Christopher Lee offers his voice for Smaug… won’t go back to NZ.

TheOneRing.Net ^ | July 13th, 2008 | Compa_Mighty

[Oyarsa]

Christopher Lee offers his voice for Smaug… won’t go back to NZ. July 13th, 2008 by Compa_Mighty

In a bittersweet note, forummer DiveTwin reports this note that appeared in Cinematical:

[DieHard the Hunter]

> Hell, if it wasn’t for us, you guys would be speaking German right now!

Highly unlikely. But I’m not going to rise to the “America-saved-the-whole-world-during-WW-II-so-you-should-be-grateful” meme: it is a thorough waste of time, and a canard anyway.

The short response to that is “you didn’t, we shouldn’t, and of course we aren’t.”

[boogerbear]

Then all is forgiven. Have fun down there.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

The substance of the second movie remains a matter of conjecture and rumor. The reality of finances makes it certain that only a nuclear war has a chance of preventing its completion.

[SuziQ]

"You're too big to be a pilot," the casting director told him.

LOL! Didn't the RAF pilots, around the time of the Battle of Britain, have about a 6 week expected life span? Somehow I don't think the RAF was being TOO picky.

[denydenydeny]

With the money these two films are going to make, they can afford a mil or two to film some scenes in London. Fans want to see Saruman in The Hobbit, and they don’t want the role recast.

They should do the right thing and spend a little extra to satisfy the audience. They’ll be reimbursed for it at the box office.

[REDWOOD99]

I’ve always wanted to visit NZ. I hear they are growing redwoods there and the first harvest should be due soon.

[LS]

I don't know about the RAF, but being a crewman in a B-17 in 1942-43 was the most risky place you could be even more than a Marine in the Pacific, in all of WW II.

[DieHard the Hunter]

> I’ve always wanted to visit NZ. I hear they are growing redwoods there and the first harvest should be due soon.

They are indeed! Down by Rotorua: they’ve grown tall and straight, and you can walk thru the grove. They’re nothing compared to the majestic redwoods of Northern California, tho’: your Redwoods are something very special. One of the hi-lites of my youth was driving thru that part of the world: it was an experience I will never forget.

If you ever do make the trip to NZ, drop me a Private Message and look me up. I’m always good for a cup of coffee and a yarn with a fellow FReeper!

[REDWOOD99]

Yer on!

[Grizzled Bear]

(whatever...)

There you go again, DieHard, making friends and influencing people! ;-)

For what it's worth, I'll visit New Zealand. However; my wife is on a high protein/low carb diet and I'm on a single malt and beer diet.

Can your country meet these needs?

[BnBlFlag]

Never heard of him! If he ain’t Country, he ain’t shiitte!

[DieHard the Hunter]

> Can your country meet these needs?

(grin!)

I *think* so...

So when will you make the trip?

[gungadin]

So Diehard, I take it you have New Zealand citizenship now?

[Grizzled Bear]

Some time after retirement, which is in about 5 years... Unless I can convince the USAF that the mission needs dictate a TDY to NZ!

[Revolting cat!]

Reminds me of an old New Yorker cartoon. A man introduces himself and says:

"Hi, I'm from New Zealand, and all I know is sheep!"

[DieHard the Hunter]

> So Diehard, I take it you have New Zealand citizenship now?

I do. I was sworn in by Mayor Bob Harvey himself in October 2002, after eight years of “thinking about it”. ‘Twas one of the proudest days of my life.

I hold three passports, but only one of them is mine by choice. NZ is home for me, and I am fiercely proud to be a Kiwi.

[gungadin]

As a New Zealander, I don’t see any offence here by Lee. I know he was very disappointed (hurt?) that a fair swag of his effort was left on the cutting floor for the final instalment of the trilogy due to time constraints but this is not even suggested as a reason.

[DieHard the Hunter]

> Some time after retirement, which is in about 5 years... Unless I can convince the USAF that the mission needs dictate a TDY to NZ!

The USAF maintains a presence in Christchurch, to service your bases in Antarctica. That would be a cool mission (in more ways than one) to finish up a distinguished career on...

[DieHard the Hunter]

> As a New Zealander, I don’t see any offence here by Lee. I know he was very disappointed (hurt?) that a fair swag of his effort was left on the cutting floor for the final instalment of the trilogy due to time constraints but this is not even suggested as a reason.

Now that I have heard the audio, I don’t see any offense here either. Absent the audio, the text comes across as “not interested” — which is quite a bit different to saying “can’t, due to old age”.

I get really fed up with people who take the best of what NZ has to offer, and then bugger off, bad-mouthing the place into the bargain. Or worse yet stay and whinge all the time. It’s just plain rude.

That was one reason why I took a very, very long time about deciding whether NZ was going to be home. It was a decision I took very carefully and very deliberately.

[SuziQ]

We saw a show on Masterpiece Theater several years ago about RAF pilots, early in WWII, and the premise of the show was about the pilots who flew, and how dangerous it was for them. Nigel Havers was the star, and it was a fascinating program.