Dan Stevens: 5 things to know about the 'Beast'

NBC NEWS
Angela Stevens
March 10, 2017

We are just days away from the highly-anticipated debut of Disney’s newest live-action film "Beauty and the Beast." Emma Watson stars as Belle while Dan Stevens takes on the role of the Beast.

Stevens recently stopped by ABC News’ “Popcorn with Peter Travers.”

Here are 5 things we learned about Stevens

1. He learned to walk and dance on stilts for his role as the Beast

“Emma is small. She’s shorter than me. She’s a petite lady. And that extra 10 inches just accentuated the height,” Stevens said. He added that the stilts required some getting used to.

“She’s a great dancer but she was terrified of me that I was going to break her toes in these contraptions that I was wearing,” said Stevens. “Fortunately we learned the dance on the ground. As I always say to my kids, if you think you can fly, always test it taking off from the ground. So we learned it on the ground and then worked our way up to these stilts,” he said. Then they found their rhythm.

“Once we got the footwork down, the dancing on the stilts was surprisingly easy. I thought it was going to be a lot more tragic than it actually was," he remarked. "But once we broke through that sort of fear barrier, it was fantastic. There’s something about the waltz that we had to learn and the way that dance is designed to make you feel, this whirling ecstasy, it’s fantastic. Even on stilts.”

2. Why the prince was turned into a beast

“He’s a rich kid, the son of a billionaire, living in his tower, treating women as objects. He’s not a very nice man really," Stevens said. "He doesn’t really understand love on a sort of elemental level. He thinks these sort of play things can come and go and it’ll be fine. He has a sense of entitlement."

3. For the first time, the Beast gets his own special song

In many of the princess movies, the princess gets her big moment to belt out a rousing number. But this time, a special song was penned by songwriter Alan Menken for the Beast. Menken is best known for his scores for previous Disney films such as "Aladdin," "The Little Mermaid" and "Pocahontas." Menken also scored the animated version of "Beauty and the Beast."

READ MORE HERE: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/dan-stevens-things-beast/story?id=45953330

Who will be the next James Bond? Latest odds on Tom Hardy, Aidan Turner and Michael Fassbender as bets roll in

THE SUN
By Hannah Shaw
7th March 2017, 10:57 am  Updated: 7th March 2017, 11:31 am

The contest to play James Bond is still anyone’s game with a number of suave men in the running.

While Aidan Turner has been the bookies favourite for quite some time, he is currently being pipped to the post by Tom Hardy and Michael Fassbender.

Sun Bets are currently taking bets on over 50 male actors to take on the role of James Bond as Daniel Craig’s replacement.

The favourite is currently split between Tom Hardy and Michael Fassbender, who both have odds of 11/4.

Trailing behind are War & Peace’s James Norton, Poldark’s Aidan Turner and Luther’s Idris Elba, but what are their chances?

Who’s in the running for the next Bond?

Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy has fuelled the rumour mill by staying quiet when questioned on the role
Age: 39

Sun Bets odds: 11/4

Where do we know him from? Actor Tom Hardy is no stranger to the big screen having appeared recently in Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant and Legend.

The British actor has recently appeared in the BBC series Taboo and has fuelled Bond rumours after refusing to comment on whether he would like to take over from Daniel Craig, for fear of jinxing his chance.

Michael Fassbender

Michael Fassbender made his Alien debut in the 2012 prequel, Prometheus
Age: 39

Sun Bets odds: 11/4

Where do we know him from? Fans may recognise Fassbender from 2012 film Prometheus, and the star has hit the big screen again with his role in Assassin’s Creed.

Sun Bets place the actor’s odds at 20/1, however in an interview with GQ Fassbender said: “As an acting role, I think Daniel has done such a cracking job in this age group.

“I think the franchise needs something new.”

James Norton

James Norton made an impression on viewers during his stint on BBCs Happy Valley
Age: 31

Sun Bets odds: 7/2

Where do we know him from? Norton has an impressive accolade of TV credits behind him.

Viewers may recognise James from BBC’s Happy Valley, where he played the role of Tommy Lee Royce.

James has also starred in Granchester, Black Mirror and War & Peace.

Aidan Turner

Aidan has become a sex symbol thanks to his topless action in Poldark
Age: 33

Sun Bets odds: 4/1

Where do we know him from? Most viewers will recognise Aidan as heartthrob Ross Poldark.

Aidan started his career on stage but soon found fame on the big screen after appearing in The Hobbit trilogy.

The 33 year old took the lead in Bond odds back in August, however refused to comment on the rumours at MCM Expo.



READ MORE HERE:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/1703522/next-james-bond-latest-odds-tom-hardy-michael-fassbender/

Beauty and the Beast's Luke Evans: 'Emma Watson has made Belle a strong, 21st century woman' "It's quite brilliant, what she's done with the role."

DIGITAL SPY
BY NAOMI GORDON
24 FEBRUARY 2017

He may play a narcissistic, testosterone-fuelled baddie in Beauty and the Beast, but in real life, Luke Evans was bowled over by Emma Watson's "brilliant" portrayal of Belle as a "strong, 21st century woman".

The actor takes on brutish love rival Gaston in Disney's live-action adaptation, and speaking to Digital Spy on the set of Noel Clarke's upcoming thriller 10 x 10, he said: "I'm very proud of her achievement in the film - not just her singing ability, but how she's portrayed Belle, and how she's brought her into a 21st century, strong woman."

The Girl on the Train star has a background in musical theatre and explained that, while singing as Gaston wasn't easy, it was a "total joy" to accomplish.

"I wouldn't say it was easy singing as Gaston, but it was very enjoyable," he continued. "I love singing, and Gaston's songs are so great, and they're huge numbers, and so funny. It was just a total joy."

Meanwhile, Luke will star opposite True Detective's Kelly Reilly in Suzi Ewing's first feature-length film 10 x 10 - written by Brotherhood's Noel Clarke

http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a820374/beauty-and-the-beast-luke-evans-emma-watson-belle-strong-21st-century-woman/

Keira Knightley leads the stars at opening of La Traviata - the world's most fashionable opera

THE TELEGRAPH
24 MAY 2016 • 4:51PM

Keira Knightley at the opening night of La Traviata - the Sofia Coppola directed Opera    

CREDIT: REX 

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West revealed themselves as surprise fans of the opera last night: “Awesome,” was Kanye’s verdict on the performance of Verdi’s La Traviata he’d just seen. “My husband always takes me to the opera - we love to go,” added Kim. They were joined in the stalls by Keira Knightley, Elizabeth Hurley, Luke Evans and Diane Von Furstenberg, all of whom had jetted to Rome to see the show alongside a host of Italian fashion and film stars including Monica Bellucci, Silvia Venturini Fendi and Frida Giannini.

Sofia Coppola

Opera is of course becoming increasingly popular, but this particularly glittering crowd was drawn by more than soprano Francesca Dotto’s top notes playing the doomed heroine, Violetta Valery. It was Valentino Garavani, founder of the Valentino fashion house, who sparked their interest when he decided to stage the opera. The beleaguered Teatro dell’Opera di Roma - suffering from a funding crisis - was happy to agree when the designer promised to supply the costumes himself, not only for the consumptive courtesan of the title but also for her friend and fellow seductress Flora.

The entire chorus was visibly thrilled to be singing in draped, pleated and expertly fitted gauze gowns designed by a top couturier rather than scruffy old hand-me-downs. Costumes for Dotto and Anna Malavasi (Flora) were made in the Valentino couture atelier under the eyes of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, the Valentino creative directors now the man himself has stood down.



Not content with creating the costumes, Mr Garavani attracted the talents of Sofia Coppola, Oscar-nominated director daughter of Francis Ford, to direct the piece (“Opera. Rome. Valentino - how could I say no?” she’s said of taking the helm at her first opera), and Nathan Crowley who designed the sets for Batman Begins and Dark Knight.


Valentino Garavani

The combination looks like a winning one. The so-called most fashionable opera ever to be staged has already taken almost £900,000 in advance ticket sales against a total cost of £1.3million, according to WWD.


READ MORE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/events/keira-knightley-leads-the-stars-at-opening-of-la-traviata---the/

Tom Hiddleston: Movie review: 'High-Rise' fascinates with destructive decadence

EXAMINER.COM
April 30, 2016
1:13 PM MST

High-rise

Rating:StarStarStarStarStar

Debuting April 28 on VOD and coming to theaters on May 13, "High-Rise" opens on imagery of a scruffy Tom Hiddleston in disheveled business attire. He is meandering through bloodied, squalid conditions of looted destruction where we find him rotisserie cooking an unusual dinner on a retrofitted spit. His third-person voiceover, backed by a classical record playing in the background, speaks of eerie satisfaction and renewed confidence amid the obviously dire conditions. A jack-hammered transition card hits declaring "three months earlier." That setup begs our minds to question what has transpired to create this reality. Consider that a perfect tease and taste of what is to come in Ben Wheatley's adaptation of J.G. Ballard's dystopian 1975 novel. In the words of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, "you ain't seen nothing yet."



At this new starting point, set in the late 1970's, the Tom Hiddleston we meet is greatly different. He is Dr. Robert Liang and he has just moved into an angular and tiered cement residence building as part of a newly-constructed complex of high-rises in a nondescript suburb of London. Liang is a chilly forensic doctor and an eager social climber seeking new anonymity, a clean slate, and an investment into something unique for a living space. He resides on the 25th floor, which counts as upper middle class within of the 40-story building.

The high-rise was designed to be self-sustaining and self-sufficient with all of the necessary amenities, from groceries to recreational facilities and security, available on the premises for its discerning homeowners. The orchestrator of this well-to-do lifestyle is Anthony Royal, dubbed "The Architect" by the social circles beneath him. Played by Oscar winner Jeremy Irons, he leads this designed and desired utopia from the top in his terraced top-floor penthouse with his trophy wife (Keeley Hawes).



Lavish parties are the seen-and-be-seen events within this closed circuit of a community. Robert attempts to mingle with the myriad of white privilege residents of the building. He catches the romantic eye of Royal’s personal aide, Charlotte Melville (Sienna Miller), a woman with a curious son (Louis Suc) lives in the next floor above him. Quickly, Robert experiences the trappings of the building's readily apparent, yet unwritten, hierarchy and befriends people of different classes. Second floor tennant Richard Wilder (Luke Evans), a TV documentarian, and his depressed pregnant wife Helen (Elisabeth Moss) reek of discontent and embody the brewing struggle of the poorer residents from the lower floors.

Little inconveniences like power outages turn into arguments and tiffs. Envy overcomes decadence. Hosts become bullies and people reveal their classist flaws. Pettiness boils over to rage. Neighborly relationships devolve into isolation. Uncivilized competition decays community harmony. Schemes turn into wars were resources like food, electricity, perks like swimming pools, and the freedom of elevators become contested to the death. Primal violence takes over on every imaginable level. By the time Portishead’s haunting cover of ABBA’s “S.O.S.” shows up, you realize how much everything has changed.



Tom Hiddleston is an ideal lead for Liang. He has the charismatic range to swing from a man built for the finer things to a sullen survivor of cold calculation and resolve. His wicked smirk and smooth line delivery cloak his character’s emotions and intentions brilliantly. Hiddleston is simply intoxicating, as he so often is in both his smaller films like “Only Loves Left Alive” and Marvel blockbusters. Luke Evans provides the strongest voice and performance outside of Hiddleston as the man targeting Royal and system and asking the loud questions no one wants to answer.

Director Ben Wheatley ("Kill List," "Sightseers") has crafted a sharp film of unraveling thrill and suspense that drips with endless style. The director made a wise choice to keep Ballard’s 1970’s setting and time period, giving “High-Rise” a throwback feel and lively tone on multiple levels. Composer Clint Mansell and cinematographer Laurie Rose tinge this film with an auditory and visual palette with period-appropriate filters of soundtrack and light. If you did not know these modern actors, you could have sworn this film was made 40 years ago. The cool exterior of swinging ambiance acts as sheep’s clothing for a savage wolf underneath. This film’s time capsule surface dissolves to keenly project its stout cautionary tale towards parallels to the modern day.

"High-Rise" is a strongly constructed blend of experimental science fiction with colossal political and social commentary. The layers of symbolism, analogy, and allegory are as tall as the building itself. There is a richly disturbing and dark fascination in observing how all of this frivolity comes crashing down in unpredictable and unlimited disaster. In this writer's opinion, inspired by a more pertinent and interesting source, this is the stylish and topical film the overrated "Snowpiercer" could only hope to become with its similarly isolated microcosm of class warfare.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.examiner.com/review/movie-review-high-rise-fascinates-with-destructive-decadence

Luke Evans Joins Sienna Miller & Tom Hiddleston For 'High-Rise' Q&A Session - Watch Now!

JUST JARED

Luke Evans looks mighty fine as he makes his way out of NBC Studios in Rockefeller Center after making an appearance on The Today Show on Wednesday (April 20) in New York City.

The 37-year-old actor promoted his latest film High-Rise alongside his co-stars Sienna Miller and Tom Hiddleston, who joined him at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival premiere later that same evening.

PHOTOS:



Visit:Just Jared | Twitter | Facebook

Henry Cavill & Luke Evans Make the BAFTAs So Much Hotter

JUST JARED
SUN, 08 FEBRUARY 2015 AT 2:31 PM


Image via Henry Cavill News/Twitter

Henry Cavill and Luke Evans suit up in their tuxedos while attending the 2015 EE British Academy Film Awards held at The Royal Opera House on Sunday (February 8) in London, England.

The guys both looked so hot as they headed inside to attend what is dubbed the “British Oscars.” Henry is set to present an award during the show.

Luke recently chatted with Moviefone to talk about possibly starring in the remake of The Crow.



READ MORE HERE: http://www.justjared.com/2015/02/08/henry-cavill-luke-evans-make-the-baftas-so-much-hotter/

Tom Hiddleston Shares First Look at 'High-Rise'

MOVIEWEB
Feb 6, 2015 by B. Alan Orange

Worried there just won't be enough Tom Hiddleston to go around on the big screen this year, as he most likely won't have much screen time in Avengers: Age of Ultron? You'll be happy to know he takes the lead in High-Rise, an adaptation of J.G. Ballard's popular novel. To help ease the pain of these Tom Hiddleston-free days, the actor himself has posted a first look image at the thriller on his Personal Twitter, introducing his character Dr Laing.

High-Rise takes place in a new residential tower built on the eve of Margaret Thatcher's rise to power, at the site of what will soon become the world's financial hub. Designed as a luxurious solution to the problems of the city, it is a world apart. Enter Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston), a young doctor seduced by the High-Rise and its creator, the visionary architect Anthony Royal (Jeremy Irons). Laing discovers a world of complex loyalties, and also strikes up a relationship with Royal's devoted aide Charlotte (Sienna Miller).

High-Rise is in development and stars Tom Hiddleston, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss, James Purefoy, Reece Shearsmith, Peter Ferdinando. The film is directed by Ben Wheatley.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.movieweb.com/high-rise-movie-photo-tom-hiddleston

The Hobbit's Luke Evans talks Bard the Bowman heroics and pointy hats

WALES ON LINE
Dec 03, 2014 13:00 By Kathryn Williams


Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

The role of Bard the Bowman was a career changing performance for Aberbargoed actor Luke Evans, who hasn’t been off our screens in months, it seems.

With film and television roles in Dracula: Untold, The Raven, Clash of the Titans, The Three Musketeers and The Great Train Robbery, Evans’ face is now instantly recognisable thanks to Peter Jackson’s latest JRR Tolkien trilogy, The Hobbit.

At the international press conference at Claridge’s, Evans – who was voted Wales’ Sexiest Man 2014 last month, revealed that it was four years since he shot the dramatic action scenes which saved his character’s hometown from dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch).

“I knew what Bard was capable of and knew what he ends up doing in the three movies, but when I started playing him he was a father of three without a wife who had a long journey ahead of him.

“It was very strange last night (at the premiere) to see the full sequence of me on the tower (trying to kill Smaug), which was one of the first things I shot.

“Peter had me up on wires for hours! That was four years ago - so I’ve waited a long time to see that!”

Asked whether he would have preferred to have the role of a Hobbit or wizard instead of a human in the movie, he replied: “I would’ve liked a pointy hat!

“I knew what role I was going for before I went in so I knew I was going to be one of the very few humans in the trilogy.

“Actually, I felt quite lucky not to have to spend hours in the make-up chair.”

In the past Evans has revealed that director Peter Jackson requested he read for the part with his Welsh accent.

“I think they realised then that it sounded good, and that it could potentially be a valid accent for Bard,” explained Evans, to fansite theonering.net back in July.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/film-news/hobbits-luke-evans-talks-bard-8218891

Luke Evans interview: 'I'm not Robert Pattinson'

THE TELEGRAPH
By Celia Walden
11:30AM BST 22 Sep 2014



In the expert tones of a master sommelier, Luke Evans is describing what fake blood tastes like. ‘Most of it is very sweet and glucosey. Earlier this year I drank one with a very strong liquorice flavour. Then last year I drank some which was a mixture of cherry juice and beetroot juice. Now I’m filming a new movie where I’m covered in blood again,’ he grins, ‘and I can’t even remember seeing that in the script.’

In the past five years the 35-year-old Welshman has starred in such gore-fests as Clash of the Titans, Robin Hood and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – and in doing so has become, in the words of one US casting director, ‘the go-to period-action guy’ – a niche that will be further confirmed when his new film, Dracula Untold, in which Evans plays Vlad the Impaler, is released next month.

Set within a historical rather than a fantastical context, Dracula Untold strives to explain Vlad III’s beginnings in the early 1400s, before going on to chart his bloodthirsty rule in the old Romanian state of Walachia. ‘The film is about the transition Vlad made on a human level, after being taken captive by the Ottoman court and reared as a child by his father’s enemy, the first sultan,’ Evans says. ‘There he trained as a Turkish warrior, and learnt the gruesome torture techniques he went on to use against them as an adult.’

The nickname ‘Tepes’, or ‘Impaler’ – coined after Vlad’s favourite method of execution – was only attached posthumously, he explains. ‘And actually I don’t think he was born evil. So the idea is to make him if not likeable then at least understandable.’

READ MORE HERE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/11109078/Luke-Evans-interview-Im-not-Robert-Pattinson.html

Tom Hiddleston is more than just Loki in Marvel movies

FANSHARE
MOVIES NEWS / MERLINE ERDA



There are a lot of hugely talented British actors in Hollywood these days and many of them have become much sought after stars. One of the biggest and best British actors in Hollywood at the moment would have to be the talented and handsome Tom Hiddleston, who has given us some fantastic performances in recent years, in some brilliant movies.

Most of you will know Tom Hiddleston mainly for playing the role of Loki in the hit Marvel movies but there is so much more to than actor that just playing this Marvel villain. Tom has played so many more impressive characters over the years and also has plenty more projects lined up for the coming years.

Next up for Tom Hiddleston is a role in the movie High-Rise, which co-stars Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss, and James Purefoy, with a release date expected sometime in 2015. Following that, Tom will then be seen starring alongside the likes of Charlie Hunnam, Jessica Chastain, and Mia Wasikowska in the movie Crimson Peak, which opens on October 16, 2015 in both the US and the UK.


READ MORE HERE:http://www.fansshare.com/news/tom-hiddleston-is-more-than-just-loki-in-marvel-movies/ 

Tom Hiddleston tweets group picture from the set of High-Rise

RADIO TIMES
Emma Daly
11:49 AM, 07 August 2014



The film, adapted from J. G. Ballard’s dystopian novel, sees a group of residents in a futuristic apartment block turn on each other after they’re self-contained amenities cut them off from society.

Hiddleston plays the part of Dr. Robert Laing, an instructor at a local medical school, who becomes embroiled in the suddenly tribal environment of the block.

By the looks of things, Hiddleston (Thor, Only Lovers Left Alive) will be donning sharp-looking suits for the part, complete with neatly styled hair.

Luke Evans (The Hobbit, Dracula Untold), seen sporting a rather dashing moustache, takes on the role of television documentary producer Richard Wilder. While Laing lives up on the twenty fifth floor, Wilder lives on the second. As more groups and gangs develop, where you live in the block becomes of vital importance.

Put it this way, they probably won’t be huddling up close for selfies.


READ MORE HERE: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-08-07/tom-hiddleston-tweets-group-picture-from-the-set-of-high-rise

Luke Evans and Elisabeth Moss join Tom Hiddleston in High-Rise

RADIO TIMES
Emma Daly
11:06 AM, 28 June 2014



Tom Hiddleston is in good company in Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s thriller High-Rise as Luke Evans and Elisabeth Moss join the ranks, Variety reports.

The story charts the lives of affluent residents of a futuristic apartment block, in which all modern amenities are contained, leaving them cut off from the rest of society. It’s an unnerving tale of life running out of control, as residents become driven by their primal urges.

Hiddleston plays the role of doctor Robert Laing, who is fascinated by the building, forming a relationship with the architect’s aide Charlotte, played by Sienna Miller.

Evans was most recently seen on the big screen in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. He’s a busy man too, taking on the title role in Dracula Untold, which is due for release on 3 October.

Moss is perhaps best-known for her role as Peggy Olson in TV hit Mad Men and for her Golden Globe-winning turn in Top of the Lake.

Big-name stars Jeremy Irons, James Purefoy and Reece Shearsmith will also star.


READ MORE HERE: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-06-28/luke-evans-and-elisabeth-moss-join-tom-hiddleston-in-high-rise

Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans: Bard the Bowman joins Loki in Ben Wheatley's High Rise - Luke Evans and Tom Hiddleston will be in the same film

HOBBIT FORMING
By Daniel Wood | Yahoo Contributor Network – 4 hours ago

Luke Evans' portrayal of Bard the Bowman in the 'Hobbit' films has been one of the stand-out performances, which shouldn't be surprising at all given that this is an actor quickly on the rise. But now he's about to join forces with an absolute super star.

I'm of course talking about Tom Hiddleston's whose recurring role as Loki in the Marvel super hero films has catapulted him right to the top of the fame ladder and propelled him to be more than just a super star, he's universally loved the world-over because he's the cheeky yet menacing Asgardian trickster.

That's because Evans is set to join Hiddleston in up-and-coming British director Ben Wheatley's next film 'High Rise' which he is to begin working on fresh after completing work on directing the first two episodes of 'Doctor Who'. Honestly there are so many fandoms colliding here that I'm getting a bit dizzy.

Indiewire reports "The film's set in a dystopian society, in a huge tower block, into which Hiddleston's doctor Robert Laing moves, and which soon finds itself bitterly divided along class lines, as all morality and society collapses into squalor and violence. There's no word as to who Evans will be playing"


READ MORE HERE: https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/bard-bowman-joins-loki-ben-wheatleys-high-rise-102800335.html

Richard Armitage on "kung fu ninja" Martin Freeman and "extraordinary" Benedict Cumberbatch

RADIO TIMES
Susanna Lazarus
11:00 AM, 03 April 2014



You're a tall man but you play a dwarf - is it strange seeing yourself looking so short on-screen?

We were actually bigger versions of ourselves than when we were actually shooting it so I never felt small but when you watch it back and you see the reduction in size, you think, "surely I’m not that small?" It does slightly kick you in the guts a little bit because I see the character as having high status. He thinks a lot of himself and dwarves have big egos so when you see yourself a little bit diminished around other characters... He’s got a bit of a chip on his shoulder.

Does the hair help you summon up Thorin's kingly presence?

The hair helps, yes. It was interesting because when we were putting him together and giving him a look, there was a temptation to over-decorate him with jewellery and finery to give him that kingly quality but actually by taking it away and making him look like a warrior, it seemed to give him more status which makes him interesting.

Would you make a good warrior?

I‘d probably need feeding a bit better than I am now but yes, maybe. I think my fighting skills have certainly been improved by working with Peter Jackson. I started out with a really great stunt double but by the end of the third film Peter was not really putting [him] in – he was letting me do all the fight sequences and I took it as a compliment but there’s a part of me that hopes it’s good enough. It certainly pushed me - I cried and I bled and I sweated so hopefully it’ll all be there in the third film.

How do you rate Martin Freeman as a leading man?

He’s just brilliant. He’s so inventive and he keeps the atmosphere on set really buoyant because he’s got a natural sense of comedy, as Martin but also as Bilbo Baggins. He really experiments with the role and he makes me work in a different way. He’s always having a bit of a laugh but when it comes to doing the serious stuff he can always pull it out the bag. He’s incredibly moving in the third film and that’s always surprising because you think you know Martin to be a great comedian but he’s also a great dramatic actor as well. I really enjoyed working with him and I think a lot of the evolution of Thorin is down to the way that he portrayed Bilbo. There wouldn’t be a Thorin without a Bilbo.

Any stand out moments of hilarity...?

He was just very good at being a little ninja Bilbo. Behind the scenes he’d have a little crack at everybody who was a bit bigger than him but he’d try his kung fu ninja moves on everybody which always made me laugh.

His Sherlock co-star Benedict Cumberbatch is also in the film...

I actually got to work with him face-to-face which I didn’t think I would because he was doing a voice in a room and he said it himself that he was a little bit disconnected from the shoot. But I went in one day to do some of the dialogue Thorin has with Smaug at the end so I saw him working and we delivered lines to each other which was a real treat. He’s an extraordinary actor and has a great following and thank goodness because it all adds to the popularity of the film.


READ MORE HERE: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-04-03/richard-armitage-on-kung-fu-ninja-martin-freeman-and-extraordinary-benedict-cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, and the stars of "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" do a dramatic reading of the song Spock made a hit in the swingin' '60s.

CNET
Bonnie Burton by Bonnie Burton  December 14, 2013 7:00 AM PST

In this IGN video, the stars of "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" perform a dramatic reading of Nimoy's famous song. The video proves once again that actor Benedict Cumberbatch can make even a campy song sound like a Shakespearean sonnet.

READ MORE HERE: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57615606-1/the-hobbit-stars-read-the-ballad-of-bilbo-baggins/

'The Hobbit' Star Richard Armitage Claims He Lacks Martin Freeman's Good Humour: 'I Take Myself Too Seriously'

HUFF POST ENTERTAINMENT

Caroline.Frost@huffingtonpost.com

Posted: 09/12/2013 16:32 GMT  |  Updated: 10/12/2013 11:21 GMT

'The Hobbit' star Richard Armitage has revealed that he lacks his co-star Martin Freeman's optimistic view of the world, and probably takes himself too seriously.

The heartthrob actor plays the troubled Dwarf Prince Thorin in the second part of 'The Hobbit' out this week, on an epic mission lightened only by Freeman's Hobbit-y happenings...

"Martin Freeman brings so much of his own personality to bear," Armitage acknowledges. "He doesn't impose humour on it, but he sees the world as quite a funny place, whereas I see the world as a serious place, and I take myself too seriously."

There's a glint in Richard Armitage's eye as he explains all this, which leaves me wondering if he and Freeman are as different off-screen as their characters are on it. It's true Armitage is invariably cast as the glowering, enigmatic hero - think Lucas North in 'Spooks', and before that troubled mill-owner Mr Thornton in period hit 'North and South' - why always so humourless?

"Once you don't smile on film, they say 'let's have that bloke who doesn't smile,'" muses Armitage - unsmilingly. "I'm probably not very good at rom-com, being funny on demand, I'll leave that to the comedians."

Armitage's permanently furrowed brow gets another outing in Peter Jackson's epic second part of the saga, when his character Prince Thorin continues his mission to reclaim his lost kingdom of Eribor. Does Armitage wish he could lighten up a little?

"I'm sure, in another life, he's a great laugh," he says of Thorin. "He's a prince waiting to be a king, do they get to have a laugh? And he's on a mission."

In between the breathtaking physical adventures Jackson has once again brought to life on the big screen - there's one scene involving beer barrels in the river which is spectacular - Armitage savours his character's return to the mountain of his clan, and the quiet scene where Thorin finally enters through the doors to his lost kingdom.

"In between the melee and the chaos, it's a quiet scene, when his dream comes true, one that he'd abandoned all hope for. It was very satisfying to do."

Armitage lived in New Zealand throughout the 18 months of filming all three films back to back, and admits it was strange coming back to normality, after flirting with the idea of making the Antipodes his permanent home.


READ MORE HERE: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/12/09/richard-armitage-interview-the-hobbit-martin-freeman_n_4413016.html

Benedict Cumberbatch Eyed To Replace Tom Hardy In 'Everest,' James McAvoy, Tom Hiddleston & More In Mix To Co-Star

INDIEWIRE
BY KEVIN JAGERNAUTH
OCTOBER 21, 2013 9:20 PM

Two filmmakers are currently trying to get to the top of an "Everest" film first: Doug Liman and Baltasar Kormakur. But the question is which one will get there first as one has lost a lead, and the other some financing. So let's start the Liman flick, which had been slated to star Tom Hardy.

Well, according to Deadline, with a March 2014 start date eyed, scheduling didn't work out and now the hunt for a new leading man is on. Benedict Cumberbatch is apparently in the mix to take over Hardy's role as George Mallory, with Joel Kinnaman, James McAvoy, Tom Hiddleston, Henry Cavill, Luke Evans, Dan Stevens, Matthew Goode and Jim Sturgess being tossed around to play George Finch, in the adaptation of Jeffrey Archer's "Paths Of Glory" that will tell the true tale of the first man to climb Mount Everest.



But it seems like a wishlist right now, rather than anything concrete. Why? For the simple reason that (as our readers pointed out) projects like "Batman Vs. Superman," "Crimson Peak" and "Frankenstein" are keeping a few of the names off of that list already. But it seems we might find out soon with Sony gunning to beat Universal and Working Title with their movie.

READ MORE HERE: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/benedict-cumberbatch-eyed-to-replace-tom-hardy-in-everest-james-mcavoy-tom-hiddleston-more-in-mix-to-co-star-20131021

Luke Evans on facing down dragons and dwarves in 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'

HIT FIX
By Chris Eggertsen   Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 1:00 PM

It's clear Luke Evans still can't quite believe he's here.

"The first scene [I] did, I did with Ian [McKellen]," says the actor during an interview on the New Zealand set of Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit." "It's just a weird thing, isn't it, when you've seen it [the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy] for ten years and all of a sudden you're actually on set and he's looking at you with the white eyes...It's brilliant. It's brilliant."

Evans, who plays Bard the Bowman in the fantasy trilogy, sits in the center of a group of reporters who have traveled to Wellington for a sneak peek at "The Desolation of Smaug," the second film in the series. Far from being handed the part, the actor tells us he was forced to wait a year-and-a-half after his first audition before he was finally offered the role ("He's not in it for the majority of the first film, so...there was no room in their heads to be thinking about Bard," he says), which came just as he was about to begin shooting the horror film "No One Lives" in Louisiana.

"Three days before I left, before I got on the plane, I had a phone call saying that Peter wanted to meet me and test me for the role of Bard," he says. "And I was like, 'What?'"

For those unfamiliar with the novel, the Bard - a descendant of Lord Girion of Dale - leads the defense of the settlement of Lake-town against the fearsome dragon Smaug, who attacks the community after becoming enraged at the intrusion of Bilbo and the dwarves (led by Thorin Oakenshield) into the Lonely Mountain. Following the dragon's attack, during which Lake-town is completely destroyed, the Bard travels to the Lonely Mountain to request reparations from Thorin for the devastation that has occurred - only to meet with resistance.

Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/news/luke-evans-on-facing-down-dragons-and-dwarves-in-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug#sxKKWET1MlrxiUd1.99

Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/news/luke-evans-on-facing-down-dragons-and-dwarves-in-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug#sxKKWET1MlrxiUd1.99

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG - new trailer