telegraph.co.uk recently ran this small article, which should be taken with a large grain of salt: Sir Ian McKellen’s dream of reprising the role of Gandalf – the role that turned the stage actor into an international film star – looks like being realized after all. Last year, it had looked a distinctly forlorn hope after Sir Ian’s friend Peter Jackson, the director of the The Lord of the Rings trilogy, said he wanted nothing to do with turning Tolkien’s other great work, The Hobbit, into a film after a row about money with the production company New Line Cinema. Now, however, Jackson appears to have patched things up with New Line’s founder, Bob Shaye, and the film looks back on course.
By a happy coincidence, Sir Ian is currently in New Zealand performing in King Lear and plans to dine with New Line’s bosses shortly when he will make it clear how keen he is to play Gandalf in the new film.
Category: Old Main News
Flagship Studios is offering fans of the highly anticipated PC game, Hellgate: London, the chance to participate in the closed beta test of the game! Anyone who purchases a Hellgate: London statue from Weta Collectibles between 15 – 31 August, will be offered a key to the closed beta test for Hellgate: London. The closed beta is only available to a select group of video game industry insiders, and you only have a short time to join their ranks. [More]
seb writes: The BFI IMAX is doing a LOTR Trilogy on Saturday the 15th of September, starting at 22.45. Having been there before for a few of these nights, it is brilliant: people dress up and the atmosphere is great and very relaxed. Complementary tea and coffee ensure that no one falls asleep (as if true fans would!). Should you be interested in booking a ticket, please call the booking line on 0870 787 2525 or visit the website bfi.org.uk.
August 31 marks the begining of one of the best geek events in the world! DragonCon 2007 kicks off for a weekend that features something from nearly every nook and cranny of pop-culture and genre entertainment. DragonCon features a robust Tolkien Track of programming, details of which can be found right here. TORn will be well represented this year with a message board moot and half of TORn’s four founders attending as well as this reporter. Stay tuned for more details before during and after the event. Hope to see you there!
Orlando Bloom has been voted Britain’s most desirable date. The ‘Lord of the Rings’ star has topped Cosmopolitan magazine’s Eligible Eleven poll, after readers chose him as the man they would most like to be wooed by. The 30-year-old actor’s sex appeal secured him 21 per cent of the vote. However, those hoping to land a date with Orlando will be disappointed. He is currently rumoured to be dating his ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End’ co-star, Naomie Harris, 30, following his split from actress Kate Bosworth. [More]
The latest edition to The Lord of the Rings Premium Format Line-up is Gandalf the White, and the exclusive edition of that piece is now available for pre-order over at SideshowCollectibles.com. The Sideshow Exclusive version of the Gandalf the White Premium Format figure includes interchangeable hands, so that you may choose whether Glamdring is securely in Gandalf’s scabbard, or at the ready in his hand. The edition size is only 500 on the exclusive, so order asap! (Note – if you are not a newsletter member, you will not be able to pre-order until Noon PDT) [Pre-Order Gandalf]