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dwarves, elves, f*** magazine, interview, kili, lee pace, legolas, news, orlando bloom, richard armitage, scans, screencaps, tauriel, thorin, thranduil
F*** magazine (which stands for Film, Fame, Fact, so get your mind out of the gutter) has a set of complimentary interviews with Richard Armitage and Lee Pace wherein they reveal the complexities of, and challenges facing their respective characters. As a dwarf fan, getting to read the perspective of “the other side” was very interesting, and Lee Pace makes some persuasive arguments for Thranduil’s inaction at Erebor.
*Warning: There be spoilers*
(Richard Armitage interview via richardarmitagenet.com, Lee Pace interview via liyung0248.tumblr.com)
close up
There is an additional interview where Armitage and Pace discuss Thorin and Thranduil’s conflict, while Orlando Bloom talks about returning to the role of Legolas, and how he perceives Tauriel.
Very cool interviews! But it does make the wait until December 13 seem even longer…
Reblogged this on Love, Sex & Other Dirty Words and commented:
Lots of spoilers but there’s some awesome eye-candy! And I always want candy!
Reblogged this on the armitage effect and commented:
There be spoilers here, my friends, but there’s a good read and some wonderful visuals . . .
Thanks so much for posting DJ. I can’t wait to see DoS :)
Thanks for posting!
Love Tauriel already!!
Thanks!
Excellent, thanks for posting. I’m excited to see Thorin’s fight against being drawn into a selfish path. And “badass” Thranduil (blech) and his concept of the Fisher King from Arthurian legend. Much potential for conflicts either way. ;)
You don’t like the idea of super warrior Thranduil?
I like the idea that he’s so connected and in unity with his lands that he’s affected by the corruption that has infested his realm. That’s very appropriate for a wood elf, at least in my understanding. Also when Pace says, elves are “not like people, they’re more like tigers and blizzards and old trees”.
But I don’t see him as badass super-warrior, no. If he’s so different from all other Middle-Earth races, being a 3,000-year-old immortal elf lord understanding life differently, he certainly has refined fighting skills, but maybe would be interested as well in totally different things than hindering Thorin from reclaiming his kingdom. Like trying to understand the nature of a raindrop or such. ;)
The reasons for why he might become corrupted were evading me. I thought Thranduil and Legolas were not quite woodelves, but something a little more grand, and maybe less corruptible?
Tolkien’s initial introduction of book Thranduil makes him seem more petty than he turns out to be in the end. He desired the dwarves’ riches rather than just wanting to keep them from making trouble. The movie makes Thorin (desire to reestablish homeland is top priority, while greed for treasure is downplayed) and Thranduil (wants to keep his people safe, while holding dwarves in hopes of getting treasure for himself is downplayed) both appear less selfish.
But the feeling of elvish detachment from mortal affairs, and contempt for anything that would threaten their lives, makes sense as Pace explains it.
This is great! Thanks for sharing the scans of the article!
Many thanks for sharing! This is excellent stuff! I’m not sure why Richard thinks the psychological struggle Thorin faces make him not-a-hero. He’s the nearest Tolkien gives us in this story to a proper tragic hero in the Greek sense or in the sagas sense. He’s not perfect (Who is? And who defines or even wants perfection?), but he gets his people back their kingdom and defends it at enormous cost. I always sympathised with him in the book (it’s not – as some idiots on IMDb go on about – that people only care about him because he’s so handsome in the films!) because I grew up on Greek myths, Icelandic sagas and Highland music. I ‘get’ his ethos completely.
Now reading the latest book by Nancy Marie Brown: SONGS OF THE VIKINGS and she discusses Tolkien in depth ( who translated old Icelandic stories).
Her previous book was on the first female Viking: Gudrid to land in North America.
Great writer and historian!
Oh my days! I just found this now..I love these movies and I adore all Tolkien works. I love that Lee Pace is a nature lover. He portrays Thranduil so so well and is absolutely stunning looking. A beautiful man. Same goes for Thorin, Richard Armitage. They have to both be my two favorite characters in the films as well as Gandalf of course. I know the staunch Lord of the Rings fans seem to dislike the Hobbit films but I think they are every bit as good. Jackson is a genius.