MCKELLEN WAITING FOR GODOT, NOT HOBBIT

Ian McKellen, who was the first actor cast in the upcoming Lord of the Rings two-part prequel The Hobbit, may remove himself from the production if it continues to be delayed, he warned over the weekend. Interviewed for a television talk show in New Zealand, where he is appearing in a stage production of Waiting for Godot, McKellen said that he had not signed a contract to appear as Gandalf in the movie, “and my time is running out.” He indicated that after the run of Godot, he’d like to “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.” Production is being delayed while MGM attempts to find a buyer or work out a deal with lenders to delay loan repayments. While it owns the rights to The Hobbit, it is co-producing it with Warner Bros.