Richard Armitage is a lucky boy; or so he says. I think those of us who had the chance to hear what he had to say at interviews this week were the lucky ones; there are few interviewees who are as erudite and as interesting as this thoughtful actor. I already posted my ‘one on one’ interview with him, which you can read here; below is the longer, ‘round table’ group interview which took place later that afternoon. Once again, Armitage was charm itself, giving each questioner his undivided attention, and each comment his full consideration. The half hour chat was filled with fascinating insights – revealing more about how he works; what it’s like to act with Sir Ian McKellen; how they came up with the design of the oakenshield; where we might see a glimpse of Guillermo del Toro’s influence in The Hobbit movie; and even when Armitage himself thinks he looks his best!
I’ve indicated the questions your TORn interviewer asked with ‘GD’ – the rest were asked by my colleagues at the session. The interview contains a minor spoiler. Enjoy!
An amazing new publication from HarperCollins Publishers is coming your way on December 14th – yup, the same day ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ releases in theaters. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Art & Design is a sumptuous celebration of the creative vision of Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The book is packed with more than 1,000 images of concept artwork, photographs and development paintings by the artists working behind the scenes to bring Middle-earth to life, who each provide detailed and entertaining commentary that reveals the story behind the vision. Today we are privileged to share with you three exclusive images of this new book. (View them in the gallery below) But wait…there’s more! HarperCollins Publishers has generously given us (40) Forty copies of Thorin’s map to give to fans. (Due to shipping constraints, we can only offer this giveaway to US and Canadian Fans). Simply fill out the form below by December 19th and we’ll randomly choose (40) Forty winners. Enter the contest, check out the exclusive imagery and don’t forget to order your copy of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Art & Designtoday! [Click here]
Just a few days ago, we posted an opportunity for our friends in Canada to win tickets to see ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey!‘ We are happy to announce the winners!
Darryl S – Winnipeg Jamie O – Vancouver Connor M – Toronto Marcel L – Ottawa Stéphane P – Montreal (French) Daniel G – Montreal (English) Peter M – Halifax Ivanna S – Edmonton Kathleen D – Calgary
Winners will contacted via email and receive their tickets in the mail. All screenings will start at 6pm on Dec 12th except for the Montreal (French) screening which will begin at 7pm. We’d like to thank our friends at Warner Bros. Pictures Canada for sponsoring this giveaway! And of course, if you weren’t one of the lucky winners, don’t miss ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ in theaters December 14th! Visit the official website, The Hobbit facebook page, and Twitter: follow @wbpictures!
On Monday 3rd December, TORn staffer greendragon (‘tis I!) was lucky enough to have a sit down with The Hobbit’s Thorin Oakenshield, actor Richard Armitage. A fascinating, erudite and humble man, he spilled the beans on his thoughts on bringing Thorin to life, shed some light on Peter Jackson as a true actors’ director and not just a technical wizard, and even dropped some hints about dwarf women and what lies in store for Thorin!
Let me start by answering the question which I know will be on the minds of many readers… Yes, he really is that handsome. Yes, he really is that charming; he has the ability to make you feel, as he talks to you, that you are the only person who matters. This skill in focusing and being ‘in the moment’ is an important part of the intensity he brings to his acting; and it gives him that reputation for making interviewers go weak at the knees. (I’m pleased to report that my knees were reliable throughout the interview!) And yes, he really was wearing black, leather trousers – Guy of Gisborne lives on!
Do you live in Canada and simply can’t wait until December 14th to see ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey?’ TheOneRing.net is privileged to team up with Warner Bros. Pictures Canada to giveaway 9 pair of tickets to screenings across Canadian taking place on Dec 12th! The screenings will take place in the following cities, and we have two tickets for each: Toronto, Montreal (English), Montreal (French), Vancouver, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax. All screenings will start at 6pm on Dec 12th except for the Montreal (French) screening which will begin at 7pm. How do you enter? Just fill out the form below and make sure to choose which screening you want to see. We will be choosing our winners on Dec 6th – yes, that is tomorrow!! Tickets will be mailed to you before the event. Good luck to all you Canadian Ringers out there! And of course, if you aren’t one of the lucky winners, don’t miss ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ in theaters December 14th! Visit the official website, The Hobbit facebook page, and Twitter: follow @wbpictures!
Two years ago I wrote a story asking the question, “To be Hot or Not? That is the Dwarf Question.”
While essentially a joke — one which spread like wildfire – a real concern for some fans prior to casting “The Hobbit” was whether or not a film featuring a supporting cast of 13 short hairy men would be interesting to studios and audiences unless those short hairy men were transformed into attractive short-statured hunks, the likes of which would send diehards into fits of horror.
The question was, would the filmmakers be forced to go that route, and also – did we want them to? Should there be Hot Dwarves?
(From here on this will contain minor spoilers, so those of you who wish to remain “pure,” turn back now.)
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With the casting of Richard Armitage as Thorin, the leader of the dwarves, we couldn’t help but admit that we were conflicted. Supremely talented actor. But could he look dwarflike? Did he have to? Wait, yes, he has to. But should he? Head said yes, hormones said no. Shut up hormones.
As the other actors were added, fans’ questions grew. And as stills of costumed dwarves began rolling out, the discussions raged on in fandom – Were the dwarves too cute? Too bad-assed? Too dwarvish? Not dwarvish enough? Too KLINGON? Second guessing gave way to infinity-guessing.
The movie a year or more off, poring over images and studying production diaries provided much fodder for speculators. Beyond Thorin, beyond Aidan Turner’s Kili and Dean O’Gorman’s Fili, the whole company was under intense scrutiny.
With the exception of Thorin, dwarves aren’t the leading characters in “The Hobbit” and yet the film would live or die on them. Too comical and audiences wouldn’t buy into the story. Too Hollywood-handsome and audiences wouldn’t buy into the story. Should they fade into the background entirely then it simply wouldn’t be “The Hobbit.” Nor if they became Robo-Dwarves-of-Doom, chewing on the scenery.
So, with the “Unexpected Journey” finally here, how did it all turn out?
Fabulous.
No, Thorin does not harken back to the droopy-eyed Rankin Bass incarnation, nor does he resemble Tolkien’s description of a blue-hooded, silver-tasseled grump. But neither is he a Chippen-dwarf. He embodies the essence of the character – the haughty nobility, the impatience and simmering anger. The sadness. This is not the hot dwarf you were looking for, but so much more.
Voice, body language, costume, prosthetics – all combine to transform Armitage into the strong, surly Thorin Oakenshield. One dimensional images fade from mind and the focus shifts to the character in action, as it should.
It will be interesting to see where the second and third films take Thorin. At the conclusion of “Unexpected Journey” he has an emotional encounter with Bilbo – much, much earlier in the action than what occurs in the text. And that exchange adds another layer to a complexity that outweighs looks.
And what about the rest of the company?
While “The Hobbit” on page is essentially a child’s tale, Peter Jackson hasn’t filmed a child’s tale. There is a vein of darkness running through the movie, brought by material added from the appendices and the established “Lord of the Rings” visual style.
For the action scenes to be believable – particularly in the higher frame-rate and in 3D – the dwarves must be warrior-like, to appear capable of fighting with the agility and intensity required. In the company of these dwarves, Gimli would appear soft.
And yet, the dwarves retain a whimsicality that makes them distinct. Like Thorin, their appearance is an expression of personality. With less time at the forefront, how they look is a large part of how we get to “know” them.
Balin with his luxurious white beard, the elder of the company. Bofur’s quirky cap and quick wit. The soft-spoken Ori in his cowled hood. But the things that seemed over the top in stills – Bifur with the axe-impaled forehead – aren’t in your face. Remarkably, at least in “Unexpected Journey,” we’re spared Bombur sight-gags.
Which brings us to Kili and Fili.
No, they do not look like dwarves. Kili even less so than Fili. Even in the company of dwarves, they do not look like dwarves. And yet, they look as if they belong with the dwarves. And while I’m pretty sure that might not make sense, I think once people see the film, you’ll understand what I mean. In the context of their behavior and actions – they work as dwarves. They fight like dwarves. It helps that Peter has not indulged in long, lingering, soft-focused glamor shots of Aidan Turner or Dean O’Gorman. Thank you, Peter.
While looks are possibly one of the more trivial aspects of the film – seriously, I do recognize the ridiculousness in all of this – a noticeable amount of effort has been put into crafting each dwarf’s appearance and then stepping back from focusing on it. It’s a measure of subtlety we didn’t expect.
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In the meantime, the phrase “Hot Dwarves” has spread across the globe since my story was first published.
At San Diego Comic-Con this summer, Carrie Fisher fell for our “I <3 Hot Dwarves” t-shirt. In Wellington, Aidan Turner, who wanted a shirt for his own, was gifted with a “Hot Dwarves” button.
The phrase crops up in most stories I’ve read, is at alluded to in many interviews, raises its head in pop-culture memes and … well, last week showed up on the red carpet of the world premiere itself. [Watch]
“How do you feel about being one of the pin-ups in the The Hobbit,” said an interviewer to Richard Armitage.
”I thought you were going to say ‘hot dwarf.’” he graciously responded with some humor.
As I said at TheOneRing.net’s Comic-Con panel: Thank you, Richard, for being such a good sport. Bravo!
Richard Armitage is a lucky boy; or so he says. I think those of us who had the chance to hear what he had to say at interviews this week were the lucky ones; there are few interviewees who are as erudite and as interesting as this thoughtful actor. I already posted my ‘one on one’ interview with him, which you can read here; below is the longer, ‘round table’ group interview which took place later that afternoon. Once again, Armitage was charm itself, giving each questioner his undivided attention, and each comment his full consideration. The half hour chat was filled with fascinating insights – revealing more about how he works; what it’s like to act with Sir Ian McKellen; how they came up with the design of the oakenshield; where we might see a glimpse of Guillermo del Toro’s influence in The Hobbit movie; and even when Armitage himself thinks he looks his best!
An amazing new publication from HarperCollins Publishers is coming your way on December 14th – yup, the same day ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ releases in theaters. 
With the casting of Richard Armitage as Thorin, the leader of the dwarves, we couldn’t help but admit that we were conflicted. Supremely talented actor. But could he look dwarflike? Did he have to? Wait, yes, he has to. But should he? Head said yes, hormones said no. Shut up hormones. 
Which brings us to Kili and Fili. 
In the meantime, the phrase “Hot Dwarves” has spread across the globe since my story was first published.