As I write this, I think it’s almost 9:00pm in the UK. If you hurry and get in your entry by midnight UK time, you might have a chance to win a copy of Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell as Narrated by Richard Armitage. Details here.
I’m not going to go on and on about this book. I’ve already done it several times and so have some others both here and here. And all the gushing was entirely justified!
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:
TWOCKER –Joyrider or car thief, as in Taking Without Owner’s Consent, written as TWOC on charge sheets #UrbanDictionary #UrbanAndTheShedCrew
— UrbanAndTheShedCrew (@UrbanATShedCrew) March 21, 2014
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.
I haven’t watched the Anglophile Interview. It’s not because I haven’t wanted to. It’s because every time I’ve started to watch, something has jumped in the way. I really am that busy with my work, and so tickled to be! I haven’t even read any posts about it. There have only been some bits and pieces that people have told me.
I did read a lot about it before it was released, and on that I definitely have some thoughts. I started to publish them weeks ago, and then I got busy and didn’t do it. But I think I’m going to go ahead because the topic is timely.
Gone to proof that post.
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.”
Check out the website here.
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!)P.S. Gone to read the book!
Thanks to RichardArmitageNet.Com for the news.
Sharing is a fairly new business model, and it’s one that takes some outfits awhile to embrace. Guylty has a very significant post at her blog about Getty Images finally coming around to the 21st century in its thinking. They have changed their policy about the availability of their images. And for this blogger, it’s very welcome news.
I have had Getty Images go through my entire blog on two occasions in the last four years. The first time was early in the life of this blog. The second time was just a few months ago, which I talked about as a potential pitfall of blogging. The good news is I didn’t infringe. But if I even thought about it over the years, I had only to remember that once over I received early on to know I was not going to do something that even came close.
An embed using the instructions from Guytly’s post:
Embed from Getty ImagesThis was easy. Thank you, Guytly for the heads up!
Reblogged from DavidHewson.com:
As we revealed a while back, that fantastic actor Richard Armitage is the narrator for a new Shakespeare adaptation I’ve co-written with A.J. Hartley. Now Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel is available for pre-order from Audible before its release on May 20.
Read more here
Are we so ready for this it’s absurd? No, don’t answer that. I already know. :D
Oh, you weren’t. Well, he has been on my mind after reading about Amazon acquiring rights to some of AudioGo’s books. That includes Lords of the North, but as Ali at RichardArmitageNet.com pointed out, there is no Richard Armitage version for sale at Audible. It is only the Jamie Glover edition.
I have nothing against Jamie Glover, but have you heard Richard Armitage read this book?!
Kaprekar and I waxed on about it here where I also have a sample. Of course you can watch some video clips on YouTube, but somehow I think you don’t get the same effect as when you only listen.
Let me explain the full effect it has had on many of us. We went onto read all of Cornwell’s books in the Saxon series (there are currently seven) and some of us are working our way through Cornwell’s Sharpe series as well as some other of his books. And should I even mention how I bought Richard Armitage’s Heyer readings beginning with Sylvester? Me, the person who is not a fan of Regency romance novels and long criticized them for their ability to give sugar shock, buying them in audio form? Yeah.
Richard reads so well he gets you caught up in something you don’t want to end even when the writing is not your favorite. But when it is good writing, it often helps you discover a wonderful author and then you really cannot stop.
This makes me wonder who will let go of their resentment of Shakespeare being foisted on them in high school and/or college only to embrace the Bard and many of his others works after this book Hamlet comes out in May.
As for Lords of the North, Ali is doing her part to get at least one copy into the hands of fans with a giveaway contest. Details here.
And when Ali’s contest is done, I’m going to have one. A few years ago, AudioGO kindly sent me several copies to give away. I did do a giveaway on blog, but I still have one copy, so I’m going to be looking to give it to someone who really, really wants it. Details of my contest coming later.
Coming up next or near next, I resurrect my drum banging with respect to The Hobbit audio book. Get ready.
edit: I may be wrong about Amazon owning Richard’s version of the book. See Ali’s comment below.
RAFrenzy 