Did Gandalf the Grey Always Remind You of Willie Nelson? Well, He Will Now.

Did you ever notice how Gandalf the Grey is a bit of a stoner? I personally have no idea what J.R.R. Tolkein really intended that "Longbottom leaf" toked by Gandy and the Hobbits to be, because I never read books when there are perfectly good movie adaptations. However, I'm pretty sure director Peter Jackson made it seem like "Longbottom leaf," a.k.a. "pipe weed," is the Middle Earth version of pot. I mean, Saruman tells Gandalf that his "love of the halflings leaf has clearly slowed [his] mind." And last time I checked, Tobacco gives you emphysema and lung cancer, but it's never been accused of slowing your minds

So LOTR geeks can insist all they want that the Hobbits' pipe weed is not supposed to be like our weed. I'm not buying it. Gandalf the Wizard always has reminded me of a surlier, less musical Willie Nelson, and he always will.

And you know what? I'm not alone. Apparently Gandalf also reminds the folks who write for Conan O'Brien of Willie Nelson, because to celebrate the legendary country singer's 80th birthday, they produced a brilliant new skit in which a stoned Willie auditions to play Gandalf in the upcoming Hobbit 2.

Has the sequel to The Hobbit already been filmed? Of course it has. But do you think a stoned Willie Nelson would realize that? Hell no. And that's the joke.