# Gomez Addams, Gandalf?



## Squint-eyed Southerner (May 12, 2022)

Lord Of The Rings: Another Actor, John Astin, Reveals He Auditioned For Gandalf


Astin didn't land the role, but his son, Sean Astin, would be cast as the hobbit Sam.




www.google.com


----------



## Erestor Arcamen (May 12, 2022)

Gomdalf (gomez + gandalf) seeing Galadriel the first time: "Cara mia!"


----------



## Squint-eyed Southerner (May 12, 2022)




----------



## Erestor Arcamen (May 12, 2022)

I tried....


----------



## Starbrow (May 12, 2022)

I don't think I could have handled it if Gandalf was creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky, and all together ooky.


----------



## Halasían (May 12, 2022)

Can you picture Gandamez doing this to Galadriel during the White Council? 😅


----------



## d4rk3lf (Jul 7, 2022)

While I respect _Ian McKellen and his actors skills, I think he totally failed depicting Gandalf. 
In the books, the Gandalf is very authoritative, charismatic, true leader, his rhetoric skills are amazing (maybe the best of all), and he was very energetic. 
In the movie he is just like good old grandpa. 
Good old grandpa isn't Gandalf the Stormcrow! 

With exception of 2 scenes (Gandalf yelling at Bilbo in the beginning), and battle with the Balrog, in all other scenes he seemed very weak. 
Hitting hobit roof with the head like that? Was it supposed to be funny? I didn't laugh. 
Should I even mention his encounter with witch king at the siege of Minas Tirith? _

I think similarly of Aragorn (_Viggo Mortensen_) too.


----------



## Squint-eyed Southerner (Jul 7, 2022)

It seems you're criticizing what he was made to do, more than the casting. The two incidents you cite were, as I'm sure you're aware, absent in the book.

I personally had no problem with most of the casting, other than Boromir was thinner, and Faramir beefier, than I pictured them.


----------



## Olorgando (Jul 7, 2022)

d4rk3lf said:


> While I respect _Ian McKellen and his actors skills, I think he totally failed depicting Gandalf. _
> ...
> I think similarly of Aragorn (_Viggo Mortensen_) too.


I have watched the "making of the films" parts of the extended edition DVDs more often than I have the EE films themselves, which are roughly twice as long as the EE films. I refuse to criticize *any* actor or actress for their performance in these films, as they were 99.9% director's films, aka everything is PJ's fault.


----------



## d4rk3lf (Jul 7, 2022)

Squint-eyed Southerner said:


> It seems you're criticizing what he was made to do, more than the casting. The two incidents you cite were, as I'm sure you're aware, absent in the book.
> 
> I personally had no problem with most of the casting, other than Boromir was thinner, and Faramir beefier, than I pictured them.


Hehe... I actually think that Boromir was great.  
Bilbo was great, Boromir was great, and Saruman was cool (I wish Christopher played Gandalf, he has the right charisma, and authority, that even PJ couldn't ruin). 


Olorgando said:


> I have watched the "making of the films" parts of the extended edition DVDs more often than I have the EE films themselves, which are roughly twice as long as the EE films. I refuse to criticize *any* actor or actress for their performance in these films, as they were 99.9% director's films, aka everything is PJ's fault.


Couldn't agree more. 
All is PJ fault in my eyes too. 
Both Vigo and Ian are great actors, and PJ should have told them to depict different characters, not these weaklings.


----------



## Olorgando (Jul 7, 2022)

d4rk3lf said:


> Both Vigo and Ian are great actors, and PJ should have told them to depict different characters, not these weaklings.


As to that, PJ, along with his "significant other" Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens, was also scriptwriter for the films. Jackson and Walsh were also producers ...
No, PJ has no excuses.

BTW, I woke up without an alarm clock in early 2004 for that year's Academy Awards - when it was still dark outside in Germany.
I did cheer the 11-for-11 sweep they managed - bringing the total for the trilogy to 17 - 'nuff said.
But I personally would have given the music award to another film, as much as I am a fan of Annie Lennox's music ...
And I may have thought (though this may be hindsight) that they got the script Oscar in the wrong category ...
... they got it for "Adapted Screenplay" ... "Original Screenplay" might have been more appropriate ... 😈


----------



## Elbereth Vala Varda (Jul 7, 2022)

Squint-eyed Southerner said:


> It seems you're criticizing what he was made to do, more than the casting. The two incidents you cite were, as I'm sure you're aware, absent in the book.
> 
> I personally had no problem with most of the casting, other than Boromir was thinner, and Faramir beefier, than I pictured them.


Yes. Obviously, the actor or actress doesn't get to choose what lines they say, or actions they do, or often even what part they play. It is the director who is to blame for any poorly made storyline choices, of which The Lord of the Rings films, in my opinion have many. 

However that being said, I thought all of the depictions of characters were nice, and sort of how I imagined them, and the music was superb. I appreciate that the movies have gotten lots more people interested in the books, and therefore, have increased the Tolkien-fans, which cannot be a bad thing. 

All in all, in my own opinion, (and it is merely opinion) the movies were not _bad._ They were not completely accurate to the books, in many countless ways, but I don't think that makes them bad movies, it just makes them inaccurate, so if you want the true story, you read it.


----------

