Colbert and Hobbits

The Herald reported:

Stephen Colbert is devoting a full week of his internationally syndicated showThe Colbert Report to The Hobbit.

Colbert, a US comedian, is a rabid JRR Tolkien fan who recently won a cameo role in one of The Hobbit films from director Peter Jackson.

He is taking his commitment to Middle-earth to the next level starting today by celebrating “Hobbit week” on The Colbert Report, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis – who play Gandalf, Bilbo and Gollum – and Jackson will all guest on the show.

McKellen is reportedly first in line to be interviewed.

Colbert visited the set of The Hobbit trilogy during filming.

He reportedly beat film producer and Tolkien expert Philippa Boyens in a Hobbit quiz.

Jackson called him the biggest “Tolkien geek” he had ever met.

Beating Boyens is an impressive feat. We should arrange a play off against Judge David Harvey who won both NZ Mastermind in 1980 and Mastermind International in 1981 on the subject of Lord of the Rings. The questions and answers that were put to him are here.

The Colbert Report gets a million or so viewers. Having The Hobbit and NZ feature on it for a week is great free publicity.