Smallville Loses Its Big Bad
Lex Luthor apparently feels ready to exercise his evil tendencies on a bigger stage than Smallville.
The pre-Superman drama's producers have confirmed that Michael Rosenbaum, who has played the emotionally complex bald baddie since 2001, will be leaving the series at the end of the current season.
"It has been an honor and pleasure to work with Michael for the past six seasons," the CW and Smallville executive producers Darren Swimmer, Todd Slavkin, Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson said in a joint statement. "He is one of the best actors on television and has never failed to bring a new layer to the character of Lex Luthor in every episode. While Michael won’t be a series regular and we won’t have the pleasure of working with him on a weekly basis this fall, we like to think that we haven’t seen the last of Lex Luthor. Stay tuned."
Meanwhile, Rosenbaum, ever the gentlemanminus his onscreen shenanigans, of coursealso took time out to pen a personal note of thanks to his fellow cast and crewmembers and to all those devoted Clark, Lana and Lex fans out there.
"Your support is what has made Smallville so successful, and I appreciate you all more than you know," the 35-year-old actor wrote.
"That being said, it is time for me to start the next chapter of my life and career. I hope that I gave you some enjoyment over the years, and that you found my portrayal of Lex Luthor to be satisfying. I am truly grateful, as Smallville fans are the best fans out there. I sincerely hope that you will continue to follow my career through my hair growth period and beyond."
"Thanks crew. Thanks fans. Thanks Smallville," he concluded.
The CW announced in March it had renewed the cult-favorite series for an upcoming eighth season. Which, despite Rosenbaum's absence, doesn't promise to be a total letdown.
Per Swimmer, Slavkin & Co., two new villainsDoomsday and an as-yet-unnamed female nemesiswill be coming on board to keep Clark on his toes.
McKellen Confirms Hobbit Habit
Sir Ian McKellen is going there and back again.
The acclaimed British thespian, who, as the wizard Gandalf the Grey, helped shepherd Frodo Baggins through a perilous journey in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, has announced he will reprise his Academy Award-nominated role for the hugely anticipated Hobbit prequels.
"Yes, it's true," McKellen told Britain's Empire movie magazine. "It's not a part that you turn down. I love playing Gandalf."
The twin films will be based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, which of course he published before his epic Lord of the Rings cycle.
This time around, however, the 68-year-old McKellen will team up with Jackson's bespectacled stand-in, Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth), who announced last week that he was moving to New Zealand for four years to take the reins on the project.
Jackson and longtime partner Fran Walsh, who already have their hands full adapting the beloved Tintin to the big screen, among other films in the pipeline, will serve as executive producers on the Hobbit flicks and collaborate with del Toro to ensure proper continuity with their Oscar-winning LOTR.
The first Hobbit movie will follow the story of Frodo's uncle, Bilbo Baggins (played in the LOTR films by Sir Ian Holm), as he journeys with a group of dwarves to a dragon's lair to recover stolen treasure. The second will mine material from Tolkien's appendices about the 60 years between The Hobbit and the start of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
McKellen added that he was excited to be working with the Mexican-born helmer, who's beginning to work on the scripts.
"I spoke to Guillermo in the very room that Peter Jackson offered me the part, and he confirmed that I would be reprising the role," Sir Ian said. "As to how it's going to work over two films and what's going to happen onscreen, well, Guillermo has not got down to working out the major details yetI can tell you it's going to be amazing though."
Talking to the fansite TheOneRing.net, del Toro confirmed McKellen's casting as well as that of Andy Serkis, who's once again aboard to play Gollum. Serkis, in fact, has added The Hobbit to his list of upcoming films on his official Website, just after Jackson's Tintin.
Filming on the Hobbit movies is set to get under way in 2009, with the films unspooling in 2010 and 2011.
Sources Confirm: October Road Canceled
Udate (4:26 p.m. PDT): Well, crap. Just got word from sources inside ABC that October Road is confirmed canceled. Word is, the Alphabet net couldn't find space for it on the fall schedule. The official announcement will come tomorrow, and in the meantime, feel free to post your disappointment in the comments section below.
Bad news, tubers. This has been telegraphed around the Industry for a while, but just in case there was any doubt: October Road is all but done.
In addition to trade reports that the executive producers would be running David E. Kelley's new series Life on Mars, I can report this morning that one of the main castmembers (think big) is taking meetings around town. Said castmember is now available for new work, and (s)he is telling the execs with whom (s)he's meeting that Road is dead.
The official verdict will be handed down tomorrow when ABC announces its pickups and cancellations for the 2008-09 season.
Sorry, guys. I know this is a heartbreaker for you Roadies out there.
Buffy Reunion: "This Is the Crack Team That Foils My Every Plan?"
Collect all eight! Buffy the Vampire Slayer castmembers—including James Marsters, Nicholas Brendon, Michelle Trachtenberg, Emma Caulfield, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seth Green, Amber Benson and Charisma Carpenter—reunited last night at the Paley Fest to celebrate the show's 10th anniversary.
Click in for more family photos…
Awww…Sarah Michelle Gellar and Michelle Trachtenberg still have a pretty good sister act.
There is no love like the love between executive producers of Buffy and Angel. (For the uninitiated, that's David Greenwalt on the left and Joss Whedon on the right.)
Emma Caulfield (who likes hats?!), Gossip Girl-to-be Michelle Trachtenberg and Buffy/Private Practice boss Marti Noxon crack each other up.
Seth Green was SMG's official date for the evening. (They've been friends since they were wee child actors. Pretty cute.)
Amber and Charisma never shared screentime on Buffy, but they're not opposed to sharing a little cast cuddle…
"I'm a bloody rock god!" Yes, you are, Spike. Yes, you are.