Dammit. Now I want to start screen capping @RCArmitage’s follows.
What we know so far:
First – no official announcement was ever made that Richard Armitage or anyone else was appearing in Mid Life Crisis – but all the signs were there, including a tweet from the director that “the cat was out of the bag.”
Earlier today fans learned that @RichardArmitage deleted his rock star guitar selfies.
Then it was discovered that he “unfollowed” the director, Mark Murphy and one of the producers of (don’t know which producer. Harvey Weinstein is still on the follow list. Maybe someone can fill in)
Fans believe that there is a delay in shooting, since that was the reason given by Toby Stephens for why he was withdrawing from the film. (Aside – I thought the response was a little snarky.)
And, fans have every reason to believe that Richard Armitage will be co-starring in Love, Love, Love in NYC, with rehearsals probably set to begin in late August or early September.
All of which makes one think that maybe he had to, or chose to, pull out of Mid Life Crisis.
On the other side of the coin, fan, Chrissyinwm reported that @RCArmitage liked a joke tweet about Cold Feet, which featured Johnny Thomson, also rumored to be in MLC with Richard Armitage. (via @ RCArmitage twitter follows and MLC Twitter follows.) But it’s possible that they’ve been hanging together or rehearsing together for MLC in the interim while waiting for whatever has caused the delay,, and that’s the reason for the like.
I don’t know why Armitage decided to erase most evidence of MLC ( not all – Mike Kennedy is still a follow, and a few other cast, plus Harvey Weinstein = Richard Armitage – DO Not Unfollow Harvey Weinstein!)
What’s next to look for? Either some tweet from @RCArmitage debunking all this, or, some evidence that he’s no longer in London.
If he’s out of MLC, I’m very disappointed. I thought it would be a lark and a hit – and would also make up for the fact, just a little, that so many fans will be unable to see him in Love, Love, Love.
Armitage Agonistes 
It would for sure be a shame if he is not in Mid Life Crisis – but at the moment it appears his is. Also, he seems like such a goal oriented guy he must be very disappointed to put in the prep work so far with nothing to come of it.
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and to actually unfollow the director….that (to me) makes it appear to be something even more serious than a scheduling conflict. To me, an unfollow denotes anger, or something.
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I had the same feeling from Toby Stephens’ tweet. If RA did unfollow because of anger or some personal conflict, that’s sort of a new public behavior for him, I think.
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He’s definitely keeping it interesting these past few months.
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I still want to think positive but … timing, funding, politics … who knows. I wonder if the film was just TOO small for him. Or if the script was just too terrible. The director’s last film was SO unfunny. And it was about a comedian! https://vimeo.com/170509774
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I didn’t know that. I’ll check it out. I get the feeling there are hard feelings. It sounded so good – I thought of from the beginning as something like The Real Monty. It may be nothing more than the delays due to funding or some quirk of the director. He can hardly say anything, since nothing was ever officially announced.
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Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee – it’s not.
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Some interesting reporting here, Perry. Thanks! And RA’s unfollows to me connote, perhaps, a “decoupling” of affiliation. The benign and unemotional nature of it seems in stark contrast to what you termed Toby Stephens “snarky” MLC exit comment–though similar in spirit, “petulant” is what I might label it. Ha!. So by extension, I don’t view RA’s unfollows as having an element of anger about MLC.
Besides, the acting biz is such an ephemeral thing–that until the movie is in the can, and maybe not even then–actors can’t be sure what will happen with their performances. Will their movie play in the cinema? Or will it go straight to dvd? I hope in RA’s case, that if not the former, then the latter would at least allow us a shot at seeing him in one of his finished films–such as UATSC or pilgrimage. Fingers crossed.
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Ah Grati – you always see the best in everybody. Ha! Pilgrimage is the one I’m really anxious to see. And I think we have the best chance. Well BOF also, but I’m lukewarm about it.
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TIFF press conference is coming up at the end of the month. Someone was speculating about Pilgrimage appearing there a while back. I agree about BOF — I don’t think the story is compelling, and Richard as a 20-something’s dad isn’t right either.
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Yup. Agree. TIFF has been on the radar for a while – maybe for BOF and Pilgrimage.
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Thanks, Perry! I try! And “Pilgrimage” is also one of RA’s films that I really want to see–as well as “Brain on Fire”. It took me a moment to decrypt that acronym. Ha! And though I commiserate with “misdiagnoses” stories, let’s hope it is only 90 minutes long. *wink*
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Very interesting! An unfollow is either a cautious step back to avoid heightening expectations, or a sign of something going wrong. I tend to think the latter. But I hope he’s still in the movie.
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I agree with the first scenario you suggest as a strong possibility. Here is what I just shared on FB in RAFN about my thoughts:
“But I wonder if there is another explanation for Richard unfollowing the MLC director Mrk Murphy, et al? Might RIchard be merely stepping back from the MLC film until they can reconfigure the 4 blokes? What with Toby Stephens leaving the film–he and Richard would have been two solid anchors–and with names that might have brought significant audience shares. But with Toby gone, Richard might have been the only “name” in the bunch. And Richard seems to prefer ensemble works where there are others to help shoulder the load. Richard has yet to bear a whole film upon his shoulders.”
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Very interesting! I think it’s about time he played the lead and carried the film, don’t you? He’s certainly ready, as his performance in “The Crucible” demonstrated.
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I do, linnetmoss. But he has to choose wisely as to which film is built around him and his character. Even “The Crucible” had such a strong ensemble cast–with many stand out “leading” roles in the characters of Gov. Danforth (Jack Ellis), Rev. Hale (Adrian Schiller), Elizabeth (Anna Madeley), Abigail (Samantha Colley), etc.–that Richard had able help carrying that play.
Though, Richard portraying John Proctor in The Crucible at the Old Vic Theatre in 2014 was far and away the most spectacular that I have ever seen him, in a dramatic actor sense, without prosthetics and cgi. *wink* He needs to find a “film” of that caliber–and with a high caliber director, etc–whether it is a small film, or a blockbuster.
I sense that the Charlize Theron produced “Brain on Fire”, where Richard costars with Carrie-Anne Moss, might have been that initial foray for him. Though Richard is by no means the star of that film, with him being professionally associated with Oscar Winner Charlize Theron due to it, that has to be a good thing.
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You’re right, *Crucible* IS very much an ensemble piece, but Proctor is its center. I agree that he would be wise to choose carefully. He has to balance quality and exposure (heh, heh). Hopefully he can get both in the same project. Still I know that actors have bills to pay. I don’t hold it against anyone if he or she does a project “for the shekels.”
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Sigh so sad he’s had to pull out. Here’s hoping for varied and maybe some light hearted stuff in the future but that’s more to cheer myself up than general confidence… sigh.
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Yes, sigh. I am facing a drought period myself because the NYC Crucible is wrapping up.
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Your guy seems to get continuous work. I’m sure they’ll be something on the horizon soon. On the other hand, you have such a large archive to keep you going.
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True, the archive is my salvation during the drought periods. And making screen caps, which lets you see so much more of the performance.
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Yup. We don’t have that much at this point, and some of what we do have isn;t that good.
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This is the first actor I’ve ever “followed” (MY mid-life crisis, I guess!). I find it both excruciating and gratifying. The time it takes to get things under way, rolling, then released. Never knew.
Thought that this was a done deal, as director had tweeted about first day of rehearsals early in June.
Anyway, hope there is good news soon. I am a patient person. Usually…
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Welcome. Patience is necessary when following this actor. I think it was a done deal, until it wasn’t. Somethings or thing held things up. Whose fault, why? We may never know.
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I have to admit that I haven’t been avidly following RA as much as I as used to, mainly due to HUGE changes in my life over the last few months. I do dip in to the various websites now & then but have become very confused by what’s going on with RA’s work. It hasn’t helped that RA keeps posting & deleting tweets plus all the rumours around his projects! I haven’t seen him in anything since the last Hobbit film as Hannibal wasn’t my cup of tea. With all the stuff he’s finished I just want to see him in something, please! (Just venting my frustration – I’ll get off my soap box now!)
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Soapbox or not it’s nice to hear from you again. I thin this coming year, there will be a few films that will be released. What’s going on is that he was to be in the film MidLifeCrisis about a grou of 40 somethings that ut their old band together, and then make it big on one of those British Got Talent shows. And he is set to appear on off-Broadway in Love,Love,Love. Neither was announced, but it is a sure thing about the play – we all think. The delay in filming MLC caused him to back out in favor of the play, which opens in previews on September 22 in NY.
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Thanks Perry & for clarifying recent events in the RA world. I was under the impression he was already filming MLC in London, maybe that’s why I didn’t bump in to him last week when I was in London!
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From what we read, they, or some of the cast were “rehearsing, not filming. I thought that was rehearsal for the musical numbers. But who knows? Only that they had not begun shooting.
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