After Christopher Lee (Saruman) has come out and specifically denied rumors that he is to play Dumbledore in any future Harry Potter films, all fingers started pointing at another LOTR star, Sir Ian McKellen. If you want confirmation on something, go to the source, so we did just that.
In a recent phone interview with McKellen (while staying in Vancouver to finish up X2), I asked him point blank about playing Dumbledore, and he expressly denied being asked about the part, being approched or even considered for it.
On the contrary he’s planning on staying in Vancouver for a while and work with some local talent, then off to England.
Watch this space for the entire interview with Ian McKellen (Gandalf) next week!
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TheOneRing.net was recently invited to Toronto as the only website representing all of fandom for a press junket featuring Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, and behind the scenes talent such as John Howe, Alan Lee and Chris and Dan Hennah.
Take a look at part 1 of 2 segments from the exhibit, featuring our interviews with Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan. The boys sit down with us to discuss the exhibit, being sill pranksters and the special edition DVD which is out today!
You need Quicktime in order to view these files. Download it for FREE here! [Quicktime Download]
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Okay, maybe I’m going crazy, but I’m not the only one to see a resemblance to the Great One in this Toybiz action figure here.
You do think I’m crazy? Thought so. Check out this photo, then. You want to look at the the third wildman to the left of Saruman’s staff. Look familiar?
(Incidentally, you might have spotted the guy in a t-shirt on a platform in the background in that photo. Random crewmember of the month, perhaps?)
Next, check out this Elfenomo.com image.
Finally, here’s Peter Jackson without his firebrands and war paint, courtesy of TBHL.
Now go back and put a pair of glasses on that Wildman. 😉
Thanks to Ringer Fan Eikitchi for writing in about the action figure!
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Earlier today we posted this article asking for help in supporting our Youth Gaming League, since then donations and supportive e-mails have been flooding our boxes! One such e-mail comes from a Teacher in Illinois who uses the LOTR Miniature War Game to introduce his students to the world of Tolkien!
Dear Havens,
I am very pleased to see that you’re interested in how Tolkien gaming is important to the future of his literary works. I run a very large league of gamers in Illinois that play the LOTR Strategy Battle Game from Games Workshop. Many of the younger kids seemed bored with the other traditional games and were looking for something new. What they found, was something very special.
When I first introduced the LOTR game, many kids were skeptical. It was a new skirmish game set in a world they did not know. However, once they saw the ease in which the game was played, they were drawn in. What happened next was something quite refreshing. Here were kids telling me that they had found lots of “great scenarios” after READING the books. The kids were telling ME about the battles and the great adventures. Furthermore, I was fielding thousands of questions about this, that, and the other thing. Here were pre-teen to teenage kids finding a new world in which to set their minds free. They were no longer discussing the trivial mindless nonsense of the pop culture but having debates on what the Fellowship should’ve done, or what actions might have been taken. My personal favorite came from a nine year old who asked why Gandalf and Frodo didn’t fly to Mount Doom with Gwaihir and just throw the ring in and leave. LOL.
I was so proud of what I had accomplished! Here were a dozen young minds taken from the claws of the pop culture and placed in a refreshing world of literary genius. They were having intelligent discussions and then playing out their “what-if” scenarios on the gaming table. Furthermore, I even had parents telling me how happy they were that their KIDS WERE READING!!! I believe that no matter what, I have made our world a better place for bringing young minds into Tolkien’s world.
-SauronsWrath
Let us know of other ways Tolkien’s works and games based on those works have had a positive impact on your life, drop a line to Flinch@TheOneRing.net today!
Click here for the Original Article!
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Eowyn sends along these great pics from TTT, take a look!
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Mia
Tanja Vucicevic (for “Gloria”): If my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me, you seem to have lost considerable weight.
JRD: This was the first time that I had to be “widened” for the screen, as my rounded figure had thinned a little. If I’d know how good that felt, I’d have lost weight sooner. I don’t have a problem with showing the scars on my leg that remain after a plane accident, or talk about how I lost the tip of my middle finger, but kilos were always a painful issue. I was tired of being a burly fellow playing fat and likeable characters. I hope I am still likeable, although slimmer. The chubby don’t have it easy, trust me. We can all hardly wait to get rid of extra weight.
Gloria: Is it true that the director Peter Jackson had to talk you into accepting the role of the Dwarf Gimli in “The Fellowship of the Ring”?
JRD: I had my doubts about whether he’d manage to pull off the gigantic project that took two years of filming in New Zealand. But now that the film has been proclaimed as one of the best of all time, I am thankful to my son who told me I’d make a huge mistake if I declined the part.
Gloria: Weren’t you after another role in “The Lord of the Rings”?
JRD: I wanted the part of Boromir’s father who, influenced by the power of darkness, plunges into despair and thinks it useless to fight against the evil lord of Mordor. But that character doesn’t appear in the sequel “The Two Towers”. I wasn’t supposed to give that away, but there you have it. Since I’ve already blurted that out, I’ll also admit I was shocked to learn that Peter Jackson had envisioned me a Dwarf. I am six feet tall, tallest of the actors playing the Fellowship, and I of all was selected to play the little Gimli. I was correct in guessing I wouldn’t have the easiest time with make-up. The transformation took five hours every day, fourteenmonths straight. I ended up with an allergy to the glue that held Gimli’s mask to my face. My skin started peeling off after six months and in the end there was nothing to glue the mask to. I took to resting for a day or two after every couple of scenes. That was the only solution, because stopping the filming, as my doctor advised me, was out of the question. After I heroically endured all that and returned to Los Angeles, my friends asked, “Where the hell have you been? We thought you retired.” Of course, it was soon clear that my career was not over and I still had a lot to do.
Gloria: How did they make you appear smaller in the film?
JRD: Cinematic tricks, ranging from the simplest – using the camera from below, which optically shortens people – to filming alongside Tall Paul, an ex basketball player from New Zealand next to whom even I looked tiny.
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