In Dreams He Came

Hello! Forgive my absence from the blog. FanstRA ended up taking a lot more of my time than I had planned; so I took the week off to catch up. Unfortunately, I'm still behind on my real work, so I'm going to take this week off too. But I'll try to get back into the flow in April.

But I had to tell you about the dream I had this morning because it was very funny, and many of you will appreciate it.

I was in a movie theater with friends. After a while, I noticed the place was full of celebrities. (I do live in Los Angeles, so I'm not surprised my brain assumes I'll be in a theater filled with celebs.) I don't remember the movie that was playing, but when it was done, they were showing some parodies of films, (much like the parodies they do at the Oscars). The first segment was Julia Roberts playing all these different characters. The only one I really remember is a pregnant Juno.

The next segment was a special behind the scenes trailer for The Hobbit. The whole group of Dwarves, Hobbit, Wizard & others were sitting around a long table feasting when Richard/Thorin said he was done with shooting and was taking his enormous earnings from the film and leaving to live the high life. Then he went to a large tree with a safe in it and pulled out sacks of money.

The scenes in my head flew back and forth to various segments of movie filming: battle sequences, the actors having fun between takes, Peter Jackson talking to them and the crew. I remember a scene of the dwarves singing a fun song about Durin's Folk around the long table, and while they were feasting, someone approached them and Thorin ordered Bombur to fart on them to blow them away. There was also a segment where the dwarves all had short page boy haircuts and Richard explained to the cameras that they'd gotten tangled in something sticky and had to cut it shorter to get away.

Then there was a sneak peek of dragon scenes, but the dragon was more like something out of Jurassic Park, as was the location they were shooting in, (some were up in trees, and some in jeeps).

The final scene was in a pub/tavern and Thorin and a couple of the dwarves were chasing after barmaids. I remember being irritated that Peter Jackson gave Thorin a love interest against my express orders, (see FanstRA week posts to understand my feelings on that subject). I yelled at the screen that Thorin wasn't supposed to be there celebrating his post battle victories. Then Thorin and the barmaid, who had apparently left the tavern already, were swinging through the air on a rope, (think Robin Hood or Tarzan), while he was shooting something with his enormous bow and arrow. As they pulled into a close up, it was revealed that Richard was no longer playing Thorin, Justin Beiber was, but then no, it was Julia Roberts playing Justin Beiber. Richard apparently had already taken his money and left.

I wish I could remember all of the details, because the dream was hilarious and I woke up laughing, but I think you get the general idea. Have a nice week.

So What Happens Next?

It’s the final day of FanstRAvaganza 3 and I hope you’ve been enjoying yourself. I’m taking team Hobbit to the finish line of this weeklong relay race today with my prediction on where The Hobbit will take Richard Armitage’s career, and what he has to look forward to in the future.

It’s clear to me, from the production blogs we’ve seen and the trailer to part one of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, that Peter Jackson intends Richard/Thorin to be the chief action hero of this movie, much like Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn. Richard is likely to be THE break-out star from this movie, (although Martin/Bilbo and some of the other dwarves like Aidan/Kili are likely to get some notice in Hollywood as well). In many ways, this is going to put a lot of pressure on him, because what he chooses to do next will determine whether he continues to climb the ladder that leads to choice roles, Oscar nominations, big paychecks and creative control, (like getting to produce the Richard III biopic he’s been wanting to do for years); or whether his career stagnates in the sea of decent television shows and movies, never getting the fame and fortune he deserves. This isn’t as easy a choice for some actors to make, as to become truly successful, he’ll have to give up his privacy and anonymity.

Waiting for his career to take off

Sometimes the best way to predict what direction an actor’s career will take is to look at the careers of other actors in similar situations. So here’s a look at a few actors’ careers before and after their break-out performances.

Orlando Bloom

Orlando was one of the break-out stars of The Lord of the Rings movies. Prior to LOTR, he was a complete unknown in Hollywood, having done little more than walk-on parts in a few movies and TV series. By the time LOTR was finished, Orlando was Hollywood’s new “IT” boy for action roles. Ned Kelly, Pirates of the Caribbean, Troy were all big box office successes with Orlando as the number two guy in them. Within two years of LOTR, Orlando was the star of a film Kingdom of Heaven, and getting $ millions per movie. Obviously Pirates had a lot more to do with solidifying his career success, but he wouldn’t have been offered Pirates if he hadn’t first proved himself in LOTR.

Orlando Bloom never looked this good on a horse!

Viggo Mortensen

Viggo was slowly climbing the Hollywood ladder in the years before LOTR came out. In the four years prior to playing Aragorn, he had supporting roles in several respectable films: G.I. Jane, A Perfect Murder, Psycho, 28 Days. None of these movies had huge box office numbers, but they were generally liked by critics, and Viggo was getting noticed. Therefore, it was no great surprise in Hollywood after LOTR came out that he was getting immediate offers to star in films. Hidalgo earned him a $2 million paycheck and positive critical reviews. Three years later, Eastern Promises got him Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe nominations. Viggo’s career is in a very comfortable place now as he can choose to do what projects he wants when he wants to.

"Who hid my Oscar under the table?!"

Hugh Jackman

Who would have thought that a television actor who did musicals would become a box office megastar/international heartthrob overnight? Anyone who saw Hugh Jackman’s magical, scene stealing, mesmerizing performance as Wolverine in X-Men, that’s who. Hugh went from Hollywood nobody to Hollywood darling, (and sexiest man alive) in his first scene. And he’s one of the few actors who could go from blockbuster movie, to Broadway musical, and back to blockbuster movie without a single hiccough to his career, (of course it doesn’t hurt that he won a Tony award).

Try acting with a fake nose, long wig, & stubby fingers while on a horse. Much tougher than those silly claws Hugh wore!

Of these three actors, the one whose career prior to their break-out performance was most like our Richard’s is Hugh Jackman. And Richard certainly has the right stuff talent-wise to have the kind of career success Jackman has. The variable here is how much he gets to do in The Hobbit films. How much acting range will we get to see him portray? With Wolverine, Hugh got to show the world everything he had: action scenes, brief romantic moments, crying, humor, etc. With Thorin, I’m not sure the world will see everything Richard can do. In the book, Thorin’s a bit one-note. And even though it’s clear in watching the production videos that Thorin’s role has been increased for the films, we still don’t know exactly how much of Richard’s range we’re going to see. I hope for his sake, and ours, it’s the full gamut.

"Aidan, did you hide my Oscar?"

I’ve no doubt that after The Hobbit Richard is going to see the offers fly in. At first, they are likely to be mostly action roles. Thorin doesn’t do anything romantic in the film, (he better not be making eyes at Tauriel or Peter Jackson is going to get a huge Howler from me), so I doubt he’ll get many romantic comedy offers at first. But the roles he takes over the next two years will steer where his career goes.

He needs to avoid television for a while, lest he stay there forever. I’m sure he’ll get tons of TV and TV movie role offers, but he needs to decline them for a few years if he wants to have a chance at bigger and better things, like Oscars. Once he’s more firmly established as a “movie star” he’ll be able do those series and mini-series that star other award-winning “movie stars” and have a tendency to get their cast members Emmys, BAFTA’s and Golden Globes. 

"I'd like to thank the Academy...."

He should be choosy in what movie roles he takes next. I’m sure in the last few years Richard, like most actors, is generally so glad to be offered parts at all that he’s quick to take them. Not anymore. From now on he needs to stick with parts that will increasingly show his acting range and talents. I hope his agent is worth his/her percentages here and that he heeds their advice. He needs to avoid a potential “flop” at all costs for the next couple of years if he’s going to prove to producers that he has the right stuff.

Richard, listening to his agent's advice.

I think, after a couple more projects, Richard will be able to get Richard III produced. I imagine it will be a package deal. He does a blockbuster film for the studio at a lower salary, and they guarantee up to a certain amount of money for its production. It’s a common story in Hollywood.

I also think he’s going to need to be willing to split his time between London and Los Angeles for the next few years, (I’ve got a spare bedroom he can use). Despite the fact that more and more films are shooting in England, Europe, New Zealand, etc., they are all still produced, in part at least, in Los Angeles, (that’s where the money in films still resides). At the very least, he’ll be making annual pilgrimages to Tinseltown.

Richard blushes when asked about living in Mrs. Darcy's spare bedroom.

Lastly, our boy better get ready for the craziness that a big career is going to bring him. Fan numbers are going to go up, (and the number of crazy fans will also go up accordingly – it’s a percentage thing). Paparazzi will start to follow him around. He’ll be bombarded with interview requests, and they’ll all ask the same question, “Who are you dating?” (Yes he got that before, but it will increase exponentially). The craziness often recedes after a while if he keeps his life uninteresting, at least for some actors, (Hugh Jackman still gets followed to his kids’ school every day, but he’s learned to deal with it and they give him more space now).

Richard, beating his crazed fans away with a stick.

I know we’re all ready for Richard to achieve huge amounts of fame and success. I hope he’s ready for it as well. (And my spare room is always available for him should he need it.) J

It's the last day of FanstRAvaganza 3, and it's been tons of fun.  If you've missed any of the blog posts go to one of these sites: FanstRAvaganza 2012, FanstRA on Twitter, or FanstRAvaganza on Facebook. I hope you've enjoyed yourselves.

If somebody doesn't return my Oscar soon they are going to get a serious ass kicking!

The Hobbit: There and Back Again - Thorin Spoilers Part Two

Welcome back FanstRA fans. The Hobbit team baton has been passed back over to me and I’m picking back up where I left off Monday with the second part of my look at what we should see our favorite dwarf Thorin/Richard do in part two of The Hobbit: There and Back Again in 2013, (only about 635 days left to go). Remember, for those of you who haven’t read the book and don’t want to know, skip the part between the pictures to the end with the links to other FanstRA blogs.

When we last left our intrepid heroes…. Thorin and company have just been captured by wood elves, more specifically by Legolas’s father King Thranduil. They’re brought back to the palace and interrogated. In the book, Thorin is gloriously haughty and righteous during the interrogation and gives the elves nothing, so they lock him into the dungeon alone, where he gets all depressed. I can just see Richard playing these scenes, like Lucas North or John Porter with long hair and a beard. It’s going to be brilliant!

Luckily for our dwarves, Bilbo has once again used his ring of invisibility to escape capture. I’m seriously hoping for some funny bits between invisible Bilbo and Legolas. Orlando Bloom is good at funny. Bilbo breaks the dwarves out of their prisons and sticks them inside empty wine barrels, which are being sent back to Laketown via the river. I love this scene in the book, it’s very exciting. And it’s looking exciting in the production blogs as well. Also exciting is seeing Thorin with fewer layers of clothing on in the production blogs. I can’t wait to see how he loses them. I hope some sexy torture scene is the cause.

What I’m not looking forward to seeing during this sequence is the inclusion of Tauriel, played by Evangeline Lilly. I have nothing against E.L.; my issue is this is a movie-writer created character, whose sole purpose is to give us the woman-power that is missing from the books. And while that part I actually celebrate; I’m worried they’re going to make her someone’s unnecessary romantic interest as well; and if that someone is Thorin; I’ll be sending Peter Jackson a Howler. Thorin doesn’t need a girlfriend to be the next Aragorn.

Now I know there is good reason to believe that these scenes will actually be in the first half of the movie; first the cast list for movie one has these elves listed, and we’ve seen the barrel escape in the production blogs. But it seems like a strange place to end a movie, so I’m not certain we will see all of this in part one. However, it is possible the big climactic battle of part one is that of Gandalf versus the Necromancer, in which case we’d need a bit of fluff beforehand. But in any case, back to the story.

The Dwarves arrive in Laketown, run by Stephen Fry, (the most perfect casting), and Thorin reveals his true identity of King Under the Mountain. The townsfolk are very excited, (except for Master Fry – should be some very funny scenes with him), and give the company what they need to reach The Lonely Mountain where Smaug the dragon lives. During this sequence, Thorin becomes all noble and kingly and commanding in his presence. (In the book, there are more flashbacks to Thorin’s youth as they approach the mountain. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that any ‘Young Thorins’ are actually played by Richard in these movies).

They struggle for some time trying to find the secret entrance into the mountain, finally, thanks to a bird, Bilbo figures it out, (birds are important messenger/spies we learn in the books – not sure they’ll be a big deal in the movies though). They send invisible Bilbo to find the dragon’s lair, he and Smaug have a chat, he pisses Smaug off, and he and the dwarves, in trying to escape Smaug, get trapped in the secret tunnel.

What the dwarves don’t know while they are trapped is that Smaug, on a rampage, goes to destroy Laketown, and is killed in the process by Bard the Bowman, (Luke Evans, who will no doubt make an attempt to steal away the action star status from our boy Richard. But he’s really just this movie’s Legolas – until Legolas returns later then it’s game on). The only thing the dwarves will know is that Smaug never came back, so they go exploring to see what treasure has been left behind for them.

Now is an important time to tell you about the Arkenstone. This is a huge diamond that has been in Thorin’s family forever. It may be magical. Thorin is obsessed with finding it and having it back in his possession. OBSESSED!!!!! So naturally, Bilbo finds it first and hides it from him. When the men of Laketown and the Elves of Mirkwood, (led by Bard and King Thranduil), arrive at the Lonely Mountain to claim their own gold back, (they may also think the dwarves are likely dead at this point), they find that Thorin and company have been warned of their arrival, (by birds) and have reinforced the gates and sent for cousin Dain to help them defend their right to their gold. Thorin becomes extremely stubborn at this point, (almost as if possessed), and refuses to share, to negotiate or even to listen to the Elves and men. He’s also still rather pissed off at how the elves treated him. He’s ready to go to war to defend his gold. (There’s a funny moment in the book where he fires an arrow at a messenger to get him to go away – I hope they keep that in).

Bilbo gets worried and sneaks out with the Arkenstone in the night. He talks with Thranduil and Bard in an attempt to stop the war. Gandalf is also there and they’re very happy to see each other. Bilbo gives them the Arkenstone to use as leverage in negotiations, then returns to the dwarves. The next day, Bard and Thranduil return with Gandalf to try to speak to Thorin again, and show him the Arkenstone. He’s livid, and when he finds out Bilbo gave it to them, he nearly kills the poor hobbit. This should be a great moment for Richard’s talents to really shine. Luckily for Bilbo, Gandalf stops Thorin and he lets Bilbo leave. (I’m going to speculate about something that is not in the book. I think Thorin may be possessed by Sauron via something Smaug left behind. It’s significant that Smaug and Sauron/the Necromancer are both being voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. I can only hope this is true because then it’s ‘look out Oscar, here comes Richard!’)

Just as Dain arrives, and elves and men prepare to go to war against the dwarves, they find out that an army of orcs and wargs are on the way. They team up to defeat the baddies. And just when it’s looking like they might lose, Thorin shows up and rallies them. Thorin is magnificent in this scene, hacking the orcs to little pieces. The eagles and Beorn also join the allies, (which is why they call it the Battle of the Five Armies). They win, but not before Thorin gets stabbed and Kili and Fili are killed. Richard will get a magnificent death scene here. The war now won, his mind will clear again and he’ll apologize to Bilbo for trying to kill him and be all nice and kingly once more. They’ll give him a magnificent funeral and put the Arkenstone in his tomb along with his sword Orcrist. It’s going to be a great ending for him. (The movie will likely pull a Return of the King and let us follow Bilbo and Gandalf back to Hobbiton before it ends).

So, as you can see, Richard is going to get a lot of meaty stuff to play in this half of the two movies. No doubt his performance in this film will get him lots of buzz and secure his future in the industry. But I’ll talk more about that with my FanstRA blog post on Sunday.

Also posting on the Hobbit team today is Ana Cris.  Tomorrow/Saturday Antonia Romera takes up the baton. Then Sunday, it's back to me to wrap us up. You can find more fanstRA fun today here: FanstRAvaganza 2012, FanstRA on Twitter and FanstRAvaganza on Facebook

I'm taking Saturday off, see you on Sunday. Have a great weekend!

Read the book before you see the movie!

The Ides of March are upon us – Where has the time gone?

This year is once again flying past us at breakneck speed. It’s already March, nearly Spring, 75^th day of 2012, one quarter the way into the year, 275 days until The Hobbit opens in theaters!!! I feel like I haven’t accomplished half the things I had hoped to accomplish by this time of the year. However, when I compare it to what I got done last year, I’m way ahead of the game.

I almost wonder if Richard Armitage’s presence in my life, (or at least in my imagination), isn’t a catalyst for my accelerated to do list this year. I’ve been using an image of him as a motivator for daily dieting and working out, (who wouldn’t want to get fit and healthy for a chance at a man who looks that good in a pair of Speedos?). And my blog, which is often about him, is actually a way to keep my creative juices flowing and end writer’s block. And he is the amalgam of my perfect man which I use for visualizations to help bring his real life counterpart into my life. I think discovering Richard last fall was just the thing I needed to put me on the right track for success in all areas of my life in 2012.

So I’d like to say, “Thank you Richard, for helping me make 2012 a great year so far. I hope we can continue this imaginary collaboration for the next nine months.”

Tomorrow, I pick up the baton on our FanstRAvaganza 3 Hobbit team relay by continuing my spoilery look at Richard’s role in The Hobbit: There and Back Again, the second part of the post I began on Monday. Also tomorrow Ana Cris will be blogging Hobbit as well. Today's official Team Hobbit bloggers are Antonia Romera and The Queen.

Today, check out these FanstRA links for more Richard-y goodness: FanstRAvaganza 2012, FanstRA on Twitter and FanstRAvaganza on Facebook

Cheers!

Weighty Wednesdays – Thorin goes Fourth (pun intended)

This is my impression of a giant!

It’s my fourth Weighty Wednesday post where I update you with my progress in losing weight and getting bikini ready. Team Downton Abbey is still in the lead, no thanks to me. I’ve not been able yet to get number results on the scales at weigh-ins, which is very frustrating since I’ve dropped a clothing size and lost up to two inches in key areas so far, so I know I’m losing fat. But I also have some awesome bicep muscles forming, so it must be that I’ve added muscle weight, which is countering the fat weight loss. Still, I want to win that prize money, so I want to start seeing results on the scales too.

I’m up to two workouts a day, five days a week, and I continue to up my intensity each week. I’m also trying to stick to only 1200 calories a day, but I usually hit about 1225 because I can’t resist having a tiny piece of chocolate at the end of the evening. I’ve also begun a rather crazy experiment.

I’ve read that if you really want to make a significant body shape change, in addition to diet and exercise, you’ve got to visualize what you want your body to look like, and trick it into thinking and feeling that it does look like that, so that it will work extra hard to actually look like what it thinks it looks like. I’ve been trying to do this each night before I go to bed and each morning when I get up. The problem I’m having is once I get up, and see myself in the full length mirror, or weigh myself on the scales and I don’t see the change I’m visualizing, I get frustrated. I’m sending my body and brain too many mixed signals and need to stop that.

So to remedy the situation, I’ve covered up my mirror and hidden my scales. For the next two weeks, until the next official weigh-in, I’m going to rely strictly on how my body feels, and not on what I see. I’m going to strengthen my visualizations, (in other words lie to myself about my true shape), without any contradictions. I’m going to focus on my body’s signals during workouts; does it feel like it’s burning fat? Hopefully, without the frustration of not seeing results, my body will respond to all the other stimuli and drop about ten pounds. Think light, feel light, be light.  I’ll let you know how the experiment goes in two weeks. (By the way, I do have a small mirror for makeup, etc., so I won’t be going out in public looking scary or anything.)

*Visualizes lying on a beach in New Zealand, in a bikini, with Thorin Oakenshield* Eye on the Prize!!!!

You don't get this butt by sitting on it!

FanstRAvaganza 3 continues. Today’s official Hobbit blogs come from IngeD3 and Ana Cris. Tomorrow, Hobbit fans should check out Antonia Romera and The Queen. And for more Richard Armitage fun today check out FanstRAvaganza 2012, FanstRA on Twitter and FanstRAvaganza on Facebook

TTFN!