Yesterday afternoon Richard Armitage was interviewed by 2DayFM on the Dan and Maz show. They discuss how big a Hobbit fan Dan is, The Hobbit movie and then play a game of “Ikea Furniture or Lord of the Rings Character”. The podcast is in two parts and can be listened to here or you can download the podcast here.
The lead actors in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” have done a lot of press so far to support the first of three films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book. Over and over journalists from around the world hit them with similar questions, all trying to deliver key information for their own audience. TORn friend and Australian film writer Alice Tynan had her shot at Richard Armitage, and wow did she deliver. Their lengthy chat contains some gems such as:
“Yes in the book there are losses; they sustain huge losses. You know Tolkien wrote these books based on his experiences of World War I, and he lost a lot of his friends in those wars. I think taking time to really understand his characters in Bag End was really important. . . . But I think we’ve become quite impatient in the cinema. Gone are the days when you’d sit through 3 ½ hours of Gone With the Wind, and it’s a shame because it’s the director’s prerogative to tell the story that he wants to tell. But I found myself engaged from beginning to end; I find all of the characters fascinating.”
And this:
“Years ago I had visited the memorial museum in Hiroshima and I’d seen what happened, and I had a book, and I took it to New Zealand with me. And, I don’t know, just looking at pictures and getting ideas, because it’s all about sensation: just remembering what that fear was, because we were going to go shoot it. So you just have little flashes: I remember seeing a melted bicycle, and I remember thinking, “Oh yeah, the melted bicycle. A child sat on that bike.” So this is what happened at Erebor: there were women and children there that just got annihilated. I wanted to feel the fear for them.”
They cover a variety of topics including discussion of Tolkien, Peter Jackson and New Zealand. Fans of the actor, the films and the books will all likely appreciate the first installment of the interview while fans in New Zealand and Australia finally get the movie on home video. We will post part two when Tynan does, apparently consisting of Twitter questions. She was also clever enough to embed our own video of Dwarves singing in Bag End, a great way to capture emotion from the film again if you follow the link.
You can find the whole story if you click right here and we recommend you do.
TeamCoco.com, aka Conan O’Brien, one of America’s most popular late-night talk show hosts, got their hands on Willie Nelson’s audition tape for, what they call, ‘The Hobbit 2.’ In the video, Willie suggests to Peter Jackson that he may make a better Gandalf than Ian McKellen. (Strong language and content warning!) [Direct Video Link]
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!
Continue reading “TORN Message Boards Weekly Roundup – April 29, 2013”
Visit Rohan, home of the Horse Lords, with Fili and learn the basics of tacking up a horse! [Happy Hobbit: Tacking Up – Episode 16]
Viewers in Australia had to wait a good bit longer than many parts of the world to own “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” on home video but when it is released on May 1, it comes with a free Richard Armitage! You can’t take him home but if you buy a ticket from Popcorn Taxi, you can witness the man behind Thorin Oakenshield answering questions. The 2D 24 fps screening takes place at the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace. We also expect to read some media interviews with Armitage from the event but if any fans attend we would love to read spy reports as well. Drop us a line at SpyMaster@TheOneRing.net. Follow the link above for full details.