added” material in Peter Jackson’s film adaptation is not canonical, strictly speaking, within the pages of “The Hobbit.” Yet it is canon from another Tolkien book! This stuff comes from the Appendices in the hinter-lands of “The Return of the King,” and therefore the most intriguing as to how it’ll play out in the new films. Among purists it might be cause for alarm.
Let’s investigate what we know from Tolkien — keeping in mind what the Professor seemed to be confused about himself may leave us with a minor mystery. Let’s also speculate on how P.J. is going to make Rhosgobel fit into the narrative of his first HOBBIT installment.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS WARNING
Continue reading “Out On A Limb with Quickbeam: “Where Exactly Art Thou, Radagast?””
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