Last post of the day: RA looks grand upon a horse, doesn’t he?

Richard had some experience on horseback prior to Robin Hood. We know the role of Epiphanes in the 1999 TV movie Cleopatra required him to do some riding.

But that was seven years before he attended Hood Academy and I believe he said he had to deal with some nerves in mastering Richie, Guy’s horse.

Even so, by the time he donned Guy’s black leather RA looked pretty darned good in the saddle.  Of course, those powerful horseman’s thighs, the straight back and proud tilt to his handsome chin all played a role in how magnificent Sir Guy was astride a steed.

And as the show progressed and he spent more and more astride the horse, Richard seemed to gain greater confidence. He looked like a noble knight, even a king; if you didn’t know better,   it would have been easy to think him the hero of the piece. All that horseback riding could only serve him well in preparing for his dream role of Thorin. Judging by the trailer, the King Under the Mountain will look positively regal, a true leader among his people.

Because sometimes you just need a major helping of cute & adorable RA

OT Book corner: A favorite coming-of-age story

One of my favorite books, and one I discovered only a few years ago,  is I Capture the Castle. The author, Dodie Smith, is best known for her children’s novel, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, later made into a delightful animated feature by Disney (the live-action version? Skip it).

Set in 1930’s England, the book is narrated by 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, who is growing up with her eccentric bohemian family in a crumbling castle. Her father, once expected to be a literary luminary, has had a prolonged and severe case of writer’s block, putting the family’s finances into peril as the royalty checks become smaller and smaller.

Cassandra is a writer herself, filling notebook after notebook with her observations about life in the castle, observations that are funny, pithy and sometimes quite poignant.  Cassandra, unlike her beautiful older sister Rose, scorns romance.  Yet, she finds herself falling in love for the first time, and experiencing the euphoria and the pain that goes with it.

I Capture the Castle is charming and witty and very touching. Cassandra is a marvelous storyteller as she “captures the castle” and its occupants, and Smith crafted a classic to be enjoyed not just by young adults but adults of every age.

Ramola Garai as Cassandra Mortmain in the film version of "I Capture the Castle."

In 2003, it was made into a film starring Romala Garai as Cassandra, Bill Nighy, Rose Byrne and Henry Cavill. I also enjoyed and can recommend the film (although, as with many film adaptations of books, it makes some departures from the source material). The film is good but the book is even better.  (art courtesy of filmsourcecode and wikipedia)

Poll: Which Heyer work would you choose for RA?

If you loved Michael Bolton’s “do”– more bad album covers

Naomi Campbell demonstrating how to shave your legs while sitting on the toilet. OK . . .

Why?

Oh, Prince. Go put your clothes on! You are creeping us out.

CocoRosie look a little kookoo here.

Here are some more album covers which, like Michael “Puffy hair and gold chains” Bolton’s, are considered among some of the worst ever created.

Some of these artists were familiar to me, and some were not. But in every case, the artwork certainly caught my eye.

Words I once never thought I would say: That’s one hot hairy dwarf!

Something about his stance here and the tilt of the head reminds me of Guy. *thud* (screencaps courtesy of RANet)

That is one sexy-looking 200-plus-year-old dwarf. I am in love. And i do mean the hottie on our LEFT.

 

Sir Guy as Swashbuckler? Or Angie’s longings for a PiRAte.

Cover of Captain Blood

Jack Rackham, known as Calico Jack, a real-life pirate of the Caribbean. Image via Wikipedia

It was this sort of look in RH S3 that made me think of RA playing a swashbuckler.

I think Richard Armitage would make a swell pirate. S3 Guy may have been what entrenched the idea so firmly in my mind, although I have long been a fan of swashbucklers. There is something about adventures on the high seas, great ships with billowing sails, lots of swordplay and handsome, dashing rogues in billowy shirts and thigh high boots, wielding gleaming cutlasses as they fight over possession of chests of gold doubloons and pieces of eight . . .

A highly romantized view of piracy, I know, but what fun such movies were. The Sea Hawk, Captain Blood, The Black Swan

Richard has the athleticism, the charisma, and the masculine beauty to certainly pull off such a role. Pirates of the Caribbean helped renew interest in real-life pirates like Blackbeard and Calico Jack and I love Johnny Depp as Captain Jack.

(I do think the franchise also should have ended about three movies ago. I guess Disney wasn’t quite willing to give up that cash cow.)

At any rate, if a good screenplay, a good director and the right love interest came along for such a project, I wouldn’t mind if Richard and his long locks and eyeliner resurfaced wearing  a billowy shirt, snug-fitting breeches and thigh-high boots.

After all, a girl can dream. (RH screencap courtesy of RANet, other images courtesy of Wikipedia)

Sir Guy: A little bit rock n’ roll? Pt. 2 (with videos)

Expert use of Guyliner? Check. Heavy stubble? Check. Seductive glower? Check.

John Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Pirate and predecessor of rock gods of the future?

Boy-next-door and AI winner David Cook goes for the rocker look.

Steven Tyler. Dude DOES look like a lady.

Jared Leto. You're a very pretty boy, Jared, but this is just plain scary.

Musician Dave Navarro.

Sir Guy, you're beautiful. And your eye shadow rocks.

One of my favorite parts of Sir Guy’s look (well, there are many favorite parts) is his Guyliner. Richard has extraordinarily beautiful eyes to begin with, and the use of makeup only enhances that and gives a further smouldering edge to his already smouldering edginess as Sir Guy. Being of fair coloring to begin with, Richard, like Elvis before him, better carries off the dark hair he was given for the role of Guy by having his brows and eyelashes darkened as well. The makeup artists further intensified Guy’s look by artful use of eyeshadow.

I felt the application of Guy’s eye makeup was at its zenith with the return of Glamour Guy in S3. There are shots of him glancing down and I thought, “Damn! He’s beautiful. And his shadow looks really good!” (I confess I am a real girly-girl who loves her mascara and lippie, in spite of having done little to my face over the last few months).

Lot of actors/musicians like to rock the liner to give them that edgier look, but not all do it as well as Sir Guy, I fear.
Even with the long hair and the makeup, Guy’s ALL boy. Nothing androgynous or effeminate about him. Of course, in the case of some performers, that ambiguous look is what they are aiming for. Think David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust.
I have included a few photos for your perusal.

Guy’s look: A little bit rock n’ roll? Pt. 1

We know that the costume designer for S1 of Robin Hood  imagined Guy taking on the look of an Italian racing car driver–sleek and sexy, I am supposing and he certainly delivered.
Even though the black leather is completely anachronistic, I doubt many of us who are Guy fans would quibble over the matter ( I mean, considering camo pants, stretchy poly-knit tops, bustles, cardigans and other inappropriate items appeared–why fight it?)  

But I also think Guy's overall look has more than a touch of "rock god."Heather made that splendid Sir Guy Havoc Tour T-shirt for Richard a few years ago, which he went on to mention in an interview, as I recall. When she got to meet him at the CA premiere, I believe Heather had the opportunity to mention said T-shirt to him, eliciting a smile of delight from RA. (Oh, I would do just about anything to elicit a smile of delight from Richard Armitage).  Sir Guy as metal rock god seemed so right.

Many a fanvid, including some of my own, has been made using 80s rock and metal songs for Sir Guy, and it is like they were made to order.Guy's longish black hair, which became a mane due to some extremely well-done extensions in S3, his regular use of makeup, particularly that smudged kohl eyeliner, and all that sleek black leather combined with a sexy swagger–well, give the man a microphone, a stage, a fog machine, strobe lights and let him rip.

After all, the King of Rock n' Roll himself wore mascara and liner, black leather and he certainly had some sexy moves (described as "pornographic" by some back in the day) and it worked for him! BTW, did you know Elvis was actually a blonde? Yes, even more fair than RA's natural coloring. Hard to imagine him with blonde hair and fair lashes, isn't it? Black certainly gives a fellow an edgier, more dangerous look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guy of Gisborne. Sexy. Swaggering. God of rock n' roll?

Elvis performing during the '68 Comeback Special. Remind you of anybody?