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Nope.  Not a chance.  Despite the fact that there are at LEAST twelve dwarves in The Hobbit, and John Rhys-Davies got off a three-film stint playing Gimli, he will NOT be appearing in The Hobbit.

There was some word he’d play Gimli’s father, who apparently figures in pretty heavily in this story, but Rhys-Davies himself was having none of it.  Dig the word:

“I’ve already been asked and to be honest with you, I wouldn’t. I have already completely ruled it out. There’s a sentimental part of me that would love to be involved again. Really I am not sure my face can take that sort of punishment any more.”

So that’s pretty much it, at least for the time being.  They asked, he demurred.  It’s pretty sad, because frankly, Rhys-Davies plays a pretty awesome dwarf, and having him come in on, say, Thorin Oakenshield would be a mindblower par excellence.

Of course, there’s always Warwick Davis….

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Ian McKellen–excuse me, SIR Ian McKellan, though technically here in the states we don’t need to recognize foreign nobility titles but you’ve got to give credit where credit is due–might be coming back to reprise his Gandalf role in the upcoming Hobbit.

Now, I know we could have some semantic discussion as to whether or not it’s his role or his roles.  Suffice it to say he’ll be coming back as Gandalf the Grey, and won’t be getting bleached until later in the series so he’ll be dingy throughout.

You may have heard him say that he “doesn’t want to play Gandalf” again and took it to mean the worst possible thing ever, that he won’t be back to handle the role of Gandalf.  But as it turns out, what he meant was that he didn’t want to play “Gandalf” again but in SOME OTHER MOVIE.  He doesn’t want to, for example, play Dumbledore or Merlin.  He’s played Gandalf, as far as he’s concerned he’s played the BEST wizard role, and he means to stick with it.

This is frankly great news.  McKellen did an amazing job with Gandalf, even though I was only occasionally happy with the Lord of the Rings series, and I’m very much looking forward to having that man back.

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…almost.

Oh, man. How many people did I freak out with THAT one?  I love sensationalistic headlines….but anyway–on with the story!  The Tolkien estate filed a monster lawsuit against the folks behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy, claiming they were owed fully a hundred and fifty million bucks.  And until they GOT their whopping monster payday, they weren’t going to play ball on The Hobbit.

But that’s no long an issue, as a settlement (whose financial terms were quite undisclosed) was only recently announced that got the whole Hobbit train back up and rolling.

So there’s no need to be worried, Hobbit fans–your movie will be well on its way directly.  Kind of a low blow that it was all just about the cash that kept the Tolkien estate from playing ball, but hey…when you have to get paid, you have to get paid.

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So here’s a nifty bit of news for you–guess who’s on the short list to try the Bilbo Baggins role for the upcoming Hobbit movie.  And even more interestingly, guess who turned it down?  Both questions have the same answer: none other than Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe.

And while I DO think he would’ve made a pretty sweet Bilbo, I can’t help but not be disappointed (factor out the negatives–it works) that he didn’t sign on.  Oh, sure, he would’ve handled it well, and I can understand him not wanting to be typecast in fantasy roles (which is probably why he showed up nude in Equus), but I really do think there’s better out there.  Significantly better, in fact.  James McAvoy has already been suggested, and I’m all in favor of that.  Frankly, if it weren’t so obvious, I’d think Elijah Wood handled Frodo just fine–why not let him take a run at the younger Bilbo?

But regardless of who actually takes the role, you know they’re probably going to be the subject of huge discussion in the fan community, because this is just too big to leave in just anyone’s lap, and chances are, someone won’t like the end choice.

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Friday on the BLOOMBERG TELEVISION program “Night Talk,” host Mike Schneider talks to Actor Viggo Mortensen about his latest film “Good.” 

He talks about the success of The Lord of the Rings.  ”I think that anybody that was involved in that project, or any fan even, that says ‘I knew it was going to be huge box office success,’ I don’t think they’re being honest. I think its revisionist thinking. Because when we were shooting that movie…it just wasn’t a known thing, and it wasn’t really noticed that we were down there shooting this all that time. It wasn’t in the papers here. It was only when they showed 20 minutes of it at the Cannes film festival in 2001 that the journalist started talking.”

And rumors that he may join the cast of The Hobbit. “I haven’t been contacted directly, and I think fans tend to know more about that stuff than I do. I understand…that they’ll try to make a bridge story. My character isn’t in The Hobbit, but they have the right, the filmmakers, to use the appendices at the end of the lord of the Rings. And I am in those, and it refers to earlier times.”

“We shot a sequence that wasn’t used that they could use, with Liv Tyler, my character and her character, from our courtship. I am in this place, this field, and I remember being there with her…no beard, longer hair, dressed more like an elf, when I lived with the elves. And that’s when they meet. And they could use that, and shoot other things. They’re pretty creative. I’d be glad to do it, as long as they’re respectful to Tolkien. I’d rather do it myself than see another actor finish the job for me.”

“Night Talk” airs in the U.S., Europe and Asia on Bloomberg TV at 10PM on weeknights and is simulcast on Bloomberg Radio at 10PM.  Bloomberg Radio is broadcast on 1130AM in the New York Metropolitan area and is available on XM and Sirius.  The Friday night Show re-airs over the weekend Sat at 8:00-9:00pm, 10:00-11:00pm and Mon 12:00am – 1:00am. Click here.

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