2018 Armitage Weekly Round-up #10

/ March 10, 2018

So, International Women’s Day has come and gone, and *aw* no Audible Q&A with Richard… Instead we got a IWD message from the man himself.

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Nice one, Rich. I am going to add a few more women to your list, though. You forgot all the women who watch *everything* you are in and buy *every* audiobook you record.  Glad to hear that you had so much support from so many women in your life. I think it shows in the way you treat women.

Now for the round-up.

  1. Oh, ouch. (You have to look at the tag to read what I am referring to you.) What do you think? True or unfair? Posted by twisted-but-pretty
  2. Total fan service: ofgreengables has giffed the latest Audible interview. Noseporn, handporn, everythingporn
  3. Just a reminder – Richard on his characters. Or on his character? Posted by shikin83
  4. A very short fic about Raymond de Merville. Kind of interesting. By thorins-magnificent-ass
  5. Gorgeous, gorgeous John Porter. The blue eyes alone… Gif set by riepu10
  6. Jassy2101 has got some pretty screenshots of RA in the latest Paris interview
  7. LOL. Lego-martin’s set. And hey, where do I buy that Lego kit? I want to build myself one, too
  8. A faceclaim for Griffin? What do you think? How did you picture him? This is pixie-durango’s suggestion
  9. A nice compilation of edits with all of Richard’s audio books, compiled by riepu10 – he really is quite prolific, isn’t he? If the looks ever go, a career to fall back on…
  10. Oooh, I loved this piece of NS fan art by every-fandom-is-like-home-2
  11. A little Trevor/Daniel is never amiss. Big gif set by ghsiborne
  12. Including these two screenshots from the Paris interview here because if you switch back and forth between them, you almost get a smile seamlessly lighting up Richard’s face. By ausschweifendemotte
  13. More bearditage courtesy of anemiechen. I have to say, the more I see of the beard, the more I get used to it. Heck, I might actually love it *aaaaarrgh*
  14. An idea for a RH fan fic, that took me by surprise. I mean, ok, I am familiar with slash, but yeah, this was left-field. Posted by the-sun-of-rome-is-set

Enjoy your weekend!

Guylty ❤

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56 thoughts on “2018 Armitage Weekly Round-up #10”

  1. I guess I just don’t get why that is bugging people. It’s come up a few times now. But then again, I don’t think I have much influence on his life, so …

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      • I think it is because the people he works for ie Audible have a tendency to tease/play us and the words ‘cash cow’ come to mind.
        I know it’s the advertising market but when David Hewson announced RA had written the forward I felt what now; I have already purchased the expensive audio work I am unwilling to buy the book!

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        • I don’t feel that way. I would have bought Hewson’s book anyway because I loved the audiobook and I like to have also a paper copy of the books I like a lot. Hewson said that he expanded some parts of the book, so it won’t be identical to the audiobook. The foreword by Richard is an added bonus, but it wouldn’t change my decision about the purchasing of the novel. Sometimes I wish they would consider us fans more “cash cow” because it would mean more Armitage related merchandise (I want more action figures of his characters)

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        • Audible definitely know how to use his fans to their advantage. I am actually always surprised when I read the reactions to Audible posts and Armitage’s fans are by far the most vocal. They recently posted an obvious piece of Twitter- ‘clickbait’, asking who should get the Audible ‘Oscar’. There are hardly any other voice actors mentioned in the replies apart from Armitage. I guess we are an easy target group…
          I am definitely not buying that book, foreword or not. I really like Hewson’s thrillers (currently reading one, actually), but I was not taken with Hamlet, and I still can’t get over what *I perceived* as major hubris when RA and Hewson discussed R&J on video, so I am unwilling to consider either audiobook or printed book. Plus, I am sure the foreword will make its way into the public, somehow… (Also, after some of RA’s other written essays/letters for Cybersmile, I am a bit skeptical…)

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          • I haven’t seen that R&J video, but I appreciated a lot the contest that Hewson held on his blog to win a copy of the audiobook. It was a sort of treasure hunt where you had to research and find out historical facts about the places and the characters of the novel. I have been living near Verona for 15-16 years, and I found out a lot of interesting thing about the city. Also, listening to the book, you can notice that the author knows and loves Verona, I could recognize the places, the streets, etc (but I wish that they had told RA the correct pronunciation of the river Adige). So I loved it, even if I’m not a fan of Romeo and Juliet.

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            • The contest was great fun. I am sure Hewson knows his way around very well. I really like what he is doing with his Nic Costa thrillers – Rome really comes alive in that series. You really haven’t seen this conversation?

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              • Winning that contest had been even more fun 😀
                I’ll have to check that video, maybe I’ve seen it, but I don’t remember it. I’ll check it after the weekend (with the husband around I can’t watch it without him complaining, probably he has a RA allergy :D)
                So far I’ve read just one of the Nic Costa books. I want to read the others too, but I’ve already have a LOT of unread books (and by a lot I mean 3-400 paper books and probably even more e-books) and everyone would get mad if I buy more of them without reading the ones I already have…

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                • Oh, of course – you won the contest! Brilliant! I’m pretty sure you must know that interview – they talk in depth about R&J. It is (mostly) interesting. (BTW, my modus operandi is similar – I kind of make sure my hubster doesn’t catch me watching a RA vid. I don’t mind other teasing, but I just don’t want to hear it full-on.)
                  And whoa, sounds like you have a big list of books 😊. I know how you feel – I have mostly given up buying new books, anyway. My Nic Costa books are all from either charity shops or eBay.

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          • I feel like this is a Armitage fandom feature. In the days when the fan forums were big, there were many campaigns to get him to the attention of this or that audience — there was always an announcement any time there was a write-in possibility (Romance Novelists Association, e.g.) and encouragement in those circles to forward Armitage’s cause. It persisted through the leadup to the Hobbit where there were a few fans who actively militated in fan forums where people involved with the film were thought or known to be present, to mention his name, etc., get him seen — and then it made the jump to Twitter. It started from the fan sentiment that he was a disadvantaged underdog, when the fandom as such was a much more unified group of people, and I think a lot of it persists on that basis.

            I’ll have to rewatch the vid. Even so, I have no problem subscribing to the notion that ‘David Hewson has a healthy opinion of himself,’ although what I’ve seen of him suggests that he is also a person of rectitude. I was guardedly positive about Hamlet, but I wish they’d picked a different project than R & J. That felt to me like on some level fan service, even if there is naturally a large market for perceived “romance” stories. I was relieved that Armitage didn’t say, “I was totally thrilled about this idea!” His marketing statements are so skillfully “sincere” at times that had he said “I love R & J!” that would have been hard on my fan love.

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            • My approach to marketing Armitage has always been – if I am totally convinced of a potential project just off my own bat, fine, I’ll throw my own two cents into it. But I am definitely not going to put time and effort into marketing something that I am not fully behind – unless I get paid. Haha, I’ll do anything for money… Sometimes it’s fun to reply to marketing tweets (calls for Q&A questions, “who’s your favourite XYZ”), so if the mood takes me, I’m in. In general, a ‘fandom central’ that is expecting me to further the cause of our OOA, would really annoy me.
              A healthy self-confidence is probably part and parcel of being a writer, and usually DH comes across as a knowledgable guy, so I am prepared to listen and to believe. Fair enough, and confidence is definitely needed when attempting to rewrite a much-loved, generally known classic. Poetic licence is totally fine with me, and kudos to DH for “daring” to rewrite RJ. What really rubbed me the wrong way, was the way these two middle-aged men talked about the mindset of teenage girl. I just kept thinking “geez, look at yourselves, two old feckers claiming to know what is going on in a teenage girl’s head”. I probably should’ve found it funny rather than offensive.

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              • I’m almost never taken by that mood — I hate feeling manipulated and I really despise not knowing if my reaction to something is mine or it’s being sparked by a marketer. Hence my relative non-participation in those campaigns. But it really used to be a big thing and I remember a few times when I started blogging eing approached by fellow fans to push something like that.

                I see why that would bug you (or anyone). I’d forgotten it. In general I don’t think Armitage has much of a clue about what makes women tick, period. Hewson at least has a daughter, I believe.

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                • LOL – yeah, I don’t really think he has a clue, either. For the most part, that is no problem. It only annoyed me in that conversation because the two of them evoked such an air of omniscience, speaking in absolute terms, and idealising the character in the process.

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                  • Honestly, I am amazed that anyone takes the R & J story on these days — it must have some perpetual appeal that remains opaque to me. It has so much baggage attached. Why not think up your own story? Well, I guess in the end Hewson did that.

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                    • I don’t have a problem with R&J per se, but you are right, this precise telling of the “young star-crossed lovers” has been done to death. If DH has retold the story with significant changes, then that is the only redeeming feature…

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        • I totally agree re: Audible.

          re: Armitage’s foreword — I’m a sort of modified completist. I’ve bought things I don’t think I will ever listen to. So I’ll buy this, as the electronic version isn’t that expensive (like $6 US, which is comparable to the fancy coffee I buy a few times a week). But I don’t have super high expectations; the afterword he wrote for the WETA book was also not a height of revelation.

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  2. 7 – I tried to make LEGO Guy and Marian, but at the LEGO store they didn’t have all the pieces I needed, so they didn’t turn very similar to them 😦

    14 – I hope someone will write that fic. 🙂 I love Guy as a masked hero (and used that too in some of my stories :D)

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  3. Hmmm, I wasn’t bugged, he has acknowledged our support and his appreciation of that over the years. For some reason I love the idea that he has a woman doctor – a tiny glimpse into his personal life perhaps?
    # 1 “ouch” indeed, straight into APM when I read that lol. And #2 – just beautiful ❤️

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  4. #1 – Obviously dropped on her head at birth. If a person bugs you so much, why waste your time with them? Move on. Yesterday.

    #5 – Doz Eyez

    #13 – Love the beard, bt now in the mood of scruff.

    #14 – No. Uhm… and no. Oh…. no.NO! nope…. uhm….. noooooooooooooe and no no no and by the way, did I mention, no?

    Sabbatical must be working – I’m returning (slowly) to my pesky, cranky self. Don’t like me? Bite me! (Not you, Guylty. It was… well it’s just me, you know.)

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  5. It did strike me that RA’s mostly female fans weren’t saluted, but I’m not bothered by it. I think it was a lovely IWD message. And why didn’t I become a doctor? LOL

    #1 I can see how if forceful Gisborne is your thing (it’s the blog subject), then mild-mannered Armitage might try your patience.

    #7 I think I need to dig out our LEGO guys and dress them up!

    #9 The “Audiogod” has certainly been busy! I like that poster.

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  6. Quite interesting to see the different attentions to his message. For me what struck me most was mentioning the politicians. I wonder who he had in mind.

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  7. I was intrigued that he had a doctor he wanted to thank. What kind of doctor is she? I don’t have a special relationship with and doctors (probably should) and wonder if his doctor is one he sees regularly and why, what is wrong with him? Does he need a specialist or is she a primary care doctor? I know it is none of my business and we will never know. But still, I wonder. And number five is a showstopper.

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    • I wondered that too — but he’s probably constantly having physicals for insurance purposes, so it might make sense to develop a relationship with a doctor for that reason alone.

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      • I’m glad I’m not the only one that wondered about this. Your explanation sounds reasonable. I was thinking he had to have some kind of chronic condition that required seeing “his” doctor repeatedly. So his condition might be employment. Not too bad.

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        • My mom had a specific GP that she saw for annual stuff, in a group practice. It’s not that unusual around here. I think my dad sees a woman doctor, too, although he’s treated in the same group practice and sometimes he sees a man as well. I’m guessing he’s health insured through Equity and they might have some special arrangements, too, who knows.

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    • IDK, does anyone *ever* develop a special relationship with one’s doctor? And if so, wouldn’t that be against the Hippocratic oath? (Maybe he was referring to his plastic surgeon. She’s performed miracles *muhahaha* Ok, no no, just joking.)

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      • LOL. I thought of making a plastic surgeon crack, but didn’t have the nerve. Good on ya. If he does have one, she is doing a great job. Wish I could get her number.

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  8. Something for everyone here. 😎 I really must revisit Porter some day, and I’m looking forward to seeing Eugeal’s Lego Guy.
    Thanks again for the trawl, Guylty. 🎖

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    • I took a pic of Lego Guy and Marian today. I’ll have to edit it, and then I’ll post it 😀 I also took a pic of a Playmobil knight that looks a little like Guy (and there are his guards too) 😀

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        • Thank you, I’m glad you like them. 🙂 My husband’s hobby is photography (and he’s good at it. Maybe it isn’t my place to say so because I’m the wife, but I think he’s talented.) and he’s teaching me how to use a reflex camera. He hates the minis and he always grumbled when he saw me taking their pics with the phone, but now he often gives me suggestions on how to set the camera to have a better result. And sometimes he says: “This pic is good, too bad for the subject.” XD

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          • Well, he has taught you really well. You are getting some very nice shots there with shallow depth of field and perspective that makes the minis look as if they are full size.

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