Sean Bean backs cancer drive (Sheffield Telegraph)

Published on Sunday 13 January 2013 09:00

WESTON Park Hospital Cancer Charity is launching an initiative with the support of Sheffield’s Hollywood superstar, Sean Bean.

It is creating a virtual ‘wall’ on its website where people can make a pledge to help raise funds for cancer research, treatment and care .

The actor is a patron of the charity, and is one of the first to be pictured on the virtual ‘wall’ at http://www.wphcc.org.uk/pledge.

James McAvoy: 'I want to play Gandalf in Tolkien prequels' Published Sunday, Jan 6 2013, 2:34am EST | By Paul Martinovic (DIGITAL SPY)

James McAvoy has said that he would love to play legendary wizard Gandalf.

The character, who features heavily in JRR Tolkien's most famous works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, has been made famous by Sir Ian McKellen in Peter Jackson's screen adaptations.

Total Film reports that the X-Men: First Class star revealed that he would like the role should there be any prequels to the recent films.

Revealing an in-depth knowledge of Tolkien's work, he specifically referenced the possibility of appearing in something adapted from Tolkien anthology The Silmarillion.

He told the magazine: "It's a collection of poems and songs that chart the ancient history of Middle-earth. My true geek is coming to the fore, but they're really, really beautiful stories.

READ MORE: http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a448815/james-mcavoy-i-want-to-play-gandalf-in-tolkien-prequels.html

Richard Armitage Dishes on Battle of Five Armies in 'Hobbit: There and Back Again' ACES SHOW BIZ

The Thorin Oakenshield depicter predicts the epic battle will be a manic fight in the air, while another cast member Andy Serkis claims, 'It's going to be intense beyond belief.'

"The Hobbit" has just released the first installment of the trilogy, but one of its actors, Richard Armitage, is already raving about the epic Battle of Five Armies in the third film, "The Hobbit: There and Back Again". While the intense sequence hasn't been shot just yet, he envisioned what it would be like.

"It's been put aside until next year, thankfully," Armitage jokingly said of the filming. "It's this big thing looming over us. I'm predicting about ten weeks for the shoot because it's an extensive battle and each character is going to have their 'hero' moment on the battlefield. It's a manic fight in the air - the eagles are fighting bats - and on the ground, and I can't wait to see what Pete does with that."

Actor and second-unit director Andy Serkis, who will handle the big fight sequence, hints that "it's going to be intense beyond belief. It's going to be extraordinary - that's all I can say." The epic battle sequence will see the Men, the Elves, the Dwarves and the Eagles, all fighting for the future of Middle-earth.

Read more: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00056650.html#ixzz2GAZI25HR

The Hobbit: An Unexpected box office smash with $200 million global opening weekend (INDEPENDENT)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has set a box office record with the biggest December opening ever in the US, beating the three previous Lord Of The Rings films with a haul of $84.8 million (£52.4 million).

Peter Jackson's Middle Earth epic surpassed Will Smith's I Am Legend, which opened with $77.2 million (£47.7 million) in 2007, and Avatar, which opened with $77 million (£47.6 million).

Internationally, The Hobbit also added $138.2 million (£85.4 million) for an impressive debut well north of $200 million.

Despite weak reviews, The Warner Bros adaptation of JRR Tolkien's first novel in the fantasy series was an even bigger draw than the last Lord Of The Rings movie, The Return Of The King. That film opened with $72.6 million (£44.9 million).

READ MORE: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-box-office-smash-with-200-million-global-opening-weekend-8421955.html