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..
Category: Hobbit Movie
From MTV: Why did it take the man behind Gandalf so long to commit officially to “The Hobbit”? In a surprisingly candid post on his website, Ian McKellen opened up on Wednesday (January 12) about behind-the-scenes developments and his own ambivalence surrounding the two-part project.
“Could I let Gandalf go? Would anyone else care if I did?” he wrote, going on to cite the example of the “Harry Potter” franchise. “Elsewhere, does anyone care that Michael Gambon was not the first to play Dumbledore?”
The issue all along was not whether he still feels creatively energized by Gandalf — “I long to do it,” McKellen told us of the role back in November of 2009. Rather, the sticking point was simply that the production faced delay after delay and, as the 71-year-old McKellen put it, “All I had to decide was what to do with the time that is given me.”
First, producer Peter Jackson and director Guillermo del Toro struggled to get the production off the ground as MGM faced severe financial difficulties, and then a planned date to begin shooting early last year came and went. Del Toro departed the project, Jackson stepped in to direct and the production faced a dustup with New Zealand’s trade union. The prospect of shooting outside that country bubbled up. More..
This weekend there will be a small and tall casting session in Christchurch, New Zealand. Thanks to the local ringers who sent this info in!
The ad in the local paper reads:
The Hobbit
Official Short/Tall Casting Call
Due to the requirements of certain characters to be portrayed in the films, the production is currently looking for men and women of very specific heights for full time and casual work. Please note this is NOT an Extras Casting Call. Continue reading “Tall & Small Casting in Christchurch”
Sir Peter Jackson’s talent scouts will visit Dunedin to fill a tall order for a long list of short people to work on his next big movie. Production company Wingnut Films is looking for short and tall people to play scale doubles for the speaking cast of The Hobbit.
It has announced a casting call for the Edgar Centre on Sunday and yesterday warned aspiring actors who were either too short or too tall not to apply. Scouts would only consider men aged 17-55 who are between 128cm and 158cm tall, or taller than 210cm, and women between 128cm and 153cm tall. Confirming the details, a Wingnut spokesman said scale doubles would appear in some wide shots, or with other actors when those actors needed to be made to look taller or shorter, he said. More..
Here’s another neat interview with Elijah Wood (this time courtesy of Collider.com) concerning his return to Middle-earth as Frodo Baggins and having Peter Jackson return to the director’s chair after Guillermo del Toro’s departure.
From Collider.com:
COLLIDER: Was there a chance that you wouldn’t be able to do The Hobbit because of Wilfred?
WOOD: No. As it was always with The Hobbit, they wanted to do it very early in their schedule, so it just happened to work out very well.
COLLIDER: So, did you always know that you were going to be going back and doing it?
WOOD: I didn’t always know. I had an idea.
COLLIDER: What’s it like to be returning to Middle Earth again?
WOOD: It’s a gift. We’re now going on over a decade since I went out to New Zealand to start The Lord of the Rings, so it’s just going to be a beautiful reunion. I was actually out there in February and a lot of the same crew and designers, and so many of the family are a part of making The Hobbit as well. It’s just going to be a beautiful, very surreal reunion.
Continue reading “Elijah Wood Speaks Even More About “The Hobbit””
Here’s what Robert Kazinsky, cast in the role of Fili, tweeted over at his Twitter page not but 8 hours ago:
farewell Los Angeles, Hello Middle Earth.
We wish you a safe adventure in Middle-earth dear Dwarf… and may the beard on your chin grow ever longer!
Have something to say to Fili ere he sets out on the Quest of Erebor? Post it over at our message boards. We can’t guarantee Rob or anyone involved in these films will see them and pass them on, but when has that ever stopped us fans from sending out good thoughts and messages to our friends in Middle-earth?
Thanks to message board member macfalk for giving us the heads-up on this one.