Cool News
The actor to play Gandalf in the new LORD OF THE RINGS is....
Not anybody yet!
I've been trying to check up on all the RUMORS about this person and that person surrounding LORD OF THE RINGS and GANDALF in particular. I've been trying to hear from Peter Jackson, but either he's just too damn busy to give me the time of day, or New Line gave him a gag order. Who the hell knows? I sure don't.
So... I have to go through my good ol back doors. Knock three times and say "The Hallowed Oak" then walk inside for a bit of the true stuff. Word has been hitting EVERYWHERE that TOM BAKER is GANDALF.....
NO. NO NO NO NO NO! The rumor started here that he tried out for the role. TRUE. How do I know? Because I confirmed it. But you know what? There are a lot of people that have tried out for the role. My guy inside the design department (Hahahahaha, Peter, you'll never catch him!) tells me that the word is no one has been cast yet.
I trust this scribbler with my gonads and duct tape, so take this to heart. The UK's BIG BREAKFAST is full of crapola. It is... UNTRUE. This doesn't mean that Baker might not end up being GANDALF, only that as of yet he has not been cast as GANDALF.
I'm gonna be calling this spy, Captain Englehorn. Ta Ta for now my Tolkein friends...
Harry
So... I have to go through my good ol back doors. Knock three times and say "The Hallowed Oak" then walk inside for a bit of the true stuff. Word has been hitting EVERYWHERE that TOM BAKER is GANDALF.....
NO. NO NO NO NO NO! The rumor started here that he tried out for the role. TRUE. How do I know? Because I confirmed it. But you know what? There are a lot of people that have tried out for the role. My guy inside the design department (Hahahahaha, Peter, you'll never catch him!) tells me that the word is no one has been cast yet.
I trust this scribbler with my gonads and duct tape, so take this to heart. The UK's BIG BREAKFAST is full of crapola. It is... UNTRUE. This doesn't mean that Baker might not end up being GANDALF, only that as of yet he has not been cast as GANDALF.
I'm gonna be calling this spy, Captain Englehorn. Ta Ta for now my Tolkein friends...
Harry
I trust this scribbler with my gonads and duct tape, so take this to heart. The UK's BIG BREAKFAST is full of crapola. It is... UNTRUE. This doesn't mean that Baker might not end up being GANDALF, only that as of yet he has not been cast as GANDALF.
I'm gonna be calling this spy, Captain Englehorn. Ta Ta for now my Tolkein friends...
Harry
Harry
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hope im first. thats seems to me to be bad news. i like all the time they are putting into this, but the snails pace still sucks
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You know I love you, man. But using that title as a teaser when you didn't have any actual information was pretty darn low.
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i think harry was just clearing up a rumor.
I also think harry will piss a lot of people off with this headline. -
Denying a rumor is news in my book. If Harry didn't say anything about it someone would be on here saying 'Hey Harry, I heard so and so is gonna be Gandolf. Get off yer ass and find out if it's true!' I hadn't hear the Tom Baker rumor (and how cool would *that* be!), but if I had this'd be the first place I'd come to verify it.
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That is, according to Cinescape or Dark Horizons, what Warwick Davis said at some convention recently. No one else read that? It was posted like two weeks ago! Guess Davis plays a Hobbit (not Bilbo).
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Interesting -- current rumour floating around town (and it seems to have more weight than most others) is that a certain ex-James-Bond-actor-from-Scotland is looking at renting a house in Wellington for the next few years. Somehow, I doubt he's here to film The Untouchables 2.
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Seriously. Please don't make fun of me. I honestly don't know who he is, though apparently I should. Somehow, though, I have the feeling I'm the only who doesn't know, so please, someone clear this up.
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Seriously. Please don't make fun of me. I honestly don't know who he is, though apparently I should. Somehow, though, I have the feeling I'm the only who doesn't know, so please, someone clear this up.
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Seriously. Please don't make fun of me. I honestly don't know who he is, though apparently I should. Somehow, though, I have the feeling I'm the only who doesn't know, so please, someone clear this up.
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Tom Baker was the 4th Dr. Who and had the role the longest. He is the one with the dark curly hair, bulging eyes, extremely deep voice (almost operatic) and uncomfortably long scarf.
He's be good in the role. -
For those who don't know, which are probably a few Americans, Tom Baker played the lead for a little BBC sci-fi series in the UK called Doctor Who. Little is of course, an understatement. The series ran, pretty much uninterrupted, from about the 1950's (in the days of black and white) to sometime in the late 80's. Tom Baker was the longest running of the Doctors and he was in it during the 60's or 70's (or both). In case you're wanting to put a face to this Doctor, he was the one with the really long scarf. Search the net for more info and the reason why I keep on talking about different doctors. It's too complex to describe in a short statement here.
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It's Jon Pertwee and Davros is playing Sauron. :)
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Hey, Pope Buck has point Harry, that was pretty doggone low...but I'm in a good mood, just don't do it again or we'll have to kill you. Seriously, I have to wonder about some of these so-called "geeks" -- I mean, someone who doesn't know of Tom Baker, the most famous Doctor Who? Hell, I don't even _like_ the show, and I know the man's bloody shoe size. Well...Dr. Who doesn't have the following it once had, I suppose, we'll let it pass. I don't know what Tom looks like these days, but it's hard to say what kind of a Gandalf he'd make. Not perhaps who I would choose, but frankly I'm not sitting in the casting room, perhaps the guy's a real Olivier in the role. The best _suggestion_ for the role I've heard so far is Patrick McGoohan, but who knows? I rather doubt it will go to Baker. I'm not sure he has the gravitas, and he may simply have too much baggage for the role. Pass the mustard.
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With our luck, New Line will be looking to entice kids to see this movie and make it non-racial specific in terms of the audience it appeals to so they'll hire Will Smith for the role of Gandolf. Oh sure, you can laugh(and rightfully so), but when you have one of the biggest stars(though god knows why) having to recover fast from a huge bomb of a movie(WWW), and the fact that he feels bad because he missed out on a movie like the matrix(they rejected casting him), then he's gonna by like Nic Cage and start trying to get attached to any comic book or fantasy related movie possible. And New Line, with over 120 million on the line for this, needing some type of insurance, will be desperate to hire a star, any star, willing to appear in a film directed by a person who is known for some of the most 'out there' kinds of movies ever made(I do love his work though), a director who has never delivered a blockbuster film.
Even though gandolf is supposed to be old, there aren't many old star actors that could do it. Sure, there are plenty of great older actors, but not many of true star calibre, and they've made it sound like they're really only going to possibly go for a star for a few of the big roles like Gandolf, so they have only two choices, Sean Connery(only old true star that I can think of that could do it), or they cast younger and go for someone like a will smith, or maybe nic cage, hell, keanu reeves said he'd like to be in the movie so why not cast him in it even though he's totally wrong and doesn't belong anywhere in the film. Reeves was in the matrix which is a hit so of course casting him would seem like a good idea to the studio executives. I can see it now, they'll have Reeves play Gandolf, and they'll get the singer Brandy to do the soundtrack, and Will Smith will play the humorous sidekick who had never appeared in the novels before. That would be just such a great film. Oh yes, it would. I love hollywood, don't you. P.S., Harry, that was a lame way of getting people to click on an article, very unprofessional, and there's no excuse for lazyness like that. -
I've seen very little Dr. Who over the years, but I do remember this Tom Baker guy, and I think he would be a GREAT Gandalf. There was something fundamentally silly about him, or so I thought at the time I watched the show from time to time (when I was about 10...this is in reruns, I'm not that old.) But at the same time you took what he was saying seriously. Now I ask you, Tolkein fans...does that not sum up Gandalf? He's a comical character at first, then he becomes serious...rather Yoda-like, for those who don't know. I don't think he needs "gravitas" so much as he needs earnestness and eccentricity. And as for Harry's post...yes it was kind of a joke...but it was intended for those of us who have already heard the "news" of Tom Baker's casting...Harry was just dispelling it. I mean, so you lost a few precious seconds of valuable geek time, time which you could have used to cure cancer, right? Gimme a break.
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You idiot, the problem with you getting to an article has absolutely nothing to do with where you click on the link...it's a link...you click anywhere that the little hand pops up, and it goes to that site. The problem is that so many people are accessing this page (not a huge problem, in my book), not Harry's incompetence in making links. Learn some HTML, and then you can bitch at us about link making. -Loki
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What rumor is Harry talking about? maybe i am just spending too little time lurking on LOTR sites. I'd seen a couple mentions that Baker had auditioned.Is AICN saying he did not audition-that would be news? And anyway, Baker has been alot of peoples pick for Gandalf since before AICN even existed so i'm not sure Harry can claim the measly thingofarumor got started here.
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Apr 27, 1999 4:44:18 PM CDT
Wouldn't Tolkein "fiends" be a little more accurate, Harry? (nt)
by drifter
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Granted, wasting my time on this link isn't the end of the world, but I do think it was kind of shitty for Harry to put a teaser like that on the front page. I mean, he knows how many problems all of us have been having with this new CGI format of his, and he decided to do it anyway. Even though the actual time spent on clicking a link to get to an article is probably quite minimal, it still gets fairly frustrating. I do agree with the previous posters that denying rumors is in fact news, but knowingly putting a teaser out implying that you have NEW news (and not just denying the rumors of others) is plain shitty, as I said before.
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Crippled with arthritis? I thought I had read that he was confined to a wheelchair someplace a long time ago. That's why he's been in pretty much nothing since The 80s. Unless I'm mistaken, which would be great news, I'd love to see him in NEW stuff. -Peteski@spinninghead.com
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Check out my page for tolkien movie news
Tolkien Movie News
http://www.upstel.net/~manka/tolkienpage.html
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Hey, it was part news, part joke. Harry was just letting off some frustration about the dearth of lotr rumors/facts/news/propaganda. I was glad to read even this little piece, if for nothing other than I want to hear news about it constantly. I've been looking forward to this film since I was a freshman in HS (when I read the books for the first of several dozen times) and everytime I think about seeing it on the big screen, I feel like the blood vessels in my eyes are going to pop! (BTW, do eyeballs have blood vessels?) Second point, let's stop with the Connery stuff. He can't do it. He's too much of a name. He's got too much baggage (how would you like your miruvor Gandalf? Shaken, not stirred, of course). And he'll eat up the budget. At this point, I don't even think he could do the cameo/royal schtick (if only because it would be reminiscent of Costner's Robin Hood farce). I read before where someone mentioned Max Von Sydow (perhaps as a Saruman or a Theoden... that's the kind of thinking we need), Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing. And for the main characters (Gandalf, hobbits, Strider, Legolas, and Boromir) let's hope PJ raids a local pub and finds some real people. (I deliberately left Gimli out of that because despite myself, I LOVE the Bob Hoskins suggestion!) So at any rate, let's keep up the lotr updates no matter how piddling or unimportant. Onward to the greatest trilogy ever! Viva Tolkien! (That was a pointed comment about a certain upcoming addition to a trilogy that I will walk out of if the rumor about midi*****ians is true.)
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Apr 27, 1999 10:07:20 PM CDT
The blood vessels of eyeballs (wow, that's a TB subject I though
by pdaddy
Creamy goodness- Eyeballs do indeed have blood vessel. An eyeball is vascular tissue like most organs in the body (including bone). The blood vessels (arteries and veins) actually enter the eye through a "hole" in the back end of the eye called the optic disc (where your optic nerve enters as well). The vessels then "hug" the inside walls of the eyeball as they branch out. Physicians view these vessels when they use their opthalmoscopes to see through your pupil and into the back of your eye (what's in between is pretty much just fluid - your vitreous and aqueous humor). Anatomy lesson over - hope that helps.
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Uh..Thanks...I guess.
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"Sensationalistic journalism stunt"? What a bunch of fucking crybabies. Soiling your didies over one god damned link. How long did it take you to get here -- ten seconds out of your precious lives? Somebody call Amnesty International. Or better yet, send a telegram to the Kosovo refugees, I'm sure they'll share your outrage over this human rights violation. Jesus H. Christ. People like this are why the expression "get a life" was created.
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Easy fellas, the talkback is dripping with testosterone. Anyhow I am one of the many who mailed Harry asking if this rumor was true and I appreciate him looking into it! (thanks Big-H!) I also believe that Tom would be the best possible Gandolf and would give the movie all the "keep true to the fans" points it needs to get me to line up opening day. If he doesn't get it, however, does anyone know what happened to Nicol Williamson(Merlin from EXCALIBUR) because he would be peachy also.
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Please don't put unfruitful teasing titles like that, please.
It's rather mean. -
Well, hostility aside, I think this is a grand little guessing game. While a tad cruel, Harry's "stunt" is hardly worth flying into a rage over. Probably the same people who ranted against the South Park Terrance and Philip April fools fiasco. Having said that I think that Tom Baker is an excellent choice, but I still stand by my suggestion of Sir Derek Jacobi. And if Keannu Reeves gets anywhere NEAR the role of Strider I shall personally place a call to Sir Elton John and have him rewrite Candle in the Wind (again!!) because it would be a HUGE fucking TRAGEDY!!! Do not be fooled by the MATRIX it was a movie that looked so good even HE couldn't screw it up. This does not mean he is an ACTOR of any SKILL! Personally, I think someone older, a Gary Oldman, or a Kenneth Branaugh perhaps. Then again, I am just speculating.
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Tolkien = "Tolkein", LOL!
Gandalf = "Gandolf", LOL! -
Apr 28, 1999 12:37:08 AM CDT
Harry! There has been an offical announcement! I've got the link
by martin q blank
How does it feel? (pokes tongue)
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...my vote stays with good ol' Tom Baker... the man is so very talented, and yet he isn't in nearly as many films as he should be...
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Actually, it was Glen who got high and Mighty about Counting Downs prank (not uncalled for in my opinion). Harry's take on the thing was let bygones be bygones. I thought what harry did was OK, he was getting people to calm down and not get worked up on runours. Anyone paying attention knew that Tom Baker had only auditioned and there would be no casting announcements for a while yet. By the Way, Tom Baker is still working and healthy. A couple of years ago he did a stage production of Arsenic and Old Lace, and also starred in the TV show "Medics"
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*sigh*....Bloody Americans....It's TOLKIEN, not TOLKEIN. Christ. What about Jean Reno as Strider?
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I've always imagined Tom Baker as Gandalf and here's why....
For any of you who have got LOTR and know who Tom is, read the encounter between Gandalf and Saruman at Isengard. Now imagine Gandalf with Tom's voice. See?
I met him a couple of months back and he's looking quite good. OK, so his hairs a sort of silvery grey colour these days (just right for Gandalf) and he has more lines on his face, but basically the same guy. His Autobiog is excellent. -
I think someone should (or maybe they already have) bring to Mr Jackson attention the sterling work Our Tom did in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad as a mad wizard.
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does anyone else think Christopher Lee might make a good Gandalf. He's knocking on a bit now, but he's still tall, got great presence and a fantastically gravelly voice. And if you saw him playing the eccentric pagan Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man you'd know he's got the range. I can hardly wait to see these movies. Help, I think I'm turning into a geek ...
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I think someone should (or maybe they already have) bring to Mr Jackson attention the sterling work Our Tom did in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad as a mad wizard.
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Yo, Gangbangers.....You don't like Harry unloading his splooge on your face...Then don't come back! How much are you paying for this? DID I HEAR "NOTHING"..That's right. A big fat zero...SO listen up baby - You get what you pay for! "Thanks for the support...Asshole!"
CIRCUSFREAK! -
I happened to see Tom Baker wandering around Soho in London about a month or two ago. He's looking a lot older nowadays, but still has an extremely impressive presence about him - he's very tall. I can't think of anyone who would play a better wizard.
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No, I am him. I have more gravitas than two Derek Jacobys stapled together and will kick arse as Gandalf (note spelling). And remember - 'Taylor's Tarpaulin'.
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My suggestion for Gandalf - Wait for it.....
is....
ooh, I don't know whether to tell you or not...
is.......
Alec Guiness
(Bizarre trilogy cross-referencing akimbo!) -
No not Tom Baker he would be a crap Gandalf.
he may ok as a TV Actor but this
is 3 long films,
there is no way he could carry the role. I personnaly would re-consider going to see the films if he was in them.
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One person that I think who would be great in the part of Gandalf is Nicol Williamson. Some of you might remember him in the 1981 movie Excalibur. He played Merlin.
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One person that I think who would be great in the part of Gandalf is Nicol Williamson. Some of you might remember him in the 1981 movie Excalibur. He played Merlin.
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Hey, geez, thanks a bunch for your ever so helpful post. You're so thoughtful to kindly point out all our human faults and mental failings. I apologize for not knowing Peter Cushing was dead. But if you read my post, you note that I heard someone else mention him. And for that fact anyway - even dead, Peter Cushing would make a better Gandalf than Connery! So again I'm sorry that I didn't meet your filmocologistical standards in my previous post, but with your gentle guiding hand, mayhap I shall one day become worthy. - CG
Oh, and one little suggestion too, angry local, before I go if I may - be a dear and piss off. -
I've never been a fan of Dr. Who but I have seen Tom Baker a few times. I suppose he would make a fine Gandalf but he really doesn't excite me all that much. Personally, the actor with the stature and charisma to play the role as far as I am concerned is Christopher Plummer.
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Morgan Freeman
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Hmm... interesting. I believe Mr Freeman could just pull it off. Of course he's no Tom Baker but then this whole LOTR venture is doomed unless James Earl Jones is drafted in for the voice of Sauron.
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Bakker, McGoohan, some as yet unnamed mystery actor? Who knows. This film is a long way off yet so there's plenty of time for suspense. Although it would be cool to see Gandolf racing around in his Lotus Super Seven. Also, I'd like to remind Angry Local to take his medication on time.
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According to Mr Jonathon Ross,
presenter of the "Film 99" film
review program shown on BBC
national tv, Weds 28th April, Gandalf is going to be played by...
Sean Connery. (Marginally
preferable to Tom Baker.)
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I don't know if Film 99 and Jonathan Ross can be taken as authoritative sources, but last night's programme had a news item about Sean Connery's recent visit to Scotland.
He was there both to promote the Scottish National Party ahead of the elections in Scotland and to publicise his new movie.
Apparently he let on during his interviews with the movie press that he was going to be Gandalf.
I thought then that he would be perfect in the role, but then someone mentioned Tom Baker - oh wow! that would be brilliant, I grew up watching Tom Baker in Dr. Who and he has just the right amount of mystery and authority plus a sensational voice...
Oh well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. -
Why not have a poll for the fans choice for Gandalf? All the major players have come up by now: Connery, Baker, McGoohan, Lee, Williamson, etc. etc. etc. Might as well let PJ see who the geeks would respond to in the role. First runner up would, by default, be our pick for Saruman. (My vote: Baker, or maybe Williamson. Anyone remember his villain turn in Return to Oz? Now THAT'S Saruman, pipe and all.)
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Someone talked about who'd have a good voice for Gandalf. Now, mebbe I'm over-enthusiastic...but there ain't nobody who's got a voice like Charlton Heston...why isn't he brought up more often? Nobody would do Gandalf as well as he would.
While I'm at it, how about Alec Guinness for Theoden, Patrick Stewart for Saruman, and mebbe Christopher Plummer for Denethor? :)
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