Hobbit news!

[annathepiper]

Word is going around the net that The Hobbit starts filming in July! Tolkien fans, please to be joining me in squee that Sir Ian McKellen will be reprising his role as Gandalf.

However, that leaves plenty more important roles to be filled. I’m of course crossing fingers for Hugo Weaving to come back as Elrond and Andy Serkis to be Gollum, because I cannot frankly imagine anyone else in either role. Cate Blanchett for Galadriel would also be sweet.

But let’s talk the most important role: Bilbo himself. Who should play him? Ian Holm is too old to play the younger Bilbo required in the story. And who should play the dwarves? It’s highly unlikely that John Rhys-Davies would show up as his own previous character’s father, Gloin, given the issues he had with the dwarf makeup during the LotR trilogy. But surely the role of Thorin Oakenshield would require somebody of equal heartiness and presence.

Who would y’all want to see play Bard and the Elvenking? And how about this deeply critical question: who should be the voice of Smaug?

Hrmm. I really need more LotR-related icons, preferably some involving hobbits. :)

Mirrored from annathepiper.org.

Comments

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Jeremy Irons for Smaug.... or Ralph Fiennes... old Moldymort hisself...

although Irons for Thorin or Gloin wouldn't suck either...

[annathepiper]

I dunno, I haven't seen Jeremy Irons in enough of substance, and the one thing I can remember him being in, the D&D movie, was so godawful that I can't chase the taint of it out of my brain. ;)

"Now is the time to ACT!" spazzkat: "Yes, for the love of God, PLEASE START ACTING!" Had three rows of the theater in absolute stitches.

Mr. Fiennes on the other hand is a superb actor, and has the chops to pull off the necessary smoothness and guile for a Tolkien dragon. I'm not quite sure I can make the mental leap to imagine his voice coming out of a dragon-sized chest, but hey, that's what the effects crew would be there for, making that work. :)

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

"Man in the Iron Mask" or "The Lion King" (Irons did a heck of a job voicing Scar)....

If you've got a bad director and/or a bad script, even the best actors can't save it... OTOH, MitIM shows that even Lenny freakin' DiCaprio can put on a good performance properly directed and with the likes of Irons, Malkovich, and Depardieu helping... not stellar, but good enough to not get totally upstaged like Costner did by Morgan Freeman in Prince of Thieves... "unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent."

[annathepiper]

Okay, now I'm going to have to take issue with this. :)

For one thing, honestly, I found Man in the Iron Mask awfully flat.

For another thing, it is totally not fair to razz on DiCaprio like that. It's still fashionable, even to this day, to make fun of him because of Titanic, and that's entirely unjustified. The boy can act, and I need point no further than his absolutely riveting performance as Howard Hughes in The Aviator, alongside Cate Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn, for proof.

mamishka has also always highly recommended his performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, although I have yet to actually see that. But Mimi knows her movies, and I absolutely defer to her on this. :)

Last but not least I am of course also always partial to DiCaprio in The Quick and the Dead, but since that's also a Russell Crowe movie and has what remains for me one of Russell's sexiest characters ever in it, I'm rather obliged to be partial to that movie. ;)

But to get back to the whole original point, oh okay, I don't think I ever really realized that Jeremy Irons was the voice of Scar. You're right, he did do a good job there. And that's actually close to what I think would be in character for Smaug, since Scar was certainly cunning and guileful.

[smeehrrr.livejournal.com]

I think all the roles should be played by William Shatner.

[annathepiper]

Of COURSE you do. ;)

spazzkat made me snicker though saying Smaug should be voiced by James Mason!

[wrog]

no, no.

Leonard Nimoy

[annathepiper]

Yes yes yes we've now gotten the obligatory mention of that video out of the way. Now burn it with fire. ;)

[wrog]

I dunno, I think it's kind of catchy.

Also, Galadriel was never actually in The Hobbit — unless Jackson wants to film the scenes of the Wizards' Council taking down the Necromancer (Sauron) in South Mirkwood, which I suppose he might, but even then I'm not sure she would actually have taken part in that.

[akadriver.livejournal.com]

Tim Curry for Smaug, please. :)

[annathepiper]

Hrmm. Hrmm. Maybe! Though I'd have a hard time hearing him and NOT thinking of Rocky Horror. ;)

[mamishka.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but he has one of those voices that can be made to sound quite different. He was the demon, after all, in Legend and I would have never guessed it was him. ;)

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Oooooh, good point. If he can do the Legend demon, he can do this.

[annathepiper]

I dunno, I only saw Legend once and it was so long ago that it doesn't retain much impact for me. Though I do also now recall that he was the main villain voice in Fern Gully, as well.

So, dunno!

Smaug

[jessicac.livejournal.com]

Samuel L. Jackson?

Re: Smaug

[annathepiper]

Possibly! I could certainly see him doing a performance that would hearken back to the Smaug in the animated Hobbit, which would be amusing to those of us who remember it.

Re: Smaug

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

I have HAD IT with these *bleep**bleep*ing HOBBITS, in my *bleep**bleep*ing CAVE!!! :) :) :)

Re: Smaug

[annathepiper]

"Westron! DO YOU SPEAK IT?!"

"What? I don't think they speak Westron in What!"

Muahaha.

Re: Smaug

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

YES!

[mamishka.livejournal.com]

And how about this deeply critical question: who should be the voice of Smaug?

James Earl Jones! >;)

[annathepiper]

Ha, spazzkat thought of that too! But was kind of all "but then he would be Darth Smaug". ;)

[mamishka.livejournal.com]

Other actors with (specifically) wonderful voices - Alan Rickman, Morgan Freeman, Patrick Stewart, Brian Blessed, Max von Sydow, John Hurt, Geoffrey Rush.

Actually, Brian Blessed (Flash Gordon - Prince Vultan) would make an amazing Gloin - he even looks a bit like John Rhys-Davies, but he might be too old, it's hard to say. But he has both the look and the energy/temperment of a dwarf. ;)

Ooooh! Robby Benson! He did that amazing job of the Beast in Disney's Beauty and the Beast!

[annathepiper]

Alan Rickman did cross my and spazzkat's minds, yeah! Though we were wondering if he would be almost too recognizable now, since half the known world thinks of him as Snape these days. ;)

But oh dear god Brian Blessed would be an AWESOME Thorin!

Hrmm. Patrick Stewart. He does indeed have a lovely voice. Though I think I could almost more see him playing Thranduil the Elvenking--Legolas' father! I think in the proper makeup he'd make a stately Elf.

[janne.livejournal.com]

I was going to suggest Rickman, too, on general principles. And I second Brian Blessed!

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much. That was a visual I could have gone without All Day.

But I do appreciate you posting the link. A friend of mine and I are now officially squeeing [g].

[annathepiper]

Hee! You're welcome!

[snarlingbadger.livejournal.com]

Smaug: (I'm on my bb & don't feel like porting over to imdb & back) the guy who played Kingpin in DareDevil, he was the inmate in The Green Mile that Tom Hanks befriended, and was a villain in "Chuck" last season. He has a great voice that I think would be perfect. And, isn't already ingrained in my mind as some other iconic character.

[annathepiper]

Oh okay, I know the actor you're talking about; yeah, I could see him having the necessary vocal depth and timbre to sound like a dragon. :)

[wildshadowstar.livejournal.com]

John Rys-Davies emphatically stated he would not reprise a role as a dwarf because of the make-up (he said this in one of the commentaries). As far as voicing Smaug, remember that JRD was also the voice for Treebeard.

Ian Holmes made a comment about how difficult it was to get him to look young enough for the flashback that he doubted he would be able to reprise his role as Bilbo; his face was taped back to smooth out the wrinkles for the flashback scene where he picked up the ring in the cavern.

I'd like to throw in Gerald Butler's (300) name as either Bard or Smaug; I'll have to think about the other roles more to tender anything else.

[annathepiper]

Oh yeah, I was pondering that Davies had voiced Treebeard, sure. Though I don't know if I see him as the Smaug type.

But ooo. Gerard Butler for Bard. I could see that.