Today 17 April is Sean Bean’s 54th birthday, wishing you a Wonderful Day!
Sean’s life has always been closely tied to football, in particular our beloved Sheffield United F.C., so I always thought it was fitting that he was born on the same date that The Football League was founded, at a meeting of clubs in Manchester. Today is their 125th birthday!
Sean’s looking great, just had to post a couple of these RTS after party pix!
19 March 2013, Soho
Here’s the link to the whole album:
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Sean+Bean/Sean+Bean+Out+With+Friends/Xl1hnJzsTaJ
WINNER!!!! Sean at the Royal Television Society Awards, picture thanks to Beany and The Mighty Bean http://www.themightybean.com!
Of Fandom, Richard Armitage, and Tech
I’ve been a part of several different fandoms for more than 40 years, was one of the people who helped the “Internet” grow by using BBSes and CompuServe to further fandoms in the 1980s and beyond.
One of the best things about liking an entertainer today is the various levels of fan digital interaction that many offer. Richard Armitage is no exception to this, over the years he has kindly sent email letters himself to be publicly posted to a fan website. He has an iPad but he hasn’t, however, shown much personal inclination so far towards social media, humourously pleading ineptness and lack of understanding. A lot of RA fans seem amused by this as well. However, a few days ago Richard gave us a digital thrill by manning on a laptop for a few hours the US Hobbit film Twitter account (@TheHobbitMovie), answering fan questions along with Andy Serkis and James Nesbitt. The picture that was posted on the account (above) only seemed to fuel Richard’s self-described tech “fumbling” reputation among fans (his facial expression!) as did the lengthy time it took to do the event. I thought them posting that photo was hilarious, and I still think there was another explanation for the delay. My opinion is that Richard isn’t as computer, device or social media inept as he seems. I firmly believe he doesn’t do this to deceive, I think of it as a gently diplomatic deflection to preserve his comfort zone, and I completely respect that. I recently had an argument with another celebrity who insisted that every celebrity MUST be on social media like Twitter or Facebook themselves. I couldn’t disagree more, it is a totally optional and personal choice, and most people who are in the public eye have social accounts anyway that are run by official sources such as management, if they choose not to personally participate. This should suffice. Richard has no official social accounts that I know of, and that’s just fine too. No one, no matter who they are, should ever be pressured into doing something online with which they aren’t comfortable.
I love the energy and creativity of the Armitage ARmy fandom as much as I love Richard’s own expression of it, and here’s a another reason why. On Twitter recently a fan suggested a cool project for FanstRAvaganza 4 involving a digitally produced cookbook. I couldn’t pass up something this fun, so I contributed a French potato & leek soup recipe to Lanie’s ARmy of Chefs project, which asked for recipes inspired by Richard Armitage characters or the man himself. I chose a French entreé because I really loved Richard’s portrayal of artist Claude Monet in The Impressionists. Here’s the link to my recipe:
http://armyofchefs.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/116/
See all of the delicious recipes here:
http://armyofchefs.wordpress.com/
Can’t wait to make & taste the other contributions!
Thank You Lanie, Thank You for reading, and
THANK YOU for being Great, Armitage Army!
This post is part of FanstRAvaganza 4
See all posts by clicking here!
Thank You Richard, For The JOY!
This post is about gratitude, frankly something that there isn’t enough of in the world. I don’t have bad days because I’m thankful for every single day. There’s too many who won’t get to see tomorrow, let alone today, and too many who are already gone too soon. Because of the reckless and crazy life I lived when I was younger, by all rights I should have been one of those dead, but I survived somehow and have been nothing but grateful and thankful since that I’m still breathing. I’m also very grateful to other people who enrich my life, whether directly or by performance. Early in life I got addicted to live performances, sports and bands became a major part of my life in my teens. From playing in them I got the love and approval that I didn’t get at home. I also got a lot of other stuff, that is a story for another day.
Skip to many years later. Richard Armitage came into my life in 2003 via the telly, and North & South was the watershed moment where he became 1 of my 3 top favourite actors. I was so touched, I wrote him my first letter at that time, expressing my pleasure & gratitude to him for giving such an intense, thoroughly immersed performance, yet allowing for some of his personality to show through. This perception of mine became solidified when I saw the 1st series of BBC’s Robin Hood, which prompted another letter of thanks from me. So as the years have gone by, this unique way of performance has become Richard’s hallmark, and he has definitely earned my love for it.
In 2010 there came confirmed news that a fan loves to hear: your fave has been cast in a film franchise you adore! That, of course, was Peter Jackson’s J. R. R. Tolkien films, whose Lord of the Rings trilogy (starring one of my other top faves, Sean Bean) is among my very fave films. Even better, Richard had gotten the major part in The Hobbit of dwarf leader Thorin Oakenshield, the deposed King Under the Mountain. I spent the next years in keen anticipation, watching for production updates, knowing that he would do the part all of the justice it deserved. And I wasn’t disappointed, his performance was everything I thought it would be… and more! (Click for my review of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) On Twitter in December I saw a lady, Janine Pineo, propose for fans to write Richard thank you notes, but send them to her to mail in a group package for him. I was so happy to see other people as grateful as me! I was going to write my own thank you anyway, but sending with a group is a much better surprise for a person, plus this time I wanted to give back to Richard with more than just words. Janine had thoughtfully provided a graphical note whose picture expressed that wonderful moment in the film, but my printer wasn’t working. I then decided to do something I’ve done before, duplicate the image as pencil art, with metallic paint accents. That’s what the picture above is, sorry I didn’t get a better photo before mailing, didn’t think I’d need it! The other thank you’s were beautiful & heartfelt too, here is the link to Janine’s summary post, with her pictures & thoughts about it, which mirrored mine:
http://www.janinepineo.com/2013/01/small-acts-of-kindness-and-love.html
Thank You Janine, and as always, Thank You Richard, For the JOY!
This post is part of FanstRAvaganza 4
See all posts by clicking here!
King Richard III’s facial reconstruction, as unveiled by the Richard III Society on 5 February 2013, London, England. On 4 February the University of Leicester announced that the skeletal remains found under a car park in Leicester were those of King Richard III, after extensive scientific testing including distant maternal relative DNA matching. I saw the DNA chart myself, the closeness of the match was quite impressive. King Richard III’s remains are scheduled to be re-interred at Leicester Cathedral, but there is significant opposition from York to this plan, who have a valid argument that the people of Yorkshire loved him better. My biased preference leans toward York, but I think Leicester, who did the work, also has a valid claim. I know they are thinking of boosting their tourism as well.
Regarding fiction concerning Richard III, Shakespeare’s play always bothered me as far as characterisation, which I was taught to believe was a deliberately encouraged public maligning by the Tudors / House Lancaster, who were, of course, the ultimate winners of the Wars of the Roses. The first book I ever read that challenged Shakespeare’s image of Richard was The Sunne In Spendour by Sharon Penman, whose portrayal is much more sympathetic. There’s a list of other books in a similar vein on the Richard III Society website. But as for accuracy? We still don’t know, just a handful of letters exist from people who actually knew him, and none seem to indicate a monstrous villain.
As for new films based on these books or opinions other than Shakespeare’s, I’m all for it. Philippa Langley, who spurred & helped arrange funding for the archaeological dig for the king’s remains, has reportedly written a screenplay for a film & talked to actor Richard Armitage as a candidate for playing him. I think he would be a great choice for involvement in it!
Thanks to Channel 4 and CNN for the images!
Heaven is a girl I know so well
She makes me feel good when I feel like hell
Heaven is a girl that I’ve got to have,
And she makes me feel better when I’m feelin’ bad…
Stormy Monday (1988) is the 2nd major film of Sean’s career (Caravaggio being the 1st). I saw it first run, but for reasons other than Sean, who I had just discovered 2 years before. At the time, my main reasons for seeing this film were Sting, Tommy Lee Jones & Melanie Griffith. A few words about that later. I liked this film for other reasons too, among those being its vibe about jazz, its cinema noir feeling, its setting in Newcastle, and my amusement at the town having an “America Week” celebration to woo a big shot businessman Mr. Cosmo from America (Tommy Lee Jones). The film’s story largely centers on Brendan (Sean Bean), a bloke looking for work & finding some at Mr. Finney’s (Sting) jazz club, taking care of maintenance & also looking after a visiting Polish band called the Krakow Jazz Ensemble. Brendan takes a liking to their leader, Andrej. He first meets Kate (Melanie Griffith) when he accidentally knocks into her at the mall, then at an American style cafe in town where she is waitressing. She & Brendan develop a mutual liking, enjoying each other & going on dates, one of which is my fave scene of the film, at the Polish club where Andrej meets a lady. In the meantime, at Kate’s other job working for Cosmo, dark things are brewing. During a meal at the cafe, Brendan overhears 2 men discussing plans to hurt or maybe even kill Mr. Finney, but he doesn’t know it’s on Cosmo’s orders. Although he’s only been working for Finney for 14 hours, Brendan feels he needs to warn him. But Finney handles it his way so Brendan thinks he’s done with it, wants to focus on Kate. Cosmo hears what happened, finds out Kate is with Brendan, and turns things very badly for both Brendan and his band friend Andrej.
I’ve been an ardent fan of Sting since 1977. I like jazz very much too, seeing Sting playing a bit of bass was very cool, as was Don Weller himself & his band playing on the jazz club’s stage. Also, long ago, I first noticed Melanie Griffith because of Don Johnson, but I came to look for her work too as I like many of her characters (Working Girl is one of my all-time fave 80s films). Same like for Tommy Lee Jones, among his 80s films Black Moon Rising is one of my all-time faves, so he didn’t disappoint in this “bad guy” role. And what is there left to say about Sean in this role other than the obvious? He was ok with nudity on film, did his part with sensitivity & completeness. Looking at this film again so many years later, I still think he gave as good as or better performance compared to the “stars,” it definitely further fueled my enthusiasm for him. I also think Brendan is one of his sweetest characters. This is a must-see film for any Sean Bean fan.
LEGENDS Production Update : Sean Bean stars in 2013 TV spy drama pilot for TNT channel
Post I wrote for fansite & will update as info becomes available:
http://seanbeanfans.blogspot.com/2013/01/production-update-legends-sean-bean.html
SO EXCITED! If you haven’t read Robert Littell’s CIA books, including Legends, I highly recommend them! Definitely see why Sean said YES to this project, it’s right in line with his interests.
I hope this pilot is finished soon enough to be scheduled for summer! Then it will be up to us fans to push the numbers to get the full series produced, which I want very badly. This is a quality production with a great plot & cast!
