December 24, 2013

Richard Armitage: Happy New Year to All! + Play with Lego Thorin + Game of Thrones Season 4 Cast/Writers Interview + Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas - Peace and Joy to Everyone!

Vote for best Colonial Williamsburg holiday wreath:
Winter Olympics start Feb 6. Couple figureskaters trying out:
The long wait is almost over. Game of Thrones season 4 starts on Mar 30..
      Found It on Twitter:Gorgeous Flood lit Fountains Abbey ruins,Yorkshire, UK:
Christmas slow drip -- new photos!  *God bless us everyone!;)*

I get the feeling this award will do more for the *Anglophile Channel* than for RA's career;) but it is a nice way to end one year and start another. If you want to hear only the RA segments, go to 8:30 and then 14:00 for winner announcement.


http://allyourscreens.com/index.php/features2/73-2013-tv-premiere-and-finale-dates

December 19, 2013

Richard Armitage:Fan Drip Feed Station(get today's dosage--see vid;)New Review Quote:"RichardArmitage as Thorin is my fav performance"(see link) + Desolation of Smaug Expected to Remain #1 for 2nd Wkend!(see article) + PJ's Production Vid 14--See Thorin Smile at end! Wow!;) + 2013 Christmas Message from Richard Armitage to His Fans(see link to http://richardarmitageonline.com/) + "I See Fire" (Thorin's Song;) in The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug

New Review Quote: "Richard Armitage as Thorin is my favorite performance"
Thanks to the richardarmitagenet website and Alicia5908 on Twitter for translation of following French Mag RA article. Sincerely hope he will become one of the "influential members of the kingdom of Hollywood";)
Carrefour Savoirs (English Translation)
Looking at the photo you would probably say that this face is known to you without being 
able to place it. You will be enlightened. By Arnaud Bordas. 
When an actor is bordering on 1m 90 and shows a face with regular features and gray-blue 
eyes that could bring down a group of women, what can he do to get noticed? 
Where others would have chosen the easy way out and have tied themselves to posh roles 
in romantic comedies, the Englishman Richard Armitage, who came from British television, 
has preferred to interpret a bearded dwarf with long hair in The Hobbit, the new trilogy by 
Peter Jackson, inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Well done: the role of the charismatic 
Thorin Oakenshield, the actor disguised by the talented makeup artists and shrunken 
through the magic of digital effects, has made his mark in the minds of audiences around 
the world just as Viggo Mortensen had with his interpretation of Aragorn in The Lord of the 
Rings ten years ago. The two characters have a lot in common besides their status as heir to 
the throne, which Thorin must regain accompanied by the Hobbit Bilbo, Gandalf the Grey 
Wizard and his twelve fellow dwarves, embarking on a journey that will take him to Moria, 
(author’s mistake – should be Erebor) the kingdom of his people when they were driven out 
by the terrifying dragon Smaug. We remember the start of An Unexpected Journey - the first 
part of The Hobbit, released in cinemas last year - in which Thorin heroically faced his 
nemesis, the white orc Azog. 
This year he is expected to shine in the second chapter The Desolation of Smaug, where his 
role will gradually become more complex and end in climax during the gigantic Battle of Five 
Armies that ends the last chapter. After that, the name Richard Armitage should certainly be 
one of the influential members of the kingdom of Hollywood. 

That's right - there is that music in DoS called the soundtrack - we'll squeeze it in even though the composer doesn't have a sleeve of tatts;)  Watch for glimpses of Thorin at end, including one where he...wait for it...smiles! WooHoo!  Beautiful music -- as you listen, you might want to climb unto your sofa and take off your shoes & socks -- PJ style.
Sincere thanks to Annette at http://richardarmitageonline.com/ for hosting Richard's thoughtful messages to his fans:
Message from Richard Armitage, 19th December 2013
Hi everyone,
Well I just wanted to come on line and wish everyone a Happy Christmas (Turkey Day or Holiday, depending on your preference) it's been another wonderful year, which has been full of hard work, fun and surprises. Thank you for your continuing support of my work, I hope you never underestimate what that means to me personally. Seeing so many at the LA premier (sorry about the un fan-friendly red carpet) Berlin, London, Madrid is really the highlight of the year. I am very proud to have such a dedicated community of 'well wishers' (better word than fans...right?) Proud because of the dignity and decency with which you communicate with each other and document your ideas. It's always illuminated with positivity and support for each other, unlikely friendships forged through a common interest. That makes me proud, and brings me to my real reason for the message. To say a huge thank you to Annette Gill, who has worked so hard on her web pages, doing exactly what I just described in a very elegant way. I think she is truly a wonderful journalist and archivist and I would like to thank her personally for all the time she spent creating and updating the site.
I wanted to wish you love and happiness for 2014, thank you for the generous gifts and the donations to the 'Just Giving' pages I think our totals are looking very healthy.
Without getting into a pulpit or onto soap box, (cynics tune out now!) I want to say that for me especially as I get older, this time of year becomes more about making the journey to be with family or friends and sitting around a table which hopefully has some good food on it, however bountiful that is. But for those who don't have very much or are alone, I wish them at least a sense of peace for a day. I know that I am happiest when I can be useful, which usually involves giving time and effort towards something. That gives me peace. (Guess who's making the gravy this year!!)
This quote isn't meant to be maudlin, because I actually find it uplifting, but it expresses what I mean. It's Sonya from Chekhov's Uncle Vanya.

What can we do? We must live out our lives....we shall live, Uncle Vanya. We shall live all through the endless procession of days ahead of us, and through the long evenings. We shall bear patiently the burdens that fate imposes on us. We shall work without rest for others, both now and when we are old. And when our final hour comes, we shall meet it humbly.... we shall enter on a bright and beautiful life. We shall rejoice... A tender smile -- and -- we shall rest. We shall hear the angels. We shall see heaven shining like a jewel. We shall see evil and all our pain disappear in the great pity that shall enfold the world. Our life will be as peaceful and gentle and sweet as a caress. I have faith...we shall rest.

fumblingly sent from my iPad

Blog Christmas past:
Often times people just need a good laugh at this time of year.  Or group therapy at the North Pole:

Wonderful new historic drama 'Reign' will return to our tv screens Jan
Mary Queen of Scots Letters:http://www.marie-stuart.co.uk/index.htm
In the spirit of being jolly at this time of year--a truly inside RA fanworld joke.  Hilarious..kudos to the "well wisher" creators:

http://philnorf.tripod.com/mapofthe.htm

December 17, 2013

Richard Armitage:Richard discusses the Armitage Army (see website links)

Richard discusses his long standing Armitage Army(started 2004 as a reaction to John Thornton of Gaskell/BBC's North and South) The army now has various branches.  All are very helpful for those looking for more about British actor Richard Armitage and his body of work:

December 14, 2013

Richard Armitage:Dancing RA elves(see link) + Interview on Showbiz Tonight(see vid) + DoS Receives 5 Critics Choice Noms(see TORn link) + I See Fire Fanvid + Fan Review of DoS + Box Office MoJo(see tweet) + Desolation of Smaug Cast Interview

Interview on Showbiz Tonight..
Look who volunteered to play Santa in MiddleEarth
This fan review of A Desolation of Smaug echos what I've heard from many others who've thoroughly enjoyed the film:
Quote:
I haven't read the book so so I can't compare. But I loved the film.

No slow start this time, after the prologue with Thorin and Gandalf, it is action all the way. I particularly loved the barrel sequence and the scenes with the dragon. In fact, all the fights were well choreographed. There were no scenes which seemed too long to me, it was fast paced and still with a touch of humour here and there, although it is definitely darker then AUJ much more like the original trilogy. No happy songs in this one. Overall, I enjoyed this second instalment as much, if not more, than the first one.

I think Richard shines in it. He's a leader, passionate, heroic, courageous. He is really able to show Thorin's doubts as well as his confident leadership. And then in the mountain during a scene with Bilbo we see a glimmer of what comes next. Subtle, but it's there. It's what RA does best. To me, he doesn’t have as many character moments in this film as the last, perhaps because of the new characters and the many action sequences, but when he does, he is brilliant, partly because he can make so much of these scenes with subtle rather than showy performances.
The Desolation of Smaug was #1 boxoffice in USA for the very snowy Dec 13/14/15 weekend.  Yippee!!

'The Hobbit' opened to a massive $131.2 million overseas this weekend:

5 Critics Choice DoS Nominations:  up for Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Make-up, Best Visual Effects, and Best Actress in an Action Movie (Evangeline Lilly)

December 4, 2013

Richard Armitage:HitFix Review:"Armitage has most difficult role..pulls it all together" + Valentina's gReAt Adventure:Her Video + See Guess the Feet Vid + TIME Places Desolation of Smaug in Top 10 Films 2013(see link) + See pic of RA about to Board Thorin Plane for next Premiere + Next to Last VidLog from PJ for The Desolation of Smaug


Above Thorin fanart by evank7.egloos.com
                                                   NEW REVIEW:
http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/review-the-hobbit-improves-in-every-way-with-the-thrilling-desolation-of-smaug#j83vaEI0uvTmgFHd.99
Armitage has what I think is the most difficult role in the film, and I love the way he is handling all the subtle detail work of the various forces at work within him. He is a born leader, and in those moments where he stops thinking about it and starts simply doing what must be done, people fall in behind him willingly. He's also wracked with self-doubt, though, and he is damaged by what he knows has happened to his race since the fall of Erebor. The paranoia, the anger, the hatred… all of that is eating him alive even as he struggles to play the role of the returned King, and Armitage brings it all together.

Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/review-the-hobbit-improves-in-every-way-with-the-thrilling-desolation-of-smaug#HX49oxcCCyGjI2si.99


Thanks to www.richardarmitagecentral forum for today's interview:
NZ interview:
News: TIME places Desolation of Smaug in Top 10 Films, 2013:
Doesn't everyone fly to premieres in Europe on planes with their faces painted on the side? ;D  Note Thorin through window as RA & Luke Evans(Bard) are about to board the Air NZ plane.