The Hobbit Audio Book II

I’ve been thinking Harper Collins is “the powers that be.”  This was my thought yesterday before posting, but I wanted to cover all the bases.  Given the fact they’ve acquired the book rights, I can’t imagine they neglected to obtain rights to the audio book.


April 14, 2011

Attn: Audio Book Procurers
Harper Collins Publishing

Re: The reading of The Hobbit for release in conjunction with ‘The Hobbit’ movies

Dear Sirs or Madams:

Since my last letter to you, I realized I may have been unfair in assuming your interests are purely pecuniary. So I come with an appeal to your humanitarian inclinations, your desire for the greater good.  The beauty of this proposal is it will not only create goodwill of the humanitarian kind, but it will make some so lighthearted and free that their purse strings will be opened wide — among other things.

Do you know what happens to women when Richard Armitage speaks? I will be happy to educate. He’s been known to make them write verse and fantasies, draw and paint pictures, create masterful videos, obviously take up blogging, but most notable has been his ability to make ovaries explode.  Hopefully, I don’t need to put a fine point on that. Suffice to say he puts women in a good mood, and in case it’s not clear by my presence here, he is an addiction and we must get our fix. Yes, I admit that’s what this letter is really about.   We need our fix and would love it if The Hobbit were available to help. Just think what this would do for the greater good to have that many smiling women.

In the meantime, I will be happy to send you samples of Richard’s work. This would be for the Madams since it would probably be lost on you Sirs.

Thank you for considering, and I am sure all of the significant others would thank you as well.

Sincerely,
One of Richard’s fans who hopes you realize I’m teasing — unless you’re seriously considering!

P.S. Pssst, if you are already locked into someone else reading, could you get Richard for something else?  We just want to hear him read.  May I suggest this book which is in the public domain.

cc:

Peter Jackson
United Agents
The Addict List

This one gets the public service tag.

April 14, 2012
Categories: Movies, The Hobbit, Voice Work . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 6 Comments

The Hobbit Audio Book

Talk at TheOneRing about the book ties-ins to ‘The Hobbit’ has trebled my passion for Richard Armitage to read the book! But I fear it will never happen. More than likely the contracts have been signed, and Peter Jackson, or Harper Collins or Middle-Earth Enterprises, or whoever is considered “the powers that be” have selected a more well-known reader. I so want to be wrong about this, but my infernal gut is rather dismal today. So this post is a vent. Or maybe I’m looking for someone with a positive outlook.

If it would make a difference, I would raise an issue on an LOTR site or two. I suspect they would probably dismiss me as nothing but a rabid fan with little or no objectivity. And to that I would ask: have you listened to the man’s voice?!

Oh well, in lieu of pestering the Tolkien fans, maybe a fake fan letter to alleviate my angst?

Dear Sir Peter or Harper Collins or MEE, Anyone with any sense:

The thought of Richard Armitage reading The Hobbit is sheer bliss only to be exceeded by the thought of his reading North and South…………………. Oh, sorry, I blacked out for a moment. Ahem. You really need to know that every book he’s read is wonderful. I may sound like a silly fan who would be happy with his reading of the phone book, but you would be wrong. On second thought, you might be right since I would be willing to pay money to hear that. You read that right. I would pay bucks for that. There might be a few others who feel the same. :D

And you do know more women buy books than men? I’ll give some documentation if you need it. Somehow I think you already know this. But more than that, have you heard the man reading a book? Then what are you waiting for? He is perfect. Yes, I know what I’m talking about, and someone is going to eventually cash in. Why not you and why not now?

Thank you for considering,
One of Richard’s fans who knows what women like and would love to help you make some money more money.

P.S. I realize you may not be the bottom line, Sir Peter, but hope you have some influence in this matter or at the least could have Richard reading some phone book entries in the next vlog. ;-) Surely that wouldn’t violate any contracts or anyone’s privacy — especially if the names are fake. Hmmm. My mind is flooding with the possibilities. Really, I don’t care what you have him say. Just let him say something in the next video!
P.P.S I’ve never written a post script so long, but hell, this is worth it.

For those who haven’t had the pleasure of listening to Richard Armitage’s audio work, I have several samples in my FanstRAvaganza pieces from last year including RA doing American, and you can find additional excerpts here and here.

Also, I still have a little stockpile of audiobooks to give away. Some are courtesy of the BBC, and I have to say again how much I appreciate that! Need to get on the giveaway since SO keeps wondering why they’ve been on his desk for over a year.

Note: the wrap-up piece I promised is coming. Since that may be the most important writing I publish on this blog, I want to get it right.

April 13, 2012
Categories: Movies, SO, The Hobbit, Voice Work . Tags: , , , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 49 Comments

My Trip to New York

Unlike my fantasy trip to New Zealand, this one I’m taking, and certainly to try to see ‘The Hobbit’ premiere, and perhaps meet some other fans in the tri-state area. I believe the latter would be as much fun as the premiere! And cliche’ as it sounds, I love New York. No clue how many times I’ve been there. SO and I and the kids even lived there part of one summer. That’s when my children fell in love with it too, and now I have two other very compelling reasons to go there and will go whether there is a premiere or not:


One of the darlings is in her first year living there, and the other darling has been there for almost three years. Normally, I would visit them during the summer since the winters can be miserable. But my girls are going out of town for a big chunk of the summer, and besides, they’re also coming home for a visit. So December it will be!

Dear Richard,

Love you, but I’m not sure I would make a trip on your behalf. Something else fairly compelling would have to be thrown in. Somehow I think you would understand this.

Sincerely,
One of your fans who likes to act crazy but who’s startlingly sane when it comes to expenditures. :D

My final FanstRAVaganza recap coming later today.

March 29, 2012
Categories: Fandom, Movies, SO, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 23 Comments

Who’s Your Boyfriend?

December is going to be here soon. You think I’m nuts? Try processing that Christmas happened over three months ago. Feels like two weeks to me, and if I wait another two weeks, it will be Thanksgiving. That means I need to start getting ready now for ‘The Hobbit’ premiere. I think The Queen and I are going to try to go to NYC for this, but that’s not what this post is about.

You all know how much I love librarians. They hold a special place in my heart and especially sassy librarians, who I waxed on about here, and I’m going to do it again today. But for a very good cause! Richard Armitage is our fantasy boyfriend, and Meg Wood, the sassy librarian in question, runs a blog about fantasy boyfriends. Meg is busy. She’s a librarian at the University of Washington, runs the Boyfriend of the Week blog, her book/movie review blog, supports various noble causes (no, I’m not being snarky), and has a boyfriend of her own. So I’m putting in my bid now for a piece from her oh, sometime between December 15th and February 3rd, 2013. I’ll even pay for her movie ticket. Maybe I’ll throw in dinner as well if Meg will go on the hook for a boyfriend piece about Richard.

This shouldn’t be too difficult since she’s done it before. But that was six years ago and will be almost seven by ‘The Hobbit’ release. It’s time for another one. And if she’s wondering about other background information (DVDs, video clips, interviews or whatever) on RA to catch her up on the last several years of his career, I’m sure some of us can scratch up something for her. :D

It’s Wednesday evening, and I was going to wait until Friday night to publish. That seemed to fit better with the boyfriend theme. But I’m hoping Meg’s not busy on a Wednesday night.

So what say you, Meg? Dinner and a movie for a comparison of RA against your man?

March 28, 2012
Categories: Movies, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 13 Comments

The Year of the Dwarf?

Timeout from my FanstRAvaganza exploration.

I was followed on Twitter by another movie trailer site. I think they know I’m a sucker for these things. So I went over to watch some and came away with the need to post this.

Who woulda thunk one of the hot topics in entertainment this year would be dwarfs? (Or is that dwarves? Damn that Tolkien!) Not that I have any kind of problem with it or that it’s my first encounter with them — I have been a fan of the Roloffs. But I never imagined so much would be coming at us.

The premiere of “Mirror, Mirror” on Friday:

And supposedly ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ in June:

Of course the best is being saved for last since no dwarf before and probably since will be like this (Thank you, Sir Peter. :D):

But I do wonder why this much emphasis on Snow White? I’m sure the producers of those movies are irritated with each other, and I wonder if Peter Jackson is irritated by this as well or if it helps with ‘The Hobbit.’ Yeah, I think about useless stuff like this when I should be doing some paperwork such as the kind needed to file my taxes. See?! See?! why I get so caught up in this useless pastime?! Who in God’s creation wants to do their taxes?! Yep, that’s what I thought. This is much more soothing.

edit: E.B. Darcy reminded me about ‘Once Upon a Time’, which came out last year, and I think may be part of the reason Snow White is getting so much treatment.

March 26, 2012
Categories: Movies, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 9 Comments

Damn! I Want to Go to New Zealand

Never mind Richard Armitage. I was just on one of my favorite sites, Lost at E Minor, and it really got me this pumped up. Gave new meaning to the name New Zealand. Yeah, I’ve got some zeal, baby. The site is running a contest to giveaway some New Zealand products, which might be nice to enter, but that didn’t generate this excitement. Plus, it’s only open to Aussies.

It was the write-up and photos of Wellington:

Cool travel/win a prize pack from the coolest little capital in the world
March 12, 2012 by Zolton

I’m originally from Wellington, New Zealand, so I know first hand what a happening little city it is, from the windswept hills that harbour (did I say harbour? Check Wellington’s out below) cool boutiques, cafes and restaurants, to the bustling downtown area…(the rest here)

Man, someone with some means needs to be bowled over by me and offer to let me grace the Kiwis with my presence. :D

Wonder if Richard Armitage will come back. I wouldn’t.

Photos from the article, which I hope Lost at E Minor will allow me to use in order to promote their contest. LOL!

March 20, 2012
Categories: Movies, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 2 Comments

Telling Stories

This is actually my day 6 post!

As with the other days, please remember this is part of a much larger conversation about Richard Armitage, and again, you would be pleased by checking out the rest of it here.

Yesterday, I was away from home and had several hours of uninterrupted time while I waited for the high school track team to finish their meet. This time was to be used for finally getting a video completed which was to go with this post. The thing had me in its grip all week, and my hard head was determined to conquer, so the first few hours yesterday were spent in my hotel room continuing to wrestle with it. Check out time came, and I had to move my tussle to a reliable wifi spot — the local McDonald’s. I did eat something while I was there; free food is always an enticement (such is the “perk” of a school bus driver), and as I was wiping my hands of the last bits of my Filet-o-fish sandwich, so I wouldn’t smudge my laptop’s keyboard, a rough looking couple sat down near me. They had a laptop too and were aware that my seat was next to the only electrical outlet in the dining area. The man asked if he could plug in, and then he started quizzing me about my computer. Knowing I had to get that damn video done, but being a people person and being someone who can be easily distracted, it was beyond my power to ignore these people who were continually trying to talk to me. Oh, I mentally berated myself for choosing McDonald’s as a place to work, berated myself for committing to post every day, and berated myself for not wanting to listen to these people.

So I finally closed the WordPress session and turned to take a full look at these two. The man had on dirty clothes, was unshaven, and some of his front teeth were missing, but it did nothing to keep the twinkle in his eye from drawing me. The woman, who was a tall, painfully thin, dark eyed beauty with almost a regal presence, looked a bit wistful for something. This is where I cut to the chase to ensure this post doesn’t run to near 3,000 words. These people were homeless, and the man is probably a genius and the woman supposedly a former wife and mother with four children, which ended when she became a meth addict. Now, this is far from my first in-depth encounter with someone who is homeless, and it’s not going to be my last, but it is the most fascinating. I spent the rest of the day with them, and I won’t bore you with all the details as they’re considerable, but I did end up taping them with their consent, and I’ve already verified some of their information as accurate and will continue to try to verify some more. From what I know so far, these two need their story told. What a privilege it would be to tell it!

This morning when the story just wouldn’t leave me alone, I thought of ‘West of Memphis,’ which I plan to see, and I wondered at the considerable power Peter Jackson has to get a story told. And now Richard Armitage is in his camp, and if he is as quick a study as he appears, he will leave that place much different with almost none of it the result of new found fame. Richard is a storyteller. He has continually revealed in his interviews that he insinuates himself into the storytelling process. Sometimes the writers have talked about it:

One of our great casting coups is Richard Armitage (who plays Sir Guy of Gisborne, the Sheriff’s right-hand man), modest man of sharp intellect…Today, he knocks on my door with a pencil and pad. Can he ask me some questions about his character? I tell him, truthfully, that I can’t believe he is here – an actor of his talent, sitting on my sofa, talking to me about playing this part. I feel so lucky. Suddenly I stop myself – do I destroy what little (gamma-male) authority I have by being so candid? I glance at him. My concerns are unfounded. He is blushing. A man of his talent. I remind myself that the only folk more insecure than writers are actors. — Dominic Minghella on the set of Robin Hood, 2006

Article here

And Richard is aware that he may sometimes be a pain with his need, but he can’t help it:

I don’t think I’ve gone anywhere near the high point. It may not even be in front of the camera. The older you get, the more critical you become. Whoever writes the stuff I’m in must think I’m a complete pain in the backside, because I will question them about every word the character utters.

And I’m excited about where that might lead:

I suppose I’m a bit too curious, but I think I probably will have a crack at directing at some point.

The rest of the article here

He must be in heaven right about now, and all because someone saw more than his ability to look adoringly at a female. What a shame it would be if he were consigned to nothing but that, nothing but our drooling and gushing over his sexual appeal. Oh, I’ve done my share, but that is not what brings me back again and again to see what he’s doing. Since the Vulpes Libris interview, I have been firm in my belief that he wants to tell a story. Richard III? He has talked about it a lot. So obviously, it’s a story he wants to tell, but is it his passion? Some of his fans think so, and eventually, we’ll find out.

Before I finish this post, I must say a hearty thanks to people and places on the web that make this blog possible. Yes, I’m saying that if they didn’t exist, I would not be able to run this place. LibraryGirl and the ladies who maintain the lovely database at Richard Armitage Central, Ali and her cohort Wendy at RichardArmitagenet.Com, Annette at RichardArmitageOnline, and all of the ladies at C19. If it weren’t for all of these people and their propensity to discuss and archive, I know I would never have started this blog nor have delved this deeply into what I believe is the most fascinating part of Richard Armitage. Thank you all for the great pleasure of doing that!

Edit: updated the Conversations page, so no more cheating. :D And I did not forget about Bertold Brecht. More on him after FanstRA.

second edit: I eventually talked about Brecht here.

March 18, 2012
Categories: Interviews, Movies, Robin Hood, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 14 Comments

Flying

As with the other days, please remember this is part of a much larger conversation about Richard Armitage, and you would be pleased by checking out the rest of it here.

My apologies for the delay in posting, and no, today is not about Richard Armitage and Peter Jackson. It was supposed to be today, but I’m a day behind. Sometime I might tell you why.

This piece was originally titled ‘I Think Therefore I Am a Great Actor II,’ but my need for cuteness has waned, and in its place is an overwhelming desire to be understood. The need is so great that it’s also contributed to this post being tardy, and I began drafting it a couple of months ago! Actually, the post has been brewing from the day I started this blog. No, before that.

I knew fairly early on what overwhelmed me about RA’s portrayals, but the language to explain it has eluded me; otherwise, I would have explained already. My stumbling block is not in finding some words so much as it is in wishing to use words that have no inflammatory nature. If my ability to handle words were better, then I could deal with the dangerous ones while curtailing the seemingly endless qualifiers.

In case it wasn’t obvious in the last post, the drug I keep taking is the reality created by Richard Armitage’s characters. I would say truth, but people trip on the word truth. Maybe because it’s often assumed to be the sum of all truth instead of just a truth. That does seem to be the inference from a significant number of people when the word appears. And perhaps it is such an important aspect of our lives, it rightly deserves that reaction. To be clear, I do have a definite view of the source of the truth, but it has such a richness and depth, I could never sum it up. It’s not that simple.

And people aren’t simple. It doesn’t matter who. Everyone has myriad emotions for myriad reasons with myriad manifestations of them. For another person to portray this authentically, and I don’t necessarily mean realistically but rather a portrayal that gets to the heart of a person, certainly can’t be simple. It requires what Stanislavski called “the magic if” which is an actor accessing his imagination to give a character thoughts and feelings, and in turn mannerisms and personal habits in order to convey the inner man. When I first heard Richard Armitage wrote back stories for his characters, I wondered if he was a devotee’ of Stanislavski’s method, but it wasn’t until I read the Vulpes Libris interview in July 2009, that I was sure. Oh, what a wonderful piece. For all of the supposed intellectual resources of the major media outlets, an interview on a fairly unknown blog remains my favorite, because he shared in more detail, before or since, how his mind works with respect to his craft. Thank you again, Lovely Book Foxes! I think many of us would love to read those diaries. Maybe one day.

From that interview, something else began to be clear. This tapping into the imagination and using it to make a real point of connection is Richard Armitage’s obsession, and thankfully for us, his genius. When I was reading Craig, he made an illustration of a young man wanting to become an actor and how it wasn’t really about wanting to be an actor but something else:

Perhaps you quarrelled with your parents when you were eighteen, because you wished to go on the stage, and they would not let you. They perhaps asked why you wanted to go on the stage, and you could give no reasonable answer because you wanted to do that which no reasonable answer could explain; in other words, you wanted to fly. And had you said to your parents, “I want to fly,” I think that you would have probably got further than had you alarmed them with the terrible words, “I want to go on the stage.

Millions of such men have had the same desire, this desire for movement, this desire to fly, this desire to be merged in some other creature’s being, and not knowing that it was the desire to live in the imagination, some have answered their parents, “I want to be an actor; I want to go on the stage. — Edward Gordon Craig, from On the Art of the Theatre

I saw Richard Armitage in that. Oh, not the quarrel although there could have been a quarrel, but in the desire to merge with another creature’s being. And it occurred to me that for all its appearances, this is not flying:

The heart of these characters was never revealed in any way that was terribly meaningful to me. The entire time I was watching I felt like an outsider who didn’t understand the intense relationship between these two people but was aware on some level of the writers whispering into my ear, “This is the scene where you should care.” But oh, what do you think this part would have been in the hands of Richard? And I’ll bet Kate Winslet’s performance would have been world’s better as well. I could get faint if I think about all the possibilities, and especially as I’ve been learning what flying really looks like:

It’s made me want to fly too. It’s made me want to tell stories and express some things I never have or felt I could. A few months before I knew RA existed, I did start a journal, which was something to relieve tension and rant where it could do no harm to anyone — except perhaps me. It was never for me to be a writer. But as I watched his performances, I got so stirred up and eventually knew I wanted to do in written form what he is doing. Mostly, I want to create another world in which to reveal a reality. Isn’t that what Tolkien is all about? More on that later. :D

The next post is about Richard Armitage stretching himself professionally.

March 16, 2012
Categories: Interviews, Movies, Robin Hood . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 21 Comments

Tangent — ‘Bully’ Will Do Well with ‘R’

Maybe my part of the world is way ahead of the rest. Somehow I doubt that. I live in podunk. The closest shopping mall is at least three hours away. However, there is a fairly sophisticated resort about 15 minutes down the road, but I’m thinking more of the ranch town 15 minutes in the other direction. At the local theater there, kids are routinely allowed to watch ‘R’ rated movies. In fact, most of the kids I know (middle school age and up) do not want to attend ‘G’ rated movies or even PG-13 for that matter. Are you kidding me?! They want to go to the ‘R’ stuff and they do! And then there’s the very large city I moved from which has many theaters that allow children underage to attend ‘R’ rated movies.

The ‘R’ rating is almost a joke anymore. Is there a movie theater owner out there who really enforces this consistently? Where are they? They are so out of step with the majority who don’t give a rat’s ass, and kids love knowing they’re going to “adult” movies and most of their parents let them. So as far as I can tell, the MPAA has done the producers of ‘Bully’ a big, fat favor. Plus, being bullied by the MPAA and all. :D Makes for good press.

Color me jaded.

No, I haven’t seen the move — yet.

March 9, 2012
Categories: Movies, Tangents . Tags: , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: Leave a comment

Richard Armitage on Twitter

In recent days, I’ve been pushing Twitter and some of you have jumped in with both feet. Alright!! I love it, and we are going to have some fun, and no, it’s not going to be all related to Richard Armitage. There is so much to see and do on Twitter, it’s stunning. It is THE forum/chatroom for the world. Unreal. Yes, I’m really this gushy about it because its power to transfer intel of various kinds is unlike anything I’ve seen. It is the giant segue in the sky, as it were. I could get philosophical and perhaps even a tad theological, but I will spare you that today.

For those who are hungrily scanning this post for the information of where Richard Armitage can be found on Twitter, you can stop. He’s not there — at least that he’s publicized it. He’s also made it plain that he doesn’t desire to be there — at least not right now:

Excerpt from his message of May 29, 2011:

With regards for requests for social media, blogs tweets etc. I have always worried that I will reveal something about the project I am working on that I am not allowed to, added to the fact that I am just about up to e mailing and little more, I may have to abstain for now.

But that is not going to stop some who really, really want to see him tweeting:

https://twitter.com/#!/PeerPressureRA/status/175237951926702080

When I saw this, my gut screamed a response:

Dear Richard,

I love Twitter, but what a headache it would be for you, and I heartily concur with your instincts about giving spoilers! The expectation level from fans once you started tweeting would be enormous. My eyes are rolling back in my head just imagining what that would be like. I don’t think you’re ready for that kind of co-dependency. Is anyone? LOL!

The PeerPressureRA id is new, but if it goes the way I think it will go, it could take on the proportions of a coup. If it does, I hope you do not cave into the pressure.

Take care, and in the meantime, could you put a fire under Sir Peter to get that vid out?! We’re all about to have a meltdown from the mere mention of it. :D

Signed,
One of your crazy fans, who would never put pressure on you (bats eye lashes)

Before you ask, yes, a little APM is at work in me today. ;D

An edit I really didn’t think I would make:

That’s Richard’s first tweet in case it’s not clear. :D

March 1, 2012
Categories: Fandom, Movies, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 17 Comments

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