Random thoughts: License to thrill

I don’t want Richard Armitage to play James Bond.I think I've made that more than clear in the past.
Would he do a wonderful job? There’s no doubt! Would it be a smart choice? Unfortunately, I don't think so.

Yes, he'd look fantastic as James Bond, I know... Still don't think it's right for him, though!
Picture from Glamour magazine photoshoot January 2013
www.richardarmitagenet.com

I’m sorry if you’re a James Bond fan. I’m not. Ian Fleming’s stories are OK, but the films have never been my cup of tea. Honestly, the only really good thing about these films, is the music. James Bond theme songs really do belong to a separate genre, a unique style. I love the glamour of it, the constrained sensuality, the threatening passion beneath the surface. And although there have been some failures – Madonna’s Die Another Day still makes me cringe – most of these themes have become timeless classics. Here’s my personal top 5:

1. Sheena Easton – For Your Eyes Only (1981)
James Bond = Roger Moore




2. Tina Turner – Goldeneye (1995)
James Bond = Pierce Brosnan




3. Garbage – The World is Not Enough (1999)
James Bond = Pierce Brosnan




4. Gladys Knight – License to Kill (1989)
James Bond = Timothy Dalton




5. Adele – Skyfall (2013)
James bond = Daniel Craig




Do you agree? Disagree? Have I forgotten a fantastic gem of a song?
What’s your favourite?

What about the man himself? Who will always be James Bond to you? If I had to make a choice, it would have to be for the man with the most adorable accent: Sean Connery!

Random thoughts: Own it and mean it

This is how it's done. You admit that what you've done was wrong. You own it. You apologise. You mean it. You earn back the respect that you had lost.


 

It still seems to be beyond what most people manage to do, and that's just not right. 

I was in a similar situation just before Christmas when someone who calls themselves my friend was extremely rude to me. Don't get me wrong, this was not a matter of a difference of opinion, a discussion or the exchange of harsh words. I'm used to that and I can handle that without any problem whatsoever. No. What I experienced was a public, spiteful and disrespectful attack on me as a person, with a number of F-bombs thrown in for extra spice. It was hurtful and shocking.

I didn't react and walked away, but the incident stayed in my head and almost managed to ruin my Christmas.

What's probably even worse, is that only a few hours later, this person was sending me Christmas wishes as if nothing had happened. Not even an acknowledgement of what had happened between us. Not a single attempt to make things right.

Am I overreacting? Maybe you think I am, and that's fine. 
What makes me sad is that it seems to be fine for people to treat each other with so very little respect and the other person is simply expected to swallow it, not 'get emotional' and move on. Again, that's just not right.

"...be willingly good, extra good, extra peaceful and extra forgiving..."
(Richard Armitage's message to his well-wishers, Christmas 2011)

I'm very specific when it comes to my relationships with the people in my life. My husband always says that, not counting the very few people in my life for whom I would gladly confront a fire-breathing dragon in Erebor, you are either in my top drawer or in my bottom drawer, and there's nothing in between.

Everyone starts in the top drawer, everyone has the benefit of the doubt. As long as you're in that top drawer, you could call me from god-knows-where to ask for my help at 3 o'clock in the morning and I will gladly leap out of bed to do whatever I can do for you. But I can't stand injustice, especially when it's aimed at me. Treating me unjust will land you a spot in the bottom drawer. You need to really hurt me to fall down to the bottom drawer, but it will take you a lifetime to climb back to the top. I forgive, but I rarely forget, and once you've fallen, any chance of us becoming anything even close to what would fit into my definition of friendship is out of the question. You're done. But always, the very first step of the long road home, is an apology. 

Own it. Mean it. And you're on your way.

Oh, if you were wondering: my own definition of friendship is illustrated rather perfectly by this quote from A.A. Milne's Winnie The Pooh.

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh?" he whispered.

"Yes, Piglet?"

"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's hand. "I just wanted to be sure of you.” 

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?



Random thoughts: I hope you dance

 

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder

 

You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger

May you never take one single breath for granted

 

God forbid love ever leave you empty handed

 

 

I hope you still feel small when you stand by the ocean

 

 

Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens

 

 

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

 

 

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

 

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance

 

Never settle for the path of least resistance

 

Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking

Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth making

Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter

When you come close to selling out, reconsider

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance

 

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

 

 

 

Pictures taken from www.richardarmitagenet.com and www.richardarmitageonline.com

Dancing Thorin taken from AnUnexpectedDwarf on Tumblr

Lyrics from the song 'I hope you dance' by Lee Ann Womack

 

 

Random thoughts: 'I do' love the fashion!

In the last month and a half or so, I've been to 3 weddings.

Looking back on them, I realise that all three of them were completely different, but each one was the perfect wedding for that specific bride and groom. They had completely different ceremonies, completely different vows. One couple had a church wedding, another had a personalised ceremony at the town hall or just a simple, short, legal wedding.

One couple had a large wedding party that lasted halfway through the night and another simply had a reception with family and friends or even a family dinner.

The choices they made for their wedding day were the best choices for that particular bride and groom. The details that reflected their personalities made every one of these weddings really their day.
 
The best way for me to show you the differences, is by showing you the brides and their beautiful, but very different wedding dresses. I loved all three and I wish these beautiful brides all the best for the future!

Oh, and before I forget: the grooms scrub up rather nicely as well, don't they? ;-)


Which dress do you like best?

A white, heart-shaped corset dress with layered skirt. Long in the back,
shorter in the front, showing off the brides beautiful legs! And lovely peep-toe heels!

A short, A-line dress with heart shaped corset top. The bright red is perfectly matched with the short ivory-coloured jacket with red embroidery details and ivory-coloured heels.

This is the more traditional dress. White, with a long, smooth skirt. The sassy detail is the open back (which, unfortunately, you can't see in this picture) I love the collar - she really does look like a fairytale princess!

FanstRA 4 - Dixit RA

I would like to share my 3 favourite quotes from Richard Armitage since the World Premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on 28 November 2012. I don't necessarily remember where or when he said this, but for some reason, I did remember what he said.

“I’m standing at a bus stop next to a massive flag of Thorin, and I’m standing there thinking, ‘Everyone’s looking at this flag and yeah, you don’t realize that the man on that flag is standing in the bus stop with you,’ ” he said with a grin.

Why I love this quote: Richard’s such a modest man. He’s not in this acting game for the fame, but simply because it’s the only thing that could ever really make him happy and satisfied. He’s still hoping that people will not recognize him as Thorin and that he can go on leading his anonymous life in the real world. I honestly hope he will succeed!! (I am secretly very protective of him and I’d love to just keep him to myself, although he absolutely deserves all of the acknowledgements that he’s been getting lately) Although with 3 films, people have time to get to know his face, so I sincerely doubt he’ll be able to remain anonymous for more than another year or so…

Your face on a flag, your face on a stamp? Nothing says "You've made it big" like your face on a plane!

“The fact that we’re on a New Zealand stamp, so someone’s licking the back of Thorin’s head and sticking on the back of an envelope. I think that’s amazing.”

Why I love this quote: When you’ve made it onto a stamp, you’ve really made it big!
When I read this quote, the first thought that went through my mind was: “Everyone will be thinking of licking the back of Richard’s head, not Thorin’s head…” ;-) Richard has said before that he believes that the fans really love the characters, not him as a person. But the more we know about this man behind the characters, this lovely, sweet, shy, caring man (with a propensity for a bad temper, but that’s what makes him human) we love him more and more. We support him because of the lovely work he has done and because of the wonderful characters he has portrayed so brilliantly, but it’s really the actor, the master of the craft whom we support, not his characters.

Walking in Dwarf boots. The heirs of Durin show us how it's done! (And not a diaper in sight!)

 

 “And also, when you have those big boots on, you sort of walk like you're wearing a diaper. So we had to de-diaperize ourselves.”

Why I love this quote: I just think it’s really funny. Richard seems to make links between the most random things, and the weird thing is that those comparisons actually work. Everyone understands exactly what he trying to say, how it feels to walk around in those big boots. The man has a great way with words and he proves himself to be a true storyteller in the way he describes the world around him. For a language addict like myself, there’s nothing sexier than an intelligent man who appreciates the art of storytelling.

 

What's your favourite RA quote?

 

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/
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Random Thoughts: Laptop Lucas

This is me this morning: on the sofa with my laptop. And Episode 2 of season 9 of Spooks in the background. When Lucas is still Lucas and John Bateman is still only a ghost from the past without any real influence on the future.

I find myself going back to Lucas North more and more these days. I'll write more about him very soon. But there's other things I wanted to blog about today, so I'd better get back to that first!

Richard Armitage as Lucas North in Spooks (Season 9 episode 2)
Image courtesy of www.richardarmitagenet.com
 

Oh yes you are!

"I'd rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are; because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star. I'd rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far; for a might have-been has never been, but a has was once an are."

- Milton Berle

 

 

 

A few lucky ladies have recently had a chance to visit the set of the film 'Black Sky' in Michigan (USA) and to meet Richard Armitage. Pictures of Richard with his arm around a fan and smiling brightly to the camera have been all of the web in the past few weeks. How thoughtful of Richard to make some time in his busy filming schedule to come out and say hello to his fans. You're a true gentleman, Mr. A!

 

When the husband of one of these ladies mentioned that this would be his very first picture with a movie star, Richard's reply was: "I'm no movie star..."

 

Oh dear, sweet, Mr. Armitage, humble and modest as ever!

 

If you're not a movie sar yet, you definitely will be one once the world gets to know Thorin Oakenshield and when they realise that you are the real star of this film (of all 3 of them, if you ask me, but I admit that my judgement may not be completely objective).

 

Richard Armitage as dwarf Thorin Oakenshield, The King Under The Mountain,
in Peter Jackson's upcoming The Hobbit trilogy

 

 

You may not be a movie star in your own mind yet, this picture sure makes you look like one... Clooney who?

 

Richard Armitage backstage at the BAFTAs in 2009
 

 

As usual, pictures were taken from the excellent Picture Gallery at www.richardarmitagenet.com



Fifty shades of righteous indignation

My thoughts on Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James (2011)

DISCLAIMER:
1.It’s impossible to review this book without revealing some of the details of the story. So if you have not read the book(s) and you don’t want to be disappointed, stop right here. Go read Fifty Shades of Grey first. On the other hand, if you want to know exactly what you’re getting yourself into before you decide to read the book, keep on reading. I hope I can help you make up your mind.

2.The below text is about my thoughts on this story and nothing more. In no possible way is this text a reflection on or a suggestion of my own likes or dislikes when it comes to sexual relationships. For the very simple reason, my dearest reader, that my sexual relationships are none of your business ;-)

*********************************

“Just say yes
Just say there’s nothing holding you back
It’s not a test. Nor a trick of the mind, only love
Just say yes
‘Cause I’m aching and I know you are too
For the touch of your warm skin as I breathe you in”
(Just say yes – Snow Patrol)

I had to read this book. For months now, both positive and negative reviews of it had been coming my way and I just had to see for myself what all the fuss was about. So, on the hottest summer weekend of the year, I started reading Fifty Shades of Grey, the first installment in E.L. James’ Fifty Shades trilogy. And just over 24 hours later, I finished it. I don’t think I’ve ever read a complete novel in less than at least a complete weekend, so this was definitely a first for me.

Cracking Christian
Only a few pages into the story, I remember thinking: “She’s too young”.  And a few pages later, when Christian Grey appears, I thought the exact same thing: “I wish he was older”. Of course, I would very soon discover that Ana’s age is a specific choice of the writer, as is the fact that Christian is only 27 and I think it fits the story very well. Anastasia Steele is not even 22 years old yet; she’s immature, insecure and inexperienced. About halfway through the story, Ana makes the typical female mistake in relationships: she thinks she can change him. And, to my surprise, for a long time, she seems to be succeeding! She’s the perfect antidote to Christian’s carefully constructed life of wealth, confidence and strict rules. The only one who could create cracks in his perfect exterior and make everything he’s ever held true come crumbling down.

Fifty shades of fucked up?
Fifty Shades is a brilliant character study: A character study of the elusive Christian Grey, through the eyes of Ana Steele. We discover Christian together with Ana, we see only what she sees, we only experience events the way she experiences them. It’s that particular choice of making this an eye-witness report by Ana that has allowed many readers to characterize Christian as the devil incarnate: we deal with this girl’s discovery of a man and a lifestyle that she has no idea of, and it’s not always the greatest experience. I’m sure that, if some of the story had been written from Christian’s point of view, people would have reacted much more favorably towards this character. But that’s the whole point of this story: trying to find out what’s going on inside the head of Christian Grey. Is he really fifty shades of fucked up, or not?

Sexual revolution?
I’ve read many reviews of this book, and the one thing that surprised me is that some reviewers did not simply discard the story as badly written and lacking substance or even as insulting filth, but they were actually angry that a book like Fifty shades of Grey could be so very successful. I wonder why? I mean, I personally think that the Twilight books are a collection of nonsensical dribble, but that simply means that I don’t read them. Why would I be angry that they exist? Why would I be angry at the fact that some people tend to compare Christian Grey to some of the most loved romantic heroes such as Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy or Charlotte Brönte’s Rochester? If that’s your opinion, that’s fine. I may not agree, but that’s not the point; what makes these people so angry? Could it be the sexual nature of this book? If you’ve read this book, you’ll know that the sex scenes are extremely explicit. Is that what makes people angry? Is there a certain sense of shock about the brutal honesty and lack of modesty in this story? Are we not as open-minded and sexually liberated as we proclaim to be? I wonder…

Who is Christian Grey?
I personally believe that the explicit sex scenes are part of what makes this a good story. They are frequent, but never vulgar, and they add something to the characterization of Christian Grey. One reviewer said it perfectly: “It is different, exciting, out of the box, off the wall. You must have an open mind to understand how great this book is. It's not porn, it's specific and sexual but the psychological factors are endless.”

With every sexual act that they share, Ana receives little pieces of information about this man that she cannot seem to get away from. If she thought about this rationally, she’d run like hell, but she can’t. She’s intrigued by him, by the world that he’s guiding her into and by the complex personality that is slowly revealing itself to her. I’m sure you too have fallen for the wrong guy at some point in your life – when all your friends said that he was not the man for you and he was not treating you right, you still wanted him.


Why women love Fifty Shades
The success of this book has been attributed to the existence of e-readers like Kindle, making it possible to read a book on a handheld device that does not show the people around you what you’re reading. That’s possible for some, but I have absolutely no issues about reading this book on the train to work. If that’s embarrassing for the person sitting next to or in front of me, than that’s their problem, not mine.


Why did I enjoy Fifty Shades? Because it’s honest, well-written and not trying to be something that it’s not. Oh, and the most delicious main character ever! Christian Grey is mister perfect: the body of a god, a self-made man, intelligent and richer than Oprah. He plays the piano (which, to me, is right up there with a man who plays the cello!), he knows his wine (“I’m not knowledgeable, I just know what I like”), he’s trained to fly a helicopter, has an excellent taste in music (Frank Sinatra! La Traviata!) and he can dance *faints*. And he gave Ana six orgasms in two days!


Oh yes, and he’s an insanely jealous control freak whose preferred way to show affection is by beating the object of his desire with a cane… Nobody’s perfect.


You need to read this book. Put your embarrassment aside, and just go for it!

Size does matter!

…Especially when you’re playing a dwarf, apparently.

In the below interview, Richard is asked how tall he is and he answers:
“I’m 6 feet 2inches…and a half”

Nothing out of the ordinary if it wasn’t the very first time that the ‘half an inch’ was mentioned (as far as I know, that is). Could it be that playing a 5’2” dwarf has made our favourite man more concious and even slightly anxious about his height?

For someone who’s not used to measuring things in feet and inches, it might seem silly to worry about only half an inch. But once you realise that it’s the equivalent of almost a centimeter and a half, you can see why it would be important.

I do seem to remember reading in a previous interview that they gave Richard extra high boots, just to make sure that he was taller than Graham McTavish who plays Dwalin. Of course, Thorin, The King Under The Mountain, has to be the tallest dwarf.

Richard Armitage with Thorin at San Diego Comic Con 2012
Picture courtesy of www.richardarmitagenet.com

Don’t worry, dear Richard, size doesn’t matter, it’s what you do with it that’s important!

;-))

Just to make sure we all know what we're talking about:
0.5 inches = 1.27 cm
2.5 inches = 6.35 cm
6 feet = 182.88 cm
6 feet + 2.5 inches = 189.23 cm
6 feet + 2 inches = 182.88 + 5.08 = 187.96 cm

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!

Random Thoughts: The festival of tailor-made music

I know this is a few days after the facts, but I had to write about it.

Rock Werchter in Belgium has been celebrated as the best festival in the World for several years in a row. Its organisation, security and musical line-up are unparalleled and an example for other festivals. For 4 days in the first weekend of July, the festival welcomes visitors from around the globe to enjoy music from the best bands and the greatest new artists.

www.rockwerchter.be

A few years ago, the organisers of this festival decided that it was time to branch out and give more and different audiences a chance to enjoy their favourite music at Werchter. They came up with 2 new concepts: TW Classic and Werchter Boutique.

TW Classic brings the greatest music of all time to the stage. Bryan Adams, Lenny Kravits, Simple Minds, The Black Eyed Peas, Depeche Mode, Moby, The Police, Elton John and Sting are just a few of the amazing artists that have graced the audience of TW Classic with their greatest hits.

www.twclassic.be

And then there’s Werchter Boutique – the person who came up with this concept is an absolute genius! Werchter Boutique changes every year and the line-up is adapted to suit a specific audience.

In 2008, a dream came true for thousands of screaming young teenage girls and their families when Tokio Hotel was the headliner and Santana and Dutch band Doe Maar provided the necessary impulse for parents to want to accompany their sons and daughters to the festival.

In 2009, Madonna brought her Sticky & Sweet tour to the stage at Werchter and in 2010 Prince was the headliner, again bringing completely different audiences to this small town in Belgium.

www.werchterboutique.be

Werchter Boutique then skipped a year, only to return with its greatest stunt to date. This year, Werchter Boutique catered to fans of metal music: the festival headliner was one of the greatest metal bands in the world: Metallica. And I was there.

Let me be extremely clear: I am not a metal fan. The music is too loud, the songs are usually just a blur of guitars and drums and people screaming into a microphone in ways that make me want to chop my ears off. But I have never seen a more amazing live act than Metallica. I must have seen them perform for five or six times by now, and I’m blown away every time.

We bought tickets to this festival months ago, when the only band confirmed to play was Metallica. In the months that followed, the following ‘supporting acts’ were announced: Ghost, Gojira, Channel Zero, Mastodon and Soundgarden. All great bands of the metal genre, but they were clearly no more than that: a way to pass the time before Metallica would take to the stage. I can’t really say very much about them: I didn’t like Ghost (to much like a fancy dress party), Gojira was simply too loud, I appreciate Channel Zero as they are a Belgian band and they used to be really good (used to be, that is, now…not so much), I skipped Mastodon and they were just background music to us while we were having dinner in the back of the festival grounds and I can see why Soundgarden was the second greatest grunge band after Nirvana… 20 years ago. I do still love their song Black Hole Sun, that was the only thing that got me up off the grass with my hands in the air.

At about 21:00, when the sun was setting behind the stage, it was finally time for Metallica to make this day worth the money. And by god did they ever deliver!

Metallica performed their legendary Black Album in its entirety, with The Unforgiven, Enter Sandman and Sad But True as my personal favourites. The band celebrated the 20^th anniversary of this album that meant their worldwide breakthrough and made them the greatest metal band in the world, and they have not lost any of their enigmatic charisma. The lights and fireworks were perfectly in tune with the surprisingly beautiful melodies and clever lyrics of their legendary songs. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert, was screaming from beginning to end, trying to keep up with James Hetfield’s powerful vocals and incredible energy. If you’ve never seen this band, you should. I promise that you will not regret it!

I wonder what Werchter Boutique will come up with next year – it will take another stroke of genius to top this year’s overwhelming success!!

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!!

Random thoughts on Tuesday: John x 5

OK, this post is completely random and just a little present for myself after a long day.
Let's have a look at Richard Armitage characters named John!

Ah, John Thornton, the TDHCMO himself... By the way, if you don't know what that means, you have not watched North & South often enough!

John Standring from Sparkhouse. So shy, but so very strong in love at the same time. I love this character because it gave Richard a challenge as an actor and his performance is overwhelming! Just like Guy of Gisbourne become almost more important than "Forrest Boy" in Robin Hood, John Standring is what keeps me coming back for more in Sparkhouse...

John Mulligan doesn't look like a bad boy, does he? Nooo, he's cute, he's sweet, he's kind and generous. Not to mention incredibly S-E-X-Y! Too bad about the whole drug dealer thing... Fortunately, it's always a pleasure to watch Richard Armitage play the baddie!

And just for your info: one of the reasons why I like John Mulligan is because he looks like Lucas North from season 7 of Spooks which was filmed around the same time as Moving On (designer stubble, anyone?).

"Just so you know...I'm going to kill every single one of those bastards."

Need I say more? John Porter... I would willingly put my life into his hands. If you have not seen Chris Ryan's Strike Back, go watch it - right now!

I'm still in denial about John Bateman. In season 9 of Spooks, we find out that Lucas North is not really Lucas North. He's John Bateman and John is not exactly a nice guy... Although I thought the 'downfall of Lucas North' twist was completely unbelievable, I have to take my hat off to Richard Armitage for the way he portrayed the slow transformation from Lucas, the hero, into John, the killer. In every single picture from Spooks 9, you can clearly see the difference between Lucas and John. I can't exactly put my finger on what the differences are, but they seem to be two completely different characters. That, ladies and gentlemen, is real talent!

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little chat about 'the Johns'.
Pictures were found at http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/

Sweet dreams!!