Gandalf at Hobbiton

 

 

Mithrandir

 Some of my favorite renditions of Gandalf from around the web !

Thranduil

Thranduil The Woodland King

Gandalf the Gray

Some of my favorite pictures of me as Gandalf the Gray !

                                              

                                            

                                  

                                                                

The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug Review

My yearlong anticipation ended last night with the premiere of The Desolation of Smaug ! I was lucky enough to be able to attend a Hobbit double feature in HFR and Dolby surround. Here is my Review! With Spoilers !

               The film looked and sounded amazing? Having been in NZ twice and anticipating a 3rd trip it is so wonderful to see that once again Peter Jackson has used the countryside of New Zealand as almost another character! The landscapes are so beautiful and he really captures it beautifully!  I enjoyed the opening scene between Thorin and Gandalf at the Prancing Pony. In fact I really enjoyed the film including the New made for film only character Tauriel, up until Laketown. there the movie hit a wall. I got bored. Didn't care about Bards Family, nor did I enjoy the whole scene with the Dragon. I'm talking about the action sequences, not the Bilbo/Smaug interactions. Richard Armitage is fantastic, powerful and magnetic, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Sir Ian Mckellan is once again simply  Great. One of the finest actors Ive ever seen. I love Gandalf ! Loved his scenes in this film ! I hope The next movie which as a longtime fan, I'm sure will be the best of all three. !

The Hunt for Gollom is here

The Hunt For Gollum (HD version)
by HuntForGollum

Watch the credits till the End,,My name is on there,,,how exciting.

Mom and i, werent able toattend the premiere,, they recieved our notice too late it seems,,oh well there is always next time,,,, B

The Hunt For Gollum

The Premiere for this fan film, that I'm an investor for, is in London 02 may 2009. And Guess what? I scored 2 tickets. Mom and I , land in London 02 may, so we will be able to attend. How exciting. Mom is thrilled, and I think it will be fun, we have the whole afternoon free, so why not attend. In case, you don't remember, The Hunt For Gollum is a fan film made in England, by a group of fan, running time approx 50 minutes. And it tells the tale of Aragorn searching for Gollum. Gandalf wants him found before the Nazgul do. I became an investor last year. The film hits the web soon after the 02 May, probably around the 4th of May. Here is the trailer for it.

Hobbit News

The Following is an entry from The One Ring. Net

The Hobbit…..TRILOGY?!
March 31st, 2009 by xoanon
For a few months now, we’ve all been wondering why there’s been such a cloud of secrecy from Guillermo and PJ regarding progress on The Hobbit. Well, today we got wind of what could be the biggest story so far about this much anticipated film: a report that negotiations are under way for a third film!
On condition on anonymity, our source revealed that some of the main sticking points include amendments to PJ and GDT’s contracts requiring an additional 3 months of principal photography, and temporarily suspending some of their other projects.
Our insider also mentioned some legal wrangling with the Tolkien Estate to acquire additional rights to materials not currently under license which would provide the bulk of the plot for the third movie. What specifically this could be is a guess, but our source seems to imply delving into the back-story of the Istari (Wizards) including Gandalf and Saruman’s youth in Valinor. The inclusion of other young wizards at the academy would provide an opportunity for cameos from LOTR actors who’s story arc doesn’t fit into The Hobbit. The latter would go a long way toward explaining recent cryptic quotes from LOTR actors about possible appearances in The Hobbit.
We’ll keep you up to date as this story progresses. Our source is sending us an update tomorrow.

October 6

The following event(s) took place in Middle-earth on October 6:

Thorin requests supplies (1341)
Gandalf heads for Rivendell after escaping Weathertop (1418)
The camp under Weathertop attacked at night. Frodo is wounded (1418)
They cross the Ford of Bruinen; Frodo feels the first return of pain (1419)
Frodo is again ill (1420)
Samwise returns to Bag End (1421)

September 24

Today in Middle-earth, September 24
September 24th, 2008 by grammaboodawg

September 24, 2008
The following event(s) took place in Middle-earth on September 24:

Bilbo nurses a bad cold (1341)
Gandalf leaves unexpectedly (1401)
Gandalf crosses the Isen (1418)
The Hobbits cross the Shire (1418)
They meet Gildor and the High Elves travelling through the Shire (1418)

September 24, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth-no text)
1. Bilbo nurses a bad cold as he and the Dwarves enjoy the hospitality and praise of Lake-town.

September 24, 3001 (S.R. 1401)
2. Gandalf leaves unexpectedly.
(not from the appendices-tiny no text)

Frodo began to recover from the excitement and fury of the Party and distribution of gifts.
(Tolkien, 1965 Ballantine, p. 69 FotR)

September 24, 3018 (S.R. 1418)
1. Gandalf crosses the Isen.
(from the appendices-no text)
Shadowfax raced across the vast leagues between the land of the Rohirrim and the Northern Realm. Gandalf reached the River Isen as the hobbits leisurely made their way across the Shire.
(Tolkien, 1965 Ballantine, p. 344-345 FotR)

2. The Hobbits cross the Shire.
(not from the appendices)
“Frodo woke up first, and found that a tree-root had made a hole in his back, and that his neck was stiff. ‘Walking for pleasure! Why didn’t I drive?’ he thought, as he usually did at the beginning of an expedition.”
(Tolkien, 1965 Ballantine, p. 108 FotR)

3. They meet Gildor and the High Elves travelling through the Shire.
(not from the appendices)
“The song ended. ‘And now to bed! And now to bed’ sang Pippin in a high voice.
‘Hush!’ said Frodo. ‘I think I hear hoofs again.’
They stopped suddenly and stood as silent as tree-shadows, listening.”
(Tolkien, 1965 Ballantine, p. 116-124 FotR)

Photo Shoot Test Run

Tom and I went to Indiana, this weekend, first and foremost to visit Grandma and Papa, but also to take some test shots of us in our Lord of the Ring costumes. I wanted to get an idea of how we look in them. Of course, trying to get everything together, I ended up forgetting the most important items! My costumes! I'm wearing Timmy's costume. Which initially I wanted to, but then I thought of changing off. Getting a chance to try on all the costumes. But I grabbed the wrong ones. I have a beautiful Gandalf costume, that I had hand made just for me. It sat under my bed. And I also have a medieval Prince Costume, no one has seen and I've never worn. I really wanted to try that one out. Oh well next time, this was only a test run. My thought is to put together a photo portfolio that I can send out to The Producers of The Hobbit, so they can at least get an idea, of how I will look in costume! It did not go as well as I hoped. Its so hard to direct from in front of the camera. I had Mom trying to snap the pics. She did fine, but I hate my hair, she didn't pay attention to the important details! Different set of pictures are over on Flickr.

Gandalf vs Witch King

This is how it should have been,,,,,,

Sorry people, until playing this for the Twins, I didn't realize it's not in English. I always had the sound turned down. But you get the basic idea. NEVER in print or otherwise, was Gandalf afraid of the Witch King, regardless of The Prophecy. Gandalf outranked him. And was more powerful. He might not have been able to slay Angmar, but he could have seriously hurt him!

Hobbit casting News

According to several sources Sir Ian Mckellen has been asked to reprise his role of Gandalf in The Hobbit. Now I'm reading the Andy Serkis and Viggo Mortenson have been approached. Fantastic news. Please please please Viggo say yes. Aragorn can't be played with someone else. Gollum wouldn't be the same also, Andy must come back. ( Rumours say Serkis has already signed). Viggo, I beg you, plead with you, pray you sign on. I have also just read the Bilbo will be played by Martin Freeman, I don't know who that is, but that could be a good thing. He can create the role, and bring a fresh perspective to it. I'm sorry , but I do feel Sir Ian Holm is too old to play a young Bilbo. more news soon to come. Namarie