News Round-up

There is a lot of evidence to suggest that Christopher Lee and Ian Holm are busy shooting on The Hobbit Films. Sir Christopher Lee had wanted to attend a LotR-Concert in Germany but he had to cancel and the reason given was because he had to shoot for The Hobbit. So well, there you have it.

Orlando Bloom is heading to New Zealand to shoot his scenes for the movies and I am sure that is going to make a lot of his fans ecstatic!

Time.com did a lineup of the most popular wizards of all time, due to the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last Friday, and though Dumbledore takes first position, Gandalf comes in third. This is the description given:

“As if being a wizard wasn’t already cool enough, Gandalf is actually two wizards in one. At the start of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novels — and the Peter Jackson movie trilogy they inspired — he’s the wise but aging Gandalf the Grey, a mentor to hobbits. But after battling a Balrog (yeah, look it up), he is transformed into the way more powerful, take-no-prisoners, all-around badass Gandalf the White. Bonus points: he’s played by Sir Ian McKellen in the movie.”

On an end note, I read that Mikael Persbrandt, who plays Beorn, is deemed both ‘amazing’ and ‘impressive’ by Peter J and Andy Serkis respectively. He has shot a few scenes and will continue shooting after the hiatus.

Mikael Persbrandt as Beorn/Skin-changer

Mikael Åke Persbrandt (born September 25, 1963 in Jakobsberg, Järfälla Municipality, Stockholm County) is a Swedish actor. In Swedish films he usually has lead roles and “tough guy” parts. He is perhaps most famous for his recurring role as the no-nonsense police officer Gunvald Larsson in the latest installment of the Martin Beck movies. He is frequently the subject of much press gossip in evening newspapers such as Aftonbladet and Expressen.

Filmography

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Mikael Persbrandt Speaks About Playing Beorn

Swedish website SVD held an interview with Mikael Persbrandt. He is the actor who plays Beorn in The Hobbit films.

Here is a rough translation thanks to TheOneRing…

(rough translation)

“I read all the books. I went to second-hand bookshops searching for the first Bilbo-books (The Hobbit) – I was a fantasy geek. Jackson’s Tolkien-movies are absolutely magnificent. He’s the man. The whole project will be so exciting. It is about 700 people in the crew, I am to stand in a corner and try to be pliable.

On Performance anxiety:

“I think I share that sense with many of the people in my profession, we never allow ourselves to be truly happy – instead, we begin thinking about the impacts. How am I as a bear? One start thinking about stuff like that instead of thinking that this could be damn fun”

“I will play (Beorn) in both movies and will be there (NZ) five times this year and at least one more time next year. I am contracted for 25-28 days of shooting but it would not surprise me if it turned out to be more. I have only read 5 pages of the script, it was top secret, they sent somebody to a hotel in Los Angeles and I got to sign them: ‘Now they are yours. Bye’, he said. I am currently waiting for my call, but it can not be delayed too much since the filming for “Hamilton” begins soon (March 21, in Sweden).”

[Interviewer]: What would you have said if you knew back then as a 12-year-old if you knew that you would one day play Beorn?

“Incredibly strange. I was never going to be an actor, I liked contructing buildings in balsa wood and wanted to become an astronaut, and it turned out like this.”

Source

Beorn

Art: Daniel Govar

Beorn was a skin-changer, a man who could assume the appearance of a bear.

He lived with his tame horses in a wooden house (Beorn’s Hall) between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood, to the east of the Great River of Wilderland. His origins lay in the distant past, and Gandalf suspected he and his people had originally come from the mountains.

Beorn named the Carrock and created the steps that led from its base to the flat top.

During the Quest of Erebor, Beorn received Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins, and the thirteen Dwarves and gave the Dwarves and Bilbo help in their quest.

In the Battle of Five Armies, Beorn appeared transformed into a giant bear, and rescued Thorin Oakenshield from the Goblins and killed their leader Bolg.

After the Battle of Five Armies, Beorn became a “great chief” in the Vales of Anduin, and it is said that his descendants also were skin-changers, able to take the shape of a bear. His people became known as the Beornings, and they helped defend Thranduil’s kingdom of northern Mirkwood. Beorn died some time before the War of the Ring began, and was succeeded by his son Grimbeorn the Old.

 

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