Posted in: CBS, Movies, New Line Cinema, TV, Warner Bros | Tagged: lord of the rings, snl, stephen colbert

Stephen Colbert Shares How Bill Hader's SNL Exit Inspired LOTR Film

Stephen Colbert explains how Bill Hader's writing for South Park after leaving SNL inspired him to take on a "The Lord of the Rings" film.

To say that Stephen Colbert has had a lot to think about once his stint on The Late Show ends in May would be an understatement. At the very least, he's decided to embrace a couple of TV roles for Paramount, the company that fired him from his CBS hosting gig, with a guest spot on the popular CBS spinoff, Elsbeth, and his role as the PA announcer on Starfleet Academy, with the remaining second season's episodes to burn off. Predominantly known for his comedy, Colbert shocked the Nation when he flexed his nerd chops, expanding the Peter Jackson/Lord of the Rings universe as a J. R. R. Tolkien fan, writing the upcoming feature, Shadow of the Past, which was announced in March. The actor, host, and writer appeared on the Smartless podcast, which was recorded on March 18th, before Amazon MGM's announcement on the 24th of his creative contribution, to discuss how he came to his decision.

Late Show Host Stephen Colbert on How He Came to Write the New 'Lord of the Rings' Film

"I'll tell you, the person who did the thing I most admire — I mean, not most admire, but the thing that really struck me is, you know what [Bill] Hader did when he left 'SNL'? He went and wrote for 'South Park' for a season," Colbert told hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes, adding that he was sitting behind Hader at the Emmys shortly after he departed from Saturday Night Live in 2013 and shifted creatively back to South Park, where he served as a creative consultant, producer, and voice actor. Hader's first season on the Comedy Central animated series was in 2008, during his SNL run, which he joined in 2005.

"I said, 'Man, that's the perfect thing to do.' Just go serve something that you love already," Colbert said. "See, can I be of service to people whose work I really admire? I thought that's a great thing to do. Don't even worry about your status of your previous gig. Just go do something you love." The actor's path to LOTR makes sense with status as a megafan, which includes celebrating the 20th anniversary of the original Jackson trilogy in 2022 with a rap video including original stars Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, Orlando Bloom, and Viggo Mortensen, alongside Method Man, Killer Mike, and Anna Kendrick.

When Shadow of the Past was announced, Colbert revealed the film would come from the chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) that didn't make it into the original Jackson film with help from his son, screenwriter Peter McGee and frequent Jackson collaborator, screenwriter Philippa Boyens, who co-wrote all six of Jackson's Tolkien films along with the animated The War of the Rohirrim, to develop the script. For more on Colbert discussing his post-Late Show future, you can check out the full episode.

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