December 20, 2011

Listen to Thorin Sing(thx to onemorelurker) + Richard Armitage Worldwide Trend on Twitter(see below) + See Richard III Project Details & Link to Website + New Reviews/Screencaps(see below links) + Empire Mag Quote:"Armitage's increasingly impressive Thorin"(link below) + Watch First Trailer - Thorin in The Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey




LISTEN to THORIN:  If, like me, have already watched The Hobbit trailer about a dozen times and would prefer to cut straight to the chase, or more to the point, to RA singing the Misty Mountains Cold - clever and kind onemorelurker has provided the way:

Wonderful to already see Thorin, aka RA, integrated with all the other LOTR icons..scroll:



A huge Thank you to @Julischka80 for capturing RA's name on Twitter's worldwide trends list - sometime after The Hobbit trailer was released.  See latest poll asking if you were fortunate to notice it at the time, or were you, like me, distracted by re-watching the fantastic trailer for about the fifth time:) We get to see it after the fact due to her quick fingers.. 


RECENT POLL RESULTS:  When asked during an interview which tv shows he watched,RA mentioned an American series then said "I wanna be in it!" 51% of you chose the correct show - 'DAMAGES'.
62% of you naughty females*winks* admitted that you enjoy RA's naughty characters most.


Perfect time to mention this fan effort to help RA achieve his dream of a remake of Richard III.  The details:
EXCERPT(See below link)
"To revise this king’s negative and ill-deserved image in popular culture and pay tribute to his legacy, the famous British actor Richard Armitage has expressed interest in developing a major film/television project that is envisioned as a prequel to The Tudors, a television series that aired on Showtime and BBC. This project is a deeply personal one for Richard, who was born on the day that Richard III died (August 22) and named after the king by his father."
In his own words:
As an actor, it’s a project I would love to achieve. I believe it is a great story, a socio-political thriller, a love story and a dynastic tragedy. My challenge is to convince commercial producers to see beyond ‘history lesson’, but I strongly suspect that this will be a long way off, probably outside of my ability to play the role, but I wouldn’t rule out playing another role, I may even be producing by the time someone wakes up and realizes the potential for this project.

King Richard III (Source: Wikimedia.org)
The literary character of Richard III in William Shakespeare’s play has long overshadowed the historical life and reign of King Richard III of England. He was a loving husband and father, a fierce soldier and fighter, a just governor of his people. As an effective and influential government leader for change, Richard’s economic, legal, and social contributions to society continue to have an impact on England to this day.

Significant Accomplishments
the creation of the Court of Requests for the legal representation of the poor (in 1483)
the introduction of bail to protect suspects (in 1484)
the ban on restrictions for printing and book sale
the translation of the written Laws and Statutes from French into English

http://kingrichardarmitage.rgcwp.com/


Judging from the size of his name in my newly generated 'tweet cloud', seems I may be coming repetitive on one particular topic:) *teehee*


Some people enjoy seeing a new movie over their Christmas holiday - here are a couple reviews.  First one is for WAR HORSE.  The writer mentioned being in tears more than once while watching the film, which led me to wonder who 'she' might be.  When I saw Rex Reed's byline it explained everything.
He also reviewed THE IRON LADY in which he gushed over Meryl Streep and excoriated Maggie Thatcher.  In truth Ms Streep's films, and style of acting, put me to sleep - at least they did when I gave them the chance.  And, I'm shouting from the blog tops that I've found historical figure, Mrs Thatcher,  to be an admirable woman.  She does not deserve the beating she receives from the liberal side of the political spectrum.  Those who refuse to ever make difficult, courageous decisions, but instead manipulate their liberal voting bases with condescending class warfare - shrink in comparison with a person
of strong character such as Ms Thatcher .
Next film reviewed by Reed is SHAME...OMG! Can’t believe the reviewer had the b…err.. boldness to use the following review title - but, then again it is Rex Reed (whispering..whom I’d thought was no longer with us because he’s been no where to be seen for quite awhile) Mr Reed is *flamingly* unique, which is evident when reading his reviews.
The Review:
"Michael Fassbender and His Big Swinging Flick Know No Boundaries in Shame
So why does such a fascinating portrait fall so flaccid in the end?

By Rex Reed 11/30 11:07am
Too much sex is bad for you. That’s the only message discernible to the naked eye in an interesting but hollow film about sex addiction called Shame, and believe me when I tell you the eye is not the only thing in it that is naked". Entire review:
http://www.observer.com/2011/11/michael-fassbender-and-his-big-swinging-flick-know-no-boundaries-in-shame/








Review from ibtimes.com..EXCERPT: “it's nice to see the dwarves have some serious moments, especially during the "Misty Mountains" song and in the brief glimpses of them in battle action.
And while some of the dwarves had rather unusual hair and costumes in the posters, it seems to work on screen, with the actors looking both slightly menacing and slightly comic by turns. Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) is especially convincing. He has the arrogant majesty of a deposed king and the underlying steeliness of the dwarves Tolkien fans know.

"I cannot guarantee your safety," Thorin murmurs to Gandalf, before adding, "nor will I be responsible for his [Bilbo's] fate." That pretty much sets the tone for this trailer, which despite some (in our opinion slightly uneven) moments of dwarfish humor has a very dark, spooky and deliciously Middle Earth tone.”
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/270836/20111221/hobbit-trailer-decoded-lord-rings-teaser-learned.htm
Thanks for the heads up to:
http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/latestnews.html  also for the gorgeous screencaps:
http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/images/gallery/Hobbit/HobbitTrailer/album/index.html


http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=85322
http://www.thehobbit.com/index.html
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/52353

     



Empire Magazine gushes over "Armitage's increasingly impressive Thorin" and "Armitage's impressive basso" - followed by "he growls" and "spine-tingling stuff"...
http://www.empireonline.com/features/the-hobbit-teaser-trailer-breakdown/p4

The UK Guardian says Richard Armitage brings a certain regality to Thorin:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2011/dec/21/hobbit-unexpected-journey-trailer?CMP=twt_fd

Sincere thanks to bccmee for the great quality screencaps above:
http://fanvideos.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/the-hobbit-trailer-20-december-2011/

Trailer review in LA Times: http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/12/20/hobbit-trailer-brings-back-the-magic-and-not-just-for-fans/

Suddenly really interested in a particular cooking program - it features Hugh Jackman.  Who knew he lives in Westchester, New York state - certainly not me..what a surprise!  Apparently his neighbors have a cooking show on Create TV and Hugh sometimes joins them.
http://www.createtv.com/CreateProgram.nsf/vProgramsByNola/KIMC?OpenDocument&Index=#

                                

9 comments:

Laura said...

love...that...song.

Sue said...

I love the trailer for TH! The panoramic views of NZ look spectacular. I thought Richard/Thorin looked very majestic and the singing is quite hauntingly beautiful. I reckon these films will be much better than LOTRs, more adult perhaps? (No, not in that way, but not just for kids!)

After Richard completes these two films I doubt if he will view any future projects in quite the same way ever again. Working on such awesome films will have spoiled him forever. Will he be too toffee-nosed now to return to the TV screen do you think - now he's turned the corner and become a film star? (Not our Richie surely?Only jesting.Of course not!)

Ricrar said...

Yes, Laura & Sue, I luvvv that song and the smooooth, husky voice singing it.

Stole Thorin's line after seeing it for first time last night - "Nor will I be responsible for his fate" if a miracle occurred & I managed to get my hands on the singer;) *chuckles*

Isn't it interesting how PJ introduced Thorin in the forest on his horse rather than in Bilbo's hobbit hole with all the other dwarves. Apparently he's very happy w/his choice to play the dwarf leader, and wanted especially to highlight the stunning visual image.

Remove the wig/mustache/fur, and we could be looking at GoG riding thru Sherwood forest. Agreed NZ does provide a luscious panoramic background for majestic Thorin.

*Toffee nosed* is a new one for me Sue - love it! Of course, you were joking..that could never happen to Mrs Armitage's well-brought-up son:)

Musa said...

Love that the reviews have been so complimentary about RA. We knew it of course, but good to have it confirmed by viewers of all ages. That was great last night that he was even trending at one point on Twitter! The man can sing too. I love the song, I've listened to it so many times.

Funny about the Kimchi Chronicles, I've actually watched the program on PBS several times but didn't know about the Hugh Jackman connection :)

Ricrar said...

What a surprise it was, Musa, to see Hugh Jackman on a chef's show. CreateTV often lives up to it's name. Rick Steves travel show is one of my favs & hubby has watched a photography program that *focuses*..unintended pun:) on wildlife landscapes. The host gets into all the nitty gritty technical details - Jim really enjoys that aspect of his hobby.

I've been neglecting certain areas of Christmas preps with all the Hobbit excitement. My heart isn't in it anyway this year - at least not nearly as much as usual. We sort of celebrated til we dropped at the recent family wedding - it had the result of taking the edge off our usual holiday enthusiasm. Threw up the tree..hehe..packages didn't get the attention they've received in other yrs..Bah humbug! haha

Now, I'm off to check if there are any new reviews acknowledging Richard's adept handling of the Thorin role. We certainly yelled loud enough the past few mos that he would be awesome in it - wasn't anyone listening to us? *teehee* Feels good to have our discriminating taste in actors confirmed, doesn't it?

Sue said...

I am pleased that the reviews of Richard playing Thorin are good. I'm sure he'll play a blinder!

Just heard the news on TV over here about a fresh bout of earthquakes to hit Christchurch in NZ again. It sounds quite bad. I hope none of the Hobbit crew have got caught up in the disaster.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16313249

Talking of which not long ago there was a convention held in Manchester, England, to try and recruit builders and IT specialists to emigrate to NZ and help rebuild Christchurch. It seems there is a real shortage of such skills over there.

Sue said...

PS: I was hoping to see what Richard and the other dwarves looked like with little stumpy legs in the trailer. I suppose until the editing process takes place, after the completion of filming, this wouldn't be possible. Looks good though!

Ricrar said...

Thanks for the link, Sue..terrible news about the earthquake. The beauty of NZ certainly comes at the high price for it's inhabitants.

Am I the only one who wonders why the world didn't flood into that country with help after the devastating shake months ago, as they have in other unfortunate disaster locations? Although, believe I might already know the answer.

The worldwide media didn't play the story up the way they do elsewhere, because they take it for granted that Kiwis are the type of people who will eventually manage to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps as they always have in the past. Hopefully the gorgeous landscape. and what seems to be otherwise great quality of life, will lure the skilled labor they so desperately need to get the job done.

Next couple days should be interesting. PJ promises a surprise of some sort and we can't help but hope a certain actor(hint:he has a sonorous singing voice:) will have enough freetime to send a greeting again this year.

Sue said...

RiCrAr,

I agree that there hasn't been much coverage about the earthquake in NZ. One think I do admire Aussies and Kiwis for is there ability to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and get stuck in and help themselves. As a nation us Brits once had this kind of bulldog spirit, which alas is now sadly lacking I fear. When disasters happen in England people simply sit around and expect the government to do everything for them and no longer have any real sense of personal responsibility for themselves or their families.

I bet Richard's experiences filming the Hobbit have been nothing like anything else he's done and has been a magical time for him and a real learning curve. He's very lucky to get the opportunity to do so.

I wonder if Richard is renting out his house while he's living in NZ? The 2012 Olympics in London are earning people a high premium from renting their homes out to tourists for the games. As Richard's home is in easy commuting distance to London he could make a killing!Shame for it to be stood empty and all alone during his exploits.