Acting Intermezzo

"Have you got a cello ´round here? I can strangle a cat with a littl´ tune!"

The Dwarves have taken time off of their difficult journey through horrible locations with the hungry Hobbit, Bilbo. The Hobbit has caused a stampede that he would climb in a tree if Thorin would play another song instead of finding food. Drat! No, no, only temporarily. This intermezzo sparkled thoughts.

Tom and Jerry - Cat´s Concerto  As a kid I've seen this hundreds of times, because we had it on film.
I forgot about it, until I saw it again, because the pianist Lang Lang mentioned it on a tv show as an inspiration for him to play the piano. It didn't make me to start playing piano, which was in our home already. What touched me was the music, as given, and connecting that with animals behaving as people. I like the expressions on their faces and the fact how to creatively make a piano concerto interesting to watch! Notice how difficult it is to recall well acted fake musical performances on tv or in film.

Prefab Sprout - The King Of Rock And Roll The last couple of weeks I been looking on YT for eighties popmusic, especially British. Something I sooo want to ask RA, but it is highly wise not to do so, is: Is he one of the hotdogs? I mean in the clip! :D This wouldn't be the last time I would hide under the table in utter shame. Play this one loud!!

~~~~~~~~~~

I'm going to the English play The School for Scandal, a scorching comedy written by Richard Sheridan (1751-1816) and contemparized by Deborah Warner. It's at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam and I booked it for the day that there is also a 'meet the artist' opportunity. It is written just after the Restoration period. Restoration comedies are not played here in Holland. The Rover, mentioned by RA to play in, was written by Aphra Behn, who worked as a spy against the Dutch!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To come back to my topic, filming on The Hobbit has momentarily stopped for one Hobbit and two Dwarves. Martin Freeman as Bilbo, proud owner of a Bafta for his role in tv series Sherlock, to film Sherlock series 2 in the UK. Aidan Turner as Dwarf Kili to film tv series Being Human in the UK. And for RA as Dwarfleader Thorin.. is it really going to be an acting intermezzo? Or is it to change tooth brush and head off to... place your bets now.. Hungary where filming Strike Back 2 will take two months June-July in which he as John Porter will appear in for "some" episodes... or for plain old London where script of Spooks episode 6 has been discussed and this series 10 has less episodes, 6 instead of 8 and this series will all be about Harry Pearce's file and plots. Adding the fact that Lucas North aka John Bateman is still on Twitter. Harry's scheme or... ???

Screencap: RANet Spooks ep. 9.2

Dwarves Are Not Gnomes

Dwarf Thorin as Gnome Richard

The gnomes in my cartoon, who were previously pouting and making a mess of my back garden, being ignored as casting material for Dwarves, were busy playing a re-enactment of The Hobbit, when they heard disturbing news, yet also uplifting, about some wannabe gnomes playing the fool for charity goal Rise Up Christchurch.

The Union Of Legimate And Honorable Gnomes had set up a statement which reads as follows:
(I had to enlarge it to read it).

"The Union Of Legimate And Honorable Gnomes wishes to declare to be saddened by the misrepresentation of gnomes in a Hobbit trailer. Although we considerately and carefully try to understand the popularity of pretending to be or being a Legimate And Honorable Gnome, we cannot include everyone of our height and beardsize into our Union. Acknowledged Legimate And Honorable Gnomes nurture nature, mumble in their beards and are called Gnome, son of Garden. Therefore we cannot agree with the representation of Dwarves pretending to be Gnomes as given."

A spokesperson said, when asked about the implications of the statement, "Once we´re back on speaking terms with Hobbitwood, we will take our statement into consideration."

Hope you understand I have to find my way out of Milkwood Mirkwood soon!
I intend to put my #hobbitread tweets in a post, eventually.

Good to see The Hobbit is filmed within budget!

Looking forward to it even more!

Oh, and I hoped for a Dwarves´ song!
I came close, didn´t I?

Check out Servetus´ (Me+RichardArmitage) and RAFrenzy´s posts
with ´Informal Fan Challenge´ on giving donations to this charity.

Found fascinating gif on RAlfieism´s blog.

Dwarf Thorin RA has sent a Hobbital Thank You on 29th May 2011.

Find out about the cello playing request by Calexora on Befuddled Musings.

I tweeted:
I was hoping for a Dwarves´ song on the telethon, I settle for cello playing :)
(Didn´t think there was time to practise or screen time for cello playing,
was hoping for something Dwarvish in jeans,
not expecting Dwarf costumes, but hey, they made an effort!)

I retweeted:

To benefit the Rise Up Christchurch Telethon, Servetus will donate for each comment on this post: http://t.co/cqYWzqz

~~~~~~~~~~~~

This post
Dwarves Are Not Gnomes
was a reply to
my previous post
Gnomes Are Not Dwarves

The truth is in there, somewhere.

Screencap: RAnet/Bccmee

Another Hoaxy SCOOP: RA In SB In SA

SCOOOOP!

Found this picture when I was browsing. It is part of an article dated  25. February 2011.

http://www.iol.co.za/tonight/movies/delhi-on-your-doorstep-1.1032202


**Interval of female fan chit chat**

The morning after this post was posted, it raised questions with my twitter followers, saying that the man in the blue shirt on this picture was not RA. Philip Winchester was mentioned, or RA´s stunt double.

I sent this article to Ali of http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/
and she got that link a couple of weeks ago, with another link
http://www.thenewage.co.za/11281-1008-53-Durban_City_Hall_becomes_a_TV_movie_set
but because it wasn´t about RA, and there was no RA in these pics,
she didn´t run it aka mention it on her site.

Another argument was the date.
The article stems from 24th February 2011.
The press conference was on 11th February in NZ,
the cricket match was on 13th March,
and RA was spotted filming in Cape Town, South Africa on 13th April.
So Ali didn´t think he could be in SA in the week of 24th February.
Fair enough, it´s inconclusive and I am willing to have my eyes checked.
However.
I remember reading a mention he was there early March.
I´m not sure, but I keep it on my blog.
HOAX?!
If it´s not him, then my guess it´s Sullivan Stapleton.
The storm of chitchat this topic raised. Man!


Anyway, room for me to inform you with ´latest´ Strike Back news.
Strike Back 2 Project Dawn Trailer 9 May 2011
Cultbox article on filming this summer in Hungary
Press release of Sky Media 11 February 2011
Strike Back on Facebook. They promise to come with a surprise soon
Here´s a link to the old material
Sky 1 Strike Back 1.

**End of chitchat interval**

Comparing....

SNUUUUUB!!

I was on a set of a children´s film called Doctor Cheazy, on 20. April 2011, but who would bother...

I keep saying Doctor Sleazy for some reason...

As I was passing by, with some others, we were looking at the boat, when a woman (hussing in pic)
came up to us and said:

"We start filming, you can leave or stay if you want, then you´ll be in the shot". Tempting, not?

I quickly asked what the name of the film was.

The weather was beautiful, but the shot was complicated.

The camera zoomed in on the passengers boarding, then when that was done, zoomed out and followed a man, who was standing near to us, walking towards the camera, up to a group of kids, scouts, had a conversation. All in one shot!

First there were a couple of rehearsals, then some takes which were not perfect, then some more.

My company called it quits and followed the man, when he was in the shot. After that take, the crew filmed it again. Then they turned around and had the same procedure for another shot of a harbour restaurant, named ´Doctor Cheazy´ where children were running around the outdoor tables and chairs and all the waiters came out at once and served all tables!

Very much a Dutch film.

(mumbling, mumbling)

Gnomes Are Not Dwarves

Sir Ian McKellen has a blog on which he tells about his observations, like now, working on The Hobbit. His blog had a blogpost in which the phrase ´gnomes are not dwarves´ appeared. I wondered why he would educate his followers, of which a substantial number might know him from Lord Of The Rings already.
I have a clue. Thanks to my speculative brain and that Extras clip, links at end of this post, I imaged a scene like below. You can read that Sir Ian McKellen is shortened as IK and Richard Armitage as RA and the whole thing is intended as a jest. As much as this is my rough idea of the conversation and you all want to spit on it send lovely replies, I safely call this a draft version:

Again: draft version!

SCENE:

Ian McKellen sits, reading. Richard Armitage approaches and joins Sir Ian.

RA: Hi.
IK: Ah, ´Thorin´! How´s preparations going?
RA: Fine, thanks. I understand you maintain a blog.
IK: Blog. Website. Website. Blog. Whatever. So, you´ve seen it, have you? And, like it?
RA: Yes, it´s great, but I come to that later... As I´m new here and signed this  - fist-thick - Hobbit contract - you know it, obviously -
IK: Hm-mm. Mine´s a meter!
RA: I wondered - as you have this - website - how you can post about your observations regarding The Hobbit?
IK: Well, I can - and that´s the joy of it! Why?
RA: I don´t have a blog and don´t want to start it, or be on Facebook or Twitter..
IK: Oh, come on! You do have something?
RA: Yeah, email, but that´s about it. The thing is - my agent recommends - for now - to keep my head down and stick to participating to Sir Peter´s videoblogs -
IK: Ah, yes. Peter And His Videoblogs.
RA: So I would like to ask you to put something for me on your blog. Very informative by the way.
IK: Years of experience!
RA: Blogging? Congratulations!
IK: Well -
RA: It will only be one thing. Allow me to explain. My fans - I hate that word - they´re overall lovely, and a surprising lot very creative - and bright -
IK: Hm-mm. Males or females?
RA: They say they´re women.
IK: Males are the worst! I deal with male fans most of the times. However, never mind, continue.
RA: The one thing they didn´t have to do extensive research for - as I have done, munching over the tiniest details, and they notice everything -
IK: Are you sure they´re not males?
RA: Is to relate Thorin, the Dwarfleader - and his dwarves - to gnomes!
IK: And - gnomes are not dwarves?
RA: Exactly! But they keep doing it. See this cartoon??

IK: Hm. Yes. That´s serious.
RA: It´s just that I don´t want to exclude my fandom from vital information.
IK: I´ll see what I can do.
RA: Thanks! Don´t tell them it was from me, though!
IK: Your fans will probably mock up this conversation as well and talk about it.
RA: By that time there will be something else!

END

Disclaimer:

Normally I would not ever do real fiction, but this RA drought forces me to.

Water!

LOL!

Hope I still have your respect. *ducks*

You don´t have to worry.
This post gave sparkles to new ideas.
And I read The Hobbit now, finally!

http://www.mckellen.com/cinema/hobbit-movie/blog.htm see ´March 31, 2011: Gandalf Is Tested´
I posted my gnomes/dwarves cartoon on February 20, 2011 in ´Fanstrafaganza Cartoons´.
I´m not alone in this. I know that Servetus showed gnomes on her blog too, in between these posts.

Beardy Actors Living Naturally

"Look closely. I'm doing a Gerard Butler at the Hobbit press conference!"

Grow a beard and you´re someone else. Would I be myself on this blog?

I could do this post in two ways: as myself or as someone else.

That someone else could imply a different version of me.

Now why do I feel so insecure to study and adapt other bloggers´ writing styles?

Proof: Me doing a RA Frenzy

There is no denying: The Beard is gone already. RA news has been updated already. There was an impression already. The first time I saw above photo I instantly thought: Gerard Butler. My perception was that he entered the press conference in that mode and later shifted back into himself. Oh, that sounds like tough words, but you know I´m not like that. So I had beards in mind and made the beardy website as joke to play with, which was consoling to Servetus who is going through rough job rotating times, see beardy website here RA The Fellowship Of The Beard. Secondly, I wanted to see some Gerard Butler films and last week there were a couple of those on my tv: 300 and The Ugly Truth which is about how natural one has to be when to attract a partner. Then, I saw a handsome actor in the paper and checked him out to find myself curiously pondering his social mask. Then I saw another ´beardman´ Pierce Brosnan in the James Bond film Die Another Day, in a torture scene, which was as I recall the talk of the town and that scene has elements which I can compare with the Lucas North´ torture scenes in Spooks. Don´t want to compare, but it´s a bad streak of me. Read on, there´s more....
But before I forget, I would like to tell you that men with beards appear to be more natural and are yet very amused by that primal feeling beards give. When my SO sports a beard on occasions, he grunts, chops wood and moves rocks in our garden. Before, the times I had to talk to him to hold onto his stubble for longer than two days, are numerous. Once he went to a week of survivalling, talking about primal manhood around the campfire. By the time he came back, I was so afraid of his warrior look that I made him sleep in the shed. Since then he sports the beard more often. So although I´m happily married, bless him, I still compare him to, well you know who I mean. Like I said a bad streak, so really, read on!

Proof: Me doing a Funny Violet

There is no competion, something RA followers like to think. Wakey, wakey, the competion is massive, and very impressive! *nods seriously with crinkled forehead*
Besides, are you ready for a bit of an Stanislavsky method acting class today also? I take it you'd done your physical exercises. Take your chair and sit in a circle. Listen receptively.

Our topic today will be:

Being authentic or trying to be that by 'living naturally' and study the phrase psycho-physicality.

Proof: Me doing a Looking Smart Violet

Now I do a Looking Smart Violet and read from The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit by Bella Merlin, which I can´t recite yet.

Stanislavsky´s method acting training is all about by training body and psycho together to achieve a sense of inner-outer co-ordination. This means that what is experienced internally is immediately translated into an outer expression, and (conversely) what the body manifests physically has a direct and acknowledged affect on the psychological landscape. By true listening in a state of receptivity on two levels, one to own inner activity and one to performance partners, one can have the courage to respond playfully to the everchanging nuances of each moment. The actor should be aware that the actor´s body is the interface between the inner landscape and the world-at-large. The more expressive your body can be, the more variations of character you can play.
Acting comes only across as ´living naturally´ when one has a finely honed technique and can repeat the acting realisticly, especially when it comes to acting within artificial conditions of the stage or the technical demands of the film set. And that´s the paradox of realistic acting - truthful, natural, spontanious -as everybody does with playing different roles in daily life where there´s a difference with stage or film between believing in what we´re seeing with believing in it´s possibility. (*)

We will demonstrate that with beardy actors!

First example: Bradley Cooper

My eye felt on a promotional picture of Bradley Cooper, actor, labelled as ´American hunk´ in a recent news article about the film ´Limitless´. I have never seen his work, so I looked for a number of YT clips to find out what he's like. I found this Details interview which was amusing in itself.
Remarkable: the man is extremely totally comfortable with these poses in the photoshoot and is very open, even frank, in this interview, not that I flap my ears. And yes, the female interviewer seems to be hostile.

Question: Is BC doing an All American?
Task: Study more of his clips.

I've seen several of these Inside the Actor´s Studio interviews with James Lipton, founder of this acting school. Very insightful. Plus these interviews have the household, offbeat question: "What's your favorite curse word?" Mine is ´bozo´ in this scene from the film Ruthless People (1986), on which I chewed for quite some years.

Remarkable: James Lipton get the favourite ex-student as guest he's been waiting for. BC is very open.

To study his acting, I include this clip of the Limitless Trailer with a promising storyline in which his lifestyle improves by taking these brain pills.

Remarkable: he's very American

Question: If an European does a 'Bradley Cooper', how much of that will come across authentic?

Task: Study Hugh Jackman.

Example two: Gerard Butler

Preparing to be a King in ´300´ Remarkable: A lot of training between shots and making this film looks like a guy's thing

Interview for The Ugly Truth Remarkable: three women wrote this funny romcom The Ugly Truth with as GB as macho 'sexist'!

Acting in The Ugly Truth. Remarkable: the man/woman jokes work!

Question: Suppose you feel shy and insecure, how do you truthfully exude 'rough around the edges'?

Task: Try to be Scottish.

Example three: Ian McKellen

One cannot get enough acting advice for beardy scenes Sir Ian Mc Kellen talks about acting in LOTR  :)

Question: Who are you when you are performing?
Task: Keep that in mind

Contemplating thoughts:

From King Lear: "Who is it that can tell me about me?"

Monty Python joke: "You´re all individuals."  "No, I´m not!!"

Apologies to RAFrenzy for my bad impersonation.

Apologies to those (actors), who can shoot holes in this blogpost.

(*) see chapter 1, page 17-19,21 of the Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit by Bella Merlin.
This example is why I like to read about acting.

Screencap: RANet

My Blog Is One Year Old And That Tells Me...

"..."

Recently other blogwriters have celebrated anniversaries on their blogs. With any luck, statistics were shown. Now I have my opportunity to bore enthuse you with stats in descending order that leaf leave nothing to the imagination. Do I hear a slight snore?

My top 10´s

All time posts
Lucas North, Pretending To Be Dating (many times retweeted by @_LucasNorth_ aka John Bateman (gone freelance with Kudos) to his almost 2,000 twitter followers)
SCOOP, Unseen Promo Pics Of Lucas North (sent pics to RANet and Spooks Fan Blog, but readers were curious: the source is here!)

The Hobbit, Exciting And Dynamic Casting (helpful reference with links to anything Hobbit)
Bedroom Billboard Or Pin Up Calender? (title alone is very sexy)
Guy Of Gisborne Syndrome One Year On (still going strong, readers will find no cure)
Six Pack Spoilers For Spooks 9 (beefy title and the spoiler culture gets pantingly undressed)
Lucas North And His Fans (upcoming in popularity stakes and is said to be my best post)
Dinnerdate With Lucas North (who doesn't want that to happen?)
Willmore The Rover, Name Another Rake? (who has time to to research that, even when stage play is not on the horizon)
My Blog Starts Here And Now! (that must be me, I used that as a start page!)

Audience
Poland   (this surprises me, because I don't know about fandom there, so tell me)
United States
United Kingdom
Netherlands
Australia
Germany
Canada
France
Russia
Spain

Search Keywords
Lucas North (the main man)
Dude in flux (nice variation on my phonetic rhyme in title: 'A Tux In Flux')
Lucas North fanfiction (yessuree)
http://theframeworkblog.blogspot.com/
Annabel Capper (what? I never mentioned her on my blog!)
Lucas North twitter (he does in multiple ways)
Richard Armitage (which one?)
theframeworkblog.blogspot.com
+Allan Lee illustrations (Hobbit craze)
Lucas Spooks pictures (yum)

Referring sites
g*oogle.co.uk (oy!)
armitagefanblog (massive boost of readers since then)
g*oogle.com
meandrichard (a daily blog with huge following, and still, her readers want to read more!)
spooksfanblog (officer Skully was the first to put a link on her site to my blog)
t*witter.com
yimum
rafrenzy
google.com.au (sweet possums)
theframeworkblog

Traffic Sources
armitagefanblog (huge)
t*witter.com
meandrichard
yimum
spooksfanblog
rafrenzy.com/the-addict-list
theframeworkblog
rafrenzy.com
spooksfanblog.com/2010/06/07spooksrewatch.. (mentioned that I have fake fighted and fake kissed a lot of people, male and female, in a theatre workshop! I should share more!)
armitage.phpbb3.com/forum/6638029ynx22930/st.. (reference to my blog i.e. the 'no escape' picture)

Pageviews

All time history: 17.177

October - January:  2.577 on average (I have a humble blog, but still)

Best viewed month: December 2.780

(Since I said in January I will post less, the number of pageviews has dropped. Solution: subcribe!)

Thank you all and keep coming back!

If you have any thoughts on this, please share!

(*) Testing to avoid receiving many s*pam comments to this blog...



Screencap: RACentral of someone in the woods with stubble :)

Scandalous, My Blog One Year Old

"You didn´t start a blog about me, because of me?!"

Scandalous, according to Jeremy Irons, is the buzzword for The Borgians, a new tv-series in the style of The Tudors. The Borg were more scandalous, if you ask the Trekkie in me. So, I adopt the word scandalous and mock it in this post in which I mention that my blog is one year old. When exactly? Even more than a year ago. Thanks to a perfectionistic streak back then I had to redo my first three posts and that made the original date go bust.

Scandalous, in my first year of posting I  have never posted private thoughts about that working actor, Mr. Armitage (Oh dear. Going formal, are we?). I always made sure they were put in comments on other blogs. I found several pictures, but ´gave´ them to other blogs to claim victory and remain in the dark.

Scandalous, I might have attracted a hundred times more readers (and likely more slander). So tell me, is it time to leave my virgin days behind? To spread my scandalous love here, in my 'bedroom' of blogposts? ;)

Posted the following as a comment on Spooks Fan Blog on 21. March 2010:

About a year ago I saw the second half of Spooks S7 and found RA´s face ´typically average English´ (whatever that means). Didn´t go for his looks, but was instantly hooked with the story and the locations (running through underground tunnels and the small streets of old London). I remember his long look over the car boot with the tools in it, thinking that was very striking. Then I found Robin Hood on YT and thought ´Who is THAT? Where did they hide him?´ and ´Guy of Gisborne looks like a hunk?!´ I then discovered I had seen him in many appearances, and never recognized him. RA is a cameleon in his roles (actor with thousand faces). As a viewer you don´t see the man first, he hides behind the character and blends in with the rest of the ensemble. He takes acting seriously, yet with an ironic twist. He acts with all those micro expressions, too rarely seen in tv-series. RA has a classic appearance like in classic movies, yet it is ´very now´. That´s all interesting to notice, and the main reason for me to keep following his work. It´s not about the destination, but ít´s about the road.

OK, I undressed myself, I have to live up to it.

Scandalous hoaxy hints:

"She lied. Plain and simple." (Spooks, ep. 8.5)

Response:

"Finding you on YT, just threw me!"

"It´s time you leave it behind. Don´t you think?" (Frozen)

Response:

"Maybe it tells me something!"

"She looks old... and fat!" (Miss Marie Lloyd)

Response:

"Hope I would never have to hear that and say: take it or leave it."

"A year ago, I put this dagger into the side of the Nightwatchman. Show me!" (Robin Hood ep. 2.11)

Response:

"A year ago, I started this blog to show you. You showed me, alright!"

Time to have a piece of cake!


Captivated by RACentral