Variety trumpets that the film “Brain on Fire” casts Armitage and Moss as parents, July 21, 2015 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #787)

Woo hoo! An in the article title headline mention in Variety of the talented British actor Richard Armitage in his current project filming in Vancouver, “Brain on Fire” based on Susannah Cahalan’s book of the same name (right). Thanks to RANet for the Variety article link (July 20th news) !

Oh my gosh!    ! This is huge! Richard Armitage has arrived!  Then I see the picture of Richard Armitage that goes with the article (below). Oh blech!  Ha!

Carrie-Anne Moss and Richard Armitage; photo credit Variety, 2015

Hey, Richard Armitage always looks great to me! But when an image is chosen to be used for professional purposes–such as an article, in this case–I would have chosen a different (more flattering) Richard Armitage image than Variety did. To me, the tweed jacket is too tight over the sweater–since these two pieces were probably never meant to be worn as an ensemble, IMHO.

My hubby has a similar tendency–when he walks out the door choosing comfort over style, before I have a chance to gently suggest an alternative clothing option. But I love my hubby dearly and just smile–as I smile at this RA image. My guess is–RA dressed himself for that entertainment industry event portrait that is used in the Variety article. And I love RA in Hugo Boss sweaters! But what one wears to a more casual professional event, is not necessarily the image of oneself that you expect to see chosen for an article heralding your participation in a new film produced by Oscar winner Charlize Theron.

And with my having edited and designed dozens and dozens of glossy year in review magazine type annual reports, brochures, and posters, etc. over the last few decades, I am always concerned with the visual impact images create. And I want to insure that there is a cohesiveness among the images chosen with regard to the overall design of the piece–be it year in review magazine, brochures, poster, etc. You consider what the image conveys–versus what you want it to convey. Will the image complement the text, or distract from it?   And images appearing in the same article should very definitely reflect a similar aesthetic–color scheme, composition, etc. That is not to say that I advocate for images to be matchy matchy–heaven forbid–but simply to be complementary to one another. And, in general, I favor action shots–albeit, staged action shots–as opposed to obviously posed static shots.

So a bundled up Richard Armitage in the picture above conveys warmth to me, but not much else. And his facial expression also looks as if he is a bit annoyed–or perhaps tired–neither of which one wants used for a professional image portrait. Whereas, Carrie-Anne Moss is smiling in her portrait above. Nay, she is glowing! And with Richard Armitage receiving second billing over Ms. Moss–per the “Brain on Fire” IMDB page–he should be smiling, too. Ha! And the whole jarring/clashing color scheme between the two images bothers me. Ms. Moss’ skin looks vibrant against the slightly chartreuse background–whereas Mr. Armitage’s skin looks more pale than usual against the blue/white background. Why mash the images together as if in a collage any way? Let them be stand alone images–but still with a cohesive presentation.

And when Ms. Moss looks so glamorous in her portrait shot included in the article, Variety could have given us one of any number of more recently sartorially splendid Richard Armitage images–to balance the images–as exampled below:

                                  
DaMan 2014             THBOTFA London Premiere 2014         Saturn Awards 2015
(via Grati’s edit)                   (via Marianna)                                              (via MIRogers)

Ah well! At least RA has a really big mention in Variety–an entertainment industry icon!

Richard Armitage by Victoria Will, 2012/Invision/AP)
Associated Press / Reporters

And at least we( RA’s fans) know that Richard Armitage can look handsome and dashing–as well as, the man next door charming as in Miss Kitty’s suggestion at right (from the THAUJ December 6, 2012 promo shots in NYC, by Victoria Will, that can be found at RANet).  RA has a small pleasant smile at right, and it helps give the portrait an element of smoulder. Purrrr! And though this portrait is posed–and the hoodie doesn’t speak to me as a professional image–RA’s facial expression and searing gaze make the portrait a winner for general purpose RA viewing. Snap!

And finally, thanks to Teresa A for pointing me to the cordial behind the scenes pix below of Richard Armitage (far left) with some of his “Brain on Fire” creative colleagues–including producer, Charlize Theron (center)–as shared on instagram by Jenn MacLean-Angus (who portrays Giselle in the film) standing to the right of Ms.Theron:

Richard, Thomas, Charlize, Jenn, and Rob; photo credit by Jenn MacLean-Angus, 2015

So Variety, it’s time to expand your photo archives for Richard Armitage. He is going to figure in several new film articles coming up in your pages, and you want to be prepared. *wink*

P.S. Oh! And Michaela Servetus of the MeandRichardArmitage blog has weighed in on the “Brain on Fire” book with a review and some suggestions for enhancing the film.

Grati: Based on Serv’s and a few other people’s reactions to the “Brain on Fire” book, I think this may be one film that we hope that the screenwriters go off text and add some character and plot development to add depth to the film. But as always, Richard Armitage will mine what he can from the role and then enhance it with a nuanced performance.

And Pssst! Late breaking casting news has actor-comedian Tyler Perry joining the cast of

“Brain on Fire.” IMDB didn’t have a character name yet. But the casting news article link

Conference at Paramount Studios on May 31, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

above (for Variety as it turns out) was shared by Ms. Cahalan on her Facebook page. And the image chosen by Variety to represent Mr. Perry’s image in the article (right) is professional and handsome. So Variety does know how to pick a professional image.