Christopher Lee Stakes Claim as Cinema Icon

[AmShak]

Christopher Lee is piling up his credentials as a cinema icon -- he has played the villain in James Bond, Star Wars and "The Lord of the Rings."
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All the 80-year-old British actor now needs to complete the set is an appearance in the "Harry Potter" movies.
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Lee, a tall and saturnine figure with an unmistakable air of menace, rose to fame playing Count Dracula in the classic Hammer horror films and has made more than 280 movies.
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Now he is in more demand than ever and readily admits: "I'll never retire. What would I do?"
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He feels that he helped to create cinema history in the Rings trilogy, made back-to-back in New Zealand by director Peter Jackson with a $300 million budget and a crew of 2,400.
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Reflecting on his Bond role as the triple-nippled villain Scaramanga, he said: "Doing 'The Man with the Golden Gun' was not very demanding. It was a fun movie, pure entertainment. Star Wars has of course had an audience of millions."
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Lee is on the crest of a wave at the moment. For Star Wars, Count Dracula turned into Count Dooku, a rogue Jedi knight. Director George Lucas said of him: "I chose Christopher because nobody had such villainous credentials."
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He makes no secret of the fact that he would love to play Professor Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster role so memorably created in the first two Harry Potter movies by the late Richard Harris.
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He firmly scotched rumors swirling around the movie industry: "I was never approached to play the part. I have not been approached to play the part."
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But he did add: "I could certainly play the character but it wouldn't be the same way that the late Richard Harris played it."
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And Lee, who has worked with just about every director from Orson Welles to Steven Spielberg and even hosted "Saturday Night Live" on U.S television, still clearly relishes the spotlight and treasures his movie portfolio: "That's the history of my life -- being in cult films."
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Read the full story here

 

[wookiee_cookiee]

Hmmm Dooku as Dumbledore?? I can't see that. But you never know, someone's got to play him in HP3.

Mischief managed!!!

 

[CoruscantCosta]

I think Christopher Lee is the definetely the best replacement for dumbly. It's really too bad Richard Harris died before they could finish the third one. and the fourth one. By then there will be a fifth book. So then they will have to make another movie.

Richard Harris also did really good in the count of monte cristo. I loved that movie!!!

 

[Barada]

So, no offence to the esteemed Mr. Lee, but by the projected fifth movie, he'll be, oh, 92? Christopher Lee is a magnificent, and under-rated actor, but for the long time consistency of the franchise, it would be wiser to go with someone else.

Barada

 

[CoruscantCosta]

He's really that old??? Oh. Well maybe the real Dumbledore will die by the fifth book. Then they won't need an actor for him. I hope he doesnt though.

 

[Barada]

Actually, Christopher Lee is currently 80 years old. He may never want to retire, but in all honesty, how many years has he got left? I think he's a great actor, and don't want to think of the day he is no longer with us, but his career has certianly defied the odds already.

Barada

 

[AmShak]

Looks like christopher lee won't be getting this role, but one of his LOTR co-stars will.

Check it out here

 

[CoruscantCosta]

now that i think of it, he would do a better job......gandadore or dumbledalf

 

[Borsk]

hey, what happened to Peter O'Toole?

 

[wookiee_cookiee]

Meet Harry's New Dumbledore

Meet Harry's New Dumbledore
http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,11044,00.html?tnews
by Anderson Jones and Marcus Errico
Dec 30, 2002, 1:45 PM PT

Harry Potter's getting a brand new headmaster--and his name isn't Ian McKellen.

Contrary to rampant tabloid reports over the past several days claiming the current Gandalf portrayer would pull double wizard duty as Hogwarts' Professor Albus Dumbledore, E! Online has learned that another acclaimed British thespian has in fact been tapped for the role vacated by the death of Richard Harris.


Michael Gambon, who picked up Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his virtuoso performance as Lyndon Johnson in HBO's Path to War, will be donning the robes as Dumbledore for the upcoming Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, according to a source familiar with the production.

Following Harris' death from cancer in October, there had been much speculation over who would take over the role, with leading candidates supposedly including McKellen and even Harris' stand-in. But McKellen never seriously considered the role (he's already done the franchise thing with The Lord of the Rings and X-Men) and producers ultimately went with Gambon, a classically trained actor who studied with Laurence Olivier and whose credits include Gosford Park, The Insider and the lead in the British miniseries The Singing Detective.

Although the exact terms of Gambon's deal are not known, he'll presumably play Dumbledore in the remaining Potter films. Aside from Prisoner of Azkaban, Warner Bros. is committed to turning Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire into a film. J.K. Rowling's still-in-the-works Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the two planned but untitled final installments are also likely destined for celluloid, but no timetable is in place.

With Warners closed for the holidays, no one was immediately available to comment on the casting.

Considering the millions of dollars at stake (the first Potter, Sorcerer's Stone, made more than $1 billion worldwide, and the current release, Chamber of Secrets, has made more than $240 million in North America alone), filmmakers had to act quickly on the casting choice.

Shooting is slated to begin on Prisoner of Azkaban in early 2003 for a proposed summer 2004 release. Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien) will direct, with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint set to reprise their roles as Harry, Hermione and Ron.

Meanwhile, in related news, Potter mastermind Rowling ranked as the wealthiest woman in England, according a survey released by Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper. With more than $77 million in income in 2002, Rowling out-earned the transplanted Madonna ($43 million) for the title.