Tom Waits In The Hobbit?

Tom Waits In The Hobbit?

This has to be one of the best rumors I've heard! Apparently the gravel voiced genius(sorry, I'm a fan) is in talks for a role in the LOTR prequel.

News
By MarkCassidy - Dec 07, 2009 04:12 PM EST
Filed Under: Fantasy
Source: cinematical.com

Tom Waits, best known for his music, has acted in quite a few movies. He was in Bram Stoker's Dracula and Mystery Men among others. Most recently he played Satan in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus .



Cinematical are reporting that an AICN source has word that Waits could be playing an unknown role in Guillermo Del Toro's The Hobbit:

"As much as I'd like to say he's a lock (certainty), I'm told he's simply someone the production is talking about -- but they seem to be talking about him pretty seriously."

I've seen Waits in pretty much everything he's acted. He steals the show in every one. But he wouldn't seem to be a natural fit for Tolkien's fantasy world. Of course, that unmistakable voice would. Which is why I'm hedging my bets that if he is cast, it will be as the voice of a certain jewel encrusted dragon.

GLADIATOR II: Epic New Trailer And Poster Tease A New Legacy...Or Another Rebellion!
Related:

GLADIATOR II: Epic New Trailer And Poster Tease A New Legacy...Or Another Rebellion!
GRENDEL First Look Reveals Creature Design For Jeff Bridges' Take On The Legendary Monster
Recommended For You:

GRENDEL First Look Reveals Creature Design For Jeff Bridges' Take On The Legendary Monster
DISCLAIMER: ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and... [MORE]

ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Do you have what it takes to write for us?
Want to contribute?
1 2
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 12/7/2009, 4:28 PM
Well he looks like HOBBIT to me! ; D

Nice Dragon!!!

Hey has anyone here actually read THE HOBBIT????
flames809
flames809 - 12/7/2009, 4:29 PM
good news but still not interesting in the hobbit
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 12/7/2009, 4:38 PM
Lee, Im sure lots of people have..at least, anyone that has read LOTR.
soldier1
soldier1 - 12/7/2009, 4:39 PM
@LEE, i've read it cause it was part of the set that i have...it is one long dragged a$$ story. out of a scale of 1-10...4 1/2. Don't know who this Waits guy is though, looks like im gonna have to imdb him lol
Simonsonrules
Simonsonrules - 12/7/2009, 4:40 PM
@Ror: also a big fan. Awesome news. Tom's cameos are always hilarious: Bram Stoker's Dracula, Coffee and Cigarettes, etc. Looking forward to this.
BillyBlack
BillyBlack - 12/7/2009, 4:46 PM
I'm still pulling for Ron Pearlman to voice Smaug.

With his ties to Del Toro, that could be a safe bet. I'm with you on Tom Waits though, Ror01. Have you ever seen Down By Law? an old Jarmusch flick with him, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni? Classic jem. If you haven't I highly recommend.
Rolanddeschain19
Rolanddeschain19 - 12/7/2009, 4:54 PM
i read it, thort it was a nice fun read, so easy to get through, then i tried fellowship of the rings one year before the movie, didnt get througth one chapter,

just could not get into it......loved the films and caneeee wait for the hobbit.

wish i had got my arse in gear to read them earlier , part the reason i gave up cause i new the films were coming out.


has anyone read any of the other books , like isnt thre one about the farmer, that pippin and merry talk about at the near begining of fellow ship
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 12/7/2009, 4:55 PM
I have indeed Billy, love it! I was always kinda sad at the end that the 3 of them decide to part ways.



Rolanddeschain19
Rolanddeschain19 - 12/7/2009, 4:57 PM
flames809@ why are you not interested, did you not like lord of the rings films
thwhtGuardian
thwhtGuardian - 12/7/2009, 4:59 PM
I'm with BillyBlack, as soon as I heard Del Toro was set to direct I immediately thought Pearlman for Smaug. I mean his voice is great...and just look at his face I mean all you have to do is superimpose it onto a dragon body and you have the perfect Smaug!
Hawksblueyes
Hawksblueyes - 12/7/2009, 5:01 PM
Ror: He would be the perfect voice for Smaug.

LEEE: I've read The Hobbit, its fantastic. Its not written in the same style as LOTR at all. Very easy, fun read. Its more classic fairy tale as opposed to epic masterpiece. I loved LOTR also though.
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 12/7/2009, 5:02 PM
Oh cool guys @ Lol!!!

Only watched LOTRS too not read it. : P

So how different was the book to the movies then???

Coz what i heard they kept pretty much to the source material which should be the golden rule to most movies!

Okay, i wont go there lol! ; D

LEEE777
LEEE777 - 12/7/2009, 5:03 PM
Hawksblueyes @ Cool man!!
thwip
thwip - 12/7/2009, 5:14 PM
what??? well, i guess i've always been more a nerd of the lord of the rings persuasion than a nerd of the comic book persuasion, but there's an awful lot of spillover between the two. like myself. i'm surprised so many of you haven't read the quintessential fantasy epic of the past few centuries.

anyway, heck yes for waits as smaug.

and LEEE, the movies cut the ending of the movie short of where the books end, which most purists hate, but i'm a huge believer that the book ending simply wouldn't work on screen. in my opinion, the only bad thing about the movies is waaaaayyyy too much liv tyler. not a fan. leaves a bad taste.
Tobuttica
Tobuttica - 12/7/2009, 5:18 PM
I'm half way through the book, very interesting read. I wanted to read it before I read LOTR since it takes place beforehand.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 12/7/2009, 5:23 PM
The movies changes quite a few things actually. But they keep the major events and the spirit of the story so I was fine with them as adaptations..and as movies they were fantastic.

twip, yeah she did have too much screen time..especially when you factor in that she was hardly in the books at all. In fact, did she even have any dialog? She's only talked about as far as I can remember. But, they were always gonna put more of a focus on the love story for the movies, I didn't mind too much.
Hawksblueyes
Hawksblueyes - 12/7/2009, 5:24 PM
I would love to see a movie made, based on the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zalazny. Has anyone on here ever read that?


The biggest thing they changed for the movie that bothered me was Theodens character. He wasn't an indecisive old man in the book, once Gandalph broke the spell he was under.

They did omit alot,but the movie would have been 3 times as long if they covered everything and everybody.
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 12/7/2009, 5:27 PM
thwip @ Dude i thought plenty of LIV was a good thing in it!!! ; D

I gotta admit LOTRS i wasn't a fan but once i saw the movies i got a lil hooked!

They was nearly as good as THE WATCHMEN, (i said nearly lol).
Batmanknight
Batmanknight - 12/7/2009, 5:28 PM
This is awesome news. I could see him being a role or voicing or role. He would be an incredible addition!!
Hawksblueyes
Hawksblueyes - 12/7/2009, 5:33 PM
I agree with Ror though, it was an excellent adaptation.
StrangerX
StrangerX - 12/7/2009, 5:36 PM
I liked Dracula, and Mystery Men. I'm def goin to see Imaginarium so I say why not.
KeithM
KeithM - 12/7/2009, 5:45 PM
Hawks: I read the Amber books as they came out. Excellent series. One of many SF/Fantasy series I'd like to see adapted (still waiting for news on the Elric movie... whatever happened to that?)

The Hobbit is a great book - much more easy-going and light hearted than LotR, but a great story all the same. Do yourselves a favour and read it peoples.

Waits could be the voice of Smaug, but I reckon he might instead be one of the Dwarves. He's a good physical actor, so I think he'd be a good fit (not going to speculate which one exactly, but he's not Thorin material imo)

Can't believe some haven't heard of Waits - he wrote the theme tune to The Wire, amongst many other great tunes. Again, do yourselves a favour and listen to some of his stuff. He has a voice like he's gargling sandpaper and nails, but he's a genuine musical genius.
thwhtGuardian
thwhtGuardian - 12/7/2009, 5:48 PM
Yeah, an adaptation by it's very nature is never going to be a word for word translation. Some things were bound to be omitted or warped to fit the director's vision, that's just the way of it. In that respect the lotr movies were great adaptations, they changed many elements but retained the spirit of the story. And at the end of the day that's all you can ask for.
Hawksblueyes
Hawksblueyes - 12/7/2009, 5:50 PM
Keith: I've always thought the Amber series would make an epic minnie series, or full blown movie trilogy.
imnotwearinghockeypants
imnotwearinghockeypants - 12/7/2009, 5:52 PM
Great news. Anything Waits touches it gold.
juggy4711
juggy4711 - 12/7/2009, 6:01 PM
@ Hawk I'v read the Amber stuff several times, its awesome and amazing how much story he could manage with so few words. If you've never read A Night in Lonesome October I highly recommend it. My favorite of his novels other than COA.
KeithM
KeithM - 12/7/2009, 6:13 PM
Hawks: As much as I'd like to see it, I'm not sure the studios (movie or tv) would commit to the whole thing (unless done on the cheap and we don't want that), but I definitely think there's at least one bankable Amber movie there for sure - and then who knows...?

There's so much good stuff out there, like the Amber series, The Belgariad, Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (omgthatwouldbef'inepic!), Moorcock's Eternal Champion series, Fafhrd & The Gray Mouser, etc. etc. I just despair when they come out with shit like Eragon.

SortItOutStudios!!
BillyBlack
BillyBlack - 12/7/2009, 6:24 PM
Those movies would've been 6 hours a piece at a minimum if they added all the shit from the books. It would be impossible, so they made choices. They were all pretty damn good choices too. I agree ror01, too much Tyler.

thwhtGuardian

Totally true about Pearlman, he even has "the look" hahahah
Hawksblueyes
Hawksblueyes - 12/7/2009, 6:27 PM
Your absolutely right, Eragon demolished a fantastic book. I would hate to see someone get hold of Amber or the Dark Elf series and screw it into the ground like that.


juggy: I'll check that out, thanks.
Betty
Betty - 12/7/2009, 7:01 PM
Oh hells bells he would be a great voice for Smaug. Love some Tom Waits, seen him twice! He is a funny mf.

Billy & Ror-- I love people that love film. Time and time again, ya'll have seen stuff I thought only I was aware of. Actually that goes for alot of people on here.

Never read Eragon. The movie looked so bad, I take it the books are better? What about the Dragon Lance Chronicles? There are like a million of those. Seems like someone woulda crapped out a movie by now.
Hawksblueyes
Hawksblueyes - 12/7/2009, 7:22 PM
betty: Yes the book was better,not a masterpiece but it had potential to be a very good movie.
peterparker420
peterparker420 - 12/7/2009, 7:32 PM
I am not to sure about Tom Waits who did he play in Bram Stoker's Dracula?

but I can't wait to see The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus . Does anyone know when that movie comes out?


CHECK OUT THE NEW AVATAR!!! LOL

P.S CHECK OUT MY DANGER GIRL CAST!!
gibbyblaylock
gibbyblaylock - 12/7/2009, 7:36 PM
Nice article ROR!

Have you heard Glitter and Doom yet? I've heard it's awesome.
I can't wait to see Waits play the Devil in Parnassus.
shibazz
shibazz - 12/7/2009, 7:46 PM
This isnt my first Tom Waits posting and it wont be my last. He is possible the greatest musician of all time!
shibazz
shibazz - 12/7/2009, 7:49 PM
Oh and Jersey Girl is me and my baby's song.... we love this song. If you dont have any Tom Waits in your collection , well get this song first. Brilliance!!! :)
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 12/7/2009, 8:10 PM
PP he was Renfield in Drac

Thanks Gibby..Pernasus is only ok..but Waits is great in it

Axl, Orphans is gold, but my fave album is Mule Variations

Shib, I love that tune..you hear the duet he does with Springsteen?
thwip
thwip - 12/7/2009, 8:29 PM
Hawksblueeyes: really? it's been about 8 years since i last read them, but i don't remember being surprised by theoden's character. the two biggest character changes i noticed were pippin (who was not a bumbling comic relief in the books, although i love what the writers, director, and billy boyd did with the character in the films) and faramir (who, unlike in the movies, never had a 'moral dilemma' as it were about whether or not to take the ring. he was much like aragorn, never tempted and always strong of heart.) but changes had to be made for the screen adaptation, as always, and yeah, that's what i always tell my friends who aren't friends of the fantasy genre, and are therefore wary of watching the films. magic and monsters and pointy ears aside, they're just damned good films.
1 2
Related Headlines
Latest Headlines

Hot Headlines Hot Headlines

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Anime & Manga

Gaming

Horror

Cartoons & Animated Features

Action Movies & TV

Pro Wrestling & MMA News
View Recorder