Months before The Hobbit premiered, Sir Ian McKellen revealed an exceptionally personal (and completely understandable) moment about how working tirelessly for hours talking to imaginary beings in greenscreen can wear an actor down.

Fantastic news! We've long known that James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender would be returning for the sequel to X-Men First Class — but now we know that we'll also be seeing the older versions of Professor X and Magneto!

Can Gandalf the Grey handle his smoke and drink? While chatting with Sir Ian McKellen about his next appearance in The Hobbit the actor revealed what happened when Peter Jackson suggested Gandalf get drunk. It didn't go Jackson's way.

You've seen the trailer, now check out Sir Ian riding a horse around New Zealand (at Peter Jackson's behest, of course) and Frodo getting nostalgic for his return to Hobbiton (which has been cleared of ovine squatters). Also, witness the logistics of filming in New Zealand's great outdoors.

There are many actors who help make science fiction and fantasy awesome, but there are some faces you see again and again. And some actors just automatically brighten the screen whenever they appear. No matter what movie or TV show they're in, they make it better.

Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis are allegedly in talks to appear in The Hobbit. How is it McKellen and Serkis haven't locked this down already? The only Gandalf and Gollum we want are the originals. [Deadline]

The Prisoner used its premise of a spy trapped in an idyllic, but oppressive, village to ask questions about individuality in a conformist, overly processed society. Here are six ways last night's remake throws away that rich premise. Spoilers below...

At last, we can witness the Ian McKellen/Jim Caviezel battle of wills (and acting.) AMC's remake of the The Prisoner will air on November 15 and stretch over three nights — that's six hours of mind twists.