But not for the reasons you may think.
Richard Armitage has managed to impress one of the toughest demographics — fan boys. Okay, it was one guy out of the demographic, but I’m running with it. I have encountered enough fan boys over the years to know how picky they can be. My first encounter taught me. He was into monsters and those monsters had to be just so. The right kind of plastic molded to perfection. He went on to become Ivan Stang. Excuse me that’s Reverend Ivan Stang, founder of the Church of the SubGenius. “Ivan” was going to have things his way. LOL!
So our resident fan boy, Eric Vespe, aka Quint from Ain’t It Cool, gave us his report and saw what so many of us see and rave about. How good it was to hear from someone else — and a hard case to boot:
It’s late in the day and the idea is that this is a suitable place to make camp, but Gandalf wants to push on and seek Elrond’s council at Rivendell.
This scene is all about Thorin and my first real chance at seeing Richard Armitage craft a layered performance with the character. Thorin’s a stubborn dwarf, very much a leader, but is smart enough to heed the council of Gandalf.
He is a man torn in this scene. His deep resentment at the elves (he believes they have betrayed his ancestors by not stepping in when they needed their help) pulls him one way, but his respect for Gandalf pulls him the other.
Sir Ian had to be here for this moment since a full performance was required from both men, so he spent the day as he does most days on this movie: standing on a platform a good 2-3 feet off the ground. Peter was getting mostly medium shots and over the shoulders (or beside the shoulder for the shots from Gandalf to Thorin if you want to be anal about it) so there shouldn’t be any need for digital augmentation here.
Armitage does a great job with Thorin’s inner struggle. The look on his face isn’t someone locked into a decision. Gandalf urges him to seek Elrond’s help, for the good of the quest. Instead of playing it like a stone-faced general, Armitage does weigh his options and mostly in reaction to Gandalf’s words, not in his own dialogue.
Read the rest of the report here
But that’s not all. He saw something that most of us don’t get to see often, Richard Armitage as himself, and I would say this is a glowing report:
Feelin’ the love!
Thank you, Eric. :) and if you read this, I have a question. Is fan boy two words or one?
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RAFrenzy 
See?!!! I knew he was a bright boy, that Eric guy!
I say induct the man into the Army ASAP. I saw this quote on Twitter and it made my so proud. And a little smug. What a great guy I chose to crush on! ;) And I would LOVE to be there watching RA work.
Yeah, now there’s a fantasy. :D
YEah, and Eric is freaking brilliant. :D
I really must get onto Twitter if this is the sort of gem that pops up every so often!
Oh yeah, you would have some fun. I’ve written about this several times now. There is a Twitter tag on the right sidebar. Here’s just one fun thing that happened: https://rafrenzy.com/2012/01/24/serendipity-thy-name-is-twitter/
So nice to know we’re not just dReAming or plain cRAzy :)
The other four posts of Eric’s in this series are pretty great, too. Anyone who likes RA and The Hobbit is bound to be cool himself.
[…] This just made me gleam. Can you see how big my smile is? Share this:DiggFacebookTwitter […]
*just purrs with a contented smile on her face*
I am experiencing a mixture of proud Momma feeling with major “I told you so” attitude and a round of high fives in jubilation!
It is an old report from November 2011, not the one everyone is waiting for. And Eric Vespe is pro-Hobbit anyway, not a major movie critic who doesn’t think much of the genre or a purist who is opposed to RA as Thorin because he’s too young. I think it is way too early for an “I told you so” feeling. The tweet is lovely, but I’m still waiting to hear something bad about RA.
Jane, sorry, I don’t follow what you’re saying here. IMO the tweet has nothing to do with RA as Thorin, and everything to do with him as a human being, which is why I and others have the “I told you so” feeling, as in “I told you he’s a lovely, intelligent, grounded man.” Nothing to do with the role and how any critics see it.
May I ask why you are waiting to hear something bad about RA?
I misunderstood you, I was talking about an “I told you so” feeling with regards to RA’s acting abilities which IMO have to face the test of reviews by major critics and the big audience first. I have said for years as a kind of running gag that I really want to hear something bad about RA, for example turning up too late and with a hangover on set. The man is just too good to be true and a few bad things would make it easier to believe he’s real.
Oh I see! One of the drawbacks of text, the irony was lost! :)
I agree, he does seem too good to be true, but there are hints that he’s human, such as his admission that he has a bad temper.
LOL, those that have known me for years always tease me that I will be disappointed if someone who has met him says something complimentary about RA AGAIN.
You must have been REALLY disappointed then to read this tweet! *grin* It’s a beauty!!
Mezz, That’s just Jane. Determined to be disappointed. :D
Jane, It’s not the report although the report is important, it’s the tweet. I should have made that clear. And maybe Eric Vespe was just toying with us in his tweet, but if he is, then he’s not like most fan boys I’ve ever met. They are a hard lot. They are determined not to be impressed, which makes him tougher than most critics.
Other than that, it’s early, I’m on my out the door to catch a flight, and I’m so glad I didn’t cave into my lesser nature to say something about how irony (or the running gag) must be turned up a notch so the rest of us dummies get it. LOL!
Yes, I’m really laughing, and really do have to run. Hope all of you have a great day!
Whooooooooooooooooa. Bad temper?
I’m reading through Frenzy’s report, Eric’s eye-ball-eye-witness comments, happy little comments from happy little RA fans ……… and then I see, “he has a temper.”
That guy seems way too mild.
Sorry to detour the discussion away from this glowing Hobbit love, but what’s the deal about the “temper?”
lovemrthornton, this is the interview where he said himself he has a temper:
Yeah, he’s admitted it, but really, who doesn’t have a temper? I feel a post coming on. LOL!
No, no, don’t think I’m criticizing him, please. It was just that I was shocked, based on that I perceive him to be a very gentle soul.
That said, after reading the article that Richard wrote (thank you Mezz!), I completely get the temper thing. It goes along with a personality that tries hard to get along with others and explodes when things build up.
HEY! Come to think of it …. I do that! :-D
Anyway, no offense against RA intended by my shock at the word, “temper.” It’s a compliment to him that anyone would be surprised he has one.
(Throwing chairs out of the window …. yeesh! I wouldn’t want to be around to see that in action. ;-)
By the way, as someone who writes for a living, I can say the guy is a good writer as well as a gifted actor. That was a nice write-up by him on his “day in the life.”
No worries, Heidi. I wasn’t thinking you were being hard on RA at all. I agree that people who try to stay even tempered can explode. I have a family member who is exactly like this. Normally, they are fun loving and laugh a lot, but when they get mad, leave the house. LOL!
Has someone ever witnessed that temper? Publicly he has never been anything but mild-mannered, except perhaps when he said the disapproved of the ending of RH2. Besides, who doesn’t get angry when it gets too much? No, that is not enough to satisfy my desire to learn something bad about him!
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