Post Comic-Con 2012: Hobbit, Thorin, and Richard Armitage Core Dump, 7/19/12 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #234)

Part 1–A New Thorin Wallpaper by Gratiana

In the early morning hours of Saturday, July 14^th–before I participated in all the online chatting and tweeting and such about Comic-Con and The Hobbit presentations appearances and interviews that day which consumed my and everyone’s thoughts–I created a new Thorin Wallpaper (below).  The images are from The Hobbit Scroll, the EW Weekly Comic Con Hobbit issue, TORN, and RANet.

P.S.  I’m particularly proud of the Thorin image.  His left side and arm from a few inches above the belt downward were obscured by a bag or head or something.  So I recreated Thorin’s lower left side and arm via sampling and a bit of drawing using Photoshop Elements and Powerpoint.  Snap!

 

Part 2–A Recap of Some Images and Resource Links from Comic-Con

 If you want all the Richard Armitage at Comic-Con news and links that are fit to print, please visit RANet at www.RichardArmitageNet.com  And “The Hobbit” Comic-Con 2012 links are and the July 18^th news listing and then working backward in time from there.

For a focus on general “The Hobbit” film news, please visit TORN at www.theonering.net

So what follows are some of my random selections of a few art, articles, and musings of others regarding The Hobbit, Comic-Con 2012, and Richard Armitage (right)  since my post last Sunday:

“Richard Armitage on Being Thorin Oakenshield”, was found at http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2012/07/16/59216-richard-armitage-on-being-thorin-oakenshield/ ; this link also contains TORN’s interview with RA on the ropeline.

A variety of Hobbit or RA related artwork is really stunning:

       
Image and Gif By Tannni                                                        by Jas Rangoon

         
by Daria                                                      by Bccmee

And here are some portraits of Richard Armitage as Thorin and as himself in the Comic-Con Panel from RANet and Jonia’s Cut, Getty and WB, etc.:

               RANet                Jonia’s Cut                                    WB                                  WB

Regarding the young Thorin portrait (left), Judiang tantalized us with the TORN version of that RAC image in a post that she titled “Not wasting the pretty” found at  http://www.jagrant.com/watcher/not-wasting-the-pretty/  Indeed!

Bccmee provided video and transcripts for two of the Richard Armitage interviews at http://fanvideos.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/comic-con-whirlwind/

HeathDances, who attended Comic-Con 2012, shared her video of the Hobbit Panel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1QTxD3d5IQ&feature=share   She was in the fourth row and had an excellent view!

DarkJackal32 was quoted about Thorin on the TORN site
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2012/07/13/58886-the-story-of-the-dwarf-thorin-and-his-oaken-shield/    The story of the dwarf Thorin and his oaken shield | Hobbit Movie News and Rumors | TheOneRing.net™

There was an interview with Sir Peter Jackson and was found at http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/comic-con-qa-peter-jackson-on-his-return-to-middle-earth-with-%E2%80%98the-hobbit%E2%80%99-and-how-48-frames-can-save-moviegoing/; Jackson portrait at right is from his Facebook page.  And RAC tweeted a link for an interview with Sir Peter about 48 frames per second method.

RANet reports that “This is the best summation of the Hobbit footage at SDCC that I’ve read, by @EricVespe, loaded with spoilers obviously”:  “Comic-Con: Peter Jackson discusses The Hobbit and Silmarillion, Gollum curses, and Quint describes the 12+ mins of footage that screened!”  was found at http://www.aintitcool.com/node/57079

And one of the best images is of The Hobbit panelists mugging for the camera, image courtesy of Servetus’s blog MeandRichardArmitage (pictured from left to right:  Andy Serkis, Phillipa Boyens, Sir Peter Jackson, Sir Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, and Richard Armitage):

Giggles!  This is a great picture of the Comic-Con Hobbit 6!   RA is full of mirth in this portrait.  And I love a man who can make me laugh.  Cheers!  ;->

P.S.  Okay folks, I’m done with my “compendium” posts about “The Hobbit”–at least until the next big event or appearance.  Ha!  I will leave it to others to do what they do so well.   Cheers!

Part 3–After Comic-Con, A Bedtime Story

At the San Diego Convention Center today, a solitary female figure walks through the various rooms and halls checking to make sure that all has been put to right after last weekend’s invasion by Comic-Con International 2012 [(1) and right]  Hall H is still being cleaned up–after all, 6500 people make a big mess, worse even than orcs [(2)].  The exhibition hall that had housed all of the booths by vendors and exhibitors does not fare much better with scraps of paper strewn everywhere but in the nearby trash receptacles.  She sighs.  The building had such life and vitality in it when all were here.  And now, only the remnants of what had occurred remains–a faint echo of the peoples and events that had so consumed everyone’s attention last weekend.

Continuing down the hallway to one of the smaller rooms that had held several movie cast signings, she peers into the now darkened room.  And before she flips on the light switch, she spies something unusual.  She sees a light coming from under the table skirting where the stars had sat signing their autographs.  She walks to the front of the room and looks underneath the table.    She finds an open worn leather briefcase containing a glowing gem stone of such beauty and crystal clear clarity and sparkling colors [(3) and right] that she wonders that it was missed when its owner packed up and left.   But there it sits hidden away, nestled in some monogrammed hotel towels inside a briefcase under the table.   A silver colored permanent marker pen still lies on the table cloth.

She picks up the briefcase bag and sets it on the table and looks at the bag’s luggage tag.  It merely says, T. O.  It will certainly be hard to identify the owner only from initials, she thinks.  Maybe there is more identification inside the bag?  So she gently lifts the gem stone and his towels protection out of the gym bag and sets it on the table.  Peering into the bag, she finds a collection of items that might give her some clues about the owner:  a silver colored permanent marker pen like the one sitting on the table; a spy novel by John Le Carre, a book called The Silmarillion [(4)]; and a pair of dark rimmed reading glasses.  Unfortunately, the person did not put their name in their books.  And now she thinks that the poor person who left their bag also cannot see without their glasses.

There is one final item in the bag that she pulls out.  It is a cell phone.  Now she is getting somewhere.  It should be easier to track this person down if their phone is programmed with contact numbers.   Sliding the phone open, she sees that it does have phone numbers.  But again, the phone’s contact list only uses initials–PJ, PB, FW, MF, IM, GM, AT, etc.  It’s like an alphabet soup.  Just then, the phone rings–or rather, it vibrates.  The owner had obviously turned the sound off when they were at the signing.  She answers the phone.

Woman:  “Hello?”

Man:  “Excellent!  You must have my briefcase.” He sighs with great relief.

Woman:  “I do.”  She says warily.

Man:  “Is everything in it?”  He asks hopefully.

Woman:  “How do I know this bag is yours?  You could simply be someone who knows the owner, but wants to steal the items from them.”

Man:  “Well, my briefcase contains some books …”  He hesitates.  “… and some personal items.”

Woman:  “Such as?

Man:  “Well ….”  He delays.

Woman:   “How about the hotel towels you pilfered?”

Man:  “Hotels expect that and pad their bills.   Besides, I like a memento of the places I have been in my travels.  And towels are practical and easy to pack.”   He says a bit defensively.

Woman:  “Oh?  And what did you take from us?” She asks while looking around the room–not noticing if anything is missing.

Man:  “Kkkhh!”  He coughs with embarrassment, then whispers.  “My bdge and lnnnnrd.”

Woman:  “What was that?”  She smiles.

Man:  “Alright, my security badge pass on its lanyard.”  He says embarrassedly.

Woman:  “Ah!  You know, those badges are only good for their intended purpose.  You won’t be able to use them to get into another event.”

Man:  “Look, I missed my flight so I could retrieve my stuff.  Where and when may I pick it up?” He asks a bit impatiently.

Woman:  “Just come to the second floor administrative offices at the SDCC and ask for NB.”  She figures that maybe he has a short attention span and initials are all that he can handle remembering.

Man:  “NB, second floor.”  He repeats–as if he is writing it down, she thinks.

Woman:  “Aren’t you going to ask me about the other things in the bag?”

Man:  “Oh good!”  He sighs in relief.  “I was worried someone had stolen it.”

Woman:  “It?  Don’t you mean them?”

Man:  “What?”

Woman:   “The reading material.”  She says vaguely, still trying to determine if the man on the phone is the owner of the briefcase.

Man:  “Cobblers!  I don’t care about the books, I can pick up another copy of them anywhere.”  Silence.  “Alright, is my  … crystal still in my briefcase?”  He asks hopefully.  “It is very precious to me.”  He says with a mirthful expression that she can’t see.

Woman:   “It is.”

Man:  “Excellent!”

Woman:  “You know, you’re lucky that I found your briefcase and not someone else.”

Man:  “I realize that, thank you.  I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

She hangs up his cell phone and puts everything back in the briefcase–gingerly keeping the crystal protected by the pilfered towels.  Then she walks back to her office with the rather heavy briefcase to await the man to pick up his stuff.  When she returns to her office, she sets the bag on a club chair and she is immediately beset with her staffers telling her about looming crises for this upcoming weekend’s rock concert that SDCC is hosting.  She doubts that needing to have bowls of M&M’s with the blue and green ones removed is that problematic–just time consuming for her catering staff.  However, the potential shortage of paper towels on order that haven’t arrived for the restrooms is a problem.  They have tried hand air dryers before, but people just shook their hands dry–scattering water everywhere, making a slipping hazard.  So she approves the rush purchase of an additional $5,000 of paper towels–all in a day’s work.  Then her assistant informs her that a visitor has arrived to claim his lost and found items.

Asst.:  “There’s a … man here to pick up his stuff from lost and found.”  She trembles nervously.

Woman:  “Good!   I’m expecting him.  Show him in.”  She says returning to reading the messages left on her desk for her.

Asst.:  “But you won’t believe who it is.”  She grins broadly.

Woman:  “Well, since he’s not the vendor with our original paper towels order, he can’t be that interesting.  Just send him in.”  She waves officiously at her assistant who returns to the outer office area.  She is far too busy getting ready for their next event to spend too much time on a lost and found matter.  She returns to sit at her desk and picks up a note from another staffer and starts to read it.

Asst.:  Ushering the gentleman into her supervisor’s office, she says gleefully.  “Here he is!”

Man:  “Hello.”  He says softly in a deep velvety baritone that was difficult to discern on the phone by her.  “I’m here to retrieve my briefcase.”  He stands there politely.

Woman:  Still reading her note, she says without looking up.  “Just to make sure you’re the owner, what were the books?”

Man:  “A spy novel and a book about myths.”  He says somewhat vaguely.

Woman:  “That seems right.”  She looks up at him.  He smiles at her politely.  She blinks her eyes twice, then a third time.  “But you’re ….”  She doesn’t finish her sentence as she stands up and gestures to him with her open hand.

Man:  “I’m afraid so.”  He winces at her.    “It’s just that when they rushed us out of the poster signing, I forgot my briefcase.  May I?”  He asks as he reaches for his briefcase.

Woman:  She nods at him.  “Uh huh.”  She looks at him a little nonplussed–her mouth hanging slightly open.  She is accustomed to meeting celebrities.  But the fellow in front of her is about to see his star go stratospheric when his movie comes out this year.  And he is rather a handsome fellow with a friendly smile on his face and his sleeves rolled up revealing his hairy muscular forearms.

Man:  “My apologies for putting you to so much trouble.”  He says politely while he looks in his briefcase to confirm that everything is as he left it.  “Thank you!”

Woman:  “You’re welcome.   Might I offer you some coffee or something stronger to drink?  Or M&M’s?”  She suggests smiling wincingly as she holds up the candy bag–out of ingrained politeness since her senses have left her.

Man:  “No thank you.  I must catch the next flight.”  He smiles.  “May I trust you to keep this our little secret?”  He requests plaintively.

Woman:  “Oh!  You mean the towels?  No harm no foul.” She shakes her hand in front of her and smiles at him.

Man:  “Kkkhh!  Well, yes.  But there is, the other thing.”  He looks around to make sure that her office is inhabited by only the two of them.  Then he gently lifts the crystal gemstone from its towel cradle.  “You see, they said that I could take anything that I wanted as a memento of our shoot.”

Woman:  Looking at him bemusedly suspiciously, she asks slowly.  “And did they know of your final choice?”

Man:  Smiling sheepishly, a blush also creeps up his face–though his full beard hides most of its crimson hue.  “Welllll.”  He rolls his eyes.  He looks almost boyish, despite his obvious maturity.  “I completed the property master’s item removal form before I left.”  Silence ensues as the woman raises her eyebrow.  “But, I realized belatedly that I hadn’t mailed it yet when we arrived here–so I did so.  But I fear that they might not have received the form yet–the slowness of international mail.”  He shrugs his muscular shoulders and winces again.

Heartthrobs are so cute when they wince embarrassedly, she thinks.

Woman:  “Uh huh.”  A small smile curls up at the corners of her mouth before she can stop it.  He smiles at her, puts the briefcase [(5) right] strap over his shoulder, and then he turns to leave.  “Wait!” she calls out to him.

Man:  “Yes?”  He turns back to look at her pleasantly.  He would grant her almost any boon that she might request for keeping his little secret.

Woman:  “Would you mind?  I mean, it would be a thrill if you would …”  Of course, her mind is racing as to what she could request of him that he might grant.  A kiss?  No, too personal.   A hug?  No, still an invasion of his personal space.  An autograph?  Please, she is not a star struck fan.  Well maybe she is–a little bit.  But an autograph is not as priceless as the memory of their encounter that this will be for her.

Man:  He smiles, then in his best character voice he says.  “Child of the kindly West, I have come to know, if more of us valued your ways – food and cheer above hoarded gold – it would be a merrier world. But sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell.”  [(6)]  Then he tilts his head and nods smilingly at her as he exits her office–now with his worn leather briefcase over his shoulder.

And the woman–NB–plops back down onto her desk chair in disbelief.  Then she smiles and returns to the pressing business at hand–M&M’s and paper towels, all in a day’s work.

P.S.  The story above was a bit of fun because I very much like storytelling and this popped into my brain as a bit of closure for Comic-Con.  Ha!

References

(1)     Comic-Con International 2012 info is found at http://www.comic-con.org/cci/

(2)     Orcs, mythic creatures from Tolkiens’ “The Hobbit”; info is found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orc

(3)  Arkenstone information was found at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Middle-earth_objects; Arkenstone image was found at TORN at http://www-images.theonering.org/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/43b3d9.jpg

(4)  “The Simarillion” a book by JRR Tolkien (finished posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien); information was found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silmarillion

(5)  Worn leather briefcase was found at http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/images/gallery/Richard/EventsandAppearances/OutsideRadio1_170910/album/slides/Radio1-02.html
(6)  Thorin Oakenshield quote from The Hobbit via IMDB was found at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077687/quotes