New Article: Who Will Be Next Breakout Star from The Hobbit? Winner=RA! + Guernsey Pie Rumors + RAC Calendars + Quotes:Richard Armitage + GoT,ep 1 Awesome (see review) + Fifty Shames of Earl Grey

THE HOBBIT ARTICLE: (thanks to Musa for heads up)

Excerpt: So "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," due in December and "The Hobbit: There and Back Again" in 2013 combine a large cast, a star-launching director and its blockbuster profile; the film has the juice to make careers. So who stands to gain the most from the project? Let's take a look.

Richard Armitage

Warner Bros.

This guy has fans and they're extremely devoted, but he isn't in the minds of the general public — yet. The "Captain America" star is rich with talent and his role as emotionally tortured dwarf Thorin Oakenshield will let him showcase his abilities.

Thorin is complex and conflicted, will have his fare share of screen time and will also be the most heroic dwarf in Bilbo's company. And, as we already know from the films' single trailer, he gets to use his trademark baritone voice.

The Winner

Ultimately, being in these films is a career win for all of these guys. Others will benefit as well, but this group stands the best chance of reaping the biggest benefits from their work. They can also kiss privacy goodbye and can start planning, if they choose, convention appearances for the next 30 years.

In terms of skyrocketing career moves, Armitage will be the ultimate winner. Thorin will be a more important part of this film than many realize and the Shakespearian tragedy elements, with his talent and good looks, make this a perfect situation for him. Still, the rest of the group can console itself knowing they all will enjoy a pile of dragon's gold, fame and buzz.

Entire article:

 http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/breakout-star-the-hobbit/

Examples of stunning The Hobbit artwork:

First from michaelg04..triggers mental image of Thorin and Gandalf in deep discussion in Bilbo's cozy hobbit hole: 

http://s773.photobucket.com/albums/yy16/michaelg04/

Second example is a fantastic poster designed by Steve1969 at

http://steve1969.deviantart.com/#/d4p3gwe 

The Story of English in 100 Words:

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/02/149849559/linguist-tells-the-story-of-english-in-100-words

Example of beautiful fan designed calendars available at RAC--See all at www.richardarmitagecentral.com

Thorin might almost have taken the words out of my mouth - "I cannot guarantee his safety, nor will I be responsible for his fate"..if ever the opportunity arises to...err,,,all bark and no bite definitely applies..;) On second thought, the latter is negotiable..*snigger*

The following is hilarious.  It's a book titled 'Fifty Shames of Earl Grey', which is a parody on the current fiction craze - the novel 'Fifty Shades of Grey' - which I'm discovering you either take *dead* seriously or find yourself laughing uncontrollably outloud.  Have the distinct feeling I belong in the LOL category.  If pain was romantic and sexy, we'd all be madly in love with our dentists by now:)  The '50 Shames' writer's bookcover shows a tie as well, only it's covered with 51 smiley faces:)  He explained his book is one more shade better than the book his own parodies. hahaha  In his list of Earl Grey's 50 shames, he includes "not getting Mad Men, not one bit."  I don't either, so think I might've found the man of my dreams, if I wasn't already married to the man of my dreams.  Although, visitors are allowed--in my dreams, that is.  To give you a huge hint why the original novel is considered shocking, the author of the parody awakes and then says he's "brushing his hair into submission." If you did not already have a *rough* idea about the storyline,  hopefully his *dominant* hairbrush and the dentist scenario, have swiftly *whipped* on that proverbial lightbulb in your mind.
                           http://www.evilreads.com/fifty-one-shades/

Was reminded yet again tonight of the disappointment that RA is not playing Stannis Baratheon(the rightful king) in Game of Thrones 2 - a role I believe he'd have relished as much as GoG. Less than 30min after the spectacular first episode ended, EW published it's A- review:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20470532_20580368,00.html

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/season-premiere-review-game-of-thrones-the-north-remembers-a-comet-appears

Have you heard the Guernsey Pie/Kate Winslet rumors? SEE COMMENTS BELOW:

Game of Thrones2,ep 1 This Sun(see USA Today article on the women of Westeros) +Richard Armitage as John Porter Revisited(see link below)

USA Today impressed with the powerful female characters in Geo Martin's Game of Thrones:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/story/2012-03-28/game-of-thrones/53836540/1

Richard Armitage + Titanic Mini-series Written by Julian Fellowes(see preview) + Gorgeous Wallpapers by Tanni + Thorin's Last Supper:) See Link + Game of Thrones Trailer--Season 2 Begins on April 1

WooHoo! just noticed there will be an ABC network special (4 hour miniseries written by Julian Fellowes) marking the hundreth anniversary of the tragic sinking of The Titanic that occurred on Apr 15, 1912.  [trivia: timing is slightly humorous since annually Apr 15 is notoriously the dreaded final day for Americans to file their income tax with the federal gov--2 tragedies on the same day this year:]

Following is the preview--of course, there's an RA connection - albeit a somewhat weak one - the actor who played King John in RH2 appears to be the Captain of the historic ship.  One other member of cast that caught my attention in the preview--Queen Katherine of Aragon is onboard ship as well*snigger*

http://abc.go.com/shows/titanic 

Take a tour of the virtual Titanic:

http://titanic.globaltv.com/ship.html#/vessel

All aboard! - following is almost worth going down with the ship, isn't it ;)

Time to get out the vote for Thorin - The One Ring website has paired Aragorn vs Thorin.  That won't be a problem after December, but it will take an extra effort today for Thorin to win this one:

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2012/03/22/54405-middle-earth-madness-2012-round-2/ 

Look at these beautiful fan created wallpapers by tanni at the fanpop website.  She's located in Kiev..

http://www.fanpop.com/spots/richard-armitage/images/26915071/title/richard-mascks-wallpaper 

Clever - Thorin's Last Supper

http://adlpictures.deviantart.com/art/last-Thorin-s-dinner-282306485

Game of Thrones II Review:  Writer says he usually avoids "sprawling, non-contemporary dramas".  Again proving variety is indeed the spice of life - my entertainment preferences are the exact opposite of his.  Give me a historical saga anyday(slightly begrudgingly when fantasy is an ingredient, as in GoT) rather than the same ol' same ol' modern blather we see on TV every day of the week.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20470532_20580368,00.html

http://winteriscoming.net/media/videos/ 

http://winteriscoming.net/ 

http://wicnet.tumblr.com/tagged/in+production+croatia 

http://winteriscoming.net/media/videos/season-two/trailers/

http://www.yourfamilytreemag.co.uk/2012/02/23/new-merchant-seamen-records-online/ 

http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie:8080/LandedEstates/jsp/ 

http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/county/nottinghamshire/parish_records/

 http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Cork/Corkbeg/Finnure/1131826/

Richard Armitage: Moving On, Pt 1 + Dominion Post Headline:'It's a Sunny St. Patty's Day in Wellington'

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/capital-life/6592919/Its-a-sunny-St-Paddys-Day-in-Wellington 

This dance was definitely the highlight from first edition of the new season of DWTS.  Wm Levy wowed the audience.  Most amusing are his comments about the difficulty of rehearsals for the show.  There are more accomplished dancers amongst this new batch of body-moving celebs.  Should be an interesting competition..

Superb Compilation Video by Musa/Faboamanto + Richard Armitage - It's All Good

Guarantee it would be a challenge to not acknowledge St Pat's Day in some way in New Zealand - perhaps the hobbits will toast each other with a pint of green beer - or a shamrock shake :)

Superb compilation by Musa, also known as faboamanto, at the White Rose blog.

 http://whiterosewritings.blogspot.com/2012/03/richard-armitage-talks-about-his-fans.html

 She's created a lovely collection of RA's comments about his "community of friends": 

Why would a house suddenly appear among all the RA pix, someone might ask:)  Explanation is actually quite simple.  Made a really thrilling discovery recently during a family history research session.  Some of my maternal ancestors lived in this house in the mid-1800s.  The house is called Violet Hill and it's located adjacent to Cork Harbor, Co Cork, Irl.  The evidence that this is the exact house is quite substantial(official records); however, the story at the time was really heartbreaking for the family - you see, the father of 5 young children died prematurely in his 30s.  Ultimately, after a few years of struggle, there was a happy ending for the entire family.  His widow and their five children eventually - via Wales - found their final home in the USA surrounded by other loving family members.     

http://www.irelandoldnews.com/obits/obidxs.htm 

Richard Armitage: Narration Excerpt + Talk Show Guest List:Getting Prepared for Nov/Dec + North & South - Margaret's Green Dress Twice Recycled(see link) + Heniz Kruger Costume/fire arms/cigarette case/lighter for Sale - See Link to Catalog

In a few months as THE HOBBIT promotion season begins - perhaps early Nov - following link to the talk show lineup will no doubt come in handy:

http://www.interbridge.com/lineupsdate.html

Here's a fascinating website where recycled costumes are spotted and reported.  Margaret Hale's green striped dress was worn twice after her delicious encounter at the train station.  In your opinon, do the other actresses do it as much justice as the object of John Thornton's adoration?

http://www.recycledmoviecostumes.com/victorianedwardian002.html

Two more - one was worn twice in other dramas before N&S:

http://www.recycledmoviecostumes.com/victorianedwardian013.html 

                              http://www.recycledmoviecostumes.com/victorianedwardian016.html 

         

http://www.profilesinhistory.com/captain-america-the-first-avenger-auction/auction-catalogs

Heinz Kruger's items included in Captain America Catalog.  His gray suit (page 35) w/sidearm of choice. Quote: "Walther pistol and a resin Thompson machinegun that he stole from the old woman in the antique shop." haha our hero:) Price for the above items $600-$800
Also for sale: Kruger's metal explosive cigarette case $200-$300
His Zippo lighter detonator $400-600 (if I was even considering buying one of the items this would be the one for sentimental reasons--have never smoked. It's because Zippo lighters have always been made in the state of Pennsylvania.  Company began as the original Zippo lighter provided to soldiers by the Army during WWII. *cough,cough*)