Of Lego, Belstaff and rogue locks of hair

There have been so very many new pictures and interviews and soundbites and livestreams and screencaps and other tidbits this week. I think I've now seen and read most of them, but the sheer volume of material that has been released during this week of the release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has completely overwhelmed me. But I've enjoyed every single minute of it. The second instalment in the The Hobbit trilogy will be released here in Belgium in exactly 1 day and I can't wait to finally see the film! For me, that is going to happen on Thursday evening...It will be the first of many times, there is absolutely no doubt about that!

Looking back at this crazy week or so, I have so much new info about Richard Armitage! Please don't ask me where these pieces of info come from because I couldn't even begin to try and remember what was written where or what was said in which interview.



Prosthetic hands are the cause of huge disappointment *wink*

Richard does Smaug, and quit well, I must say. *multi-talented, of course!*

He's amused by the fact that people still don't always know how to pronounce his name. *Trust me, my dear, I know how frustrating that can be. Better to laugh about all the variations than to let it get to you.*
 
Richard is not afraid to show the geek *geek is the new sexy*

I nominate Evangeline Lilly for honorary membership of the Armitage Army *after Philippa Boyens, who has been one of us since last year's release of An Unexpected Journey!*

Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, portrait from Empire Magazine

Richard has not yet done everything he needs to do in front of the camera before going into directing or producing *yay!*

Working and living in New Zealand has been a life-changing experience... *but he's still our sweet, shy Richard... forever the gentleman, but now with a slightly more obvious, very cheeky, geeky side! :-)*

Richard loves his Belstaff jackets just as much as we love him in them ;-)

Black is still his colour, but grey is not too shabby either

LEGO! *It goes without saying*

To be able to handle Orcrist, Richard had to do a lot of training with his right arm *Oh please get your mind out of the gutter! ;-)* Orcrist makes an excellent air guitar as well:

.gif published by World of Armitage on tumblr

Peter Jackson got Richard on his knees from utter exhaustion. A minute later, he was doing another take of that same scene *Passion*

Richard is still hoping to return to the stage... and he's very well aware of the fact that the entire fandom get really excited when he mentions that in interviews... but he continues to do so...and he still hasn't found the right play for his return to the theatre. :-(  *He's such a tease!*

Richard would have loved to take home the chair from Beorn's house... but Mikael Persbrandt got it instead... *OK, I guess it makes sense that Beorn got first dibs on his own furniture*

Richard Armitage in Beorn's chair with interviewer David Weiner
Picture from www.richardarmitagenet.com
 

Richard is still an incorrigible flirt *And it manages to wake up the butterflies in my stomach every time!* :-)
 
The rogue lock of hair strikes again! :-O

Richard at the premiere for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in Berlin (9 December)
Picture from RAVietnam Facebook page

Bombur's BBQ Chicken is to die for! *Stephen Hunter rocks! #TeamBombur*

Ed Sheeran wrote "I See Fire" from Thorin's perspective. Good to see that Ed recognises who the main character of this film really is.



Richard and friends dressed up to go and see one of the Lord Of The Rings films. Richard wore elven ears. *such a lovely thing to imagine*

On some days during production of The Hobbit, Richard had to get up at 3am to be ready for the start of filming at 8am. *Tough job*

Richard is on Warner Brothers' list of people for the Academy to consider for an Oscar nomination in the category 'Best Supporting Actor'. *fingers crossed*

Richard is a sock thief! He took home every single pair of costume socks he was given - and they got a new pair every day, for 18 months - he could probably open his very own sock shop!! *Such an adorably geeky thing to do*

Richard is planning to retire in New Zealand... someday *but not too soon, please!*


What have you learned this week?



Enter the dragon!

10 days to go before the release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in Belgium (on 11/12/13!!)

And isn't it about time we got to see the dragon? Yes. And we did, in the most fierce way possible!

"He was a fire drake from the North" ...and he flew Air New Zealand!!

Ladies and gentlemen...I give you: Smaug the Stupendous!!

Images taken from the Air New Zealand Twitter page

Gaubdûkhimâ gagin yâkùlib Mahal, King Thorin!*

* “May we meet again with the grace of Mahal, Thorin!”
(a formal goodbye in Khuzdul, the secret language of the dwarves of Middle-Earth)

“Roads go ever ever on,
Under cloud and under star.
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.”

 

(From ‘Roads go ever on’ by JRR Tolkien)

I’m sure you’re all aware that filming for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy has now completely wrapped. If not, take a look at Mr. Jackson’s official Facebook page, where he has been live blogging the last day of shooting on Friday.

Of course, this also means that Richard Armitage is now finally allowed to really let go of Thorin Oakenshield. As he’s lived with this character for about 2,5 years, that can’t be an easy thing to do.

There are a few things Richard could do to ease the Thorin/Richard break-up. I have a few suggestions:

1. I hate to say it, but he could get rid of the beard. Apparently, Dean O’Gorman couldn’t wait to shave off his beard after wrapping his scenes as Fili, he even posted a picture on Twitter!

"I'm wrapped, and so is the beard!" says Dean O'Gorman as he prepares to say goodbye to the Fili beard

Here's a scary thought: Could this really be the very last picture of Richard Armitage rocking the beard? (For the record: I hope it's not!)



Picture tweeted by Graham McTavish: "Some very tired and emotional dwarves last night..."
Left to right: Richard Armitage (Thorin), Mark Hadlow (Dori), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Peter Hambleton (Gloin)

 2. Richard needs to get away from everything that reminds him of Thorin. In other words, he needs to get out of Middle-Earth/New-Zealand. Like Stephen Hunter, who has already left. He shared a lovely goodbye message on Vine:

A change of scenery is perfect for a new start, preferably somewhere that is completely different from New-Zealand. Well, how about New York City? It seems, Richard has just bought a very nice apartment in Greenwich Village. This could just be the perfect place to drop off the grid for a while…

http://realestalker.blogspot.in/2013/07/julian-casablancas-of-strokes-sells.html


3. The best way to step away from Thorin Oakenshield, must be to get involved in a new project. Batman? Some vampire? A King from days gone by? The new Doctor in Doctor Who? Rumours are flying and I’m sure Richard can now afford the luxury of picking the roles that he really believes in.

Well, my vote goes to none of the above. I’m crossing my fingers for the lead in a play in London’s West End. Now that would be a dream come true for me! So, Richard, I hope you’re paying attention!

Any more suggestions?

The countdown has begun!

Only a few hours ago, Peter Jackson posted this picture on his Facebook page. It's the very first official poster for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. I call this the official start of the countdown to the release of the film. I can't wait!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is set to hit cinemas in Belgium (where I live) on Wednesday, 11 December 2013 (12 December in New Zealand, 13 December in the UK and the US). More release dates are listed on the film's IMDb page.

More good news: on Tuesday, 11 June at 19:00 Belgian time, a teaser trailer for the film will be revealed. The trailer will be shown in cinemas with the film 'Man of Steel', which hits cinemas in Belgium on 12 June.

Only 185 more days to go!!

Random thoughts: The language of love

Well shame on me for ignoring this blog for so very long! *hangs head in shame*

I don't know what exactly happened, but I think I was so caught up in other projects and especially all the lovely RA material that we've been blessed with these past few months, that I just never got round to actually writing and posting my thoughts. Now that RA is back in New Zealand (or should I say Middle Earth) I seem to have been able to clear my mind of the spiderwebs of the past and my muse has come out of hibernation. I'm back!

Let me start by sharing this beautiful video with you. You may have already seen it, but it has really touched my heart. Whether you are gay or straight, you've probably been in a similar situation at some point in your life. I'm sure that, just like me, you can relate to Charlie's doubts.

How do you tell someone that you love them? How do you cross the line between friendship and love, knowing that you're putting everything on the line and could end up alone?
What do you say?

How do you find the language of love?

"In THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE 17 year old Charlie struggles to find the words to be true to himself...and his best friend.

A wry, delicate take on first love and awakening sexuality from a young man's perspective, THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE is written and performed by Kim Ho, under the mentorship of leading Australian playwright Tommy Murphy, and directed by Laura Scrivano, for The Voices Project from the Australian Theatre for Young People (atyp)"

More information about the project is available here

FanstRA4: She's in the Army now!!

This was not supposed to be my first post for FanstRAvaganza, but faith decided differently when I stumbled upon this lovely picture of Richard and Evangeline Lilly (who plays Tauriel the Elf in The Hobbit 2 and 3) shared by a fan on Evangeline's Twitter account  @EvangelineLilly . I had never seen this picture before, have you?

According to Evangeline, it was taken at a local premier that they went to in Wellington during the filming of The Hobbit. Thank you to www.richardarmitagenet.com @RAnetdotcom for finding it!

But it got me thinking about how incredibly stunned all the women around Richard are after meeting him. Apparently (SPOILER ALERT) Evangeline did not even really get to work with Richard as their characters never actually get to interact in the films. But miss Lilly could not help but be in awe of his talent... and looking at this picture: how could anyone not be impressed?

The Dwarf Prince and the Wood Elf: don't they make a lovely pair?

So, I hereby officially declare Evangeline Lilly an active member of the Armitage Army! Welcome!!

Oh, and how spoiled are we - there seem to be new pictures of Richard every single day *does happy dance* :-)

Want to know more about FanstRAvaganza 4?
Check out the official FanstRAvaganza website where you'll find a list of all paticipating blogs: http://fanstravaganza.com/2013-event/participants/
If you have a Twitter account, follow @FanstRAvaganza where tweets about new posts will appear. Like the Facebook page to stay in touch:
https://www.facebook.com/FanstRAvaganza

How RA spent Valentine's Day

Do you celebrate Valentine's Day? For my better half and I, this is just a day like any other day. We are always kissing and cuddling and we never leave the house without saying 'I love you', so we don't need a day to remind us how happy we are together.
 
But even though we don't buy each other fancy presents or go out to dinner, I know a certain Brit who has been rather busy on Valentine's Day over the years. ;-)

In 2001, Craig Parker turned on the charm for this pretty blonde...

Richard played Craig Parker in one episode of the BBC drama Casualty

In 2004, two ladies were fighting for the honour of being RA's Valentine...

Lucy Brown (Ann Latimer), Richard Armitage (John Thornton) and Daniela Denby-Ashe (Margaret Hale)
in the BBC's adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South

And although this lady may have thought she had him hooked...

 

His heart showed him his one true love with one single yellow rose...

In 2005, Richard dressed up as Guy of Gisborne to present Lady Marian with a token of his regard for her:


Richard Armitage and Lucy Griffiths as Guy of Gisborne and Lady Marian
in episode 6 of season 1 of the BBC's Robin Hood (2006)

In 2006, we fell in love with Harry Kennedy, but he fell in love with Geraldine...

Richard Armitage and Dawn French as Harry Kennedy and Geraldine Granger in The Vicar of Dibley

In 2009, our spy-cam spotted senior case officer Lucas North on a romantic date with yet another pretty blonde. Well, anything's better than Sarah Caulfield, right?

Richard Armitage as Lucas North in Season 8 of Spooks

In 2010, RA hoped these lovely flowers would cheer up his love, as she was not feeling well and had to stay in hospital...

Richard Armitage played Sgt. John Porter in Chris Ryan's Strike Back

In 2011, he declared his love for all the world to see...

Richard Armitage leads his fellow cast members in the Powhiri ceremony
on the first day of filming for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Wellington, New Zealand

In 2012, he sent Valentine cards to all his friends!

And in 2013, under a Black Sky or threatened by Dragon fire, whether on Valentine's Day or not, may our very own King Richard love with all his heart and find that special someone who says 'I love you' back to him.



Gone in 60 seconds

Two brilliant new interviews: one in which Martin Freeman interviews Richard Armitage and one where Richard interviews Martin. Funny, adorable, sexy (that voice!)... these guys are so funny together!

What I've learned:
- There's somebody out there who is even worse at telling jokes than I am :-)

- RA prefers wine to beer... As I'm belgian, it would be almost sacrilege for me not to like beer at all, but I have a definite preference for wine. My new favourite is a Sauvignon Blanc from the Stoneleigh vinyards in New Zealand ;-)

- RA had a 'relationship' with his horse - Good to hear that he got along with HER after his rather 'difficult' relationship with Richie, his horse for Robin Hood... :-§

- He trusts the judgement of a stylist to make him look good. Now, I know we agree that this man would look good wearing a plastic bag (and not much else, winkwink), but he's right that his stylist for the press tour for The Hobbit has made him look absolutely gorgeous (Best dressed list gorgeous, that is!). Can I get a big round of applause for Miss Ilaria Urbinati?

- RA is a bit of a fitness freak... lifting weights because he "would not want to be a fat dude". I love people who like to suffer the pain of sports, and appreciate the incredible feeling you get when you've put your body through an extensive workout :-)

- He's sticking to his guns (!) about social media, but he prefers making that perfect shot with a bow and arrow... good, I don't like guns anyway, unless we're referring to a specific part of RA's body; in that case: I love guns! ;-)

Oh, and can I just bring everybody's attention back to that voice... That's dip-me-in-chocolate, tingles-down-my-spine, rich velvet voice? Not even Thorin's voice can top the real thing! Enjoy!!

MAX 60 Seconds with Richard Armitage - Thank you Cinemax!!




And MAX 60 Seconds with Martin Freeman:

Thirty Days to Thorin - It is done...

It is done. I have just seen The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 48fps 3D. My hands are actually shaking while I write this. I wanted to describe the experience, but I seem to be unable to string a few words together to form a decent sentence...

The film

I am in awe of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and I am extremely grateful for their interpretation of Tolkien's 'children's book'. They do the story so much justice and they treat it with nothing but love and respect. Their knowledge of the details of Tolkien's world is so very evident throughout the film...
I expected the return to Middle-Earth to be a wonderful experience, but nothing could have prepared me for this!

The story

Sir Peter and his team remained extremely loyal to Tolkien, whenever they could. So much so that much of the dialogue comes directly from the novel which is just what the fans want. Whenever they do stray from the original storyline, it is because some things simply do not translate well to the silver screen. Even Tolkien, the great storyteller, would have agreed with that because he would have understood that the success of a story depends as much on the vehicle you use (film, in this case) as on what you describe. Even though I've heard certain people in the media say that "Tolkien would be turning in his grave" if he could see what PJ has done to his story, I firmly believe that he would be proud to have this story interpreted the way Sir Peter has.

The 48fps

Oh my world! The 48fps makes everything so very clear. Every hair on Balin's beard, every piece of Thorin's battle robes, every wrinkle in Gandalf's face, every piece of gold in the Lonely Mountain...it's all there, right at your fingertips. This is setting a new standard for film in the future, and it really makes this specific film an extraordinary experience. I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I can't go into too much detail now, but I just want to say this: if you have a chance to go and see it in 48fps 3D, do yourself a favour and do it - you will not be disappointed.

 

Richard Armitage

Fans of Richard Armitage, look around you. Once this film is released to audiences across the globe in the days to come, there will be many more in RA's "little group of friends".

He took my breath away! The regal authority, the gravitas, the depth and the sense of purpose he brings to Thorin are undescribable; I was literally moved to tears. Such wonderfully detailed acting: the eyes, the hands (although they're not his own elegantly beautiful hands) the posture, the voice... I'm sure that voice will haunt me in my dreams tonight and possibly for many nights to come. That was SO good!

I don't think I'll manage to sleep tonight, but I'd better try anyway - long day at work ahead of me...
But for now, with Thorin's voice in my head, all I can really think about is: When can I go see this film again?

Thirty Days to Thorin (23) - Best of both worlds

This picture left me completely speechless... It's one of those rare pictures of Richard Armitage dressed as one of the characters he's portraying, but not 'in character'.

Being the kind of actor that he is, he usually keeps himself and the character separate. When it comes to Thorin, Richard has said that he got more and more into character while the prosthetics, the body suit, the hair and the costume were being applied every morning. I think it's extraordinary that we get to see Richard here, dressed as Thorin, but as himself. And, trust me, that smile is all Richard!! :-)



Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield) meets LEGO-Thorin (and presumably takes him home!) on the last day of filming in New Zealand
Image shared by www.richardarmitagenet.com

Thirty Days to Thorin (22) - My new precious

With all the new pictures and videos that have appeared this week, it was not easy to pick a favourite. So, I gave myself 24 hours to make up my mind, and this is the one that I keep going back to.

Richard Armitage photoshoot in NY 5 December 2012
Picture by Victoria Will - Invasion - AP

Why this one? There are so many reasons why I love this picture, many of which would make no sense to anyone but me. I'll try to explain:

1. Richard looks tired. I can see the jetlag. He looks real. After the larger-than-life pictures from the many red carpet events over the last week or so, it's obvious that the hectic schedule is getting to him. Hey, if you had gone from LA (US) to Auckland (NZ) , to Wellington (NZ), to Tokyo (Japan), to Toronto (Canada) to New York (US) in only a week or so, you would be tired as well! The great thing is that RA is not afraid to show it.
2. I love the new haircut! Slightly longer on top and short along the sides. Just a little bit of wax and he's ready to go ;-)
3. Lucas' sideburns and designer stubble - no explanation necessary
4. The blue background makes his eyes sparkle
5. I love that smile (what can I say?)
6. The black hoodie again reminds me of Lucas North and black is not only my own favourite colour, it's also my favourite colour on him (although I must say that plum is also growing on me...I'll explain that in a later post)
7. Leather... he's wearing leather *sigh* The jacket is a Todd Snyder (NY) and it looks incredible on Richard
8. Last but not least: I have a very strange attraction to Richard's hands. When I see Richard on screen, my attention goes to his long, elegant fingers. The fact that they feature so prominently in this picture, makes me love it all the more...

So this is currently my favourite picture of Richard as himself, but the competition is fierce! He's on the limited-edition cover of the next edition of FAULT magazine and that picture took my breath away!

Oh, and this was my runner-up for favourite picture. It's from a recently published photoshoot for Glamour Magazine that shows Richard in different scenes involving taxies in New York City. The caption for one of the pictures just said it all: "Yes, it makes us want to be a New York cabbie too" :-)

Thirty Days to Thorin (20) - 13 minutes of awe

"Whatever age you are, try to remember the sense of awe you had as a child... Hopefully you will leave with that awe firmly in place"

(James Nesbitt - Bofur)

A 13-minute Television Special has been made available. Careful, the video is full of spoilers, so if you're not ready for more details of the story, better not watch this...

If you are up for it, you will love this. I do. I can't believe that I'm only 1 week away from finally seeing this film, the first of 3, at least. *jumps up and down!*

I will mainly remember this:

Not only does Richard Armitage play a fierce warrior... he IS one! The proof is in this video :-)

Tolkien was a brilliant writer (not that there was ever any doubt!)

Philippa Boyens is a huge fan of Thorin Oakenshield (and, I suspect, also of Richard Armitage!)

This is how Richard describes Thorin:
"He's gone from prince to pauper and he's a battle-hardened warrior.He has a fierce sense of honour but he's been hardened by life, so his outer shell is pretty impenetrable."

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!



Update: The original video was removed from Youtube, but it seems it's now available again. I hope it remains here:

Thirty Days to Thorin (12) - IMAX and trying to swim

I'm in information overload-mode! There is so much news to read and so many pictures to see since yesterday's The Hobbit world premiere in Wellington. I really don't feel like I've been able to see everything yet. So while I'm trying to keep my head up and swim through all of this goodness, I wanted to share the wonderful new IMAX poster of Thorin with you. Isn't it simply stunning?

New IMAX poster for The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey featuring Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield

Thirty Days to Thorin (11) - He's got my heart forever now!

I just had the most amazing night/morning (04:30 am - 08:00 am) watching the live red carpet event for the world premiere of The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey in Wellington, New Zealand.
I'll definitely take time to talk about all that later today, but I just found out that Richard has written to us, the fans, again, so I just had to share this immediately.

Literally hours or minutes before the biggest event in his career, the man takes the time to sit down and write a note of appreciation to thank the fans for their support. How amazing is that! If I did not love him with all my heart before today, I will surely do so from this day on.

Thank you http://www.richardarmitageonline.com/ for sharing the message with the world!

Here it is:

Dear Friends,

So I am sitting in my hotel room from which I can see a very long red carpet and The Embassy Theatre. I am nervous, excited and quite emotional, the day has arrived when we can finally present our work for everyone to hopefully enjoy.

I wanted to say thank you for the continuing support that I receive from everyone who visits Annette's brilliant site, and those others which have popped up over the last few years and months. It means so much to me to have that support. I truly hope you all enjoy The Hobbit, I tried to respect the responsibility that taking on this role presented to me, my fellow cast members are all spectacular in the story and we send out our work to you in the hope that you can take your friends and family to see a great event in the cinema.

I look forward to saying thank you, at the various premiers over the next few weeks.

See you on the Red Carpet.

Much love
Richard

Thirty Days to Thorin (10) - There should be a law against this!

Seriously, nobody should be allowed to look that good after getting off a flight from LA (USA) to Auckland (New Zealand)!

Richard Armitage and Martin Freeman between flights at Auckland International Airport, New Zealand, 25 November 2012

Flying from LA to Auckland takes about 13 hours. Yes, they were in first class, so they were probably slightly more comfortable than some other passengers on the flight. Even so, I don't know many people who would manage to look THAT GOOD after being stuck on a plane for 13 hours.

I love his stubble (you may have noticed before that I'm a fan of Richard with designer stubble), I love the fact that his hair is messed up, I love the fact that his boots are untied as if he just put them on very quickly after waking up from a well-deserved nap. I'm so bad at sleeping on planes, trains and automobiles that I have developed great respect for people who do manage to make good use of flying time.
I love the red spots on his cheek which tell me that he's probably been sleeping with his cheek resting on his hand, or resting his cheek against the window - that's just adorable!
I love the jeans - dark and tight - showing of those long legs...
I love the jeans shirt - collar up, button open (the fans love to see his neck, don't ask me why, but we do!)
I love the leather jacket - I thought RA would never go near anything in leather ever again after having to endure the Hungarian sun in the leather costumes he had to wear for Guy of Gisbourne in the BBC's Robin Hood. I'm extremely happy that he does wear leather, though, as it suits him so very well.

Well done, Mr. Armitage, top marks for style!!

Thirty Days to Thorin (3) - New TV spot

A new TV spot fot The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has just been released. It contains some new scenes and features Thorin quite prominently. Enjoy!!

Beam me up to New Zealand, Scotty!

I've always believed that I was so very lucky to have been born right here. I'm in the centre of Europe, in a country that offers it residence so much security and so many opportunities. We have warm summers (when we're lucky) and snowy winters (more snow every year, which I absolutely love, unless it's getting in the way of my travel plans). We are not plagued by any natural disasters and the financial crisis has not hit us as badly as it could have. So, I'm usually very grateful that I ended up exactly where I am. Usually... Today, not so much. Today, I would have wanted to be in New Zealand, the NZ Opera House to be exact. Why, you ask? Because that's where this man was and there are pictures to prove it!



A big THANK YOU to Catherine, who shared her pictures on tumblrhttp://cathoiskool.tumblr.com/post/25712812234/tonight-i-went-to-see-sir-ian-mckellen-host-a


Richard Armitage and many other members of the cast of The Hobbit attended Sir Ian McKellen's one-man show to raise money for charity, to help re-build the Christchurch area which has recently been hit by a series of devastating earthquakes.

Could this be the end of Richard's period of hibernation? Is he slowly shedding the skin of Thorin Oakeshield and coming back to real life? OK, the look is still very much Thorin: the athletic body of the dwarven king is still in shape, the (now apparently slightly longer) hair probably makes it easier to add the long dwarven mane and I'm extremely happy to see that my beloved man is still rocking that beloved beard. If he's not stepping into a new role right after filming on The Hobbit wraps in July, I may even be lucky enough to see more pictures of him before he has to shave it off. Although I like my men silky smooth, there's no denying that, on the right man, a beard can look incredibly beautiful - and this one simply makes me want to reach out and touch his face!

The eyes are definitely Richard, not Thorin. He's not channeling the King Under the Mountain here, he's just himself. His beautiful, talented, humble, generous self, to be precise. I see before me, a man who is content, happy to be where he is and prepared for whatever the future holds for him. My crystal ball says the future may be absolute madness once the audiences of the world get acquainted with this talented Brit, but Richard will take things as they come, and he'll be happy to go back to relative obscurity once the world moves on to the next Twilight or Hunger Games. He'll make it through the storm unscathed and with his sanity firmly intact.

Richard Armitage channels Thorin Oakenshield, King Under The Mountain
Image source: www.richardarmitagenet.com

Oh, I almost forgot, there's video too. See what happens when Sir Ian invites the cast of The Hobbit on stage and then gets a whole bunch of audience members to come and play Shakespeare with them!

I can't wait to see this film!! Today is Sunday, 23 June, so that means 173 days until the film finally opens around the globe. [And only 59 days until Armitage Day!!] Now where did I park that time machine again?

For now, New Zealand remains on the bucket list. Some day...

Random Thoughts: The King is back

Real Life seems to be getting in the way my blogging with actual substance, but I'm sure you will enjoy this Random Goodness just as much.

Anyone who knows what I mean when I talk about 'The Drought', knows that fans of Richard Armitage are getting desperate to see more of him. He's spent most of the last 2 years in New Zealand filming The Hobbit, and, unlike many of his co-stars, has not been in the public eye at all during that time. I say that with the greatest respect for his dedication to the job and his modest and humble personality. But The Army has had to go without their CiC for 2 years now - we are eagerly awaiting new orders :-)

On 6 June, Peter Jackson released his 7th The Hobbit production video blog. He takes us on a tour of the Stone Street studios in Wellington, where the 2 films (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again) are being shot back to back.
The average viewer may not even have noticed Richard in this 14minute vlog, but I can assure you it has been food for thought for many fans across the globe already. The main conclusion? He looks even better than we could ever have imagined - The King is back!!

If you've read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, you know that Thorin Oakenshield, the rightful King Under The Mountain, is not the easiest person to deal with. He's a King: He looks, acts and speaks like royalty. And as Thorin is a fictional character of mythical proportions, he is also extremely brave, wise and fearless. Oh, and and breathtakingly beautiful! And we now have even more evidence to the fact that Richard is doing a wonderful job at portraying him.

Here are my favourite screencaps from the video blog, courtesy of http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/:

The barrel scene: An epic moment in the novel. It looks like Richard has managed to overcome his fear of water. Knowing him, he probably used it as a tool to make his performance even more convincing (that's our boy!)

This is the moment in the vlog where I thought he looked positively regal, even next to the wonderful Sir Ian McKellen.



We get a glimpse of the treasures hidden inside The Lonely Mountain. That beautiful blue coat is fit for a king!

 See the complete vlog here (from Youtube), featuring Orlando Bloom as 'The Cameraman' and a promise from PJ that another video blog will be released once filming has wrapped (in only a few weeks, can you believe it!)

Now let me take you back to the very beginning. Remember how Richard's amazing performance at the Powhiri welcoming ceremony filled our hearts with joy and pride for him? The ceremony was part of Peter Jackson's first ever video blog at the start of production. The video was released on 14 April 2011. Here's Richard's moment of glory (from Youtube):

Have fun reminiscing and I'll see you soon!

The interview...

Is this RA drought getting on your nerves as well?

Don’t get me wrong: I know RA is having the time of his life in New Zealand and I want him to enjoy every single moment of the production of The Hobbit, for more than one reason.

First of all, this is the experience of a lifetime for him. This story that he loved as a child, that was one of his first experiences as an actor (he played an elf in his school play!) is now bringing him a role (Thorin Oakenshield, no less!) in one of the biggest movie productions of the decade, with a brilliant director and groundbreaking production techniques. I want him to take it all in, to learn and grow and experience it to the fullest. 

Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield
(promo pictures for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)

Second of all, these films are going to be epic. I want our dearest Richard to enjoy his final months of life in relative anonymity for as long as he possible can. His life is about to change substantially, and he’ll have enough publicity to deal with once Peter Jackson releases ‘An Unexpected Journey’ to The World.  I completely understand that he’s not putting himself in the spotlight for the moment. He’s not joking in front of the camera in PJs production videos, he’s not getting his picture taken at charity events with other members of the cast (maybe he was there to support the charity, but he’s not in the pictures), he’s not releasing interviews left, right and centre and he’s not appearing in chat shows or at red carpet events. I love his style and modesty, this is one of the main reasons why I am so completely in awe of this man.

I admit that it’s also frustrating. I’m craving something new. A picture, an interview, even a small, non-descript piece of random news about whatever, as long as it’s about him.
I have a friend in the military who has been on a few tours of duty for up to four months. For the people who stay behind, month number three is always the most difficult. He’s been away for long enough for everyone to have gotten used to the fact of getting on with their lives after the shock of someone important leaving them, but they now start looking forward to his return. They start counting the days, but there’s still so much time left that it only becomes more difficult.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Absolutely true!

That’s how I feel about RA. The release of The Hobbit is now so close that I can almost taste it, but at the same time it’s so far away that I need something to get me through this long waiting period.

Fortunately, I have enough material to keep me busy.:

- I’m listening to the ‘Lords of the North’ audio book. That voice… I sometimes need to go back to a previous section of the CD, because I’m so entranced by RA’s velvet voice, that I stop paying attention to what he’s actually saying. And I have to actively make myself listen to the story. And Richard is such a great storyteller: the way he gives all the characters in the story a specific voice and a specific personality is amazing. I bow my head to his craftsmanship.

- A Belgian TV station is playing reruns of Spooks again, one episode every weekday. They’ve just reached the end of season 7, so I now have a daily date with Lucas North as well. Did I mention I absolutely adore Lucas North?


Richard Armitage as Lucas North in Spooks

So, don’t worry about me, I’ll manage to bridge the gap between now and December.
On the other hand, I’ve never been much of a follower of the phrase “Good things come to those who wait”, so I’ve decided to try to make something happen instead.
Imagine this: to show appreciation to his ‘Little community’ of fans (not that he owes us anything, but just hypothetically speaking), I manage to persuade Richard to grant us (the fans) an exclusive interview. What would you want to ask him?

I will get a list of questions together that I will send in a letter to Richard in a few weeks time. Want me to include your question(s)? Comment on this post and tell me what your question is, or send me an e-mail: inged3@gmail.com. Please do so before 20 May.

Let me be very clear: I’m not sure RA will ever answer our questions, and I completely understand if he doesn’t, but I just have to give this a try, you never know!  Let’s see what happens! Also, if he feels the urge to invite me to London in a few months for a real interview, who am I to refuse? :-)

The result, if there ever is one, will be posted on this blog. Fingers crossed!!