Is Ian McKellen losing his patience with the protracted delays of “The Hobbit,” trying to convey a message to producers and or just stating the facts?
In an interview with New Zealand’s Good Morning show, the actor — who is probably partly at fault for giving fans too much hope this year, once claiming the film would shoot this summer — admits the film has been delayed, but that an “announcement is imminent.”
What’s that announcement going to state exactly? “It’ll either be, we’re going ahead or we’re not,” McKellen said. The actor who will portray the wizard Gandalf The Grey if the “Lord Of The Rings” prequel does indeed go forward says his window of availability is shrinking and he’s not actually signed any kind of deal yet.
“Well, I’m not under contract and my time is running out and I’m enjoying working in the theater and frankly, I would like to race after doing ‘Waiting For Godot,’ get on with doing another play but we’ll have to see. I don’t give the producers the impression that I’m sitting waiting.”
This is a sentiment not lost on producer/potential director Peter Jackson who recently said, “What’s of great concern to everyone right now is trying to stay on schedule and not slip back another year, because we will start losing people — and that’s increasingly difficult as each day passes. A lot of people — both filmmakers and studios are working very hard right now, trying to get a positive outcome.”
McKellen says that if Jackson does ultimately end up directing the film, the picture will still end up being a collaboration with now-exited director Guillermo del Toro because the Mexican director had participated in the script and “done many of the designs, but always in collaboration with WETA and Peter Jackson.” Can MGM figure out their ongoing debt issues in time? Will they sell off their share of the rights to WB/New Line? Time is running out, especially if they want Jackson at the helm.
Watch the clip below around the 4:30 mark.[via Bleeding Cool]
