In the service of the launch of the excellent Doctor Who audio spin-off The Minister Of Chance (check back here for a review on the 17th of March), the seventh Doctor himself, Sylvester McCoy, was kind enough to have a chat with us today, which will be up on the site very shortly. The Scottish actor also talked at some length about his pending role as the wizard Radagast in Peter Jackson’s much-delayed New Zealand production of The Hobbit – and clears up fairly definitively whether the character is just making a brief cameo, referring to his involvement in ‘two films’ for the project and responding to a question about the duration of his stay down under. More..
Category: Sylvester McCoy
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..
Sohaib at Fictional Frontiers keeps asking us back to his radio show and podcast and when it comes to popular culture and talking about the works and adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien, how can we say no? This week, among many other things, we chatted about our hopes and fears for “The Hobbit” film including a tie to those crazy Burger King toys. You can hear the conversation, which already aired live on the radio, right here as a podcast.
From L to R: Sylvester McCoy, Mikael Persbrandt, Cate Blanchett, Ken Stott, William Kircher, Jed Brophy & Ryan Gage
CATE BLANCHETT, KEN STOTT, SYLVESTER MCCOY, MIKAEL PERSBRANDT JOIN CAST OF PETER JACKSON’S “THE HOBBIT”
Los Angeles, CA—December 7, 2010—Cate Blanchett, Ken Stott, Sylvester McCoy and Mikael Persbrandt and have joined the cast of Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic “The Hobbit.” Also joining them are Ryan Gage, Jed Brophy and William Kircher. The films, which are scheduled to commence principal photography in February 2011, mark Jackson’s return to Middle-earth following his Oscar-winning “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The announcement was made jointly today by Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer, New Line Cinema, Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros. and Steve Cooper, co-Chief Executive Officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
Jackson, who directed all three “Lord of the Rings” films, will helm the two films back-to-back, telling the story of “The Hobbit” in two parts from a screenplay by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro. Continue reading “TORN EXCLUSIVE: CATE BLANCHETT, KEN STOTT, SYLVESTER MCCOY, MIKAEL PERSBRANDT JOIN CAST OF PETER JACKSON’S “THE HOBBIT””
The BBC has a great interview with actor Sylvester McCoy today that, again, confirms his role as Radagast the Brown in the upcoming Hobbit Films. We are pasting the relevant parts below, but make sure you check out the full interview with some other juicy tidbits at the BBC site.
With the internet awash with casting rumours, how much can McCoy actually say? After all, his role has not been officially announced.
Sylvester McCoy played the Doctor on TV from 1987 to 1989. “I can’t say anything! I don’t even know if I’ve said too much already,” he admits.
“I’ve already got my wrist gently tapped. I just want to tell the world about it… I know it’s all bubbling away and plans are being made.” McCoy is no stranger to Peter Jackson. He was down to the last two for the role of Bilbo Baggins in Lord of the Rings.
“The other actor got it, and that was Ian Holm,” says McCoy. How does he feel about just missing out on such a major part?
“In a way you think, what a pity Ian Holm wasn’t working that week,” he says wistfully.
“But at the same time it was an honour to be up against Ian. He won, and he’s a brilliant actor.
“As an actor this happens all the time. You never know which way things go.”
That also holds true for the Hobbit’s drawn-out casting process. “When they sent out the character description for the part I’m playing, it says he’s between 57 and 75.
“When it started out I was 57, but it’s taken so long to get to fruition I’m now 75!” (Not so – he is actually 67.)
This reporter’s amateur take? The reason Sylvester has not been officially announced has more to do with adapting The Hobbit for screen and storytelling liberties, than something contract related…but I could be wrong! Afterall, we do already know that Radagast plays no major role in The Hobbit, but his role in the films is rumored to be significant. We are all looking forward to Sylvester and Sir Ian official announcements any day!
[Read On]
(Thanks to Michael from DeHobbit.net for sending us this link.)
The staff here at TheOneRing.net is dedicated to bringing you, our readers, the most up-to-date, thorough coverage of the Hobbit movies available on the internet. To that end, we’re excited to unveil a brand new section of the site, accessible by clicking the “The Hobbit” icon at the top right of the Home Page. In this “one stop shop” you’ll find detailed biographies of all the cast members as they’re announced, bios of the corresponding characters in the book, and a Hobbit FAQ that will be updated regularly as the production moves along. It also features some stunning character pictures from our guest artists who so far include Charles Burggraf, Colleen Doran, Donnato Giancola and Ted Nasmith. We invite you to send along any ideas you have for future updates and, as always, to join us on our Hobbit Movie discussion board and/or in Barliman’s chatroom.
Many, many thanks to the following staffers and members who contributed to getting the new Hobbit section of the site ready for its debut: Ainu Laire, Altaira, batik, Calisuri, deej, dernwyn, entmaiden, Garfeimao, grammaboodawg, Hamfast_Gamgee, Kangi Ska, Magpie, MrCere, N.E. Brigand, NottaSackville, Quickbeam, Sarumann, weaver, Xoanon.
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