A new Richard Armitage photo surfaced from @UrbanAtShedCrew, and I have all kinds of good vibes about this.
Thoughts of Richard playing the scruff, out of his element — or is he? I absolutely adore this. Can hardly wait even though I realize it may not play in the U.S. quickly. Since when has that ever stopped any of us? And for anyone reading who may be alarmed by that statement, I always buy the DVD and usually more than one. It’s my understanding that many, many fans do this. But best of all, we are willing to talk and talk and talk about these vehicles.
Meanwhile, just one of the tweets inuring us to the culture of Urban and the Crew:
Interesting stuff to read as I wait for my book to get here.
And the Into the Storm trailer!
Yeah, Rich!
All of a sudden we have a few things to look forward to. I knew it. I knew it. Yes, I’m gloating. I knew you weren’t sitting on your duff. Have you ever been able to do that? Seriously, man, have you ever been able to sit still?
Somehow I doubt it, and I would bet there’s some really fine looking home improvements created in between all of these theatrical offerings when you were supposedly having your “down time.” :D
Signed,
A fan crazy about damaged characters.
P.S. You have always done a wonderful job with redemption stories. I really cannot wait to see this. Sue me if I’m getting ahead of myself.
I received a lot of mail about the Anglophile Channel’s interview of Richard Armitage before it was broadcast. The consensus of a significant number of the notes seemed to be three questions: who are these people? how can they interview Richard Armitage when they’re not Entertainment Tonight or CNN or even TheOneRing [or insert some other well known media outlet or website]? And why would Richard subject himself to it?!
It seems fairly obvious these fans thought that site was bogus at worst and not important enough at best.
Meanwhile the rest of the world moved on.
And where did everyone else go? They moved into the new age of media which is far from limited to a few established networks and sites. It just doesn’t work that way anymore and hasn’t in a while. The new media is this. No, I mean this, what you are looking at right now. If you have a site, you are a media producer. Heck, if you have a cell phone, you are a media producer. And that is the shift some resist — consumers have become producers.
Henry Jenkins explains this evolution of media including the reemergence of participatory culture and the rise of convergence culture (more on Jenkins shortly):
Nowhere have participatory and convergence cultures been more ubiquitous than among fandoms. Look at all of the media it has produced and intersected with traditional media. In this particular fandom, which is not even close to the largest, we have produced a large body of media such as artwork, video, stories, and reporting, and more traditional outlets have tapped into it. Hollywood is also looking at that and co-opting the fervor as they feel they can, and one of the early adopters was Peter Jackson. The main reason is Jackson is a fanboy himself and understands and appreciates the ardor. It’s no surprise he was looking at fan sites back in 1997 and developed a relationship with Harry Knowles. It’s no surprise he let a New Zealand resident, who created a a site about The Lord of the Rings movies, onto the sets to document the progress for fans. Jackson gets it, and as well as his artistry, it is a key part of his success.
This evolution of media has been happening for a long time, and I should have been more aware of its progress given my exposure to the power of the Net early on. Nevertheless, I watched that video above in the Fall of 2009 and became fascinated again and read Jenkins’ book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. Interestingly, I realized while I was reading that I had another book on my shelves by Jenkins. It’s a seminal work on fandom, and it came into my possession over 20 years ago.
When I worked at IBM, there was a graphic designer, Bob, whom I and all my co-workers tapped for “prettying up” our documents. He was a major Trekkie who had written his own language and had a beautiful poster of it as well as some other Trekkie memorabilia decorating his office. Everyone teased him about his obsession, but I was curious what had made him so rabid. We had several conversations over the years about his involvement in the Star Trek fandom, and I remember saying early on, “You must be really into this to put up with the ribbing you get.” I’ll never forget his response, “People don’t get it, and I don’t care. I enjoy it, and it’s a great creative outlet.” It was about a fairly judgment free environment for his creative efforts. He had been to art school, and according to him there was a very oppressive mentality there. One that said if you didn’t do it a certain way, you were no good. Fandom welcomed him and allowed him to make mistakes. That thought stayed with me, and perhaps I was a fan in the making even then. About two years later as I was leaving the company, Bob gave me the Jenkins’ book, Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. I didn’t read it until 16 years later.
Those two books changed my view of media and creative outlet, and in late 2009, I began to see my personal blog as something different and eventually became frustrated with it. I also began to become more involved in the blogosophere with the thought that I had ideas and didn’t want to just consume others’ ideas. By happenstance I developed a very rewarding relationship of give and take with a powerful media player in England. He is in fact one of the founders of Empire Magazine. There I was exchanging ideas with him, and having a blast and I think he was too, and I was realizing the world really had gotten tiny and huge at the same time. I adored that, so when I started this site, I knew there was power in blogging. But I feel compelled to say to some in this fandom who are determined to cast people as connivers, that I did not start this site with an eye toward capitalizing on that kind of power. Are you kidding me?!! I was scared to death someone would find out I was running this place. But I don’t think it would have been wrong if I had been motivated by that. I just wasn’t. I was simply desperate to say something without every little part of it being nitpicked. Whatever fortuitous things have happened to me here as some sort of result, have just happened with no one more surprised than me. All just further confirmation of the power of the new media.
And now I come to the Anglophile interview with Richard Armitage. For a few hours after I watched the promo video for the interview, I had the same view of Marlise Boland so many others of the spectatorial era seemed to have. This idea that she was out of bounds! But a little time later, I mentally slapped myself for two reasons. I recognized she was seizing a marvelous opportunity of the new media, and more important to me is she was a female who was trying to start a business. Why would I want to demean that? Thankfully the better part of me quickly came to my senses and didn’t. I haven’t even seen the interview yet, but I support her efforts. You go, Girl!
If you think about it, this meeting was a natural for Richard for two reasons:
1) He has already made it plain he’s fan friendly. Hello! Have you read this page?
2) Who has he been hanging out with for three years?
I have no clue what he’s saying, but I have the feeling I’m going to use this cap again. :D
note: Henry Jenkins was the Co-Director of Comparative Media Studies program at MIT and is now a Professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication, and someone I would love to interview.
I’ve gone on to read quite a bit about fan culture and the new media as well as quite a few sociology books. It now takes up an entire bookshelf. Very enlightening, and I’m sure I’ll be talking more about this. Maybe not on this blog. I’m not sure yet.
Bernie Hare is on a mission, and I am more than willing to go along with where he leads. I have spent the last 16 years of my life trying to give something back, and if I can improve that ability by observing the Shed Crew’s world, I will do it happily.
The recent state of affairs (could be 2005 or later):
The present situation with this group has probably not changed much hence the reason for the movie. Hare wants to get the word out even more than the book was able to facilitate, and I embrace what he’s doing heartily. Yep, I already said it again but I feel compelled to say it again. There is nothing more heartbreaking than to watch people, kids in particular, go off the cliff, and you know it doesn’t have to be that way. You want to try almost anything to keep it from happening.
Maybe I’m wrong to say this, but the new role for Richard Armitage as Chop in a story based on Bernard Hare’s non-fiction book, Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew, is the kind of role I’ve been wanting to see Richard Armitage portray for a long time. A long, long time. A book about the human condition, and a true story at that. From the site about the book:
Twelve-year old Urban Grimshaw is Britains’ most runaway child, he’s even been on TV’s Crimewatch. His mother is a junkie and his father might as well be dead. He can’t read or write, and he doesn’t go to school. His average day is spent sitting round a bonfire with his mates smoking drugs and stealing cars. When he meets his mother’s new friend Chop’, a 37 year old, disillusioned, ex-social worker also living on society’s margins, on one of Leeds’ roughest estates the two become firm friends.
But even ‘Chop’ with his own penchant for drink, drugs and hard living is shocked by the state of Urban’s life. After much soul searching, he resolves to clean up his own act and do his utmost to save the kid. But as their friendship deepens, Urban introduces him to the Shed Crew – the anarchic gang of kids between the ages of ten and fourteen; joy-riding, thieving runaways, no strangers to drugs or sex and it’s only then that we see exactly how long the road to civilization really is.
When ex-social worker Bernard Hare turned his startling experiences with a group of young delinquents into a novel it was described as one of the year’s most compelling and best selling books. “Urban and the Shed Crew” is a stunning piece of ethnography described by ‘The Guardian’ as “moving but never sanctimonious, another City of God, this time for Britain rather than Brazil.”
Now we get to see something besides the heartthrob, and I’m feeling great about it. Maybe I shouldn’t say that either. But isn’t Richard Armitage talented, or is he only or mostly good as an object? I’ve thought all along that it’s the former, and how interesting that this role is about a bunch of kids who are encased in an existence created by the mean streets of the drug culture and trying somehow to get out. Maybe I’m reading too much into that. I very well could be, but I find the possible analogy to Richard and Hollywood fascinating.
Rich,
I know I said don’t give us what we want, but in this case, thank you for granting one of my, er, desires.
I’m so looking forward to this and without the great noise of squeeeing. Oh, I’m sure there will be some sequeeing, but hopefully it won’t be the din that your other roles have created. Yep, I’m calling it noise ’cause after a while, well, it’s a distraction. Oh, I admit I’ve been part of the distraction. I admit. I admit. I admit! Yes, I’m guilty of that big time, but it was never the main reason I’m here no matter what anyone thinks. I believe you can act and not merely pose.
I’m sure my comments won’t win me any friends, but I don’t really care. I’m to the point where I want to see you in something that really shows your chops again (okay, someone had to say it. :D). I hope this is it!
Take care,
A crazy fan who is feeling almost vindicated (yeah, I’m sure that crack won’t win any friends either Sue me. LOL!)
Whenever I think of Richard Armitage these days, I mostly think what he may be doing about his career. I also remember he’s a sly one at times as he was when he was shooting Captain America. No one knew about that until he was in the middle of it, and I chuckled to myself at the time and then I wrote this:
RA’s Diary
Entry — On Location with Captain America
The afternoon before my shoot:
I finally got to Manchester and met with the production people. It was fantastic to be back on a movie set. Much different from “Frozen.” So much has changed in just a few years, and this picture has some serious money behind it. When I was younger, I’m not sure I cared about that, but now? I understand the importance of capitalizing these things after all of the legwork I’ve done on Richard III. I will definitely be taking notes. Wonder what Dad would think of a comic book version of RIII? No, no, I could never do that, but damn that would be funny. Visions of Monty Python run through my head.
My only real irritation right now is the potential for a gaggle of women to show up on the fringes of the set. Please God don’t let that happen. I already have too many friends trying to take the mickey out of me about that, and it’s hard to be taken seriously when a bunch of middle-aged women indulging their fantasies are standing around. And I just want to work without having to be cordial. But I will be polite if need be because it’s my middle name. I’ve certainly had that beat into my head. As it is the hair on the back of my neck was on end at one point when I was standing in the street getting instructions about my shoot tomorrow. Thankfully, I saw no women and only a couple of guys taking video from their cameras. I almost hate video cameras.
[click to enlarge]
The next evening:
One of those guys put video on YouTube, and there I am in the middle of it. I tried to make myself smaller when I caught them in my peripheral vision, but I’ve never been able to scrunch down enough to hide. What was I thinking? And I felt like I was 16 again and couldn’t decide between embracing my size and wanting to be invisible. Even if I could have made myself shorter, I guess my arse is recognizable and some make a study of it. There is that one blogger who goes on about my thighs, which I guess are part of my arse, and yeah, when I wore black leather there were a lot of flattering comments. Maybe it’s not so bad, and I didn’t really mind my prison scene or my boiler suit scene. That did make me feel good for a while, and of course there was my scene with Julie. But those were my naked arse and not my covered arse. Shit! Why did I have to wear that stupid jacket? I need some long coats and a few more hats.
Sorry but I had to get inside Richard’s head again. It helps me stay in touch with my X chromosomes.
For some who have no sense of humor or who are action fans, YES, this is a fake entry.
Disclaimer:
At no time in the writing of this entry did I imagine I was really speaking for Richard Armitage nor did I deceive myself into thinking I really know his thoughts. Therefore, there is no need to involve his agent or publicist in what is supposed to be humorous. Of course I realize tone on the net is not always properly conveyed, and hey, I’m not a writer (I just have lots of crap I want to say), so I’m not taking the chance of being misconstrued.
Have a nice day. :D
Note: I’m blaming my lack of inhibition about posting this on my cold medicine and having just read James Franco’s Actor’s Anonymous. ;p
Photo courtesy of Hobbsy and his video from whence the photo was taken, if you’re interested. :D
Reblogged from Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Country Life, and I assume there are spoilers because I haven’t actually read it and won’t until I see the movie myself!
In the midst of all the busyness of the season, Big Boss took me to see The Desolation of Smaug. In The Big City. At the IMAX. In the middle of the afternoon.
The only thing that would’ve made the situation more surreal would have been for us to buy a Big Bucket of popcorn. We’re not that weird. Or stupid. Can you imagine? $7.50 for popcorn. Give me a break.
A year ago I gave my opinion of the marketing of Richard Armitage. I still feel that way as the deluge of photos of him are released on the Web, but I’m a realist and figured if I didn’t want to just dig my heels in about my opinion, I could have some fun with this. Obviously, I chose the latter, and I’m probably always going to choose the latter, and when I don’t choose the latter, it would be just one continuous bitch session. That’s no fun.
But while I’m on this subject, I think I will vent just a wee bit.
I hope after four years (January 2011 to December 2014) of his life being invested in The Hobbit, that Richard Armitage gets some really fine roles. I long to see him in roles like Daniel Day-Lewis plays or Russell Crowe plays or roles that any number of actors of that caliber often play. Yes, I’ve said this before, but I’m compelled to say it again. This means I welcome him playing ugly and damaged characters, and he could shave his head and truthfully, it wouldn’t make me drink. I think it would some fans, and I understand that. When I was first a fan (too long ago to admit at the moment), I didn’t want to see him like that either although Sparkhouse was the role that sold me as a fan for life, and honestly, they could have ditched the makeover and it would have been a better show. Anyway, I’m long past needing to see the heartthrob, and I’m in the minority. But I can’t change the fact I’m ready for him getting down and dirty in some roles about the human condition.
In the meantime, I’ve decided to laugh and have fun with the plastic period and hope that he’s still in the mode of thoughtfully assessing what to do next.
And yes, I’ve wondered at times if Richard Armitage really is about 10 years or more behind in terms of life’s experiences. It’s hard to believe that, but sometimes I do think he’s naive and is more like a 20 something coming into notoriety instead of a man in his early 40s. That is not a criticism of him. Not at all. It’s merely an assessment, and most of the time he is so level headed. I guess I just really do hate to see him succumbing to something much younger actors succumb to and then have to work their way out of — the marketing of shallowness that others seem eager to foist on us.
If I had wanted to just be a fan of someone who had some really fine beefcake, or who was drop dead gorgeous, there was plenty to choose from. Plenty. I don’t see him that way or rather that’s not all there is to him, and it’s not the best part, but it seems to be mostly what we’re seeing lately. To his credit, he does try to elevate most discussion. I realize that and do give him tons of credit. I just hate like hell he has to go through the Hollywood machine to find great roles. Does it have to be that way? I really wonder.
edit: I started to call this “Becoming Jane.” :D No offense, Jane. I’m just teasing, but I also feel more as you do as I go on.
I will try to limit my criticism of the marketing ’cause I really do know it’s not fun to read this.
If this premiere is anything like the one in LA, and I understand it’s even more so, there are people who have spent a long night camping. A little something for them and the rest of you as we wait the last several hours:
Yeah, some cello.
And in case you missed it, the event will be live streamed in a little less than six hours. You can see it here. It should last from 6:20pm to 8:00pm Central European Time. World Clock is here for you to determine the time where you are in relation to Berlin.
RAFrenzy 