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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Trailer Open Thread

Gabe — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:15:03 +0000

The most anticipated movie trailer since the release of The Dark Knight Rises movie trailer is finally here! (Our one day streak of not having a big movie trailer to talk about is finally broken. Watch it in HD on Apple’s website. It’s just better that way!) It’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey! Gettin’ the ol’ gang back together! Minus Aragorn, of course. (I really hope they don’t do some kind of X-Men: First Class Wolverine-drinking-at-a-bar-in-Cuba style 2 second cameo. Or do I? Perhaps I wish that MOST OF ALL.) But when God closes an Aragorn, he opens a Martin Freeman. We love Martin Freeman! Obviously, I am excited for this movie and will see it and I really liked the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and for the most part I still think Peter Jackson has it in him to make good movies (see also: Heavenly Creatures) although at times he allows his enthusiasm for visual effects to replace human emotion with a two-dimensional brand of melodrama set to an Enya score, but still, I think he’ll make it pretty good. My main concern, though, is just that what we really want is a fourth LOTR movie and the fact of the matter is that The Hobbit just isn’t one. (NO NERDO.) You know what I mean, though? All of the sneaked in references to the old movies in this trailer are cute but they are NOT ENOUGH. And how are you not going to show the dragon? I would rather see the dragon than some old Gollum. If it makes him feel better, you can let Andy Serkis play the dragon, too. Who cares. Anyway, I am excited but also nervous, but also not really, I mean it’s just a movie trailer and when it comes out it will just be a movie. Occupy Wall Street is entering its fourth month. The final convoy of American troops has left Iraq. I’m just saying, let’s keep things in perspective. And let’s hear what you guys think of this HOT TRAILER!

You Can Make It Up: Ian McKellen Is Mistaken For A Wizard

Gabe — Thu, 13 May 2010 21:45:48 +0000

Ian McKellen was enjoying his day off from rehearsing his latest play, The Wizards of Madison County, with a trip to the grocery store, and then maybe a tandem bike ride later. He wandered through the produce aisle, admiring the colorful bounty before him. There was just something so visually pleasing about a well-stocked produce aisle, Ian McKellen thought to himself. He saw the tubs of cherry tomatoes, and for a moment, his hand outstretched, he imagined a villainous character who had the power to bend cherry tomatoes to his evil will. Then he picked up a plastic tub of cherry tomatoes and looked at it from all sides to see if these were delicious looking, ripe cherry tomatoes, or wrinkly and rotting old gross ones. We cannot choose the tomatoes we are given, only what to do about buying the cherry tomatoes the store has. Ian McKellen placed the cherry tomatoes into his hand basket and continued down the aisle.

“YOU SHALL NOT PEAS!” he said to the peas. Ian McKellen did not like peas!

Just then, he felt a tug at his leg. There was a child staring up at him. “Are you a wizard?” the child asked?

Ian McKellen, Not Surprisingly, Mistaken For A Hobo

Gabe — Wed, 12 May 2010 17:10:28 +0000

Ian McKellen, the classically trained actor best known for his roles in the fantasy-adventure movies Last Action Hero and The Da Vinci Code, was recently mistaken for a bum. Which makes sense. Because of how a lot of times he kind of looks like a bum. From the Telegraph UK:

The 70-year-old actor is rehearsing Waiting For Godot in Melbourne, Australia, and was sitting in his tramp costume having a break when a passer-by gave him an Australian dollar.

He said: “During the dress rehearsal of Godot, I crouched by the stage door of the Comedy Theatre, getting some air, my bowler hat at my feet (and) seeing an unkempt old man down on his luck, a passer-by said, ‘Need some help, brother?’ and put a dollar in my hat.”

Acting! Desmond? But seriously, this makes sense. I don’t even know why this is a news story. The only thing that is surprising about it is that it hasn’t happened before. Look at him:

You Be The Blog: The Prisoner

Gabe — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:58:03 +0000

Did you guys watch The Prisoner last night? I don’t have much to say about it, although I do kind of like how it was much darker than the original series. And Ian McKellen sure loves cake, huh? Loooves cake. What’s your guys’s favorite kind of prison cake?

Beyonce Knowles To Star In The Hobbit

Gabe — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:20:22 +0000

The casting news today is that director Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, Blade II), who has been signed on to direct the Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, is trying to wrangle some of the original cast from Peter Jackson’s trilogy to reprise their roles, namely Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, Andy Serkis as Gollum, and Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf. This is very exciting to fanboys and women who have sexual emotions for Viggo Mortensen, but I think we shouldn’t rush into things. The Hobbit is not really a prequel so much as a separate book (no nerdo). And I’m pretty sure Aragorn isn’t even in The Hobbit originally, ladies. They’re going to have to work him in (that’s what she said), probably by just having him smoke his shire weed pipe in the background wearing only his ancient leather g-string, forged in the fires of Mount Sex Object.

So we’ve got a separate legend, and a new director, I say we need a new cast as well.