Qtexas, Volume 3, Issue 14, December 20, 2002 Page: 6
40 p. : col. ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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He just looks that way
Ian McKellen
denies smoking
marijuana in
his Lord of the
Rings pipe
chatS ir Ian McKellen, who
plays Gandalf in The Lord
of the Rings: The Two
Towers, has denied using marijua-
na in his "weed pipe"! The story
of the Two Towers, adapted from
the second part of J.R.R. Tolkien's
trilogy, The Lord of the Rings,
contains references to Gandalf's
enjoyment of smoking "pipe
weed."
These references have often
been associated with marijuana -
however, McKellen doesn't
believe that this holds true.
He says, "There are many
groups who claim the Rings as
their own. Proponents of mari-
juana, for instance, associate pipe
weed with the taste of pot.
"Tolkien made it very clear
that it's nicotine they're smoking.
I don't think it was pot in their
pipes. At least, there wasn't any in
mine."
Director Oliver Stone has
vowed to press on with his
planned Alexander the Great
biopic - but now his his lead char-
acter will be portrayed as a bisex-
ual.
The filmmaker had caused
controversy in Greece, where heintends to film, by planning to
portray the ancient hero as a
homosexual. Stone insists he has
downgraded the sexuality ele-
ment.
He explains, "Alexander was
certainly bisexual. The movie
should deal with his sexuality
because it's part of his personality,
but gay is not the right word. It's
a modern word."
Stone faces stiff competition
from a big-budget rival produc-
tion helmed by Baz Luhrmann -
but the Platoon Oscar-winner
hopes to finish and release his
film before the Moulin Rouge
director's.
Sir Elton John has presented
his partner, David Furnish, with a
beautiful diamond ring for his
landmark 40th birthday.
Furnish is delighted with the
gift, and reveals that their long-
term relationship is as strong as
it's ever been - although the film-
maker insists that he's expected to
be with the flamboyant singer-
songwriter for the rest of his life
since they first began dating.
He says, "I do feel very lucky,
but it never occurred to me that
we wouldn't last. I never thoughtonce when we met, I'll give this a
try.'
"It always felt like a commit-
ment. I felt strongly that I'd spend
the rest of my life with Elton. It
was a case of, 'Let's make this
work."'
However, Furnish admits the
couple are not likely to cement
their union by adopting children.
He explains, "We just have to
be sensible about it. Elton's 56
now, which would mean being a
father to teenagers in his 70s. You
have really got to consider all
those things when you are look-
ing at involving a child who will
be wholly dependent on you.
"We've been over it time and
again and I confess when you see
an orphan child in Africa the
temptation is there to bring them
back. But we do the best we can
in terms of financial support and
raising money."
Fans of flamboyant performer
Liberace will be able to experi-
ence his style at first hand - now
that one of his former homes is
up for sale.
Liberace used the Malibu,
California, property in the 1970s
as a getaway. The late entertainer"I can't bear people calling me
Reg. If people send me letters as
Reginald Dwight, I don't even
open them. I've been Elton John for 33
years. If my mum can call me Elton, then
everyone else can."
- Elton John, explaining his antipathy for
his birth name, Reginald Dwight
"I teased him about Tina Brown, and he
just looked at me and said, 'Tina Brown is
one of my best friends! But I'll let you in on
this - Tina Brown has a cock!"'
- Cross-dressing Princess Diandra on an
exchange with Vanity Fair editor-in-chief
Graydon Carter
"Queen Elizabeth. This is going to soundsimply awful. And I don't mean it the way
it is going to sound, but this is the way it is
going to come out. With everything that's
going on in England, she would get a big-
ger rating than the pope"
- Barbara Walters MSNBC's
Phil Donahue, who asked her to pick her
ultimate interview
"I caught him unawares at his house [in
Dublin]. He gave me a few choice words. I
knew he said, 'Bleep you' a lot." Leo
DiCaprio had to personally suck up to Day-
Lewis before he broke down. We persuad-
ed him to come to New York and meet
Marty Scorsese in a couple of Mafia joints.
And finally, he signed up."
- Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein on theQtexas 7 20 Dec 02
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Qtexas Publishing, LLC. Qtexas, Volume 3, Issue 14, December 20, 2002, periodical, December 20, 2002; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2124361/m1/6/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.