30th September

Peter Jackson was interviewed by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key earlier today on NZ station RadioLive and an eight minute extract is on this RadioLive site. Peter Jackson says they are on day 94 or 95 of a 250 day shoot, filming with about 30 goblins, dwarves and the hobbit today. Yesterday he says “we spent all day in the middle of a storm we had dwarves walking up a rocky path on the side of a cliff… today we show up and we have flames and fire and goblins…”. He also says they will be filming until the middle of next year. Thanks to vikszabo74 on twitter.

 

29th September

1. Homes from Hell narrated by Richard, is starting on GEM in Australia at 7.30pm tonight. Thanks to Mezz.

2. Robin Hood on BBC Entertainment: check the TV schedule for broadcasts of Robin Hood if you receive this channel as series 3 is currently being shown in many countries on Fridays and other days throughout the week. Click ‘change country’ at the top of the window to view your TV schedule. Thanks to Sylwia.

3. Spooks on BBC Canada: the advertising hasn’t been clear which series will be shown, but Spooks is scheduled for 7pm Eastern time/4pm Pacific time on Thursdays. We think it may be series 9. Thanks to Audrey.

4. As you may have noticed from the logos under the pic of the day this website is now an Amazon Associate, which means that if you purchase anything from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com this site will earn referral fees, which will be donated to one of Richard’s four Just Giving charities listed above. Further details are on the RA on DVD page.

5. Cinemax have uploaded the first 2 episodes of Strike Back: Project Dawn to youtube. You need to sign in using a Google account to see the complete episodes. Thanks to Miriam for the email. Links to Episode 1 and Episode 2.

 

 

27th September

1. The Captain America DVD is now available to pre-order from Amazon UK for £12.97. It’s released on 5 December 2011. The region 1 copy is available from Amazon.com on 25 October 2011. All other links and prices to Blu-ray versions are on the RA on DVD page. Thanks to Vicki for the update.

2. Spooks series 8 on BBC Entertainment: series 8 starts on Saturday 1 October at 21.50 in Norway, Sweden and Denmark on the BBC Entertainment channel, with episodes 1 and 2 showing on that date. Here is the Norwegian TV schedule. Click ‘change country’ at the top of the window to check the schedule in your region. Thanks to MillyMe.

 

26th September

1. In an interview with Peter Firth and Nicola Walker by Radio 4 Extra, Nicola describes watching Richard come to terms with the change in Lucas North’s character (4 mins in). This clip can only be heard in the UK, so here’s the bit about Richard. The full interview is now available on youtube thanks to richliga: part 1 and part 2.

2. Thanks to Julia for an excellent drawing of Lucas North, now on the Artwork page.

 

24th September

Lost Land of the Tiger on DVD: this DVD was released in a boxset with two other documentaries from the same team on 29 August 2011. It costs £15.99 from Amazon UK. All other links and prices are on the RA on DVD page. Thanks to LadyCassia for this information.

 

23rd September

Captain America DVD release dates: in the US it will be available from Amazon.com on 25 October 2011 at a cost of $17.99 ($24.99 for Blu-ray). Amazon UK haven’t confirmed the price yet, but the release date is currently 5 December 2011.

Update 25 Sept – DVD release in Germany: on Amazon.de, the DVD release date is 19 December 2011 at a cost of €20.97 and the Blu-ray version for €26.97. Thanks to Barbara and Linda60 for this information.

All Richard Armitage DVD links and prices are on the RA on DVD page.

  

 

22nd September

Lara Pulver was on ITV1′s This Morning programme today and she once again mentioned receiving an email and advice from Richard Armitage prior to filming Spooks series 10 (see news 16 September below for more). The clip is here on youtube.

 

8th September

1. Clips from the two episodes of Fraud Squad, which Richard narrated for ITV, are on the Fraud Squad page.

2. Spooks series 10 will start on Sunday 18 September at 9pm on BBC1 and BBC1 HD. The last episode of series 9 was shown on BBC1 HD so this the first time the whole series will be in high definition. Although Richard is not in this series, there is mention of Lucas North in episode 1 – see news 23 August below. There are spoilers in this BBC press release.

3. A reminder that BBC Canada are showing Spooks series 9 today (Thursday evening) at 7.00pm (EST). Check your local TV schedule, as it’s showing at 4.00pm in British Columbia on Thursdays.

4. On 30 August in France, a documentary called Secrets d’histoire about Claude Monet was shown on channel France2. This documentary showed quite a few clips of Richard as Claude Monet from The Impressionists. French residents can still watch the episode on this site – it may be possible to view from other countries but it doesn’t work for me in the UK. Thanks to Lady Prisca, Joane and Laure.

 

5th September

The documentary Leopards of Dead Tree Island, that Richard has narrated, will broadcast during October in the UK (see news 2nd Sept below). National Geographic UK on twitter have confirmed it will be shown on the National Geographic Wild channel, but the exact date is still to be confirmed.

 

4th September

1. New addition to the Sparkhouse page – quotes from Richard made in 2002 from the Sparkhouse BBC press release. “…there is a simplicity to John; he doesn’t always understand all the nuances of what is going on around him. In some ways he is like an old man on the outside, but there is a real naivety about him…”

2. Tonight at 19:30, E! Latino in Argentina will show a Behind the Scenes of Captain America half hour programme with clips and interviews. No information on whether Richard appears I’m afraid. Thanks to Beth.

 

3rd September

1. On 2nd October last year, a guestbook entry was left on this site from an actor who worked on Captain America: The First Avenger during scenes filmed in Liverpool. The rest of his comments are now available to read on the Captain America page, not previously printed due to contractual agreements. I have proof of his role on the movie and that his report is genuine.

2. Strike Back series 1 in Norway: episodes 3 and 4 of series 1 will be shown on Tuesday 6 September on NRK3 at 21.30 and the last two on Tuesday 13 September on the same channel at the same time. Thanks to MillyMe.

3. Spooks series 10 will start week of 17-23 September according to the BBC Press Office, no exact date or time yet. Although Richard is not in this series, there is mention of Lucas North in episode 1 – see news 23 August below.

 

2nd September

1. Recognise magazine have posted a few pictures from their photoshoot with Richard on Facebook, which will appear with an interview in their August issue – out soon, no exact date given yet. The photoshoot took place on 14th June, see June news archive, 23 and 24 June for more info. The image is also below, click to enlarge.

2. Richard has narrated a documentary called Leopards of Dead Tree Island for National Geographic and there’s a clip on their website. Warning: animal lovers may find this very sad! It was shown in the US on 25 August, but I’ve no information yet on when it will be shown again or in other countries. Thanks to Kaprekar for all the info.

3. BBC Canada showed the first episode of Spooks series 9 last night at 7.00pm (EST) but there was no advertising it seems, so episode 2 will be on next Thursday at the same time. I’m told there is quite a bit of editing by BBC Canada, e.g. Ros’s funeral was cut at the start of last night’s episode. Thanks to Calexora and Susmita for the emails. Update: this was not available in British Columbia although we do not know why!

4. Details of the Captain America DVD extras have been announced here.

 

1st September

The latest Naxos Audiobooks blog post by Nicolas Soames mentions Richard’s role in Captain America, and there’s a nice quote about work he has done for the company in the past (Richard has read 3 Georgette Heyer abridged novels for Naxos): “we know him as a man who quietly, and generally on a Saturday, slopes in to read a Georgette Heyer and entertain thousands of his followers around the world.” Thanks to Annette from RAOnline.