This is an unofficial website dedicated to the work of the British actor Richard Armitage, star of Spooks, Strike Back, Robin Hood, North and South, Captain America: The First Avenger and now filming The Hobbit. We aim to bring you the most up-to-date news about Richard's career, interviews, pictures, multimedia, information about filming locations and much more. All pages are listed in the menu on the left.
Please visit the Guest Book or leave a comment on any of the pages where you see the 'Write Comment' option.
Two fantastic new wallpapers have been added to the RA wallpapers page with thanks to Alexandra. Click the images to enlarge and save on your desktop. Please see the top of the wallpapers page for terms of usage.
1. More Robert Ascroft pictures have appeared on tumblr and have been added to the 2012 Promo gallery. Numbers 23 and 24 are new.
2. Spooks series 8 in the Czech Republic: this series starts tonight on channel Ceska televize (CT1). It will be shown on Mondays between 11 and 12pm (different times each week) and repeated on Thursdays around midnight. Thanks to Iveta.
3. A competition to win three Richard Armitage DVDs is now open on this site - click here for details and how to enter.
4. A donation to Barnardo's of £215.18 was made today, with many thanks to those who used the Amazon links on the home page of this site when shopping. Further details about how to shop via Amazon and raise money for charity here. Note: payments from January and February were processed together to minimise the banking charge - only one charge was made by my bank for dollar to pound conversion for two months worth of payments.
5. Peter Jackson has posted a picture of himself and Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf on set on his facebook page, with news that the last block of Hobbit filming has started and a video blog will follow soon.
1. Update: apologies for the error. This is series 2, otherwise known as 'Strike Back: Project Dawn' in which Richard only appears in the first episode. Details on NRJ12 site. Strike Back in France: Strike Back will be broadcast in France on channel NRJ 12 from 22nd May.
2. Coup de Main have published an account of their reporter's trip to Wellington, which includes new pictures from the Hobbit press conference that took place on 28th November 2012. Ten new pictures showing Richard at this event have been added to the gallery, starting with this one. Thanks to Olya for the email.
3. Strike Back series 2 in Germany: the first episode of series 2 has a brief appearance from Richard as John Porter and is showing on 24 May at 20:15 on Fox. Thanks to Jo.
Todd Garner, producer of Black Sky has posted a picture on twitter from the film, showing someone who looks a lot like Richard. The caption 'back on track' refers to the recent disruption to post-production as a result of FX company Rhythm and Hues' financial difficulties.
All Black Sky pictures posted so far are in the new Black Sky gallery.
1. Popcorn Taxi have posted an extra interview with Richard that took place before the Q&A in Sydney on 1st May. There are lots of new questions (and answers) in this one. At the bottom of the interview they confirm that the video of the Q&A will be posted soon. Also posted on the Interviews page.
2. Richard is listed in the Best Actor category for the SFX Awards 2013 for his role as Thorin. Vote here or click here to start from the beginning and vote in all categories. Unfortunately they didn't spell his name correctly. Voting closes Tuesday 28 May.
2. Thanks to Endorwitch, I've added 37 candid pictures of Richard at the Sydney Q&A on 1st May to the Sydney Candids gallery. Click 'original image' in the bottom-right corner of each picture to see the full size.
3. Two more pictures added to the Sydney Promo gallery today: this one of Richard and Sophie Lapin of Go Pop and this one of @DanVoss from twitter, mentioned in yesterday's news.
5. Graham McTavish and Ken Stott discuss their characters in The Hobbitin this video and the relationship between the brothers, with a comment from Richard that he'd imagined Dwalin had been Thorin's confidente from a young age.
Girlfriend magazine Australia have published an article about Richard's recently publicity for the Hobbit DVD and his meeting with their producer Danielle. She posted the picture on twitter on 1st May.
1. IGN have posted a new video interview with Richard, which took place during last week's Sydney Hobbit DVD promotion. He talks about audience reaction to Thorin, his eagerness to finally see what Smaug looks like and Thorin's development in the next few films. We've heard similar questions before but Richard still manages to give different and interesting answers! Also on youtube.
2. Staged DVD update: Darren Denison has informed me that all purchasers will soon receive an email with an update about when they can expect the DVD. Several unexpected factors have contributed to a delay, including a DVD sleeve printing error that needed to be corrected.
Richard Armitage appears with Martin Freeman at 3 minutes in this Japanese DVD promo on youtube. A brief comment by Richard followed by Martin talking about the camaraderie amongst the cast of The Hobbit.
1. Warner Bros Australia have posted their interview with Richard after asking for fans' questions (see request for questions in the news 26th April). The interview covers all sorts of questions such as whose beard he preferred, the decision to move away from the book in a particular scene, who he would invite to a dinner party and a hint at projects he would like to work on in the future.
2. Two more pictures from the Robert Ascroft photoshoot have emerged - see the last two pictures in the 2012 Promo gallery. Click 'original image' to view full size. Thanks to armitage-online.ru.
1. Two new articles from the Australian press today:
The Music 'Short and Sweet': Richard talks about the 'endurance test' of making these films and drawing parallels with real-world circumstances to give his portrayal realism. He also describes Thorin's journey as a character and how he 'welcomed the opportunity to occasionally toss aside Thorin’s “stillness and stoicism” and wreak some havoc on his enemies'.
2. The last few minutes of the Sydney Q&A have been unofficially posted on youtube - while we wait for the official video, this is a nice taster: click to watch.
3. TheOneRing.net have published a report of the Popcorn Taxi Sydney event, with a full transcript of the questions and answers plus an interview with the host, Oscar Hillerstrom. The video will be out soon so don't read if you don't want to be spoiled, or read the full transcript of the evening here.
4. The picture of the day archive for April 2013 has been added to the Multimedia menu on the left-hand side, or click here to download all the individual pictures.
5. A donation to Shelter of £103.55 was made today from referral fees accrued from Amazon.co.uk for the month of February 2013. Thank you very much for using the Amazon links on the home page to earn referral fees for charity. Further details here.
1. CNET Australia have published an 11m 50s video interview with Richard, which took place during the Sydney Hobbit DVD promotion. Richard gives detailed answers to many questions we've heard before, but there is also a comment about sustainable energy. Now on youtube.
2. SFTV's Go Pop interviewed Richard in Sydney - watch it on youtube (and below). This is a really great interview, lots of fun and full of NEW questions! Includes a hug with Kermit and instructions on how to walk like a dwarf. This edited video has an introduction by Richard at the start (and he appears again at 3m 50s).
5. I've added a new gallery of Sydney pictures showing the interviewers who posted their photos with Richard online while he was in Sydney, and photographs from Popcorn Taxi's Q&A with Richard on Wednesday evening. Also a 2013 Promo gallery with pictures that have appeared over the last few days.
1. Another two new promo pictures taken by photographer Robert Ascroft have been added to the end of the 2012 Promo gallery. Click 'original image' to view full size. Thanks to armitage-online.ru.
2. Alice Tynan of The Vine has published the twitter Q&A part of her interview with Richard. I'm delighted to see my question there and what a fantastic answer, thank you Alice!
3. Popcorn Taxi have posted 15 photos from the Sydney Q&A with Richard Armitage - click here to see the photos on their Facebook page.
1. Richard was interviewed via telephone on Scotty and Nige's Canberra radio show after 7.30am today. A funny interview which consisted of a few Hobbit questions and then a quiz of 10 questions to find out more about Richard. Listen to the interview on their site - scroll down to the first audio clip 'Richard Armitage Grill'. This is only the second part of the interview, full interview links here:
2. The presenter of Channel 9's Mornings show, David Campbell, confirmed yesterday that Richard will be on their show today. Thanks to Kristy. Watch the interview here via MSN video. @merilyn066 and @lady0akenshield are the two ladies at the end of that video clip, as they were invited into the Channel 9 studios to meet Richard. See item #8 below to see their pictures. David Campbell posted a picture of himself and Richard in this tweet and his co-star Wendy Kingston also posted a picture of in this tweet.
3. MovieFix 'Richard Armitage I told Prince William he'd make a good elf in The Hobbit'
4. News.com.au 'It cost $1.6m to get a face like this! Richard Armitage's Thorin make-over for The Hobbit'
5. Graffiti with punctuation have a picture of Richard with their presenter Blake Howard with a download link to an excellent podcast. Well worth a listen!
6. Lots of pictures are emerging from the Q&A event with Richard at the Hayden Orpheum. Click here on my twitter feed and browse through the tweets to see the pictures. You do not have to be registered on twitter to view my twitter feed. According to this post on their facebook page (read the first comment), there will not be a live online stream of the event, but it will be recorded.
8. Candid pictures from the Channel 9 studios and from the Q&A event are here in the gallery with many thanks to Merilyn066 and Lady0akenshield for their kind permission.
1. Richard was on 2dayFM radio in Australia today. You can listen to the audio clips and see a picture of Dan and Maz with Richard here on their site.
2. Alice Tynan's written interview (mentioned in yesterday's news) is now on TheVine. There is a link at the bottom to page 2. This is the first interview that Richard has tentatively mentioned future projects, nothing definite of course, but bring on the speculation! Some of us asked questions for Richard via Alice's twitter account - she says here that this will follow tomorrow.
3. Many thanks to Ladypolanna for the scan of the MX article below. The cover was posted yesterday by @MXSydney on twitter. Click the images to enlarge.
4. News from News.com.au on twitter: click here with instagram link to picture. I'll post more information on this when I have it.
5. A reminder that Popcorn Taxi are hosting a special event tomorrow, Wednesday 1st May at the Hayden Orpheum in Cremorne, Sydney, Australia: A screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and a live Q&A with Richard Armitage! The event is now sold out, further details are here. According to this post on their facebook page (read the comments), there will not be a live online stream of the event, but it will be recorded.
6. Richard talks about working with Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett in this interview on localtoday.com.au.
2. Alice Tynan interviewed Richard today - see news 30th April for the link. Alice tweeted a picture of herself and Richard, which you can see here.
3. @MXSydney, twitter account for the free mX newspaper for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, have posted two pictures of Richard today: this picture here and from the newspaper here. Click the pictures to enlarge.
Australia's Foxtel magazine has a double-page spread on The Hobbit with interviews with four members of the cast. Click the image on the left to enlarge. Many thanks to Kate for the scan.
1. Warner Bros Australia are asking for questions for Richard Armitage when he visits Sydney in the next few days. They will ask him the winning questions and will then post a transcript of the interview on their site. I'll post a link when it appears. This is a separate interview to the special Q&A event in Cremone, details in the news 11th April.
2. The free Belgian newspaper De Zondag included a short interview with Richard and also James Nesbitt and Andy Serkis last Sunday. Many thanks to Sabrina for the scans and also this English translation.
1. New interview on MSN-Germany from the recent UK press junket. Richard talks about his back injury sustained during filming for Spooks and his character diary for Thorin. There's a German transcript below the interview. Thanks to Carmen for the link.
2. Thank you to Heathra for this beautiful new wallpaper. Click to enlarge and then right-mouse click to save to your desktop.
The Dutch free newspaper Spits, dated 16 April, has published an interview with Richard and also Andy Serkis in time for the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey DVD. Violet has kindly provided a scan and an English translation of the interview with Richard, which you can read here.
1. The designer Todd Snyder tweeted a picture of himself and Richard yesterday from his showroom in New York. Click the instagram link in the tweet to see the picture.
2. Eight new jigsaws have been added to the site today: click here.
The Hobbit UK Facebook page have posted a video showing Richard answering a fan question about getting into the mindset of Thorin Oakenshield. Judging by the clothes, this took place during the UK press junket in December 2012.
1. @BBCiPlayerAU have tweeted that the first season of Strike Back is now available on BBC iPlayer Australia. The link in their tweet refers to the BBC iPlayer (Global) app, which is a subscription based app for iPhone and iPad. Thanks to Di. They have confirmed this is the series starring Richard Armitage.
2. A donation to The Salvation Army of £79.53 was made today from referral fees accrued from Amazon.co.uk for the month of January 2013. Thank you very much for using the Amazon links on the home page to earn referral fees for charity. Further details here.
Two new pictures have emerged via the Repro Images tumblr site by photographer Robert Ascroft today. They have been added to the end of the 2012 Promo gallery. Click an image to view, then click 'original image' in the bottom-right corner to see the full size. RobertAscroft-11 was first posted on this site in January from Korean magazine Movieweek (scan here).
The Vancouver Sun have published an interview on youtube that took place in Toronto on 3rd December. Richard talks about how the Hobbit influenced him to become an actor, he was dreaming in character and that the amount of detail in the costume promoted excellence in all other areas of the production.
1. Popcorn Taxi are hosting a special event on 1st May at the Hayden Orpheum in Cremorne, NSW: A screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and a live Q&A with Richard Armitage! To book tickets and for further details, click here. According to this post on their facebook page (read the comments), there will not be a live online stream of the event, but it will be recorded.
2. An update regarding the Staged DVD, Darren Denison says everyone who ordered a copy should receive it by the end of April.
3. Magic FM are running a competition to win a copy of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey DVD. Open to UK residents only, closing date 17 April 2013. The link also includes audio of the interview with Richard by Rick Astley, but you can download it below in the news 7th April.
An interview with Richard was played on East Midlands Capital FM Breakfast show with Dino and Pete today. There's a funny response to playing 'King of the Dwarves'. Listen here or via their website.
1. There was a brief clip of Richard speaking on BBC Radio 1 today - click here to listen. I'm afraid there is no new video today, the video referred to previously was the one with Sarah-Jane Crawford from BBC Radio 1Xtra posted in the news 5th April. Yesterday Sarah-Jane posted this short soundbite from Richard about being her 'Hottie of the Week'.
2. Two new pictures have been added to the Hobbit Stills gallery, one of which is here on the left. Click to enlarge.
The pictures are from Weta's latest book The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles. Creatures and Characters. Full of pictures and anecdotes from the cast and crew about each type of character in the film, it has a section dedicated to all of the main characters including Thorin.
"I always imagine characters who are defined by their history. If it's not there then I will inevitably construct a detailed biography. For Thorin this was very easy...but I still needed to investigate a more domestic biography; 'What do Thorin and Dwalin "chew the fact about"?' or, 'What was Thorin's relationship with his sister Dis like?' I felt that might inform how Fili and Kili would feature in Thorin's life."
Amy Hubbard, UK Casting Director:
"I know he won't mind me saying that Peter saw potential in Richard that hadn't been fully exploited before...His commitment to the films, pulling out of a sure-fire job (Strike Back) for the chance of appearing in a project that was 90% likely to go into production, but wasn't 100% green lit at the point of casting him, was an inspriation to all of us. And, I believe it was a much needed boost to the filmmakers' morale...Richard really deserves credit for that. He's a hero on screen and in life."
3. A new interview published today from the March 2013 UK press junket on thisisfakediy.co.uk: 'I'm always the slightly dour one who doesn't get a punchline.'
1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey DVD is out in the UK today and is available from Amazon UK—this link incorporates the RAnet referral code to ensure that all purchases raise money for charity (here is the Amazon.com link). For Blu-ray and other versions from Amazon see the RA on DVD page.
You can also rent or buy The Hobbit online via Blinkbox (it's cheaper than the iTunes UK store).
3. Another new interview from the recent UK press junket, perhaps one of the better ones in recent weeks: HeyUGuysBlog have an interesting and indepth discussion with Richard about the character of Thorin, particularly concerning the path that this character will take into the second film. Richard says he's excited to find out more about the scenes still to be filmed when he returns to New Zealand in May.
4. Promo pictures from the recent BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2 and Magic FM interviews have been added to the Hobbit DVD Promo March 2013 gallery, including this one tweeted today by Radio 2.
5. Chi Chi Izundu from BBC Radio 1 just tweeted a couple of sound clips to give us a tease of what's to come tomorrow from 12.15pm (UK time).
6. For all list of all video/audio interviews from the March UK press junket, visit the Hobbit Videos page. This page is still being updated with videos from the 2012 December press junket.
1. Another interview has emerged from the recent UK press junket. In this interview by Yahoo Movies UK Richard, James and Andy explain why The Hobbit is a long film and why that is justified.
2. Screencaps from the SFX magazine interview mentioned in yesterday's news (#4) are in the SFX magazine gallery.
3. A gallery of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Blu-ray screencaps has been added to the site. These are HQ 1920x800 pixel images provided by Gallicka LJ. To see the full size, click on a picture to view then click 'original image' in the bottom-right corner. Many thanks to Gallicka.
Here are a few samples, click to enlarge:
4. A pre-recorded interview with Richard will be played on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra from 12pm (UK time) on Monday. Thanks to Chi Chi Izundu, Radio 1 entertainment reporter for the tweet. Video will be played on BBC Newsbeat. Information about this interview was originally posted on twitter on 7th March with photos posted on the 8th—see news 7th March and 8th March below. See yesterday's news for details about the additional Radio 2 interview on Monday, which we can now assume is also pre-recorded.
1. An interview with Richard was played on Radio 1Xtra at 1.30pm today (UK time) but an extended version of that interview has been posted on youtube, which shows the full interview with Richard by Sarah-Jane Crawford recorded on 7th March. Sarah-Jane Crawford tweeted this picture of herself and Richard from the pre-recorded interview.
2. On Monday 8th April, Richard will be on Steve Wright's show on BBC Radio 2 from 2pm. I will try to find out if this is pre-recorded.
3. Four new wallpapers have been added to the site with many thanks to Rossella, who used the new promo images by Robert Ascroft. Click an image to enlarge and save on your desktop.
4. New interview by SFX magazine, which took place when Richard was in London in March. Richard gets confused between mime and meme and declares that he is NEVER wrong. Watch in HD.
1. I've added some audio clips to the Sounds page today including clips from all four episodes of North and South selected by Luigina and also the theme from Frozen—because it's a favourite of mine. The Audio Player on the right-hand side of the Sounds page works if you have Flash installed, otherwise you can play or download the sound clips from the list on the left.
1. Magnavision home video have posted a new written interview with Richard on their facebook page. There are some interesting comments about important moments in The Hobbit and on whether he considers himself a method actor.
1. Glamour magazine January 2013 UK edition is now available to buy in Australia from selected newsagents. It's a Reader's Digest-sized magazine and costs $5.95. Thanks to TEHI for the information. The magazine contains an interview with Richard which was posted on this site in December 2012 and is here in the gallery.
2. Nine members of the Hobbit cast - eight of the dwarves and Sylvester McCoy (Radagast) - attended HobbitCon in Bonn this weekend, and judging by several comments on twitter there were some very nice things said about Richard. Herba has compiled a list on her blog. It's in German but the comments from the cast are in English. Thanks Herba.
3. In this new interview by IGN, which took place when Richard, James and Andy were interviewed in the UK, Richard hints that there may be more filming to do this summer with the dragon, played via performance capture by Benedict Cumberbatch. Also on youtube.
Peter Jackson has posted a six minute extract of the Hobbit live event, originally broadcast on 24th March. The extract includes some footage from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Click here to watch on youtube or on Peter Jackson's facebook page with an introduction by the man himself.
1. Today's picture of the day was posted on Repro Images tumblr page and was taken by Robert Ascroft in New York. I've added it to the 2012 Promo gallery. Click 'original image' to see the full size of each picture in the gallery.
2. The iTunes interview mentioned in item #1 in yesterday's news is now on youtube.
3. This video at the Hobbit World Premiere shows most of the cast on the red carpet and at the Wellington press conference earlier the same day. Richard is interviewed at 6m 11s. Thanks Olya.
4. An interview with Richard by Steven Samblis, which took place in New York during the December Hobbit promotion, is free to watch via the iTunes store (podcasts). It is also on youtube.
5. The new picture on the left is from the Glamour magazine January 2013 issue taken by photographer Anders Overgaard. The image comes from Brightbox Productions who created the video from the behind-the-scenes footage from the photoshoot first posted in the news 3rd January.
1. Andy Serkis has interviewed Richard Armitage and James Nesbitt in a special interview for iTunes which is currently available via the German iTunes store, hence there will be German subtitles. You will need to have iTunes installed in order to see this interview. Click here to access all the material including a trailer, high quality and low quality versions of the interview and both HQ and LQ versions of the thirty minute documentary 'A Hobbit's Tale'. Thanks to CDoart for the information.
The 'A Hobbit's Tale: Part One' documentary was originally available as an exclusive extra when buying The Hobbit DVD from Best Buy, but as announced below in the news 23rd March (item #4), it is now on youtube without subtitles.
2. Karima has found an interview with Tami Lane in Bradley University's magazine, the make-up and prosthetics supervisor who was also responsible for applying Richard's and Graham McTavish's prosthetics each day. The front cover shows a picture that was first posted in the news 23rd February. Click to page 12 of the magazine to read the interview.
3. Another new Lucas North picture has been added to the gallery - thanks to Maria for this picture of Lucas and Ros. Click 'original image' to see the full size and F5 to refresh the screen if the picture is not displaying correctly.
As always click 'original image' to see the full size and F5 to refresh the screen if necessary.
5. Many thanks to Gratiana for sharing her latest Thorin Oakenshield wallpaper with us. Click the image to enlarge and save to your desktop if you wish. If you would like to submit wallpapers or signatures to this site, please email me, Ali, at
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1. An interviewer representing the online children's game, Bin Weevils, interviewed Richard on 6th March when he was in the UK promoting the Hobbit DVD. The interview is lots of fun, includes a Gandalf impersonation(!) and is here on youtube. They also interviewed James Nesbitt and Andy Serkis, read more here on the Bin Weevils site.
2. A modified version of the live event held with Peter Jackson last Sunday is now available at www.thehobbit.com/sneak/. Unfortunately this is only available to those who have the access code after buying the Blu-ray and it can only be used three times.
3. Another new picture of Lucas North from Spooks series 9 has been sent to me by Joane - thank you! Click here to view and click 'original image' in the bottom-right corner to see the full size.
4. A composite picture of Richard made from images of Lucas, Guy and Thorin appears in April 2013's issue of Virgin Media magazine. The article is entitled 'Man of the Month' as he will appear on multiple Virgin cable channels in the UK in April, in episodes of Spooks, Robin Hood and in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Incidentally, The Hobbit film also premieres on Sky Movies in the UK from Monday 8th April.
Thank you Lucy for the scan. Click the image to read more.
Spooks in Germany and new pictures: ZDF Neo are currently showing Spooks series 9 on Monday evenings - please check your TV schedule for exact times. Various German TV websites have posted new pictures of Richard as Lucas North and I've found ten new images which have been added to the Spooks Promo gallery.
Nine new pictures have been added to the UK Hobbit Premiere gallery with many thanks to Maria. Pictures 15-20 and 31-33 are new. Click 'original image' to see the full size and press F5 to refresh the screen on a PC/Mac if you cannot see the new pictures.
MSN Movies interviews James Nesbitt and Richard Armitage (from 53 seconds). Richard tells us his favourite quote from the film and what inspires him. Thanks to Carmen for the link. Note: this link will not work on a mobile phone or in some countries - try this link instead (thanks to Cristina for finding this).
New Zealand, Home of Middle-earth from PureNewZealand, the NZ Tourist Board.
4. 'A Hobbit's Tale Part One' DVD featurette from Best Buy is now on youtube.
5. Nine new candid photos of Richard at the Hobbit World Premiere in Wellington have been added to the Hobbit Premieres 2012 gallery with many thanks to kellyduck. The first of the nine new pictures is picture #8 in the gallery. You can see the full size of each picture by clicking 'original image'. For more photos plus captions please visit kellyduck's blog.
Actor Richard Armitage has long history with 'Hobbit' on the UPI.com site, in which he states that appearing in The Hobbit has been a huge milestone in his career and that he was introduced to the novel at school.
1. Lots of screencaps from an exclusive behind-the-scenes video "A Hobbit's Tale: The Journey Begins" have been posted on the Heirs of Durin site. This 30 minute special, only available when you buy the Blu-ray via Best Buy, shows a huge amount of new footage. Visit Heirs of Durin and click each image to enlarge.
2. Entertainment Celebrity Extra interviewed Andy, Richard and James on 6th March in London and asked them how their lives have changed since being cast in The Hobbit and whether they have bought anything expensive with their Hobbit pay cheque. Watch on youtube.
3. Screencaps from the Xbox featurette 'The Company of Dwarves' posted in the news 17th March below are in this gallery.
4. Some older promo pictures have been replaced today with extra large high resolution versions, as follows: this and this from the 2005 Promo gallery and all the pictures (except #10) from the 2006 Sunday Times gallery. Click 'original image' to see the full size of each picture.
5. You may have noticed that some retailers are offering different content on the Hobbit DVD and Blu-ray. Well, TheOneRing.net have provided a very useful breakdown - read more here. Warner Bros. confirmed that an extended edition will be released this year in their press release mentioned in the news 13th March. In the email they stated: "The March 19 home entertainment release will be followed by an Extended Edition available just in time for the holidays." Presumably this means the winter holidays so that it will be released just before the second film.
1. Greendragon from TheOneRing.net interviewed Richard in London on 6th March and her video is now on youtube via this link on TheOneRing.net's site. Most of the interview is concerned with taking on the mantle of playing Thorin, but he also states that nothing else is lined up from him yet, after filming finishes on The Hobbit in New Zealand this summer.
2. A donation to Childline of £174.95 was made today, with many thanks to those who used the Amazon links on the home page of this site when shopping. Further details here.
3. The last five images in the NYC Promo gallery have been replaced with high resolution images. Click on an image to select it, then click 'original image' to see the full size and click again on the picture to zoom in. Thank you to Lilly for these images.
1. There's a wonderful behind the scenes look at Thorin, Fili and Kili on youtube, which is an excerpt from a featurette available when buying The Hobbit on Xbox Video. Thanks to Carmen for the email and @TailorMaster on twitter. Screencaps are here.
2. A transcript of the full Radio Leicester interview that was broadcast on 13th March is now here. More details plus a link to listen to the interview is in the news 13th March.
3. The new poll on the left-hand side is asking whether you will buy The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on DVD or Blu-ray. Previoius poll results are here. Thanks for voting!
1. The latest issue of Total Film magazine (May 2013) have a one-page interview with Richard, discussing some elements of the second Hobbit film (spoiler warning) and also that comment about working with Peter Jackson that we read in the press earlier this week - see news 12th March below, item #4.
On the left are screen captures from the iPad version of the magazine. The interview appeared in a scrolling box at the bottom of the page so I've captured each question and photoshopped them together to make the 2nd image.
Click to enlarge.
2. Warner Bros. have sent me an 'infographic' about the different types of characters in The Hobbit.
1. The full pre-recorded interview with Richard was played on BBC Radio Leicester today after 11am, an extract of which we heard on Sunday. Listen to the full interview here. To download the interview, right-mouse click (Ctrl-click if you're using a Mac) and choose Save.
2. Warner Bros. press release received today:
Q&A with Peter Jackson
Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson will host a live first look at “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the second film in “The Hobbit” Trilogy, on Sunday, March 24 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern/12pm Pacific at www.hobbit.com/sneak.
Just added: The live event will now include a Q&A with Jackson and fans!
Video questions can be submitted beginning March 12 through March 19 on “The Hobbit” Facebook page, or through the Vine mobile app using the hashtag #askPeterJackson.
Fans can also Tweet links to video questions using the hashtag #askPeterJackson.
The live event will be limited to holders of an UltraViolet™ code, available by purchasing “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” which arrives on Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack and 2-disc DVD Special Edition on March 19.
1. North and South on BBC Entertainment: North and South is showing in various countries in the next few days, including Israel and many countries in Europe. Please check the TV schedule for your country on BBC Entertainment's site. Thanks to Arfan.
2. The programme 'The King in the Car Park' about the discovery of Richard III was shown in Canada recently - many apologies to Jane who told me about this and I didn't put it on the site in time. However, Canadians are still able to watch this online on the CBC.ca site. The documentary is on youtube, as is the follow up documentary 'The Unseen Story' but neither of these will play in the UK due to copyright. Thanks to Lilli for the links.
3. Spooks series 7 in the Czech Republic: Spooks 7 will be shown from 18th March on Mondays, different times each week but between 11pm and midnight, channel Ceska televize 1 (CT1) and repeated on Thursdays at midnight. Thanks to Iveta.
4. TV3.ie have reported on an interview in the British movie magazine Total Film with Richard, quoting him about working with Peter Jackson and the opportunity of playing Thorin: "I knew before I started there would never be another film like this for me," he admitted. "Not just the experience of making the film but the incredible complexity of the character, the transformation of my physicality... It ticks every box I could ever want as an actor. And then working with Peter Jackson, who takes you to a new place in terms of work. It's probably the most important piece of work I'll ever do."
5. Robin Hood in Romania and Hungary: Robin Hood is showing on a cable network Film Cafe in Romania and Hungary. It started Monday 11th March at 1pm and is repeated 1am from Mon-Fri. Thanks to Betina who says this is the second run in recent months, after the first run December-February of all 39 episodes.
1. YA has kindly shared her experience of attending The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey World Premiere in Wellington, NZ, complete with photos from the red carpet and from TheOneRing.net's special premiere party. Her pictures of Richard are also in the Hobbit Premieres candid gallery. Comments can be left at the bottom of the page if you wish.
2. I've discovered six new pictures today by photographer Robert Ascroft and they have been added to the end of the 2012 Promo gallery - click an image to view, then click 'original image' in the corner to see the full size.
Image #8 shows the picture as it was published, however after some discussion on twitter we believe the image has been flipped, so image #9 is perhaps the 'correct' way round.
3. Jonia has discovered some new extra large promo pictures of Richard Armitage and Hermione Norris from Spooks series 7. See her blog for more info. Images now in the Spooks Promo gallery.
4. Another new image here of Richard with Evangeline Lilly discovered today by Somewelli of the German RA forum and passed to me by Carmen. The image came from the 'Good for Nothing' NZ premiere which took place on 22nd April 2012.
1. An extract of an interview with Richard Armitage was played on Radio Leicester today, to hear his views of the discovery of Richard III and possible plans for a stage or screen version of Richard III's life. Update: The audio file has been replaced with audio of the full interview played on 13th March. For a transcript of the full interview see the news 17th March.
2. There are eight new video clips of Richard taken over the last few days as he promotes the Hobbit DVD, including a clip of him entering the BBC radio studios in London on the Getty Images UK site. Click here and scroll down to the second row, then click a video to watch. Other clips on that page include footage from the Strike Back premiere, the 2010 BAFTA awards red carpet and the UK Hobbit premiere in London. I've heard that some people are having trouble playing these videos and it could be a Quicktime issue - check your version of Quicktime and Internet Explorer, or use another internet browser like Chrome or Firefox.
3. Dean O'Gorman, speaking at the Armageddon Expo convention in Christchurch on 9th March, talked about meeting Richard on the day of his audition and basing Fili's accent on Richard's own accent. Youtube video by KiwiCatherineJemma and thanks to Gloria for the email.
1. Richard will appear on BBC Radio Leicester twice in the next few days: at 1.00pm (UK time) on Dave Andrews' show on Sunday and after 11.00am on Jim Davis' show on Wednesday 13th March. Announced here and here on twitter. You can listen to BBC Radio Leicester worldwide via this link.
Update: the interviewer, Emily Anderson, has told me on twitter that the full interview will be played on Wednesday's show with a short preview on Sunday. And we will like what he says about Richard III! See the tweet here.
2. Two more pictures from Richard's appearances in London yesterday. This one from Chi Chi Izundu (more from her in yesterday's news item #2) and this picture from ITV1's Daybreak weather presenter Laura Tobin.
3. Three pictures have been posted on tumblr showing fan encounters with Richard yesterday: one, two and three. Thanks to Guylty for the email.
4. Despite previous news reports below, the code to watch the sneak peek of the second Hobbit movie is NOT just available to those who buy the region 1 Hobbit DVD. Amazon UK will send the code to anyone who pre-orders The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey region 2 Blu-ray before 23rd March. Thanks to Fudge19 who has received the code from Amazon UK. To order, see links in the news 8th February.
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Blu-ray and DVD can be pre-ordered now from EzyDVD (Australia). It is released on 1st May 2013. Thanks to Michele.
6. The youtube clip I posted yesterday showing Richard on Lorraine's show has been updated - see item #1 in yesterday's news. The colour has been corrected as it was too red and also an extra clip appears at the start showing Richard waving to camera.
1. Richard appeared on Lorraine's show this morning to promote The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey DVD and he also talked a little about working on Black Sky. A high def version of this interview is now on youtube. Pictures from the show are here on ITV's photostream and here from Lorraine's twitter account.
Three more pictures taken outside the BBC today, with thanks to @Mashaneronova: one, two and three.
3. 'Hobbit' Actors Tout Upcoming Blu-ray on HomeMediaMagazine.com - an interview which took place yesterday with Richard, Andy Serkis and James Nesbitt.
Richard: “There was never a moment in this film which was designed around making the film have impact, and I don’t think Peter was necessarily interested in [doing that],” Armitage said. “He was interested in the immersive quality of 3D and the 48 frames [per second]. It was more about texture than shock.”
1. Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis and James Nesbitt answered questions for almost four hours today via @TheHobbitMovie's twitter feed. There is a picture of them here. To read the entire transcript of the question and answer session, click here.
2. Richard is definitely on tomorrow's Lorraine show from 8.30am UK time, ITV1 in the UK. She announced it at the end of today's show. I will upload the interview to the RichardArmitageNet youtube channel later tomorrow.
@TheHobbitMovie on twitter have announced that Richard Armitage will be answering fan questions via their twitter account tomorrow, time not yet specified. Send your questions to @TheHobbitMovie using the hashtag #AskThorin. You will need to register on twitter to ask questions, but you don't have to register if you only want to read the questions and answers, simply click here to see the timeline of @TheHobbitMovie. I will post a list of the questions and answers on this site after the event.
If you are new to twitter, please follow my account at @RAnetdotcom.
1. The picture of the day archive for February 2013 has been added to the Multimedia menu on the left-hand side, or click here to download all the individual pictures.
2. New pictures added to the Hobbit Premieres Candids gallery today. The first five pictures in the gallery are courtesy of Kiri and were taken at the Wellington premiere on 28 Nov 2012.
3. Eleven wallpapers have been added to the site today with many thanks to Fernanda and Rossella.
five new wallpapers by Rossella, which include calendars for the remaining months of this year
1. For those buying the region 1 DVD of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, this article on Collider's site gives some clarification about how to get the special access code to watch Peter Jackson's sneak peak of The Desolation of Smaug. Details first given below in the news 6th February. Collider states that: "Access to the live event will be limited to holders of an UltraViolet code available by purchasing “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack or 2-Disc Special Edition DVD."
Links to purchase via Amazon.com are below in the news 27th February, which will raise money for charity, however if you purchase via The Hobbit shop you can get a poster with your DVD. Thanks to Jane for helping me decipher all this!
2. According to Locate TV, Richard will appear on 'Lorraine' on ITV1 on Thursday 7th March. I will post video of the interview after it airs. Also here on the Radio Times site.
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey appears several times in the Jameson Empire Awards 2013 shortlist, including Best Film, Peter Jackson for Best Director, and Martin Freeman for Best Actor. Vote here. Thanks to Kate for the link.
6. As promised, below are two pictures of Richard in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace - or at least these are the only shots where I am convinced it is him. This is obviously open to interpretation and I'm sure not everyone will agree. Click the pictures to enlarge. In the first picture he is front left, wearing a yellow helmet. In the second picture he is on the left of Natalie Portman.
Richard talks about his role in Star Wars on Hollywood.com and they have posted a picture with an arrow pointing to him, but I don't actually think that is him hence why it hasn't appeared above.
Here's a news item from July 2011 in which I posted a picture relating to Star Wars:
An early picture of Richard has appeared on a Star Wars autograph collecting site – click to view. Now added to the Miscellaneous gallery. This picture was received by the website owner in the year 2000.
Warner Bros. have announced today that the third film in The Hobbit trilogy, There and Back Again, will be put back from 18th July 2014 to 17th December 2014. Most of the entertainment online media are reporting this, including articles in Empire magazine and the LA Times.
