Showbiz411

Sir Ian McKellen was one of the many celebs at the “Les Miz” 25th anniversary show on Sunday night at London’s O2 Arena.

Just finished with a stage production of “Waiting for Godot,” Sir Ian is now Waiting for Peter Jackson. He’s supposed to appear in Jackson’s “Hobbit” movie, and is hopeful that the lawyers involved will have papers for him to sign soon so he can reprise the pivotal role of Gandalf.

“It’s still a matter of MGM and Warner Bros. sorting things out, but I’m told they’re close.”

Sir Ian also told me that he’s never heard a word from anyone about the upcoming reboot of “X Men.” McKellen has played Magneto in the first three films.

“The last I heard, nothing was happening. Then I read about the new production.” Likewise, he hasn’t heard about the new “Wolverine” or anything new from the Marvel-Fox productions.

Sir Ian was busting with pride about “Les Miz” and the fantastic 25th anniversary show put on Sunday night by Cameron Mackintosh. “And it’s British!” he declared. “Americans aren’t the only ones who can do musicals.”

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.