Hobbit Actor Calls Tolkien

While Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy made a number of changes to the source material in order to translate it to film, it was rarely if ever accused of having anything but respect for author J.R.R. Tolkien and the novels upon which the films are based. Well, they might have a little more trouble on that score as Jackson releases his three-part film adaptation of The Hobbit, as Comic Book Movie has turned up an interview with actor and comedian Billy Connolly, who plays Dain Ironfoot in the films, in which Connolly takes aim not only at Tolkien's work, but of the writer's fans, as well. You know--the fans they're hoping will shell out upwards of $20 to see all three of these films. "I've never read The Hobbit," Connolly told Vulture earlier this week. "Never. Never read Lord of the Rings. I could never read Tolkien. I always found him unreadable … I didn't read [the books], and I normally don't like people who have! The people who love it, they're kind of scary. They talk all this gobbledygook and they think of it as the Holy Grail." Seems like the kind of thing that's unlikely to make him popular with the fan base--just ask David Cronenberg how his ill-advised comments about superhero movies worked out for him...and he's not even involved with one!