Oh, internet, why can’t I quit you?  So this is video of a young gentleman doing a dead-on impression of Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, reciting the theme song of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.  I can’t think of a time when I’ve typed a dorkier sentence than that, and I write about Tron. I swear, I didn’t want to like it.  But the more I resisted the more captivated I became.

Also, dude, the line is, “I got in one little FIGHT and my mom got scared,” not “fright.”  And it’s “yo, home to Bel Air,” not “your home’s in Bel Air.”

Unless… the misquoting was deliberate, because that’s how he thinks Sir Ian McKellen would’ve messed up the lyrics to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air... Oh God, I’ve wasted my life.

[via OhHaveYouSeenThis]

Well folks, there’s a lot of news to cover today.  That’s why I’m combining it all into a later next post.  In the meantime, let’s enjoy what might be my favorite Lord of the Rings-related comedy .gif animation of all time.  Join me after the jump (Gif files are big, it might take a few seconds to load).

Read the rest of this entry »

I always knew there was something unsavory about Peter Jackson’s homoerotic hobbits, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it (mostly because I was asleep).  Until now.  An anonymous Iranian blows the lid off the controversy in an article for Time:

In normal times, Iranian television usually treats its viewers to one or two Hollywood or European movie nights a week. But these are not normal times, so it’s been two or three such movies a day. It’s part of the push to keep people at home and off the streets, to keep us busy, to get us out of the regime’s hair. Channel Two is putting on a Lord of the Rings marathon as part of the government’s efforts to restore peace.
[...]
And so we’re glued to the trilogy. We are riveted. A child in the room loudly predicts that Lord of the Rings will put an end to the nightly shouts, that people will not take to the rooftops and windows because this film will keep them occupied. [Time via Cinematical]

Haha, kids say the dumbest things.  The article goes on to compare Ahmadinejad to a hobbit, Moussavi to Boromir, and Gandalf to Khomeini, because metaphors are hard. Meanwhile, here in the States, the government has rushed a Transformers sequel into theaters as an evil plot to get its viewers off of their couches long enough to sop up the drool puddle, which backfired when LITERALLY EVERYONE IN THE WORLD went too.  Luckily, there’s back-up plan that involves the Sham-Wow.

A group of incredibly proactive dork- er, Lord of the Rings enthusiasts, recently shot a 40-minute, high-definition film in North Wales with an all-volunteer crew of 150.

Called The Hunt for Gollum, the film is the work of 150 volunteers, says director Chris Bouchard.  “We’re essentially a bunch of fans and enthusiast filmmakers,” says Bouchard, who has put two years into the project. He made up the plot, which focuses on a search to find the deranged Gollum. The fear is that the wizened creature might reveal the whereabouts of the magic ring to the powers of darkness.

Fred Von Lohman, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says it’s not really clear whether Bouchard and his crew of volunteers are in violation of the copyright for Tolkien’s work. Von Lohman says fans have always written their own stories based on TV shows and movies. That’s legal. But a high-quality movie available over the Internet ['The Hunt for Gollum' is set to premiere on DailyMotion this Sunday] could change the game. [via NPR]

I know how these people feel.  I’m always trying to get my not-for-profit tribute movies made.  I invite girls over to watch porno and then beg them to help me make a prequel.  But usually they say no and I end up wrestling an orc.

A court in LA has barred the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien from seeking punitive damages from New Line Cinemas in their suit over Lord of the Rings. Keep in mind, punitive damages is when someone is ordered to pay money above and beyond what they actually owe as punishment for what they did and as a warning to others.  The estate still seeks compensatory damages in excess of $150 million.

Tolkien’s heirs claim New Line Cinema has failed to pay any royalties from the estimated $6 billion they say the movie has grossed worldwide.

The lawsuit claims New Line sent millions of dollars to Time Warner Inc.‘s AOL, improperly claiming they were for advertising expenses. The lawsuit also claims the studio built production offices and facilities in New Zealand and listed them as expenses for the “Lord of the Rings” films, although the heirs claim they are now being used for other New Line projects.

Besides damages, the lawsuit seeks a court order that would terminate New Line’s rights to make a two-film prequel based on “The Hobbit.”

Guillermo del Toro has signed on to direct that film and its sequel in New Zealand alongside executive producer Peter Jackson. [Yahoo/AP]

Seeing as how Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson are both big fat guys with beards, I think their best strategy here would be to roll into court with a couple of big beer steins from which they could drink  while joining arm in arm to lead the crowd in a merry sing along.  No one could rule against a fat drunk Santa Claus singing a song.  No deal if they’re skinny now, that shit’s creepy.