I May Get Serious

….eventually or maybe not. I toyed with again getting on my soapbox about the spoilers for Spooks, but I caved the day before it aired. Yes, I am weak. So very weak, but then I had an enormous temptation, or maybe I was just looking for an excuse to fall off the wagon.

Someone sent me the audio of RA’s interview with David Stephenson. I’m so glad! It was a pleasure to listen. Thank you, friend for sending me that file, and unless David is under a rock about now, he had to know that file would be passed around. It’s profitable life was no more than a day. I just happen to have a great scruple about these things, so I’ll hop over there sometime and buy it for a pound and happily help with overhead. But I hope my friend doesn’t let this talk of scruples keep her or anyone else from sending me things in the future. LOL!

After I was done listening, I read the print article. Wow. What a difference. I realize Mr. Stephenson has only so much space to write, and he must capture what he feels is salient for readers, and I really appreciate the way he writes. Please keep it up! But the casual reader does not get to really appreciate RA’s wonderful sense of humor. You must listen to the audio for that.

Once I got done listening and reading that interview, my appetite was pretty whet, so it was easy to just gorge myself on the rest of the interviews. Some were a rehash with a few extra comments. In particular RA mentions in one of having performed astral projection, and my first thought was he might need some pants that don’t ride up for that. I was going to make hay out of this until I had my second thought — wondering which Avengers fly. Yes, yes, I admit I’m not up on my Avenger characters! But I may have to bone up in light of today’s developments. Look at the last few lines of this interview from a couple of days ago. That tease!

Okay, Who’s the Guilty Party?

No spoilers (that I know of) in this article linked below. Well there was one comment that some may consider a spoiler, but then again, it’s one you may want to know and possibly fantasize about before it happens.

But I have a question for all of our British cohorts. Is it the norm for British actors to talk about food this much? Or am I imagining that Richard talks about food a lot? Yes, that’s two questions. Oh, I’m not down on RA if he’s into food. I’m a huge, a big, uh an enthusiastic fan of food myself, so maybe it’s just me who thinks there is incessant talk of food. When I first came into this fandom, I remember hearing about him watching Nigella Lawson and fantasizing about kissing her after she had eaten a chunk of chocolate cake. I used to think it was because she was voluptuous………..excuse me, that thought still makes me dizzy. So I used to think it was Nigella’s figure that generated the fantasy, but now I’m wondering if that chunk of cake may have been a big part of it.

And speaking of chocolate, it seems that our Richard was once again asked about his fans. You’re wondering what chocolate has to do with his fans? You must be new. Aside from his voice being like chocolate if chocolate made a sound, can I see a show of hands of those who want to be schooled in the history of the chocolate pants? Never mind; I’m not quite sure of the history myself. I’ll just share with you that somewhere along the way some fans sent him some pants made of chocolate, or maybe that was just a crack from a reporter (see tenth paragraph). Whatever the case, it seems that Richard and pants of varying kinds go together as topics of discussion. Recently someone sent him a pair of pants “that don’t ride up your bum.” The good news is that I’ve put my bs detector away while reading some of these interviews, so I can go happily along wherever Richard leads. But damn I wish my imagination weren’t so vivid. Truly, I sometimes curse it. I won’t share all of my thoughts, but I must admit that I saw him on the floor in a Bridget Jones’ position when he mentioned these corrective pants.

In the meantime, I’m feverishly reading Blake by Peter Ackroyd. Phew, Blake would’ve had a field day with chocolate pants.

“Closer” article courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.Com

edit: okay, I was wrong; it’s the eleventh paragraph.

Aargh! SPOILERS

“Spoilers are the bane of my world.”

I’m beginning to understand how that feels. I just read RA’s interview on Digital Spy, and if you have a problem with spoilers, DO NOT read the interview at that link. If they don’t bother you, then click away.

Why didn’t they put a spoiler warning on that? I don’t want to know that much about the plot. I would rather watch it unfold than be told what’s going to unfold.

“I just don’t get why one would want to spoil the ending.”

Hmmm. Not sure what I think of that comment. The DS interview did not actually give away the ending, but it’s going to take some tension away from it. Dammit! I now know so much about the impetus of the characters that there will be much less wonder about them which has the potential to make it boring. This really frustrates me. Am I the only one who feels this way? Or do I just sound spoiled? ;-) Actually, that’s a sincere question.

If you do not recognize the quotes, they are from Richard Armitage in his interview with the foxes over at Vulpes Libris in July 2009. I would put the exact link, but I get irritated at the infernal ping backs. I guess I’m just irritated today.

Off to disable some Google alerts.

I’d Have to Shoot Them

Ali’s done it again, God love ‘er. RA’s latest interview, ‘A Life in the Day’ is up on RichardArmitageNet.Com. You can find the interview on this page. See I didn’t even make you wait to read all of my stuff before giving you the goods. LOL!

Random or not so random thoughts about this interview:

More talk about food. Lots of it. Yep, RA and I are kindred spirits. I love food too, and my mother also hates anything processed. She would have fainted if anyone had suggested she serve the processed food of the 70s. Thank you, Mom, I’m now the same, and I’ve still not eaten Hamburger Helper or instant potatoes (at least not that I’m aware of), but one of the kids bought some Hamburger Helper recently, and we have almost never heard the end of how terrible and expensive it is. Oh, where was I? Digressing as usual, but I really don’t want to do that, and I certainly don’t want to spend time talking about Hamburger Helper. Someone slap me for even bringing it up!

He has no ‘cleaner.’ I can’t help but imagine the underwear strewn on the floor. Cursing my vivid imagination, or maybe not. Oh, and not sure I like that word ‘cleaner’ since it sounds inhuman, like a device with a face on the front and a pair of big lips sucking up everything in its path. Of course my imagination is wondering what it would be like to be his ‘cleaner.’ And yes, he would probably have to shoot me, ’cause I would definitely read the scripts. But I wouldn’t tell anyone about them. Yes, I can keep a secret!! I’m also wondering how all of you are imagining it, well, about yourselves — if you’re wondering that at all. Oh, you’re not? What is wrong with you!! RA is not stupid. The whole ‘interview’ was designed to titillate us AGAIN, and it has. Well, I readily admit it has me. See how easy I am to manipulate, and damn, it feels good.

I’m also wondering if he did have a ‘cleaner’ if he would do what most of us have done who have had one and clean up before hand to keep from being embarrassed, and since he can’t do that, he doesn’t have a ‘cleaner?’ I need another slap because I also don’t want to talk about housework in this post. Back to wondering about being his ‘cleaner.’

I’ve always found it interesting that he is so cerebral compared to a lot of other actors and yet he is continually in very physical roles. Perhaps opportunity has dictated this or he really has wanted to stretch himself (no pun intended). Much more to mine with this later, and I’m sure I’m not the first, but that’s never stopped me.

I could make a lewd remark about him working out at the gym, but so far I’ve refrained from being lewd on this blog, and I intend to keep it that way.

Oh, he quoted one of my favorites! Macbeth! I would love to see him as Macbeth! I did catch him as Macduff in Shakespeare Retold and as Angus in the filmed version of it, which can be seen here. But I’m not sure I’m going to be satisfied until I can see him as the title role! Yes, I’m spoiled.

But as I leave the reading of this article, I wonder what’s on his iPod. That is my burning question. I damned near have a love affair with my iPod, and so I can only be curious about his. What does he listen to?! Yeah, I know about the affinity for Coldplay and Mahler. What else does he listen to? Since he’s being so open, maybe he’ll tell us in another interview? Or maybe he’ll shoot me if I keep being so demanding. ;-)

Note to self: must create a ‘food’ tag.

Here We Go — Spooks (MI-5) Returns Early

For those who are new to Spooks (MI-5) in America or if you have been living under a rock somewhere in the UK, the BBC has finally told us it is going to air in September (sometime the week of the 18th) as opposed to October or November as it has the last two years. I can barely wait. Not because Lucas North is my favorite character. He’s not, but I just love watching RA in action, and I usually love to read/hear his interviews.

The latest one on the BBC site is very interesting as it seems to say something by what it doesn’t say. When RA has been interviewed about an upcoming series, he oftentimes gives something away in how he talks about his character. This particular interview makes me think Lucas survives. There is absolutely no language implying he will be no more. If anything, there is language to the effect that he will survive as head of section D. The talk of him being under the microscope is mere plot summary. What’s interesting is when he speaks of Lucas’ bittersweet receipt of the job and of having to acquire Beth. There is everything in this language to suggest it will be difficult but nothing to suggest he will not succeed. Then there is the telling comment about Lucas’ past and new revelations taking him to the “very edge” but nothing in those comments to suggest he might go over it.

I have a confession. I’ve found myself wanting RA not to be quite so talkative about the characters and plots in these interviews and sometimes find myself wanting to say, “Richard, shut up. I love you, but shut up.” And of course I can’t help but think of him having talked in past interviews about spoilers being the bane of his existence, so then I want to ask: what are you doing? I realize these interviews are done in advance of the series wrapping, and with a show like Spooks, the actors can give something away without realizing it, so I’m not really down on RA.

Am I the only one who feels this way? Maybe I should read the Spooks Forum to find out what others think; however, for a while now I haven’t been inclined to read such places for fear the exposure will have a chance of making my voice stale. That is nothing against the forum. It is me. I’m weak and need to stay away so I can form my own conclusions, put my own spin on things. But sometimes I need a little confirmation of what I’m thinking. Hence this post. And certainly it’s fine to disagree with me.

Honestly, I hope that once again RA’s character has a fantastic death or end where we are still talking about it years later ala Tom Quinn. So I would love to be wrong in what I’m thinking about his survival. Unfortunately, I’m almost never surprised by endings and don’t need any help understanding what’s coming. I hate that about myself, and I probably am being a little harsh on RA in resignation that once again the end will be a foregone conclusion. But oh, how great if Richard really has thrown us a red herring.

For the regular readers of this blog:

I’m struggling with my diary entry on BTS. That entry is very personal, and no, it’s not what you may be thinking. I write about my family a lot in my journal entries, but it’s one thing for me to write about them and obviously another to publish. I want to leave in enough that it has some energy but don’t want to compromise anyone, and again, it’s not what you may be thinking. Hope you understand and will bear with me, and I hope the wait is worth it.

Screencap courtesy of the BBC website. That’s not exactly a capture, but it does appear to be RA in character for Lucas.

Diary of an RA Fan — Part 19 “the important thing is that you play truly.”

See Diary Part 18 here, or to access all entries, hit “The Diary” tab above.

Entry — Fall, 2008

Autumn is finally here in earnest, and its beauty usually makes me pensive. But this year I feel rushed. There is so much I’ve wanted to do, and I’ve done almost nothing. Dad’s gone and Mom’s not in great health, but that doesn’t seem to stop her from talking about England. That’s all she ever talks about, and I know full well the chance we’ll go there is almost nil. She is simply not up to it, and I can’t be gone for another month. The world would stop around here if I were gone for a month as I was last summer. Then again, maybe that would be a good thing. LOL!

I was driving over to see Mimi the other day. I love to drive to Mimi’s. It takes me on one of my favorite routes. The trees are close to the road and seem to glow as if they’re lighting the way to somewhere sublime. I swear they’re backlit by something other than the sun. Even though I love visiting Mimi, I wanted to just sit in the woods. It was a gorgeous day, truly a halcyon day — sunny but cool and barely a cloud in the sky. Just enough clouds to make the sky seem painted. Yeah, sometimes it’s so blue it doesn’t look real. I’m blessed to live here.

But I’m not satisfied. I wonder what that really feels like. Maybe I experienced it when SO and I were coming to know each other or when we had the little SOs. I certainly love them all more than I can express, but feeling satisfied is so fleeting, I’m not sure I’ve experienced it. Maybe it’s not supposed to last long. I don’t know. So much I don’t know, and there’ s not much time to figure it out.

I haven’t watched any Richard Armitage for a couple of weeks, and I’m feeling some withdrawal. That simply can’t happen. It’s an inexpensive thrill for me even if I do have several hundred dollars invested, and I’m going to continue. And whom does it hurt? I watch when I have time! ROFLOL!! Yeah, I’ve made time for it, but I’ve got to have some outlet or I’ll go nuts, and I don’t want to go nuts again. I’d rather re-immerse myself in Robin Hood even though the frustration lingers about its ending and my silly urge to blame someone hasn’t gone away. Dominic Minghella, the chief writer, is apparently the guilty party. Must find out more about him because I need to understand how someone could develop those characters and then use them like that? Or maybe it was just over my head.

I’ve got to put all of that aside. At least long enough to rewatch the show; otherwise, it will be a constant specter, and I’ll never figure out what fascinates me so much about a character who’s a thug, and of course I realize he wants redemption. Redemption stories are almost always powerful, but I’ve never had quite this reaction to such a minor character.

I could dismiss it as mere objectification of Richard Armitage. Damn. No! But oh his movements are beautiful. Even his seemingly languid movements are rife with something begging to be explored. His movements in total are imbued with something I just can’t name. I would love to describe what it is, but words fail. They always fail. I guess I’m lazy. If it’s not easy to say, I drop it and move on. I’ve always had a problem expressing myself about anything that moves me deeply except to sometimes fob it off with a crack. But something truly fitting for what I feel never comes. My words never sound as I want them to sound. They’re prosaic, and I cringe at them.

A few days later:

I started reading Stanislavski. That’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a teen and became fascinated with Brando and James Dean. Richard Armitage reminds me of those two more than any other actors. In my mind he’s those two fused. When I was a kid, Mom referenced the Actors Studio where Brando and Dean studied. She also spoke some of Stella Adler. From there it wasn’t too many steps to pique my interest in Stanislavski. I should have read him years ago. Only a few pages into his book and I was intrigued. He is speaking of things I’ve thought but didn’t feel free to pursue. To pursue them would be playing mind games, but heck, I’ve done that anyway. I wonder how much better I could have expressed myself if I had let my mind unfocus and tap into my subconscious. What I’m loving is that I have finally figured out what Richard Armitage is doing that has sucked me in so thoroughly!

This explains a lot and contains a description of what happens to me when I watch Richard:

The fundamental aim of our art is the creation of this inner life of a human spirit, and its expression in an artistic form… Our experience has led to a firm belief that only our kind of art, soaked as it is in the living experiences of human beings, can artistically reproduce the impalpable shadings and depths of life. Only such art can completely absorb the spectator and make both understand and also inwardly experience the happenings on the stage, enriching his inner life, and leaving impressions which will not fade with time. — Spoken by Director Tortsov from An Actor Prepares

The inner man he’s created, the inner life is playing out, and the truth of it is so beautiful I can’t get enough. There’s a sanity to it that I’ve seldom seen in an actor. Maybe I’ve never seen it.

“Impalpable shadings and depths of life.” What a way to describe it. Perfect really. John Thornton drinking tea at the Hale’s, nodding his head but unable to look at or speak to his mother after his rejection from Margaret, agonizing at the train station before Margaret comes back to him with her portmanteau. John Standring having his mouth full of sausage, being frustrated at his body’s impatience in an intimate moment with Carol, grinning at Carol as he tries on a suit. And Guy. Guy awkwardly holding the Sheriff’s bird, lighting up when he realizes the nun is a fake, looking intently at Marian when he sees she’s not wearing her betrothal ring, beaming when he comes to tell her the king is returning, rushing up like a little boy to her before the wedding. The ring of truth in these moments completely submerges Richard Armitage and the person he’s fashioned is there thinking and feeling and drawing me into his story.

“Will not fade with time.” Certainly I will remember John Thornton’s sweet eyes looking at Margaret as she explains her business proposition or Guy saying to his servant Thornton that the thing is to be understood.

[note: imagine my grin a year later when I read RA’s crack in this article. There will be more about all of this. It’s too much for one post. Oh, and I went on to read more Stanislavski and some Grotowski and Vakhtangov. Phew.]

Quote in the title from Mikhail Shchepkin.

See Diary Part 20 here.

Incessant Housekeeping

July 26, 2010

It’s Monday morning where I am, and I can’t think of a better time to do a little housekeeping. Sorry this post isn’t more interesting. I’m actually testing something, so as Elvira might say, “Nothing here to see; move along.” :D

Oh, never mind! I have to relent and post something you might find interesting since you did come over here to look.

A behind the scenes shot in Russia seems perfect for this entry. Unless you own the Spooks 7* DVDs, you may have only seen this in stills. Producer Katie Swinden is narrating/interviewing:

The twinkle in RA’s eyes is evident in that clip. The little boy quality just fairly jumps out and grabs you, uh, me, whomever. And speaking of Katie Swinden ;-), I think she is beautiful. Seriously. My apologies if she hates this picture. I love it! How many people look this good without a stitch of make up? I shudder to think what some celebrities look like. Katie has nothing to be ashamed of – sunburn be damned.

If my read on her is correct, she would probably say, “About right I would be in a post on housekeeping.” But this is no longer merely a housekeeping post since I’m now on a tangent. But I can’t call it a tangent. Too much RA in the post. I’ll have to come up with another category that isn’t quite a tangent. Dang! I just thought I was going to get out of housekeeping.

*In the UK, MI-5 is called Spooks. This is for all of you who did a search on the show MI-5 and are wondering how you wound up here.

MC864RTMW5AG

Is This News? Spoilers I Guess

I ask because this (links below) was talked about in other interviews a while ago, and yes, Digital Spy does reference one of the sources. If you haven’t read the article DS references, you can start here, and you get to read my gushing as well.

Digital Spy article:

Gut Check entry. Then scroll down for the article.

I guess for the most part Digital Spy highlights what is already out there, but there was that one interview with RA in Robin Hood S3. Wow, that was a great one. More on that when I start my dissection of Guy.

Having been warned, now comes the “spoiler” part. Was anyone in doubt that Hermione Norris would not return to Spooks? Seriously, was that a question? Hasn’t she moved on? That was my impression.

As for finding out who Lucas really is, what about Harry? Wouldn’t it be a hoot if Harry were a mole all along and this were the show’s finale? I think it would be great! Or better yet that Lucas thought Harry was a mole for the Russians, so Lucas became a double agent for the Russians, but really Harry is a double agent working for the British or maybe the Chinese? Or maybe Lucas is really working for the Chinese and the Russians and British just think he works for them. Yep, makes my head spin, and I need my head to spin from time to time or things get so dreadfully dull.

Whatever happens, I find the more questions I have about Lucas, the more it leads me to Harry, and in fact in the interview RA did with UK.TV.com where they asked the fans for questions, I couldn’t help but ask, “Is Lucas’ past relationship with Harry explored further?” Is anyone else dying to know about that? And of course I want to know about their relationship now! Will this next series be the Harry and Lucas show? And no, I’m not necessarily talking about anything sexual. Does it always have to be sexual to be interesting? (I’ve skimmed too many Spooks fanfics that seem obsessed with that). In my opinion (yes, it’s my opinion that’s why I prefaced my sentence with the hackneyed phrase), it’s almost too easy to attribute motivation to merely something sexual. It can just be fobbed off to “oh, yeah, it was sexual” and then no thoughtful explanation required. But I want to see something cerebral dammit! Plus, I admit a great fondness for Harry. It’s been said repeatedly that he’s the heart of the show, and it’s true. I can’t help but love Harry, and yes, Peter Firth as well. But I don’t think of Peter Firth when I’m watching Harry. Peter is the guy who played Alan Strang. But I digress.

Hopefully, we’ll get a few crumbs in September when the article comes out — at least enough to keep us alive until November. It is going to air in November? Or do I have that wrong? I can’t remember because all these interviews are starting to run together. I may actually have to write some of this down. No, if I have to start writing anything down for this blog, I may have to can it. LOL!

In the meantime, below is one of the first shots of Lucas and might be my favorite picture of him. It doesn’t matter how many times I see it, I’m compelled to ask what’s going on in that head, and I still don’t know! Can’t wait for S9.

Coming up soon a commemoration of Guy.

Screencap courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.com, and I THANK YOU so much because my DVD drive is acting up, and I couldn’t make my own. Arrrgh!

The Question

Hopefully, RA has turned the proverbial corner with his fame, and journalists will not fall back on the one question that’s bound to get a bit of a visceral reaction from him. Oh, you don’t know what it is? Where have you been for the last five plus years of interviews? It seems some journalists just can’t help asking about his Army. Granted, it’s quite a feat that he raised an Army almost overnight, and the first few years it might have been interesting. Now it’s boring beyond belief. It’s just boring to those of us who follow him so closely? I doubt that.

The guy has so many more interesting things to talk about than some “middle-aged, quite well-educated, Radio 4 listeners,” who some like to send him their pants. Phew, I got bored typing that description. Now I don’t know for sure about all the pants coming his way. Also, I’m not very familiar with Radio 4, refuse to call myself middle-aged, and I haven’t sent my pants to anyone outside my house, so I know this doesn’t apply to me. But still, who wants to hear about it? No offense to any of you middle-aged, quite well-educated, Radio 4 listeners. ;-)

I wonder how long I can wax on about this before you get bored? Oh, you’re bored already? Well, it seems the PR machine for Spooks is revving up so I’m compelled to talk about it. I really do hope journalists have enough going on in their heads that they don’t ask. But thank God the circus question has died.

I’m sure the journalists think we’re all nuts. I don’t care. If I cared, I wouldn’t be writing this blog. Wait. I’m anonymous, so I guess some part of me cares. I think, not sure, but I think that’s a healthy sign. LOL!

I did toy around with the idea of sending Richard some “orders” from the Army (Rogue Branch) where it would have been explained to him that he was not allowed to talk about it. But this post is my confession that I’m chickening out. It just isn’t my style to send something to a celebrity. Maybe it’s my pride. Oh, yeah, it’s my pride.

A fake fan letter will have to rid me of my angst:

Dear Richard,

It’s abundantly clear you have been schooled in manners. I do not remember one instance of you being impolite. You are politeness itself. But I must ask if there’s a possibility you could be rude to journalists who insist on delving into a subject that I believe makes you groan? I find myself hoping to hear that rudeness. Oh, couch it in whatever you like. Last time out was actually pretty funny. I laughed whether anyone else did. But then I don’t place myself squarely in that group you described. Could that have been a slip into a little rudeness? I don’t think so, but it was close. Oh, it was skating really closely.

Frankly, a good shit here or there might help. Perhaps you already say that, and it’s edited to insert your politely crafted manna to the fans. Maybe that wouldn’t work, since too many journalists have the persona of shrikes — impaling their subjects with questions designed to get a reaction that will inspire them to write something clever. Plus, it seems I’m remembering one interview where the shit got through (or maybe I dreamed that). That guy must not have liked you, or he was jealous. Whatever the case, I thought your reply was really honest and a breath of fresh air. No one is that polite all the time. At some point you were bound to get tired of the question. I know the fans are. Well, this fan.

Man, I sound angsty about your replies. But really I’m not angsty about your replies at all. Your replies are not the problem. I don’t care what you say if it makes the reporters stop asking the question.

Sincerely,
One of your minions in the Army

P.S. Have you ever laid eyes on the guy who came up with that name?

That felt good. I’m really getting addicted to these fake fan letters. If you haven’t tried one, do it! They are so satisfying without any of the embarrassment you would have if he really read it. Plus, I imagine the wait would be hell.

So what about Nat’s group letter? That’s special like Nat, and should stand alone. I really do hope he gets it, reads it, and most important sees Nat’s work. He would love it!

And because in recent days I’ve been remiss in posting pics, here’s one of my favorites:

Yes, it puts your focus squarely on his beautiful mouth.

Screencap courtesy of my stash.

This is Why You NEED a Twitter Account

The UK version of TV.com is interviewing Richard Armitage about Spooks tomorrow, and they are asking for questions via Twitter.

Seeeee:

And you can hit reply and ask, but you won’t see “reply” if you don’t have an account.

You just thought you didn’t want a Twitter account. LOL!

edit:

Stick Figure Richard has joined us on Twitter! Go here. I’m pumped about this. Check out his “hottie list” and his questions for RA.