This is Hard

What was I saying about not wanting to wait to get at the writing? Well, I hit a bit of a wall. Not a huge one, but enough to slow me down and say to myself, “Hmmm, maybe that storage room downstairs really does need a thorough cleaning.” I’m staying on the job for all of you. See how good I am to you? Remember it’s my nutty behavior that makes a lot of the rest of you look sane. You know in case RA or any of “his people” happen to see our little enclaves of discussion, they can conclude, “Thank God most of those people aren’t like that RAFrenzy nut.” So again, this is really a public service. ;-)

All of that aside, I’m trying to draft this post about my top ten videos. Is it too late to make it my top 20 or 50? Phew! I had no idea this was going to be so difficult or that I would actually feel pressure. Yes, I read the notes from those of you who want me to post my list. Most of these posts I write by the seat of my pants, as it were of course, but this time I couldn’t. Ironically, I figured this would be nothing but fun since I love the videos, and for the most part it is fun. But as SO reminds me sometimes, I tend to make things much harder than they should be. I’m really trying not to do that.

One thing that’s made it so hard is trying to find out how many RA vids there are on YouTube or getting a pretty good idea and then watching the ones I’d missed or trying to watch as many as I could. Oh my gosh! Forget it. There are too many. Can I just tell you that there are loads of them? That you probably will never run out of something to watch? Yes, this is a good problem unless you have an anal streak. Suffice to say I’ve watched quite a few the last couple of weeks that have been on YT for a while, but I had never seen them. This is coming from someone who watches lots of videos. Should I admit I’m that addicted? I’ve already admitted this RA addiction, what’s another one?

As if the sheer number is not daunting enough, I’ve come up with a criteria to explain my selections, which I had never thought about let alone articulated since I just go with my gut most of the time. However, articulating a criteria is a must in the pursuit of not looking like I play favorites and not hurting anyone’s feelings. But hey, I’m not going to get around that anyway. What makes that laughable is who am I to hurt anyone’s feelings with my choices? I’m just one person, and for all anyone knows, I have really lousy taste. In fact, for those vidders I don’t acknowledge, please consider me to have lousy taste. It will not hurt my feelings. Wow. Who knew there was this much passion about fan videos?

So why this post before the post? I guess I really want to be understood. This whole blog is a big digression into being understood even if you and I will never meet. I’ve got a fixation on being understood. Oh yeah, it’s a blessing and a curse, and it bores the dog out of me but hopefully, it won’t bore you. At least not today.

Yes, I really do have a post on the videos. I’m just not ready to post it but felt like I had to post something, and I guess I need to remember that tired old adage (maybe it’s not really tired) that if it’s worth doing, it’s probably going to be hard (or something to that effect). So you hear that, Elvira, I realize that videos take some work to be done right, i.e., at the very least be willing to read a tutorial, and for the rest of you, writing about them takes some work too — if it’s to be done right.

I’m not only going to throw in a gratuitous pic but a video as well. This was a video I had never seen. Shocked me I tell you. That I had never seen it I mean, and yes, I like it or it wouldn’t be embedded here. See what I mean about being understood. Why do you think I haven’t written much until now — I can’t stop. LOL!

Love the expressions Elvira captured.

And the pic:

Screencap courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.com

Top ten post hopefully coming up next week. Then after that I’ll get my top ten fan fics posted. Already started on it. LOL!

June 11, 2010
Categories: Fandom, Fanvids, SO, Spooks . Tags: , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 8 Comments

BAFTA SHMAFTA

The BAFTAs are coming up tomorrow on the BBC, and RA will be presenting an award again this year. I read Hedgeypig’s BAFTA report from last year, and it sounded like she had a bit of work, but hey, that’s the kind of work I’d like to have. LOL! After I got done with the report, I watched RA’s clips from last year’s BAFTAs again, and I couldn’t resist watching his 2007 interviews and presentation again as well. I’ve uploaded all of these here so we can examine the dog out of them, uh, I mean show them for our viewing pleasure.

A 2007 red carpet interview, which I posted on another blog entry. His interview starts about 2:15:

Here’s another one:

I asked in a previous post if he’s for real, and in those clips, he seems about as real as someone can get in that situation. He actually made a crack about the QVC which was a faux pas, but hey, I agree with him. LOL!

Out he comes for the presentation. The words tall, gangly bloke come to mind even though I think he’s a very graceful person. It’s clear this is not his thing (I sound like that idiot chick on Bill O’Reilly who does the body language assessments):

Skip to 2009

On the red carpet before last year’s ceremony:

Then he’s on for his bit:

Quite a change from 2007. He is much more polished looking. His suit fits great, he has a sharp looking hair cut, and his attitude seems to be, “Bafta shmafta, I’m having a great time!” Just look at that stride and grin. I don’t mean to imply he’s disrespectful. I’m only highlighting the development of his public persona and its increase in confidence.

Truth be told I miss the guy with the ill-fitting suit, long hair and shy grin, but he seems to still be there. I hope RA’s never so slicked up that guy is eclipsed, and I definitely hope he never becomes glib. My gut tells me that won’t happen, and I always go with my gut.

So glad I came in on his career when clips like those are still available. Speaking of which, thank you, ladies at RichardArmitageNet.com for making those available! I wish I could do something more for you than typing a couple of sentences in my blog.

For the rest of you, if you want your own copy of those clips, then you can get them on this page.

Off to surf the net for a place to maybe watch the BAFTAs. ;-)

June 5, 2010
Categories: Interviews, Spooks . Tags: , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 13 Comments

So I Took A Breather

WARNING: Spoilers in this post — specifically in the video.

The sane side of me reared its ugly head and came up for air.

Last week I feasted steadily on the interviews for Strike Back. Oh, it was good, and I felt really satisfied at times, but the hunger was back the next day. Finally, at the end of the week, I was sick from consuming so much. I needed time to digest.

This is helping me get back to my crazy self:

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t remember having quite so much press hype to gorge on with Spooks 8, and I was darn near starved to death with Robin Hood 3. Plus, RA seemed to be merely doing his duty promoting those shows, but I wanted to hear more of his take on character development, his personal development, and life in general. There was only one interview during Spooks 8’s promotion that stands out (more on that later). This time around I didn’t know which one to consume first and they’re still coming fast and furiously. Throw in some titillating comments from RA about possibilities, and it’s enough to make me pass out. A Guy of Gisborne spinoff?! I think that was either a crack or a crumb. Not sure which yet, and I’m not really sure it was for us fans anyway. I tend to think it’s for potential producers. He does mention a lot that he likes to work. Is there a producer crazy enough or creative enough to bring a Gisborne spinoff to the telly?

On a more serious note, I love Maria’s treatment of some of the interviews. I’m still digesting.

But what I know today is RA reveals a lot about himself to the point that I feel like a voyeur and a child. Sometimes he has a childlike quality in his discussions that evokes that response from me. Oh, I don’t mean he’s immature. If anything, he articulates his observations as an old sage, but it’s couched in terms of childlike wonder and a candidness that is seldom seen in adults, and certainly not in adults who are in the media. Again, the media types only seem to spin themselves for our consumption, so any childlike quality is designed merely to endear us to them and not because they really love to discover things about life. Maybe that’s what’s happening and I just like RA so much I don’t want to believe I’m being played. See what a cynic I am. I can’t just enjoy this. I’ve got to analyze it to death. I’ve got to question my reaction and his motives. SO has said many times that I question everything that moves and if it doesn’t, I kick until it does to the point where I beat the joy out of it. Maybe he’s right.

Oh, and my apologies for so many food analogies. I started a new eating regimen to accommodate my new jacked up exercise routine. I’ve returned to eating six meals a day, and it seems I can’t stop thinking about food even when I want to.

Next up: my thoughts on Episodes 1 & 2 of Strike Back, which I really am writing for myself. If you guys get something out of it, then goody. Otherwise, it’s placed here so the family doesn’t have to listen to it. LOL!

May 8, 2010
Categories: Fanvids, Interviews, SO, Spoilers, Spooks, Strike Back . Tags: , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 2 Comments

Is He for Real?

I have often found myself asking that question when I read an interview with Richard Armitage. His answers are almost perfect. Oh, my bias is showing. But let me explain. He gives answers that I actually ponder far longer than my reading requires. He also seems to have his profession in perspective and isn’t quick to believe his own press. As if that’s not enough to convince me he’s got his head on straight, he’s willing to admit he is still learning and his perspective is subject to change — more to ponder. This kind of thoughtfulness and candor is refreshing with anyone no matter what they do for a living. But to find it in an actor?

I guess I’ve been prejudiced in thinking actors are mostly caricatures and somewhat superficial and almost never thinkers. At least that’s how it seems when they’re confronted with an interviewer. Some of them state the obvious and never anything of interest that a casual observer couldn’t conclude. Kind of like the typical interview with a footballer who’s asked post-game how his team got the victory. He often responds, “We scored more points.” I would think they were making a joke, but their demeanor doesn’t suggest they’re being facetious at all. They usually have a wide eyed look about it all. I’ve often wondered if these athletes realize we already know that. Similarly, actors seem to think that they’re letting us in on something, but the reality is that we mostly get to witness their posturing, the spinning of their personalities for public consumption and hopefully increase in ticket sales or ad revenue or whatever it is that puts cash in their hip pockets. Whatever is actually happening, I almost always come away with a hollow feeling.

But I’ve never felt that with Armitage. With him I actually have to think at times. Quite simply he gives food for thought, and it’s because his comments make it clear that he thinks and mostly like a sane person and not someone inside the show biz bubble. Even this seemingly benign interview is interesting. Mostly for its unfailing honesty about the hassle to continually keep up appearances almost 24/7. Yuck.

From Times Online
April 27, 2010
The inside track: Richard Armitage
Fresh from filming the TV drama, Chris Ryan’s Strike Back, Spooks star Richard Armitage, 38, gives us his health report

Melissa van der Klugt

I’m normally one of those people who, unless you shove a sandwich in my hand, would forget to eat. The last diet I went on was in training for Strike Back and it involved six small meals a day to keep my blood-sugar level high. It was carbs during the morning and two shakes a day. I kept this up for 18 weeks of filming in South Africa, because you’re often on your feet for 12 or 13-hour days.

For Spooks I lost a stone.My character had just come out of a Russian prison after eight years. I had to weigh everything I ate and not eat too late.

I am always jumping off things on set, on an adrenaline high. At the end of a take people suddenly run up to me waving cotton swabs because I am bleeding and I haven’t noticed. Strike Back was the most physical role I have taken on and I had to work hard with an ex-military instructor to build up my physical mass and strengthen my ankles and wrists so that I wouldn’t injure myself.

I follow the Alexander Technique for 15 minutes each morning. It’s a way of helping my vocal production and control, but when my stress levels are high during filming, it gives me a break. I lie on the floor with a book over my head while I focus on the exercise. On the shoot in South Africa I fell asleep pretty much every time I did it.

I don’t take risks enough in my life. As I’m always under contract, I’m restricted by what I can and can’t do with myself, so skiing is my nirvana. I have been skiing for the past few years and being in the mountains is very therapeutic. You’re up above the clouds, it feels remote. When you’re skiing just faster than is safe there is a thrilling combination of risk and freedom.

Read the rest here ( if necessary, click again to make legible).

April 30, 2010
Categories: Interviews, Spooks, Strike Back . Tags: , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 11 Comments

« Previous Page Next page