Hugo Weaving returns to The Hobbit as Elrond
Here's the entire post Ian McKellen left on his website below.
"Martin Freeman has left The Hobbit.
This is not another April Fool, just a May Fact. Before signing as Bilbo, Martin had agreed to make three 90-minute TV films in London, again playing Dr Watson to Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes. No worries: he'll be back in Middle Earth after our first hiatus, during which Peter Jackson will have spare time to edit the scenes already completed. The rest of the cast remains on duty for another few weeks, working on hobbit-less sections of the film. These involve dwarves of course but also elves, with Hugo Weaving back for a stretch as Lord Elrond.
Hugo was recently onstage as Astrov in Chekov's Uncle Vanya for the Sydney Theatre Company, whose director, Cate Blanchett, played Yelena. Before she returns as Galadriel, they will reprise their production at Washington DC's Kennedy Center in August. I shall miss the revival, because of my own play, Eduardo De Filippo's The Syndicate at Chichester Festival Theatre and a short UK tour.
Another slim-line elf returning from LOTR, is a local: New Zealand's actor/comedian/singer Bret McKenzie. Last time, he was an extra at Rivendell, the elven Last Homely House in the East. Under a tree at the Council of Elrond, he silently witnessed the forming of the Fellowship. Wordless maybe but not unnoticed by fans of the beautiful, who gave him the acronym F.I.G.W.I.T. ("Frodo Is Great! Who Is That?") I confess Gandalf didn't take much notice, distracted by the main action that involved all the main characters.
I only joined Bret's fan-base, when he joined up with Jemaine Clement in their hilarious tv series Flight of the Conchords. Now he is briefly back in Rivendell as a senior official at Elrond's Court and he has a name "Lindir", which means "singer". Tolkien has plenty of songs in The Hobbit but the script doesn't indicate that Lindir will be singing any of them. If, as he promises, Bret makes a Conchord feature film ere long, I shall angle for a non-speaking part as BIGWIT. ("Bret Is..." etc.)
And there's another wizard in town, preparing to make his appearance as Radagast the Brown, the eccentric friend of Gandalf's, played by Sylvester McCoy who was last in Wellington in 2007, King Lear's Fool in the Royal Shakespeare production in which I was his nuncle, now Sylvester's nick-name for me. This week he has been trying out his make-up and costume. At the prospect of our scenes together, Nuncle couldn't be happier.
- Ian McKellen, Wellington, 10 May 2011"
This is not another April Fool, just a May Fact. Before signing as Bilbo, Martin had agreed to make three 90-minute TV films in London, again playing Dr Watson to Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes. No worries: he'll be back in Middle Earth after our first hiatus, during which Peter Jackson will have spare time to edit the scenes already completed. The rest of the cast remains on duty for another few weeks, working on hobbit-less sections of the film. These involve dwarves of course but also elves, with Hugo Weaving back for a stretch as Lord Elrond.
Hugo was recently onstage as Astrov in Chekov's Uncle Vanya for the Sydney Theatre Company, whose director, Cate Blanchett, played Yelena. Before she returns as Galadriel, they will reprise their production at Washington DC's Kennedy Center in August. I shall miss the revival, because of my own play, Eduardo De Filippo's The Syndicate at Chichester Festival Theatre and a short UK tour.
Another slim-line elf returning from LOTR, is a local: New Zealand's actor/comedian/singer Bret McKenzie. Last time, he was an extra at Rivendell, the elven Last Homely House in the East. Under a tree at the Council of Elrond, he silently witnessed the forming of the Fellowship. Wordless maybe but not unnoticed by fans of the beautiful, who gave him the acronym F.I.G.W.I.T. ("Frodo Is Great! Who Is That?") I confess Gandalf didn't take much notice, distracted by the main action that involved all the main characters.
I only joined Bret's fan-base, when he joined up with Jemaine Clement in their hilarious tv series Flight of the Conchords. Now he is briefly back in Rivendell as a senior official at Elrond's Court and he has a name "Lindir", which means "singer". Tolkien has plenty of songs in The Hobbit but the script doesn't indicate that Lindir will be singing any of them. If, as he promises, Bret makes a Conchord feature film ere long, I shall angle for a non-speaking part as BIGWIT. ("Bret Is..." etc.)
And there's another wizard in town, preparing to make his appearance as Radagast the Brown, the eccentric friend of Gandalf's, played by Sylvester McCoy who was last in Wellington in 2007, King Lear's Fool in the Royal Shakespeare production in which I was his nuncle, now Sylvester's nick-name for me. This week he has been trying out his make-up and costume. At the prospect of our scenes together, Nuncle couldn't be happier.
- Ian McKellen, Wellington, 10 May 2011"
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey comes to theaters December 14th, 2012 and stars Cate Blanchett, Saoirse Ronan, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Martin Freeman, David Tennant, Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee. The film is directed by Peter Jackson.
Comments (42)
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Worth5Bucks
@brady1138 good point
1 year agoby @mattbierwagenFlag
crowjane29
I find it really amusing that a lot of movie sites only believe a casting is "official" if a celebrity mentions it. (McKellen wasn't trying to confirm anything, just chat about his new/returning castmates and their various summer projects). The Dominion Post (NZ) confirmed Hugo Weaving's return as Elrond over a week ago, and many fans suspected it was in the offing long before that. But hey, if it gets more people reading Ian McKellen's blog, it's all good. ;)
1 year agoby @crowjane29-34847931Flag
Dan
@bawnian-dexeus Thanks for the correction. Still, that is a sh*t ton of money.
1 year agoby @dan1Flag
Bawnian©-Dexeus
250 million for both parts. I'm sure the budget will will double at the box office worldwide for both films. With all the heavy 3-D in it and Peter Jackson.
1 year agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag
Dan
@cheetoboy Last I remember reading, these movies had a budget of 500 million. Unless what got cut down. I think with that kind of dough being thrown at it, it will be pretty awesome.
1 year agoby @dan1Flag
Cheetoboy
Oh yeah, another thing I expect this one to be about as much an hit as the Lord of the Rings, I mean the Hobbit was a popular book too. And despite the fact that Revenge of the Sith was the only hugely critically acclaimed Star Wars prequel, all the 3 of them were huge financial successes. And although receiving mixed reviews from fans and critics alike Phantom of the Menace(which I enjoyed by the way, Darth Maul was badass), is the highest grossing Star Wars movie to date with over $900million worldwide.
1 year agoby @cheetoboyFlag
Cheetoboy
I wonder, how the creature effects will look in this one, especially Smaug the Dragon. Also hopefully they'll still keep that part where they ran into the 3 trolls that turned to stone.(Oops, hopefully I didn't spoil anything for anyone).
1 year agoby @cheetoboyFlag
LuxoIII
@mattbierwagen Oh, I'm not saying it will be a FINANCIAL flop so much as a critical one. I think "The Hobbit" has a TON of potential and it's very likely that it will be a great two-part film. However, I think it's rather dangerous to say that there is no way it will be bad. Many said that with the Star Wars prequels and, though I actually enjoy those movies quite a bit, they proved that having the same title and the same director as the originals doesn't guarantee they'll be as great as their predecessors. That said, I can't WAIT to see this movie, I am extremely excited to see a prequel to my all-time favorite films, but I will still approach this with caution. Just sayin' :)
1 year agoby @brady1138Flag
Shadow Of The Day
Great News.
1 year agoby @asifFlag
K-Man
Its good to see Hugo is official now......not that I expected he wouldn't be returning or anything.....but it's good that it's official.
Now if they can just make Orlando Bloom official as Legolas and Brian Blessed official as King Dain......then I will be REALLY excited!
1 year agoby @k-manFlag
K-Man
I wonder when we will be getting another video blog from the set? Those production diaries are the best and it would be awesome if they kept them coming out like every two weeks.......every other friday or something, which could give us fans something to look forward to and help pass the time.
The last one was released, I think, mid April.....so that makes it almost a month ago. I think it's about time for another one.
1 year agoby @k-manFlag
incmob
@jptheredskull i can understand a bit of what you are saying, but lord of the rings was a more successful novel and obvious financial choice to adapt prior to the hobbit. personally i think they will stand to gain from doing it that way (if only on a financial level for the studios) then had they done it the other way around. now... people want to see the characters (of course those who are not familiar with the novels) who these characters were before and where they are headed into the next adventure, and again on a financial level i think will be more successful because of the reputation that the LOTR trilogy has.
@brady1138 so, i am not sure if that was a jab at me, or just a statement, but I do love prequels, and i agree that prequel bashing happens a lot nowadays, however how many prequels have really been better than there predecessors? Hannibal rising, wolverine, scorpion king, and *sigh* I know for many the star wars prequels, were all examples of films that really didnt warrant prequels, and failed to deliver to be as good, or better than the originals. It is nice to see how these characters became who they were and why, but sometimes the mystique is better in my opinion. Of course there are plenty of prequels that have my attention coming up: Apes, alien, xmen, and the thing... but i will hold my breath for excitement as history shows, sometimes things are just better left alone.
1 year agoby @incmobFlag
CUPID
Awesome!!!!!
1 year agoby @cupidFlag
Worth5Bucks
@diaigma i was more referring to the digitally remastered original trilogy, where in the last scene Lucas puts in naboo, and Hayden Christiansen lol. But ya the hobbit did come first, and jackson is a much better scriptwriter than lucas so i don't think well have any problems
1 year agoby @mattbierwagenFlag
Diaigma
@mattbierwagen - prequels will always bring up Lucas, won't it? :P
Well, in the book world, The Hobbit came first. I have no doubts in Jackson.
1 year agoby @diaigmaFlag
Worth5Bucks
@diaigma yes that will be very interesting, i just hope they dont pull a george lucas and re-edit the scene in the fellowship and re-release that. THAT WOULD BE ANNOYING. whatever happens im sure peter jackson will do an amazing job :)
1 year agoby @mattbierwagenFlag
Diaigma
@mattbierwagen - they made the ring creepy in LOTR with that voice and the way people longed after it, but in The Hobbit, the ring wasn't calling for its master. It will be interesting to see how they go about that, and if they will somehow make the scene when Bilbo finds the ring in the LOTR prologue look the same as what they'll do here, for continuities sake :P
1 year agoby @diaigmaFlag
Worth5Bucks
@all - if you haven't seen this video and you are a fan of LOTR, watch it NOW! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUrJdsN_-B0
1 year agoby @mattbierwagenFlag
RojoDiablo
Can't wait for this to come out, as much as I enjoyed the LOTR, the Hobbit was always my favorite.
1 year agoby @rojodiabloFlag
Worth5Bucks
@brady1138 it definitely won't be a total flop you can count on that. This movie will probably get over 100 million opening weekend. Even if everyone who sees this film opening weekend doesn't like it, everyone else will still have to see for themselves. In my opinion this movie is bound for success, and theres no way it will even be bad.
@jptheredskull you might be the only one. Lord of the rings is considered classic literature, not everyone whos read the lord of the rings has read the hobbit, but almost everyone whos read the hobbit has read the lord of the rings, so it makes since that they would start with lord of the rings.
@diaigma what im really interested to see is what it will be like when bilbo puts on the ring, will the visuals be completely different than that in lord of the rings? who knows? Somehow jackson will have to make the ring seem not evil at all but see have some visual backwards continuity, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
@bawnian-dexeus YES! you do have to read the books, personally, id read the hobbit over lotr any day because of how much easier it is to read. I don't even enjoy reading, but i read the hobbit in 4th grade. Thats how easy it is to read. Lord of the rings takes 100 pages before you can really get into it but after that you cant set it down.
1 year agoby @mattbierwagenFlag
Brian
Awesome.
1 year agoby @brianFlag
LuxoIII
@incmob OK, I myself can't wait for this film, but it could be a total flop! I'm so sick of prequel bashing! It gets SOOOOO old!!!
1 year agoby @brady1138Flag
Diaigma
@bawnian-dexeus - yep! :)
1 year agoby @diaigmaFlag
Bawnian©-Dexeus
@diaigma Guess I'll have to read the books then
1 year agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag
Diaigma
@bawnian-dexeus - nope :P
1 year agoby @diaigmaFlag
Bawnian©-Dexeus
@diaigma don't he fight a dragon or something along side with Gandalf?
1 year agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag
Diaigma
@jptheredskull - yep. I mean, there was nothing evil about the ring in The Hobbit at all. It was just a fun little trinket that Bilbo uses for all kinds of mischief :P
1 year agoby @diaigmaFlag
J.P.
@diaigma Eh.. I see your point and yes I agree, I hope they go for more fun and adventure as opposed to the gloom that the previous 2 films featured heavily.
1 year agoby @jptheredskullFlag
Diaigma
@jptheredskull - that's the point. More revenue for LOTR home units! :D
I'm glad it's after. The Hobbit is a different story from LOTR. Makes me wonder if Jackson will maintain the fun adventure aspect, over the "doom and gloom."
1 year agoby @diaigmaFlag
Bawnian©-Dexeus
@jptheredskull You make it sound like the hype won't be the same as LOTR
1 year agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag