It’s a wrap for ‘The Hobbit’ filming! Other than heading to Comic-Con, I wonder if Richard Armitage will get in some skiing. Oh maybe free styling somewhere around Ruapehu:
Wait!
Dear Rich,
Forget I said that. We can’t have you breaking a leg before Comic-Con. We’re all beside ourselves to see you up there where you belong — onstage before a bunch of screaming fans. Be sure to take some Tylenol.
Signed,
One of your crazy fans, who knows what it’s like to break a leg and wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Ugh.
What was I saying about getting bored staring at the same picture? I lied. Richard Armitage is Thorin so deliciously in this picture, and you know I’m strongly affected when I use language like that. When have I ever used words like deliciously? Yep, I thought so. Never. And this might be the only time. ;-)
[click to enlarge]
But then I guess this isn’t exactly the same picture is it. Daria has done some magic on it! And for more of her magic, check out her DeviantArt profile or her tumblr.
The highlights on his face and hair make me think I could find him on a beach somewhere but obviously without all the leather. :D
Original scan provided from Ali’s wonderful iPad. :D And can be seen in a larger format at RichardArmitageNet.Com
Fandwarfing* hasn’t made sense to me until today. The photos of Richard Armitage as a dwarf, frankly, didn’t look like a dwarf. He has always looked like himself in stature — rather large. But ‘Entertainment Weekly’ has a new raft of photos from ‘The Hobbit,’ and one of RA actually gives the appearance of a dwarf. And I find, I quite like it. I guess “dwarves” really can be sexy:
[click to enlarge]
You can see the rest of the photos including couple of more with RA on the EW site here.
* a term coined by Calexora to express the hysteria which goes on when seeing the little people and more especially one little people. :D
A report from a local in New Zealand:
I travelled to Wellington to see Ian McKellen’s one man show in support of a theatre in Christchurch which miraculously survived the big quake but the 10,000 after shocks has left the building needing a lot of expensive repair. My sister lives in Wellington so I was staying with her and she was coming to the show with me. There were rumours that the cast of the Hobbit would attend but I tried not to get my hopes up.
We arrived at the theatre and positioned ourselves on the stairs so we could see who was arriving. First we saw Martin Freeman and shortly thereafter Richard Armitage. He had a quiet demeanour and although he greeted some friends was left alone by the people in the lobby. He has a bit more hair on top, dark, and the beard is as we have seen before, perhaps a bit bushier. I think he was wearing the Spooks series 8 jacket – the one with leather trim along the raised collar. He was also wearing a thick black long sleeved Tshirt and black jeans. He took his seat a few rows back from the rest of the cast which seemed to include most of the kiwis, and Aidan Turner, Billy Connolly, James Nesbitt and Luke Evans. I was in the circle and couldn’t actually see him from my seat.
The show started and it was a magical show. It was definitely an audience who knew their Shakespeare and of course NZers are as fond of Sir Ian as he is of NZ. The first half of the show began with a passage from The Hobbit, and then he talked about JRR Tolkein and previous Hobbit productions, and wielded his sword which is very large and very beautiful. He then admitted that there are 2 versions of the sword, an aluminum one for fighting and a heavier one for ceremonial occasions. The audience was then invited to ask him any questions they liked, and it was a very merry story telling session until intermission.
Spotted RA again (it is helpful that he is tall) but he did not stay in the lobby long.There were a lot of people in the lobby, and I was feeling rather shy myself, so didn’t approach him.
The 2nd half of the show was all about Shakespeare with soliloquies from a number of plays. The audience loved it and there were some spellbinding moments.
AND THEN he invited the Hobbit cast on stage. I’m sure you can guess who waited at the back of the queue as they all climbed the stairs to the stage, and there was quite a number. RA was holding a collection bucket, as were other cast members and I started to get a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. Members of the audience were then also invited on stage and Ian gave them some instructions we could not hear. What he was telling them to do was to fall down as if dead at a particular point in the next speech, which is what they all did. I took a video with my pretty poor camera which is now on You Tube. The One Ring Site has one with better audio, and the bows at the end, but mine has lightly more RA:
And then the show ended. We headed out to the lobby, and there were members of the cast with buckets collecting but no sign of RA. Luke Evans, James Nesbitt and Aidan Turner I spotted, but where was RA? After a bit of waiting we decided he must still be in the theatre stalls area, and headed in there. There was a large queue waiting to talk to Martin Freeman but only about half a dozen talking to RA. He was chatting to an expat English family while they all took photos with him. And then it was my turn. Summoning my courage I asked him if he would sign my book, a copy of The Hobbit of course. He said “Good book” and I said I had thought I should read it before the film came out. He asked me my name, and then said he would also put his character’s name after his signature in the book (being an unassuming chap he thought I wouldn’t already know-as if!). I asked if he had enjoyed his time in NZ, and he said he loved New Zealand. I said that I really enjoyed his performances and he said “oh bless you”. I then asked how much longer he would be Thorin and he said about a month. At this point (and yes, I did make a donation in the bucket while all this was going on) I was too shy to ask for a photo, but I was so thrilled to have had a short conversation with him that it felt like an imposition to ask him for a photo as well as the autograph. I wished him good luck with the rest of the filming, and moved on.
I think he may be very tired as they near the end of filming as he was very still. There was not an ounce of “movie star” in his manner. I wouldn’t say he was shy, but certainly not someone to push himself forward.
NZfanofRA
Thank you NZfan!
I feel the urge to start making grand pronouncements about this wonderful fellow we’ve all decided to follow, but I’ll try to refrain for now. Maybe our friend in New Zealand will be so kind as to fill us in on some things if we ask nicely. :D
Richard Armitage is alive and well. Not sure he can speak, but he can move. :D
note: I’m posting this for all of you who are still not on Twitter.
The video below was taken at Ian McKellen’s one man show which has been raising funds for Christchurch’s earthquake-damaged Isaac Theatre Royal.
Once again, RA is almost hidden. Watch how he moves to the back. Some of that is conditioning from being tall. I have a daughter who is 5’8″ and a dancer. She was always up stage unless featured as I would bet he was. But he has long since left dancing and the stage. Hmmm.
For a long time I have believed his humility was part real and part effected, but I’m beginning to believe that he really is a bit shy. Considerate of fans but shy when not performing. Edit: shy is not the best word; reticent is more apropos.
My son is a performer, and at the risk of sounding biased (when has that ever stopped me), he is very good. He’s been known to draw crowds from 50 miles around. Might not sound like much, but it’s big deal in our parts. SO and I have continually encouraged him to also hone his public speaking skills, and he has resisted.
He finally said to me, “Mom, you don’t get it.”
I asked, “What don’t I get?”
“It’s easy to play characters. It’s another matter to play myself.”
TheOneRingnet is trying for 60,000 likes on their Facebook page before Comic-Con begins on July 11. I give you that date in case you have been under a rock somewhere in RA universe.
This is my good faith effort to hopefully encourage you to “like” the page and get your friends and family to do the same. As of this post, there are 56,892 “likes.” So 3,108 more. Just making the number clear for the action fans. ;-)
Okay, the good faith effort:
[click to enlarge]
and a commitment to more and better shots if we get that FB page to 60K and soon.
Some of you may think this is cruel, since you’re so starved for new Richard Armitage photos. Trust me; it’s going to be worth it. :D
And this is the least we can do for TORn, who is going to bring us such good coverage of Comic-Con – including RA’s appearance.
Richard Armitage will be there. A definitive statement? Yes! And I’ve said it before. It’s going to happen, so don’t worry. My gut is in overdrive anticipating it. The man is going to be there, my friends.
And if he’s not there, then my gut needs a serious check. Nah, it’s working just fine. :D
But to stay in the know, keep checking TheOneRing for details.
Are you a Richard Armitage fan who didn’t buy tickets to this year’s event? And you also missed the deadline for the professional passes? Never fear. There might be a way to get in. If you have any reporting background or even a writing background, you might be able to work for these guys.
If I were applying, I would make sure they knew of all the town council meetings where I questioned a panel and then reported on it later. :D I would also make sure they knew I LOVE comic books. *Looks up at heaven to make sure there is no bolt of lightening.* Okay, okay, I’ve bought some comic books — in the last 40 years.
Speaking of which, I’d still like to see RA in a get up like this.
edit:
It’s been brought to my attention the positions are now filled at CBR. If you got in, good for you. If you didn’t, there’s always next year.
Yes, Richard Armitage still exists, or he did as of this video blog:
I think they’re messing with us. Yeah, Peter Jackson and his bunch are definitely onto us. :D But what PJ doesn’t know is that I think I have a crush on Dion. That’s who I would want to hang out with if I got a chance to visit the set. Dion’s job looks really interesting. I might tear myself away to take a gander at RA every now and then too.
In case you missed RA (and as usual click to enlarge):
Once again I’m struck with his ability to command attention simply by his bearing, and no, I don’t think it’s just a case of CWS. At the risk of sounding inane, surely we can’t be the only ones who see this?!!
RAFrenzy 
