Kudos for him for doing the right thing by his fans.
Unfortunately due to delays I had to pull out of my current project. There simply weren't enough days left before my next obligation.
— Richard Armitage (@RCArmitage) July 9, 2016
@RCArmitage of which there will be a casting announcement soon.
— Richard Armitage (@RCArmitage) July 9, 2016
Armitage Agonistes 
A shame about the lost opportunity, but at least there’s a new project to look forward to.
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It is a shame. It sounded like film that would be so much fun to film and entirely different from everything else he’s done. It was a fan’s dream – playing a sort of rock star in a comedy. But, I think his contract for the play took precedence, and it meets more of the criteria of the kind of works we think he wants to do. The new project is no doubt, Love,Love,Love at NYC Roundabout – in a really good play – and also a very different role for him. Should you decide to make the trip for one of your side dishes – I hope this time you will have a snack of one of our NY “Slices” I’ve been talking about. Then we can compare the real thing to the realer thing.
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Haha, deal! If I make it to NYC during that time period I will try both your preferred *dishes* 🙂
I didn’t realize the play was the new project he had in mind in the tweet. Makes sense.
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It opens September 22 for previews – so we figure he needs about a month to rehearse.
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By “real” I meant the pizza you described. By “realer” I meant the pizza I described. SHould you find yourself on the Upper West Side again, as you were last time, I’ve got just the two places for you. 15 minutes, 1 slice, in a dive – but heaven.
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OMG, you’re killing me. It’s lunch time and I’m supposed to be losing 5 lbs… I guess I’ll go eat my celery now : (
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[ETA to add missing words] Ah well. Onward and upward, as they say, to his next project. And who knows. Maybe the MLC delays will continue, such that both Toby Stephens and Richard Armitage can both be in it. We live to dream. *wink* Ha!
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I was looking at the timeline after Toby Stephen’s departure and thought, “Cutting it close, Rich.” I figure the rehearsals will begin around Aug 22nd or so, 3-4 weeks being standard for your average non-musical play prior to previews. Then, actors typically like to have a few weeks prior to rehearsals dedicated to study the text, work accent/physical prep, and research as needed. They’re often asked to come into rehearsals off-book (lines memorized, if imperfectly).
There was never an industry column press release (that I saw, anyway) to say that filming had begun, so it seemed like MLC has been in “rehearsals” (film rehearsals being far more casual than theater) for forever. Even if the shoot was only scheduled for 4-6 weeks, getting done by the second week of August was a long-shot.
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There was some word in a tweet that they were rehearsing for MLC – but I assumed ( incorrectly, I guess) that what they were rehearsing the musical numbers. And, he is doing his research for the play, because he tweeted something about a non-fiction book – The Jilted Generation, which motivated the playwright. So, in your experience, will he have been paid for the time he had to spend on the film even though he had to back out?
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It is possible that the rehearsals were for the music. Film rehearsals are usually scheduled for specialized aspects of the project, like additional music/dance. Otherwise, film rehearsals (when they call them) are for actors and director/writer/producer to come together, read scenes, and discuss characters, choices, etc. The rest happens on set. It can be very informal.
A standard Equity/SAG-AFTRA contract has a rate of pay included for any rehearsals required of actors prior to filming – usually by the week. So yeah, as long as he was on the clock under his contract, he likely got paid for any rehearsals he attended.
Most contracts also include the dates the actor is available, the points by which he would be able to leave the production without penalty (due to delays or other problems with the production), and outlining any flexibility in scheduling. So they probably knew they were likely to lose him if the shoot were delayed too long.
Since it sounds like LLL is already on his mind, freeing up the space to focus on it can only help his preparation, imo. I’d love to be a fly on the wall for his prep and the whole team’s rehearsal process. But then, I’m always fascinated by how the sausage gets made.
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Okay – no sausage jokes on my end. These contract issues were some of the things I’ve been thinking about since the two projects were – er – not announced. I assume there are clauses in the contracts to take into account other commitments, and I also assume that at some point ( though I don’t know the timing) he and his reps had to make a decision Re: which would take priority and do the contracts provide for a certain amount of or commitment t o promotion ( for films).
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Yes, to all of the above. The contracts are incredibly detailed. So much of it is about ongoing negotiations and balancing obligations. My little experience with film has told me that nothing is set in stone – even if something has a green light. Its a miracle anything gets off the ground.
But my experience with theater announcements is that getting casting finalized is hard, especially with actors who are also working a lot in film and tv. So often actors are “Up for the production. . . as long as that tv pilot doesn’t come through” or “If that indie film gets pushed back. . . again”. Since theater pays less than even a lot of indie films, some casting isn’t finalized until the last minute sometimes.
So the ink could have dried on his LLL contract months ago, but unless the rest of the cast is firmly in place, they won’t announce.
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That was my thought. I think hey haven’t nailed down the female lead yet.
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P.S. Thanks for the heads up that Outlander was available early. I was able to watch the first 6 episodes on Friday, and then something happened and they were not available any more until after the show aired. What did you think of the finale ( off topic). I liked it a lot, but didn’t care for the actress cast as Brianna.
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I thought the OL finale was a really well-done culmination of the season. A proper mix of the historical issues, character resolutions, and Jamie/Claire bonding. I agree about Brianna. I didn’t find her character firmly fixed yet. Hopefully, she’ll settle into the world a little better if she’s used more in seasons 3 & 4. I WAS happy that Claire got some doubt for her story, though!
So far Outlander and RA are the two fandoms I’ve re-entered the most in the past few months (after almost 12 years of avoiding fandoms entirely), so whenever there’s some little flare-up in the RA fandom, I just laugh and think, “This is nothing compared to the OL nonsense!”
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