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Bilbo Baggins goes to work at The Office in a Saturday Night Live skit with Martin Freeman

With The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies hitting theaters soon, Martin Freeman hosted the latest episode of Saturday Night Live to promote the film. No stranger to comedic roles, Freeman tapped into his on-screen past and present in a skit that blended his role in The Hobbit trilogy with the character he played on The Office, the British series that inspired the American program of the same name.

In the skit, Bilbo Baggins (Freeman) ponders the direction his life has taken after saving Middle-earth, with Gandalf (Bobby Moynihan), Gollum (Taran Killam), Legolas (Kyle Mooney), and Tauriel (Kate McKinnon) all taking office jobs together. They’re joined by an orc, some hobbits, and various other supporting characters from the films that are juxtaposed with characters from the television series.

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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is the third and final chapter in Peter Jackson’s trilogy of films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s celebrated fantasy novel. Along with Freeman, the film stars Ian McKellan, Lee Pace, Cate Blanchett, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Orlando Bloom, Manu Bennett, Billy Connolly, Sylvester McCoy, Graham McTavish, and Aidan Turner.

The film arrives in theaters December 17.

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Is Dune: Prophecy destined to fail?
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“We are thrilled and honored to have the incomparable Conan O’Brien host the Oscars this year,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer andPpresident Janet Yang said in a statement. “He is the perfect person to help lead our global celebration of film with his brilliant humor, his love of movies, and his live TV expertise. His remarkable ability to connect with audiences will bring viewers together to do what the Oscars do best — honor the spectacular films and filmmakers of this year.”
This marks O'Brien's first time hosting the Oscars. He takes over hosting duties for Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the Oscars ceremony for the fourth time last year. In typical O'Brien fashion, he accepted the news with a joke. "America demanded it, and now it’s happening: Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme," O'Brien said. "In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars."
O'Brien is best known for working as a late-night talk show host for nearly three decades, beginning with Late Night with Conan O'Brien. After a brief stint hosting The Tonight Show, O'Brien moved from NBC to TBS to host Conan, which ran from 2010 to 2021. Since 2018, O'Brien has hosted the popular podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. The former writer on The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live has received 31 Emmy nominations, winning five.

https://twitter.com/TheAcademy/status/1857416541056225636
Securing a host for the 2025 Oscars has not been easy. Both Kimmel and John Mulaney reportedly passed on hosting the gig. Deadpool & Wolverine stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman were also in consideration. Ultimately, the Academy went with O'Brien, a comedic veteran who previously hosted the Emmys in 2002 and 2006.
The 97th Oscars will air at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Sunday, March 2, 2025. The ceremony will take place inside the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. ABC will carry the broadcast.

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Freevee may be going away, but Amazon Prime Video has always had a deeper library of hit movies to draw upon than its "free" streaming service. Even in slow weeks like this one, Prime Video still has movies like Pan's Labyrinth and Galaxy Quest to fall back on. Those are two very different films, but both are fantastic examples of their respective fantasy and sci-fi/comedy genres.

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