McKellen signs on as Gandalf

[Palantir]

Good news, but not surprisingly, that Ian Mckellen is the last main actor to re-sign to reprise his role as Gandalf. :clap:

I say not surprisingly since word first broke on making the movie he's been claiming he's "ready" to jump back in and play Gandalf in The Hobbit. So it's only natural for him to hold out the longest for his contract (filming starts next month).

Andy Sekis who was also "eager & ready" to get filming just re-upped for the movie, the second to last.


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/heat-vision/ian-mckellan-set-return-gandalf-69960

 

[Redwolf]

This kind of poker is normally only allowed in Casinos.

 

[Palantir]

"Sir Christopher Returns in The Hobbit January 11th, 2011 by xoanon

From Sir Christopher Lee’s Official Site: Slowly but surely, Peter Jackson has managed to secure the return of the majority of the major stars from The Lord of the Rings franchise for his soon to be shooting prequel, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

Sir. Christopher Lee had been in talks to reprise his role as the wizard Saruman and it now looks certain, providing that he is in good health, that he will be appearing in the movie."

View attachment 32256

With his signing it's confirmed that there will be a good "side-arc" concerning the "White Council" dealing with the assault on Dol Guldur in TA 2941 as Bilbo heads for the Lonely Mt. This allows for
Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving & Christopher Lee to get in some good screen time & not just cameos.


Also-
Orlando Bloom has asked, and will receive $1 Million dollars for his 2 minute cameo in the Hobbit Films. A rumor that Dominic Monaghan is also joining the cast at 1 Million for his Cameo.

At @ $8000 a second I guess it's a good gig if you can get it. And who says good jobs are hard to come by in this economic climate?

So will Bloom earn his money just standing behind his father's throne in Mirkwood or leading a charge at the Battle of Five Armies? (I bet just standing but I'd like to see him in some combat action.)

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/01/11/41636-1-million-for-a-cameo-bloom-rumors-monaghan-too/

 

[Palantir]

Quoting:

Why did it take the man behind Gandalf so long to commit officially to "The Hobbit"?

In a surprisingly candid post on his website, Ian McKellen opened up on Wednesday (January 12) about behind-the-scenes developments and his own ambivalence surrounding the two-part project.

"Could I let Gandalf go? Would anyone else care if I did?" he wrote, going on to cite the example of the "Harry Potter" franchise. "Elsewhere, does anyone care that Michael Gambon was not the first to play Dumbledore?"

The issue all along was not whether he still feels creatively energized by Gandalf — "I long to do it," McKellen told us of the role back in November of 2009. Rather, the sticking point was simply that the production faced delay after delay and, as the 71-year-old McKellen put it, "All I had to decide was what to do with the time that is given me."

First, producer Peter Jackson and director Guillermo del Toro struggled to get the production off the ground as MGM faced severe financial difficulties, and then a planned date to begin shooting early last year came and went. Del Toro departed the project, Jackson stepped in to direct and the production faced a dustup with New Zealand's trade union. The prospect of shooting outside that country bubbled up.

All the while, McKellen remained fascinated with the scripts. "It was true to the style, the fun and the romance of the trilogy," he wrote of the "Part One" pages. Yet when the production finally got back on track, with Martin Freeman taking on the starring role of Bilbo and a February 2011 date set to begin filming, McKellen still found himself unsure.

"I kept wondering was Gandalf what I most wanted to do, more than a new play for instance or indeed a new part?" he wrote. "Sequels aren't necessarily as rewarding to act in as their originals.

"The deciding negotiation was not about money but about dates," he added. "Gandalf is needed on set over the next 18 months but with sizeable breaks when I can work on other projects. My worry that I could not easily escape from Middle Earth was lifted. I am happy to say I start filming in Wellington on February 21 2011."

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1655868/hobbit-star-ian-mckellen-reveals-why-almost-ditched-role.jhtml


Although he makes some compelling points in the article the fact that he has nothing major going on film acting-wise that’s keeping him from "18 months" of on & off again acting in New Zealand still has the note of more money attached to it. He made too many, "I'm ready to get going on the Hobbit" comments leading up to the boycott episode to suddenly have the "do I really feel like doing this now..." since it got the green light.

At least everything eventually fell into place.