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April 12, 2014 at 8:37 am by Demosthenes
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A couple of interesting quotes:
If you look at the detail on the Lake-town set (in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug) some of the glasses have specific carvings into the glass and the cutlery –- it’s astonishing and the camera sees it all.
…even the title, the Battle Of The Five Armies, suggests something that is going to be pretty epic. When I saw the model of the battle ground, which was in a little secret room that you could sneak into and take a look at, something made me realise that Tolkien’s description of that battle is quite limited to where Peter has expanded it to.
JOE: Morning Richard, how are you today?
RA:I’m good thanks, very good.
JOE: How’s the head anyway? You were at the Empire Awards last night, yeah?
RA:I was but I didn’t hammer it too badly on the Jamesons, but it was good. We won Best Sci-Fi Fantasy and Aidan (Aidan Turner, Armitage’s co-star in The Hobbit films and Dublin native) walked away with Best Male Newcomer so yeah, it was a good night.
JOE: Yeah, it was brilliant news for the film and for Aidan as well. You obviously spotted his incredible talent up close when you were working on The Hobbit films with him…
RA: Yeah, he was such a great guy to work with. He was playing my nephew which was a little bit disconcerting considering that we’re not that far away in age, but he’s a great guy and he’s made something really exciting with that character. We’ve got some nice moments coming up in the third movie together.
JOE: How did you actually first get involved with The Hobbit? I imagine that getting a phone call to say that Peter Jackson wants to work with you has got to be pretty special?
RA: It is, and the fact that you even get to go into the room and audition for it is something that you think “God, I never would have thought that would happen” and then, when they turn around and say they’d like to cast you, it’s all a bit of a blur.
You move on and you have to take stock and think that actually really happened to me, and then on another level I was quite surprised that they wanted me to come and play a dwarf. I never thought that I would play a dwarf. I’m usually too tall for everything but yeah it was great and it was a bit of a no-brainer really.
JOE: And how is it working with a filmmaker and visionary like Peter Jackson?
RA: It’s pretty amazing. He leads from the top and he works in such detail, I know that he expects nothing less from the people that work around him. He hires people that are uncompromising and he asks the things that nobody thinks are possible and they all go away and they make it happen.
When you see that happening with his crew, his designers, the innovators and his digital technicians, it makes me work in a more detailed way and that was the most exciting part of it, down to every single buckle and button on the shoes and coats. I think he realised that, because he was going to be shooting on 48-frames per second, that so much detail was required in the final image, but also in the layers of the character; the writing is incredibly detailed and specific and it’s exciting to work like that.
JOE: Speaking of the buckles and buttons, here at JOE we’re huge fans of The Lord Of The Rings books and film adaptations and it’s clear to see the detail that goes into the design of the costumes and weapons. Do you actually get to keep any of the really cool souvenirs from the set for yourselves though?
RA: At the end of the shoot they gave me my sword, which is now one of my prized treasures. Again it’s the detail of the sword and the workmanship and craftsmanship that goes into it. It’s not a fake sword, it’s a real crafted sword that is useable, not that I would…
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Posted in Hobbit Book, Hobbit Movie, J.R.R. Tolkien, Richard Armitage, The Hobbit on April 12, 2014 by DemosthenesSource: JOE.ie
Home video release time is upon us! Lucky folks in the UK can already today get their hands on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; tomorrow, April 8th, the DVD and Blu-ray becomes available in the US, Spain, Mexico and Canada, with Italy following on April 9th. (Check out release dates in this post, here.)
With the release this past Tuesday of the Blu-ray and DVD Editions of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, there was a bit of confusion concerning several video advertisements and the bonus material on the discs.
DigitalSpy have posted this video of their Twitter Q&A with Richard Armitage. In it they ask him about what we can expect to see in the Extended Edition of Desolation of Smaug and what he’s most looking forward to seeing in There And Back Again.
That aside it’s an interesting interview, enjoy. 
Asmus Toys has been churning out lots of figures in their 1:6th action figure line for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. We’re pleased to share the next awesome figure that you can find for pre-order right now from various retailers. The latest figure – or I should say figures - Middle-earth fans can add to their collection is one of Sauron’s most trusted servants, the Nazgul. If that’s not enough for you, fans can also order a 1:6th scale Nazgul Steed that your Ringwraith can fit on, to recreate the methodical tracking down of Frodo and The One Ring. The Ringwraith comes in at a price of $130 by itself, Horse $150 by itself, and if you want both, deals can be had for $250. All of these items will be out by quarter four of this year, and we will update this post as we find deals for Middle-earth fans.
With the Home Video release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (which becomes available this week in Australia, Brazil and parts of Europe), Richard Armitage has been busy giving interviews, as we’ve been posting over the past week or so. He found time to sit down again with staffer greendragon, and they chatted about finding Thorin’s voice one last time, what he’s working on now, and what it was like to fill (literally!) those mighty dwarven boots… Here’s what he had to say:
RA: Yeah. It’s interesting because I did a certain regime of voice work to try and find Thorin’s voice, which I’m really pleased that I did, because now I can go back to my tapes and repeat that work, and hope that Thorin’s voice comes out. It’s not so different from my own voice, but there’s a certain pitch and gravel to it that I’ll need. It takes a while to get back in to; but hopefully I’ll be able to do it!GD: When you do move on from this role, when it is all over with The Hobbit films, what do you think will stay with you from this, both in terms of your life experience, and in terms of aspects of the character? What do you think will be with you in twenty years?RA: I think the actual memory of filming it; going to the other side of the world for such a long time… I mean, I still wake up and think that I’m in the house that I stayed at in New Zealand, and that I can hear the sea… Everything about it – it was such a sensory experience. Walking through the studio gates at 4am when it was dark, and leaving when it was dark; seeing all the new sets; every time we walked on set… I just don’t think it will ever leave me. And you know, the process of getting into the character, and putting on the prosthetics; it’s deeply embedded in me, because we repeated it so many times. Putting on the boots and walking as Thorin… I kind of wish I had those boots, I wish I’d kept them!GD: Do you feel an ownership of the role? If you were reading The Hobbit, would you sort of feel, ‘Oh, that’s me I’m reading about’? RA: You know what, I feel like there is a sort of nod [in the films] to the character in Tolkien’s book… but my very first impression of The Hobbit [book] probably hasn’t changed. The version that we played of Thorin is very much about Philippa Boyens’ brilliant screenplay; so it sits somewhere between the two. I will probably pick up Tolkien and be reminded of what Philippa, Fran and Pete did with it; which I think is great, because their job is not just to put the book on screen, but to develop all of those ideas and take us into another world.GD: Talking of ownership of the role – what do you think about the fans who do such amazing cosplay, where they dress up as the characters? I know one lady who does an absolutely brilliant Thorin; I wondered what you think when you see these folks with incredible costumes on which they have lavished hours of work, and they come out as dead ringers for the characters.RA: I know! And a lot of them are women – and they’re growing their own beards and everything! It’s kind of amazing that they can do that… [laughs] No, I’ve seen a few bearded ladies… I think it’s brilliant. I’m always immensely impressed at the workmanship, and the way that they’ve looked at the costumes and copied them – I think it’s pretty amazing. And I’m sure it’s one of the reasons why the costume design is so detailed – because they know that people will look at it in that kind of detail, and study it.GD: With regard to what’s next: each time we’ve spoken, you’ve had various potential irons in the fire but nothing that’s grabbed you as being the next big project for you. Do you have anything coming up which you can tell us about?
RA: I’m doing a British independent film at the moment, which is called Urban and the Shed Crew, which is based on a book written in 2005 about an ex social worker who is having trouble with his own life, and spiralling into drink and drugs, and he befriends a little eleven year old street kid, and they have this journey together. It’s a really beautiful story, and it ticks a few boxes for me: it’s based on a really interesting piece of literature, but also based on living people, who have been working with us on set. I don’t know what the movie will be – it may just end up at the festivals – but I’m having a great time making it, and I get to play opposite a really brilliant eleven year old kid, who is teaching me how to act!GD: Kids often have a natural instinct for it, don’t you find? They don’t overthink it…RA: Well sometimes they do; sometimes kids are highly coached. But this little boy is very, very natural and really instinctive, and it’s great – it’s like a little ‘back to school’ for me!GD: Are we likely to see you at any conventions this year? I’m hoping we can persuade you to come to DragonCon in Atlanta…RA: Well I have to find out when they are – I haven’t heard of anything in the imminent future. I think we’re definitely going to go to [San Diego] ComicCon; we’re definitely going to be there this year.GD: Thinking about going forward – having had this experience of being in a huge franchise with an enormous fan base, would you be reluctant to undertake a project again which has such a following already in place, or has it been an experience that you would enjoy repeating?RA: Oh yeah – I would do it again in a heartbeat! It’s so exciting to be part of something; especially when it’s one character playing – I mean, I think this is quite a unique experience, that it’s one character over three films, but playing through one journey. I think that’s quite remarkable. Yeah, I’d love to do another big franchise like this.GD: Good – I’m glad we haven’t scared you away!RA: No way! No way!GD: One of the fans asked me to say to you how proud they all are of the work that everybody has done. I certainly know that many of the fans feel a kind of ownership of what Peter Jackson and all of you have created in Tolkien’s realm; there’s a great deal of love for it, and many people have said to me, ‘I just want an opportunity to tell them how proud we are of what they’ve done!’RA: Oh good. I mean, that’s very heartwarming – because they’re the people that we know will be watching in so much more detail than everybody else. You’ve got to play and create your character in that much detail, because I know that people will be seeing it like that, and seeing it again and again… With the DVD release, they can watch it to their heart’s content! And I know they will; so it’s good to know that it’s being seen and appreciated.
GD: One last thing I’m interested to ask you about – I keep reading about your fascination with Richard III, and that you have interest in making a film about him. I just wondered what truth there is in any of that?RA: It was an idea that I had a while back. But my interest in it is really a hobby, of reading biographies, and I was once working with a script writer on something. I don’t know whether a documentary would be of interest… it’s difficult, finding something which is going to be commercially interesting, and for an audience – I don’t know how many people would be that excited about him… My interest in him doesn’t necessarily have to manifest itself in a piece of work. Even if it’s me going back on stage and playing him; it’s purely a hobby for me.GD: It’s a fascinating topic – particularly when you consider how Shakespeare has painted him into one particular corner…RA: Yeah, I mean Shakespeare really created a bit of a pantomime and put him at the centre of it. It’s a brilliant thriller, but I don’t know how biased Shakespeare was… Well, I do know how biased he was, because he was writing for a Tudor monarch! But I think there’s a tale to tell. I think the BBC maybe are investigating doing a project about Richard, but we’ll see. I think there’s always room for a new take on it; and there’s plenty of literature out there. The Daughter of Time [Josephine Tey] is such an interesting book, and that would be worth exploring.GD: Well, thanks Richard – it’s always good to chat. Hopefully we’ll talk again around the release of The Hobbit: There and Back Again.RA: I’m sure we will see each other sometime in November, on our vast press tour! Take care!Posted in Blu-Ray, ComicCon, Conventions, DVDs, Events, Hobbit Book, Hobbit Cast News, Hobbit Movie, Merchandise, Press Conferences, Richard Armitage, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: There and Back Again on April 14, 2014 by greendragon 