When we reported yesterday on the rumor in the notoriously unreliable British tabloid The Sun that “The Office” and “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” star Martin Freeman had turned down the lead role of Bilbo Baggins in “The Hobbit,” due to a clash with the second series of the BBC TV series “Sherlock,” we wrote that, while we were skeptical, even “a stopped clock is right twice a day.”
Well, it looks like this is one of those times, as EW, whose track record is much stronger, are reporting that not only was the report true, but that there’s still hope that Freeman might take on the role: New Line and MGM (the latter presumably dressed in sackcloth) have gone back to Freeman with a revised offer, offering to fit the shooting schedule for the two films around Freeman so that the actor can fulfill his commitments to “Sherlock,” and still fit in the marathon shoot for the “Lord of the Rings” prequel.
This means that a number of things are clear: 1) If Peter Jackson & co are making offers to actors, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel with regards to MGM’s financial situation, which has delayed the project until now (and hey, Spyglass just signed their letter of intent to take over MGM management, this is a good sign), 2) Everyone involved wants Freeman for the role, and badly and 3) With the “Sherlock” shoot set to last twenty weeks, if The Sun were correct (and at this point, we’re going to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one), and production for “The Hobbit” likely to last a year, the Tolkien film may be split into two blocks of principal photography, and even if it isn’t, the first of the two movies is likely to slip out of its planned 2012 release.
It may yet prove unworkable, but we hope it does work out: while Freeman can occasionally be a somewhat mannered actor, and has struggled to escape the shadow of Ricky Gervais’ “The Office,” he’s a very strong choice for the role, and is currently picking up the best reviews of his career in the apparently excellent “Clybourne Park” at the Royal Court Theatre in London.
