The Squeee

How would you react if you suddenly got a phone call from Peter Jackson's people, asking you to come out to New Zealand for a potential job offer? I was flown all the way to the other side of the world in order to play the part of Balin in The Hobbit . Despite the fact that they've already finished filming, aside from a few pick-up shots. And, crucially, despite me being a woman without acting experience . I was sitting in a theatre, or I suppose it was a studio set really, where Peter Jackson was going through things, and then he said "this is what I want you to do, Traxy". If I wanted the job, of course. He assured me accepting the job could lead to great things. I could become a kids editor!! My response to this was "kids? Meh", but if it was kids TV, why not?

Peter Jackson and pals in New Zealand post production diaries from The Hobbit every now and again. The seventh one in the series has just been released. Was happily surprised to realise Billy Connolly has been cast as Dain, and the surprise cameraman in the end is pretty cool. :D There's no interview of Richard Armitage, and we only see him briefly, but oh, those moments are worth their weight in gold. Feast your eyes on this:

Spotted this on a few blogs at the end of last week and said "I'll have to watch that when I get home!" and ... still haven't, as I've been either knackered or away or both. (Thank you so much for the reminder, Tara!) Maybe if I post it here, I'll remember to watch it and not just browse through it quickly and wish I could see it with the sound on? :) (Also, I have told myself I'm going to post about Richard Armitage every Wednesday, and I haven't written anything for today. So this is me writing about him today! :D I might just update this post when I've seen the clip and can comment on it properly.)

There is a lot about having to look slim for the camera and all that, but actually, my preferred man is one that has a bit of meat on him. Not too skinny, not too muscly, not too morbidly obese, but you know, a happy medium. Richard Armitage isn't too muscly, for instance. However, with there being a lot of skinny blokes out there, I feel we should also recognise that there are a number of heavier blokes out there who also deserve some appreciation for their looks (they're already getting kudos for their talents), but a lot of the time might get over-looked because of their size. So here are a few that have it goin' on, and who definitely aren't stick insects! :) In no particular order, aside from alphabetical:

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." - Thorin Oakenshield What an exciting start to a Friday morning! Reading all these lovely blog posts between trying to make a website layout. I think it's safe to say we're all tingly with excitement over the news that Richard Armitage has been cast in Peter Jackson's forthcoming adaptation of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit . This I greet with a slightly overawed: Aaaaawesomes ! I wonder where it's going to be filmed, though. Or have they sorted out the problems with the New Zealand acting union finally? Even Sam Neill got involved with that a while back and thought they should pipe down and settle it over a cuppa tea. Which I noted with considerable glee, not previously really caring about The Hobbit film because, well, who cares? I'll see the film, absolutely, but I'm not actually a fan of the Ring trilogy. I am, however, a big fan of Sam Neill. An

Enigma (1983) Sam is: Dimitri Vasilikov Sam in a fur hat. Enigma was a coding system used by the military, and people want to get their hands on it. It's about spying and cold war and Martin Sheen is in it. It's a good old movie. Event Horizon (1997) Sam is: Dr. William Weir Infinite space... infinite terror. Sci-fi horror. Ship vanishes - ship returns - people sent to investigate, finds ship evil. Ship makes it's creator (Sam) goes insane, as his mind is corrupted by ship. Well-made, quite gory, and indeed scary. W00t!