We'll Always Have Madrid

Lovely Twitter peep Karina Oure met Richard Armitage on Wednesday during the premiere in Madrid for "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug."

Congratulations, sweetheart.  You did good.

Without further ado, here is her story (unedited from Facebook). With pictures, of course.

 

Richard Armitage
From Karina's Twitter: "Paying attention. To me. Still cannot believe it."

Karina's Twitter: Yes, he is signing
my photos of him here.
I still start shaking looking at this

He turns...

 Right. So as some of you may know I have been impatiently waiting news of a European premiere or event, determined to go this year. When I heard about Madrid I got so warm and happy as I have lived here nearly 20 years ago and always felt so at home here, loving the people, the language, the atmosphere etc. Perfect combination; my second home by heart and Richard

As I was planning to go and had ready tickets, hotel even a Danish friend to come join me, well I got scared. Scared to hope for too much and be dissappointed beyond repair. I am quite emotionel you see. And I had wondered what kind of reaction I might have. I did not cry in his face, so there goes my worst fear, haha.

Second worse fear; arrive to late and it would be full of people and we'd only get a glimpse if that much. No need to be so damn scared! My amazing friend was ok to go at noon and spend the day there. We made some super cute friends there, 3 young Tolkien fans who sort of became my saviours or angels Bless them.

First they were warned that the cameras would be in front of where we were standing and told us as well, so we got time to move to a greater spot. Second save comes later..

7 hours later, well it did not seem like it. I think they went by pretty fast and as it was near I had my photographs of him ready, pinned to my iPad cover, my little present for him (as the key to Erebor is keeping me company it seemed fit to get him a keychain also, a dark blue glass piece with a golden angel on it) and my glorious friend was ready with the camera.

Richard Armitage in Madrid

That's when I made the first Vicar of Dibley sound, you know the one! And a few tears, yes I admit it. I was getting emotionel like cRAzy and my friend was kind enough to calm me down! What a rock (star!) she has been today!

Second embarrasing sound and flow of tears came, as they had entered and were signing further down (we were towards the end near the cameras, great spot for staring and stare some more!) and Luke was first and then I ducked and got my first glimpse in between hands and cameras. Oh boy. He is really there. For real. Right there. Bwahaaah!

Luke came to the corner, he was a bit ahead and got all the way to the corner passing us. Handsome man, yes, but don 't touch my pics of RA please!

Then Richard came, signed, smiled, talked a bit with a few fans, asked one of our Tolkien fan friends if her golden homemade poster was in Elvish or Dwarvish and well, he was so freakin' near I couldn't believe it. Sorry for the cliché but yes, he does look better in person. Not much but there is something extra, and I have been wondering since if that extra is simply our excitement to see him?

But he did look very young, reminded me of Bafta some years ago. Also he looked tired and I felt a bit sorry for him. Many of us have parts of our job that we may not enjoy as much as others or that exhausts us, but this? However much we try how could we ever understand what that must be like? I also did not call out for him, I couldn't for some reason, maybe to spare him?!

Well, he came, he signed and he went. Yes he turned and didn't pass us, did not finish the line as Luke had and went to get interviewed. That's when the water seriously came flooding. And I am very honest when I tell you that mostly it was happy,

RA approaching...

grateful tears. I got what I wanted, to see him "live". But yes there was dissappointment in those tears as well...!

He was interviewed and I stared shamelessly and then on to the next and next until we couldn't see him anymore. But hope was still there as my Tolkien friends started pleading to the camera people to tell him to come back "mira, es que está llorando la pobre"! Yes the poor girl was crying like a teenager at a Beatles concert! And then he turned to me "you keep crying now!!"

And would you believe it, they got him to come back. My friend was filming and taking pictures at the same time, (yay for iPhone!) and I reached out my 2 pics which he signed and handed him the present and said something embarrassing which you will hear once we get the video upload to work (I can't get myself to repeat it, sorry!) He looked straight at me and everything dissappeared, including my heartbeat!

I didn't get a pic with him but plenty of him, and I got an "aww bless you" and so so sorry, Army, but these words from him are to blame, I forgot to give him your greetings

Hope you can forgive me as soon as I figure out to share all the lovely pictures and the video that makes my toes crumb but my heart skip a beat from happiness and gratefullness.

What an experience, one that I will never ever forget. Even my friends was moved, by me she is not a new member but she had fun just being a part of the lovely madness that it was. I am so happy and relieved beyound words that it went so well and I got so much and I feel so rich right now. Thank you Karin for being there with me, thank you Richard for being you and doing what you do and thank you Army for the feeling of belonging and being normal in all this

Family and friends who cheered, you're great, sweet and funny and may mock me all you like, for I am a proud member of the Armitage Army!!

Karina and Thorin in Madrid

 

Getting My Hobbit On in the Twitterverse

Luke Evans, Jude Fisher and Richard Armitage
from @bakrim2000 at Waterstones Piccadilly

I am bemused.

My online self had quite a day Friday. My real self, well, was mighty glad there was an online self.

I was just sitting there Friday morning, watching the tweets roll by from @HobbitMoviesUK, where two of the actors from "The Hobbit" were answering folks' questions. I had submitted a few, mostly to Richard Armitage who plays Thorin, but I also had asked one of Luke Evans, who plays Bard.

Richard Armitage answering tweets from @HobbitMoviesUK

Luke Evans answering tweets from @HobbitMoviesUK

 
Wouldn't you know the moment I stepped away that something would happen to online me? That would be this little tweet.

 
I answered that I cannot wait to see it, which is true. The couple of scenes I have glimpsed of Lake-town made me feel a bit claustrophobic. But I like a good marketplace, so I will be thinking of Mr. Evans when I see it.

A couple of hours later, Mr. A and Mr. E were scheduled for a Hobbit event at a bookstore in London. Richard wrote the introduction to the latest book, The Visual Companion to The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug from Jude Fisher, who was also there, while Luke's face is emblazoned on the cover.

Three tweeps I know had tickets to attend at Waterstones Piccadilly (this bookstore is five stories deep - gasp!). I started to see pictures from the event as I went to walk the dog and nearly slipped into oblivion when one of the people there, a dear instigator if ever there was one, sent me this picture with the message: "Got a little something for @j_pineo."

Pamela got a book signed for me! Pamela would be the sister to Rosemarie, who is schlepping around the globe getting other books signed for me, such as this one here.

Thanks to another tweep, I've had the chance to see much of the event on YouTube (see one clip here), which involved a lot of laughing. And I saw this picture of the three folks whose signatures now grace the title page above.

Jude Fisher, Luke Evans and Richard Armitage
from @WaterstonesPicc

Needless to say, I am excited. Again. To see the event from afar and end up with a wee book signed by the participants is a treat. It is almost as good as being there myself.

Almost.

And if that wasn't enough fun for a single day, I sent off a tweet to Wellington, New Zealand, in a manner of speaking. Yet another Hobbit actor, Jed Brophy who plays Nori, answered the Embassy Theatre about the premiere event for charity that will be held there. I tweeted a request - hopefully polite and not needy - and moments later, this appeared.

Gotta love "xxjedi".

And the proverbial icing on the cake, so to speak.

This, folks, is why I love Twitter. At least, it is why I love the Twitter I have. I am connected to people around the world, famous or not. I chat with people - yes, real people - from Japan to France to New Zealand to everywhere - about all manner of things.

It is instantaneous, which is mind-boggling at times. Those moments when I am tweeting to someone in London and then someone in California and getting answers immediately tends to stop me in wonderment. 

Because what I just wrote about would never have happened without it. I am not talking about access to events; that is a given.

I am talking about the friends I have made.

The lovely Velvet blogged about this in a very kindly piece. Thank you, dear lady.

A Book Well Traveled on an Unexpected Journey

This is dedicated to the very dear Rosemarie Rogers, a Kiwi who makes me laugh and has become one of the dearest people I have yet to meet. 

I like to imagine the life of inanimate objects: where they've been and the miles they have traveled, what they've "seen" and who touched them.

It is especially true with books for me: who has held them; whose eyes have looked at their words, and pictures if they have them; if they smelled the scent of pages still new or the musty tingle of pages old.

I vaguely remember the query from Rosemarie Rogers, a Twitter tweep I had gotten to know about the time "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" came out in December 2012. It was early 2013 and she wanted to know if she could get something autographed for anyone during a signing date at Weta.

I said yes.

I settled on the new Hobbit book: "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Creatures and Characters," written by Daniel Falconer, a Weta guy. Rosemarie had gotten Thorin's map for me a few weeks' prior, and Daniel Reeve had signed it (with Elvish, mind you).

Thus began a rather amazing journey of thousands of miles of one not-exactly-small book from New Zealand, with an overnight stop in San Diego for good measure. It was signed by nine Weta folks - kind words of thanks from all - three of whom took a moment and drew a picture as part of their signature.

I have no words to adequately describe how special this book is. So let me tell you about its journey to give you an idea.

The first tweet came through on April 12 (the tweet with photo), when Rosemarie and her equally dear sister Pamela had gone to Weta for the autograph session.

There at the signing in New Zealand was Kevin Andrew Smith, Weta Digital 2nd Unit Visual Effects Supervisor, and Eric Saindon, Weta Digital Visual Effects Supervisor.

Pamela Rogers photo - Eric Saindon and Kevin Andrew Smith, with
small guest, the sheep WoolE. Eric is signing my book.

Eric Saindon's

Kevin Andrew Smith's

And in what may be one of the funniest coincidences, Eric is a Mainer. He worked in Portland for a TV station before moving to New Zealand years ago where he got his start with Weta on "The Lord of the Rings" movies. Someone told him he was signing for a person in Maine, and I got a nice salutation to a fellow Mainer.

Pamela took a picture of Eric signing my book (the tweet with photo), with Kevin seated beside him. Parked against the books is the adorable world traveler, WoolE the sheep, the Rogers' family travel companion.

Jeff Capogreco's

Rosemarie said there would be another autograph session in a week. Off she went to that one, dragging the not-exactly-small book to another venue. At that round, three more Weta folks were signing: Jeff Capogreco and Mark Gee, both Weta Digital Digital Effects Supervisors, and Daniel Falconer, the book's author and art director, and a Weta Workshop Concept Artist.

It was at that session that the thoughtful Daniel drew a picture of Sebastian, the fortunate hedgehog living with Radagast. Sebastian is looking quite perky and says: "Feeling much better thank you!"

Mark Gee's

I got another tweet showing the newest signatures (the tweet with photo). I was overjoyed.

It was about then that we debated whether Rosemarie should ship me the book. She volunteered to take it with her to San Diego Comic-Con 2013 in July. I didn't want it to be a bother, carting this not-exactly-small book across the Pacific with her.

Daniel Falconer's

She insisted it was not a problem unless I didn't want to wait to get my hands on it. I said I would wait. Impatiently, but I would wait.

Plus, being ever practical, we both knew shipping would be much less than if she sent it from New Zealand.

I cannot account for the book's whereabouts in the intervening months. It might have been kicking its heels about Wellington, although far more likely it was getting its foundation all shook up in the many earthquakes that rocked the city (Rosemarie says not so and that it was adoringly cocooned in bouncy bubble wrap, but I will continue to imagine at least a few minor wiggles that everyone brushed off as maybe a high wind). Chalk that up to another adventure I have not experienced either. I am not sure I even want to.

July finally arrived and while I was sweltering through a miserable month, Rosemarie flew to her beloved Comic-Con, toting along the not-exactly-small book in her luggage. She kept me apprised of her activities and finally let me know that she was leaving the book with the folks at the Weta booth.

I am under the impression it spent the night with Daniel Falconer.

(If this is not true, please do not disabuse me of this notion.)

Rosemarie Rogers photo -
Daniel Falconer signing books at San Diego Comic-Con 2013

Nick Keller's

And then I got another tweet on July 21, stating mission accomplished (the tweet with photo). The very next day the book was on its way and arrived in little ol' Maine before week's end.

Paul Tobin's

I was overwhelmed. I knew a little of only a couple of these folks, but all of them worked on something I love, something that speaks to my heart like few tales do in today's world.

I vowed I would write about the journey of this book, but something always got in the way of me getting it done.

Now I know why.

Lindsey Crummett's

The extended edition of  "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" was released earlier this month. I have only another couple of hours of extras to watch, but it struck me earlier this week as I watched one of the pieces in the Appendices Part 8 that I knew those names. Not just Richard Taylor, but other names.

I went and looked at the book. I wrote down all the names. I then started up "Durin's Folk: Creating the Dwarves" and watched as the names of three of the four at Comic-Con appeared as each person talked about the work they did creating the dwarves.

There was Nick Keller, Weta Workshop Lead Concept Designer, front and center. Nick DREW A DWARF in my book for me.

He drew a dwarf for me.

There was Daniel Falconer again, describing piece after piece of the many parts on which he worked.

Then came Paul Tobin, also a Weta Workshop Concept Artist. I did not know his first name because he signed only his last, but there he was. And in my book, delicately drawn in pencil, is a hobbit for me.

Moments later, Lindsey Crummett, also a Weta Workshop Concept Artist, was onscreen, talking about Durin's folk. She was another signature in my book.

I watched the piece through again and realized I had but one mystery person. It was "abaker."

What to do?

Andrew Baker's

I started the next part of the appendix and there in "The People and Denizens of Middle-earth" was my ninth signatory: Andrew Baker, Lead Creatures Designer.

Excited does not really describe my happiness at seeing nearly all of the people who signed my book being interviewed. Not because of fame or association or "celebrity."

It is the reason I always sit through the credits in a movie: I like to see the people who do the work behind the scenes, the folks who make the vision possible, the unsung heroes of production. Without them, you would not see what you just saw.

Perhaps it is because that is the role my life has been in work and in private. Nothing just happens. Someone has to do the work, create the vision, pay attention to the details as well as the big picture.

And it makes me happy to see people talk about something they are so passionate about, something that they hold dear. It proves - rather unnecessarily, but nevertheless - that these people want to create a lasting piece of work, especially given the pressure surrounding something as well-loved as a J.R.R. Tolkien work.

I shall have to go back through all of the appendices to see if I can find the other folks who signed my book. Then I can put the face with the name and thank them silently for being so kind.

And here it is: the title page of my book.

The title page

In my rummaging through emails and tweets, I discovered a link today that Rosemarie sent me ... a very long time ago. It shows everyone's signature who might be signing at Weta. Yes, they've got it all covered. While this would have been easier (see the Weta signatures here), my path to discovery was long and winding but decidedly more fun.

Yet They Call It 'The Hobbit'

The Presentation Pack

I would love to know how the conversation went at New Zealand Post over this year's "The Hobbit" collection.

(Hobbit? What Hobbit?)

I thought last year's goodies were outrageous, but this year NZ Post seems to be enchanted with one Thorin Oakenshield.

I cannot fault them in this.

You can have Thorin in coin form, gummed-stamp form and self-adhesive-booklet form, to name a few. Sure, other characters are tagging along, including the dreaded Elves, but what made me laugh is that in all three of the items I purchased, the one on the top was Thorin.

Fierce Thorin spears you with those eyes from the cover of the Presentation Pack, which opens up to reveal a first-day cover, the six miniature sheets and the self-adhesive strip of stamps. Besides Thorin, you will find Gandalf, Tauriel, Bilbo, Legolas and Bard the Bowman.

But Thorin is first in each.

First Day Cover of miniature sheets

I also got the Maximum Cards, which are postcards with the matching character's postage stamp. And I got the First-Day Covers of the miniature sheets.

Trust me, I barely have touched the surface of this dragon's hoard, which you can see here at NZ Post's website.

Oh, and the datestamp on all of it?

A very golden Smaug is stomping all over them.

Maximum Card - See that Smaug irritating our Dwarf?

Then I Met Noel Paul Stookey

 

Noel Paul Stookey on the stage at the Bangor Opera House
during filming of the The Nite Show with Danny Cashman

• By Janine Pineo •

Ever start a day thinking I am going to do this, this and then this?

And then “this” becomes a whoa-Noel-Paul-Stookey-what-just-happened moment?

That was my Wednesday.

It started off normally for me, in a rush to get going. I had an appointment, another appointment and one last thing to do before I could head home.

Instead of one last thing, I met Noel Paul Stookey.

Continue reading here on Garden Maine

On the Silver Screen: This May Be the Closest I'll Get

My tweet sashays across the silver screen at a New York City theater,
duly witnessed and photographed by the lovely Abby who attended
the worldwide Hobbit fan event on Nov. 4, 2013

Once upon a time, a crazy tweeter whistled into the wind and it landed on the silver screen during the worldwide Hobbit fan event on Nov. 4, 2013. (Read the original post A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Erebor.)

Fellow RAre birds around the world recognized her call, answering the crazy tweeter from New York City, London and Paris. One RAre bird even got to prove it.

Fun facts: Crazy tweeter actually cannot whistle, a fact that makes her sad. Crazy tweeter loves that her tweet rivals the parading pachyderms in size, a fact that makes her snort.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Erebor

At a few minutes to 5 p.m. EST on Nov. 4, 2013, a bunch of friends and I were waiting around the virtual global campfire for the leader of our company, Peter Jackson.

It was the worldwide Hobbit Fan Event, and my Twitter friends -- many of them incredibly Hobbity with a decided dwarf-king leaning -- had dispersed to theaters around the world.

For more than a week, I watched in amused envy as many of them entered drawings for tickets and many of them won. By the time it was done, I had tweeps in venues around the world: London, New York City, Los Angeles, Wellington and Paris. The first four locations had actors and that genius director making appearances, while Paris was among the major cities with a live stream.

The rest of us had to make do with YouTube.

I watched the tweets from my friends while we waited. I chirped in with my excitement, too, because how often do you get to participate live with thousands of other people around the globe for something fun?

The YouTube countdown was on and then 5 p.m. hit. Nothing happened.

We waited.

Finally, a shot of Gandalf was up and a Twitter feed was scrolling across the bottom of the screen.

I chuckled as I started to see tweets from my friends roll by.

I bounced back and forth between Twitter and YouTube. I tweeted how happy I was we were all waiting for this together, near and far, in person and in the ether.

I kept up with the tweets and missed my tweet as it rolled by on giant silver screens in the venues (at least one was an IMAX screen, so my name was HUGE).

Moments later, I was tweeted at with the news my tweet had been seen by the YouTube crowd. I was disappointed but hoping that I might catch it on a replay later.

Not long after, the live program started. We got to see New York City first, where Orlando Bloom and Richard Armitage (yeah, he was a big reason I was glued to my laptop) were. And when Wellington came on with Jed Brophy and Peter Jackson, I was on the lookout for a Kiwi friend who was glowing like a wee pumpkin in the crowd at the Embassy Theatre. I may have giggled when I saw Rosemarie, because even in the half-light, she was completely noticeable.

The Wellington crowd

I was charmed all over again by the lovely Mr. Armitage, the gracious Mr. Brophy and the genius Sir Peter. In the video blog, I got to see a fellow Mainer, Eric Saindon, who works for Weta and has done so since Lord of the Rings days.

It wasn't until after the event was over at the venues that I started hearing from many of my friends that they had seen my Twitter handle on the giant screens in their venue. One poked her sister and told her she knew me from Twitter. Others may have actually squealed when they saw my name.

One has promised to send me the picture she took of the IMAX screen with my name in lights. Yeah, Abby, you better.

And that may be the closest I get to silver screen fame.

On the face of it, it seems no big deal. But the truth is that the entire event was quite the deal.

Imagine the planning that went into making something like this happen, from the theater bookings to the swag bags to the ticket contests to the live streaming from multiple venues.

Then for all of us to come together around the globe to watch this gift to fans from a man who has nurtured these stories of J.R.R. Tolkien into tales that speak across cultures, across languages, across invisible barriers that humans put up when they fail to see we all are more alike than not, well, how is that not quite the deal?

Sure, it was a marketing thing. Sure, it will help make money for the release of the extended edition today.

Sure, sure, sure.

I, for one, do not care one iota for that. I was already going to buy the movie today. I will see the next installment in December.

What I care about is how I was invited to be a part of something that transcends the ordinary and that gave me a chance to participate in something I love, these stories of Tolkien which speak to a very big part of my heart.

And now, I have that moment when my name scuttled across the screen under a giant picture of Gandalf.

What a deal.

Orlando Bloom and Richard Armitage at the NYC venue