Viggo Talks ‘The Hobbit’
We’ve heard from Ian McKellan about wanting to be in the new Hobbit movies, now Viggo Mortensen has thrown his hat into the ring - the ONE ring, that is! - as well:
Mortensen also said he would like to replay the “Lord of the Rings” part of Aragorn in future “Hobbit” movies that have been announced by “Rings” director Peter Jackson. “I’d rather not have another actor play the part I started out playing for Peter Jackson. And I had a lot of friends from that experience,” he said.
It would be so amazing if they could get as much of the original cast back for the prequels! Viggo was amazing, as were the rest, and I can’t quite picture anyone else playing the roles.
Don’t screw this up, or you’re bound to piss a lot of people off!
James McAvoy Says He Will Not Be In The Hobbit
A few weeks ago a British tabloid suggested that Jack Black, Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy were in the running to play Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, and being the douchebags they are people fell for it even though Guillermo del Toro said that casting wouldn’t be revealed until next year. Then an even bigger douchebag reporter asked Jack Black if it were true. He replied by thwacking them across the face and shouting “STOP BEING A DOUCHEBAG OF COURSE ITS NOT TRUE”.
People should learn that if a British tabloid is reporting that Harry Potter will play Bilbo Baggins, then the other names they suggest in the same sentence are probably bullcrap too. However, because people liked the suggestion of James McAvoy they stuck with it, and now McAvoy himself has denied the rumours:
“it’s not true by the way, it’s all internet rumoring and nothing else I’m afraid. Sorry.”
Moral of the story: Don’t believe British tabloids. I should know, I’m British.
Second Moral of the story: Just because you like what a British tabloid spews out doesn’t make it true!
Christopher Lee Would Return As Saruman For The Hobbit
He may be 86 years old but he still has six movies on the way and could be adding another one (or two). Christopher Lee spoke to Empire about Saruman returning for The Hobbit prequels. Although Saruman doesnt appear in the book, there is the second film which Del Toro and Jackson will be writing to bridge the gap between The Hobbit and the first Lord of the Rings movie.
“I’ve read the books time and again,” said the 86-year-old. “Originally Saruman The White and the rest of the wizards, or the Istari as they call them, were immortal. There were five of them, two of them never appear, I know their names but they never appear, and the only three that are mentioned are Saruman The White, Gandalf The Grey and Radagast The Brown who you never see – so basically it’s two wizards.
“They lived for thousands of years and they were sent to the earth and they are virtually immortal. When it all started, Saruman was the noblest, the finest, the bravest, the most dependable and reliable of them all, he was number one. But somewhere, somehow, and it was never actually explained, he turns and it’s probably the Palantír (the wizard’s crystal ball thingy) that makes Saruman realise that if Sauron can do this, why can’t I do it and Saruman wants to become The Lord Of The Rings himself.”
“I’d be interested in seeing how that transition from good to evil occurred and, yes, of course I would return to the role if I was asked.”
You can tell Lee has read the trilogy every year for the past five decades can’t you?
I suppose it would be quite cool to see Saruman’s decent into darkness. What do you think?
Rumor Watch: James McAvoy as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit?
Rumor has it that James McAvoy will play Bilbo Baggins in Guillermo del Toro’s The Hobbit. A source tells British newspaper the Daily Express:
“A number of names have been doing the rounds, including Daniel Radcliffe and Jack Black, but James (MCAvoy) is the one the film’s bosses really want. They’re expected to have talks soon so hopefully it could be confirmed in the not too distant future.”
Daniel Radcliffe? Jack Black? Really? The Daily Express isn’t exactly the most accurate source of information and these names seem more random than believable. In Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, Baggins was played by Ian Holm. Guillermo said in an online chat last week that he still has plans to utilize Ian Holm “in some fashion for sure” and that “the difficulty of the role will be better assessed after” the screenplays are completed. del Toro told Empire Magazine last week:
“We are writing based on [Ian Holm’s performance], but other than that, we have ideas [of who could play him],” Del Toro told us. “I can tell you that it’s down to a few names that we all agree upon. And that our first choice…completely, magically, we said the same name. All of us!”
del Toro also said that we can expect “at least a year before we announce any casting”. So true or not true, don’t expect an official selection for a while.