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RIVENDELL — Gandalf the White has arrived with haste at the house of Elrond, suddenly referring to himself as Gandalf the Black. According to the iced-out wizard now wearing a black robe, word on the street is that the Elves are paying out $1 million in reparations, and he is here to claim his bag. "A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to get that bread, homie!" said Gandalf the Black walking over and leaning on his pimp cane to greet Master Elrond. "Now where's all that paper cheddar I've been hearing...

The extremist Westboro Baptist Church won't have to travel far for its next protest. That's because on Sunday afternoon, Planting Peace, "a non-profit organization founded in 2004 for the purpose of spreading peace in a hurting world," plans to hold a wedding between Gandalf and Dumbledore across from the hate group's headquarters in Topeka, Kansas. The marriage of the characters, played by volunteer actors, is a culmination of tweets between a fan of JK Rowling and the author's spat with the anti-gay 'church' on Twitter. Shortly after Ireland voted to legalize same-sex marriage, @justaoifethings tweeted: "@jk_rowling proud to see us...

Help! Teh gangnam song has infiltrated my brain via the Internutz!

Peter Jackson lets us sneak a peek at work-in-progress; spy Martin Freeman as Bilbo, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, with the director's comments

Tonight the London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre featured the UK premier of For The Bible Tells Me So, “a provocative documentary about the chasm that separates gay life and Christianity today,” produced by Dan Karslake. It was followed by a conversation and Q&A with the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson and Sir Ian McKellen, Shakespearean actor and star of The Lord of the Rings. The evening started with a beautiful bass voice giving the standard instructions for everyone to turn off their cell phones and pagers. Turns out it was Sir Ian, who arrived on stage a few minutes...

Last fall, Ian McKellen dropped his pants on stage to reveal everything he has -- and soon the full-frontal scene may play on public television. The nude scene was part of the "Lord of the Rings" star's performance in the title role of "King Lear" in New York. The scene depicts Lear losing his sanity. "King Lear" was taped and will air on PBS next year -- but it's not known if McKellen's private parts will make it to television. PBS is not cable. It's a regular broadcast network and it has to worry about wardrobe malfunctions. Pressed for an...

Ian McKellen will again take up the robes of Gandalf the Wizard in the cinematic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classic "The Hobbit" a British film magazine reported Wednesday. But McKellen's publicist warned that final arrangements were yet to be made. "Of course he wants to do it, but nothing's been agreed or signed," Clair Dobbs said.

VIDEO: Lord of the Rings Film Star Ian McKellen Admits to Ripping Out Hotel Bible Sections Against Homosexuality By John-Henry Westen AUKLAND, NZ, August 30, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - British Actor Ian McKellen who has used the mega-stardom he achieved playing Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films to promote homosexuality, has admitted to ripping out pages of hotel bibles that refer to homosexuality. In an August 10 interview on New Zealand's TV1 Close Up program McKellen was confronted by the interviewer questioning the truth of the rumour "He's the one, that when he stays in hotels rips the part...

SINGAPORE, July 19, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Unable to find a "gay bar" or display nudity in an upcoming performance of Shakespeare's "King Lear", British actor Ian McKellen has now called upon Singapore's government to overturn laws against homosexuality. McKellen, 68, is known to millions around the world for his roles as "Gandalf" the wizard in the "Lord of the Rings" and for his role as the evil villain and mastermind "Magneto" in the "X-Men" Trilogy and has used his star-power to promote homosexual issues. "Coming to Singapore where unfortunately you've still got those dreadful laws that we British left behind......

While promoters of "The Da Vinci Code" have tried to downplay the film's challenge to Christianity, actor Ian McKellen took a shot at the Bible in an interview with the "Today" show, saying Scripture should carry a disclaimer that it is "fiction." McKellen, who played Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings" triology, was responding to a question from host Matt Lauer about the requests by some Christian groups to insert a "fiction" disclaimer at the beginning of the controversial film, which suggests Jesus and Mary Magdalene were man and wife and that the divinity of Jesus was an invention...

I need help with LOTR. Two friends and I were discussing the books and movies last weekend. Friend 1 observed that the relationship between Frodo and Sam (in the movies) had homosexual overtones. Friend 2 retorted that the relationship is based on the master/servant relationship of old England and that Friend 1 was looking at it through American eyes, where rugged individualism is more prized. I--caught in the middle--had to admit that I thought that Sean Astin overplayed Sam at times but was great overall. So, was Friend 1 right about the gay overtones, or was Friend 2's explanation correct?...

AMERICA'S GANDALF [Jonah Goldberg] From a reader: Jonah (Goldberg), This will perhaps sound cheesy, but I've always thought of Reagan as America's Gandalf. If you read the Silmarillion--and pay careful attention to passages about Gandalf in LOTR--you learn that Gandalf is a figure sent to bring hope, encouragement, and wisdom to Middle Earth as it faced it's Great Enemy: “Other evils may come; for Sauron is himself but a servant or emissary. Yet it is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein...

As war with Mordor looms on the edge of the horizon, peace protestors gathered today before the Black Gate in a demonstration against the actions of Gandalf the Wizard and the Fellowship of the Willing. “We’re here because we believe that war is wrong,” said Eldohil, president of Elves for Peace. Pointing to the Dagorlad before him, he said, “This very place is a testimony to the uselessness and destruction of war.” Protestors carried signs that said “Peace for Middle-Earth” and “Who would Iluvatar kill?” Elsewhere Gondorians paraded through the streets of Minas Tirith in opposition to the Lord Denethor’s...

A leading German literature professor says that reading Tolkien's Lord of the Rings could help prevent war. Thomas Kullmann, a 42-year-old professor from the University of Osnabrueck, said: "If adults read children's literature more often then we would probably live in a much more peaceful world. "Fairy tales and other works for children may not be one-to-one with reality but they help excite the imagination. They give the reader new ideas that could even help solve political problems. "Children's books can definitely help adults rethink a situation and help them assess political situations on a higher and even wiser level."...

Dear Gandalf ... Speculations (some serious, some not so serious) on Gandalf's early movements and career. In one of the several essays he wrote about the Istari, J.R.R. Tolkien said, "Among Men they were supposed (at first) by those that had dealings with them to be Men who had acquired lore and arts by long and secret study." This is an interesting observation, as many people often cite a rejected portion of a letter Tolkien wrote in which he felt Men could not gain magic through lore and study (he realized The Lord of the Rings invalidated this point of...

Rings writer reveals Two Towers secretsNick Smith "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future." Readers could be forgiven for mistaking the above words as J R R Tolkien's, direct from the pen of The Lord of the Rings' author. The wrong attribution has happened often enough, several times by reporters who should know better. In fact, the words were penned by scriptwriters Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson for their film adaptation of Tolkien's masterpiece. Ms Boyens said the line is one of many that people assume is lifted straight from the book, the...