Posted on 10/29/2002 2:06:40 PM PST by Paul Atreides
Ian McKellen, the venerable actor who plays Gandalf in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, told fans on his official Web site that he might consider appearing in a movie version of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. In response to a fan question, McKellen wrote, "I recently asked about the film rights to The Hobbit, which seem to be somewhat controlled by Peter Jackson, as far as I can tell. I hope that's the case, because obviously he should have first refusal at translating the novel into a movie."
McKellen added, "I should be intrigued to return to Middle-earth, even though it involved putting on Gandalf's nose, which is even more distinctive than my own. ... I thought it might be possible to make a really long screen version, probably for television, with every episode of the book covered week by week in a multitude of episodes. Ian Holm—who was proud to look so young as well as so old as Bilbo in The Fellowship of the Ring—even he might think the young Bilbo of The Hobbit was unlikely casting for an actor of his age." McKellen next appears as the wizard in the upcoming sequel film Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which opens Dec. 18.
Feanor and the Nolder just got all hitty and stabby with the... the... the Telmarines, or whatever. The guys with boats. Because Feanor is going after Morgoth, or whoever, Melkor. Or he thinks he is, but really, he's under Melkor's spell. Or something. That, and wonder, shadows, brooding, song, and blah blah blah.
That's where I am. Zzzzzzzz.
Dan
Very interesting D... zzzzzzzzzzzzz....
It isn't just the Hobbit that he needs to film, but some just-for-video shorts: Tales from the Silmarillion (it wouldn't work as a regular movie), and Tom Bombadil.
That Nazgul winged beast looks very creepy indeed, can't wait to see the finished form on the big screen!
Have you seen Christopher Tolkien's 12 volume History Of Middle Earth series?
Volume 6: The Return Of The Shadow, is quite interesting.
Dan
I have 6,7,9 and 12. There's some very interesting things in them. Some have old versions of The Lord Of The Rings with discarded characters and scenes or variant plots. There's also a lot of Tolkien's other writing, like a couple of his sci-fi stories that merge with history and middle-earth and his abandoned follow-up to LOTR.
A real wealth of information that would take a lifetime to get through and fully understand.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.