thehumming6ird reblogged
bigeyesandstarrynights
that was the best thing I have read in about 10 years.
thehumming6ird reblogged
Tom Hiddleston has had a busy few years, jumping from blockbuster-sized movies like Thor, in which he tackles the character of Loki, to quietly slipping into the shoes of country legend Hank Williams in I Saw the Light. And now he stars in Ben Wheatley’s grotesque adaption of J.G. Ballard’s 1970s sci-fi novel, High-Rise, opening in the U.S. on May 13.
Hiddleston portrays Dr. Robert Laing, the newest resident in a luxurious high-rise tower block that provides all the conveniences of modern life. Things, however, quickly turn to madness and debauchery as power failures spread through the building and tensions amongst neighbors escalate. The opening scene, in which Dr. Laing calmly sits, spit-roasting a dog is a good indication of what one might expect.
Hiddleston spoke with Esquire about the challenges of taking on such drastically different characters, the ways in which he prepared for such a disturbing film, and how J. G. Ballard’s visions for the future eerily came true.
ESQ: I have to confess. As I was watching High-Rise, it struck me just how much this condo I’ve been renting reminds me of the building in the movie. But nobody has killed anybody yet. To my knowledge.
Tom Hiddleston: [Laughs] Hey, those elevator shafts. You want to make sure the lifts keep working!
OK. I’m starting to feel exceedingly paranoid! Speaking of the movie and not at all of a plausible real-life scenario: You’ve played so many different characters. How do you find yourself within all of them?
That’s a really great question, and it’s one that nobody has ever asked. I truly feel like the duty of an actor is to expand into unknown territory. I had an acting teacher once who told me that you have to have an elastic band around your waist and it has to stretch—to encircle other people. In the end, it’s an amazing way to live, because by playing different people, or at least defending the view points of different people (which acting has to be), you find yourself in contexts which are always alien and unfamiliar. You come away from those experiences feeling a bit more full and feeling like you know the world a little bit better.
As an actor, when you’re working on these bigger projects as opposed to more “independently budgeted” films…does it make a difference to you?
High-Rise was a tiny film by the way. It was made for 6 million pounds, which is about $8.5 million.
Right. Or like $12 million Canadian. See, the numbers keep going up.
All right. [Laughs] $12 million Canadian. It [still] felt like a small film, and we shot it very quickly. The process is just to do the best you can. Work, work as hard as you can and be diligent and respectful…
Do you love them equally, or do you have a preference?
I do. I find different things to love about them. They express different parts of my own fascination, my own interests. Everything I do is always about the human condition, what it means to be alive in some form or other—even if it’s a big blockbuster. That’s what cinema is about.
With High-Rise, which is a bit more abstract and experimental, how do you make sense of it? How do you approach your character in the midst of all this chaos?
I wanted to sync up with Ben. I always do that when I sign on to a film: I try to sync up with the tone of what a director is trying to do. I ask them to give me some movies to watch, give me some books to read, give me some music to listen to—to try and find a framework they are working in so I can place myself within it. So I think I knew what I was in for. And I love Ben’s work. He’s rebellious and he’s mischievous and has his own singular sense of humor and taste. The most fascinating thing for me was that Laing is reactive, whereas other people are proactive. He’s quiet and watchful, while the other inhabitants are sliding into a kind of chaos.
Chaos would be an understatement. But Laing is rather detached, isn’t he?
Because of his profession as a physiologist I think he has a kind of an intellectual detachment about disease and human impulses, so he’s able to withdraw emotionally from the psychological impact of this feral chaos.
What were the challenges in portraying him?
I found that he’s a character who has a lot of private guilt and shame. He’s moved into this building to get away from the complexities of life. He’s trying to stay detached, and he actually can’t. It’s all about his unprocessed guilt. There’s a lot of guilt going around, he’s trying to get away from real life. He wants to live in a grey flat and wear a grey suit and not be affected.
I took my cue from the book, and I found it fascinating that J.G. Ballard choses his leading character to be a physiologist, someone who understands the mechanical engineering of the human brain and body. And so I took that on and did some research. I went to talk to a forensic pathologist in a hospital in England, and I watched him perform some real life autopsies, which were actually very hard to stomach. I almost fainted.
That’s probably a good sign.
I wanted to understand the perspective of the people who do that every day, who have a sensitivity to that kind of work but also have the scientific rigor. They can actually deconstruct a body and [determine] the cause of death. These are the people we depend on in our society, and if someone falls dead in the middle of the street, the forensic pathologist will cut them open and tell us why.
I’d just assume it’s the work of a serial killer and call it a day. Why do you think we have this fascination with dystopian movies and books?
I don’t know, I think we’re always fascinated by our nightmares. We have hopes and dreams. As human beings, we’d like to believe that our society is getting better, more equal, more fair, more healthy, more balanced—and we fear that it’s getting worse. More toxic, more unequal, more sick. And dystopian nightmares are always manifestations of our fears: that the world is going to hell in a handcart and that we can’t stop it.
But I think that they can also be very playful. Think of all the disaster movies. That’s another version of that nightmare, the fear of the apocalypse. Whether that’s Terminator 2, or Robinson Crusoe being stranded on a deserted island, or Cast Away. I think there’s something very child-like about imagining who you might be on a deserted island.
It’s interesting that you use the word “nightmare"—as you watch the movie, it feels like you’re trapped in one…wait, now I get it!
[Laughs] Yeah! I think Ben would be thrilled with that.
The book is set in the ‘70s, so what’s the relevance of some of the issues that the movie is tackling?
I think Ballard saw things coming. He used to say it’s as if he was standing roadside with a warning [sign] saying “dangerous bend ahead,” because the human race is progressing at such a velocity. We are hurtling towards progress and the future. He predicted our attachment to technology. He saw it coming.
There’s an interview of him in 1978 saying that we’re going to take a lot more pictures, we’ll all have access to video footage, we’re going to become the stars of our own films, photographs will become much easier to reproduce, we’ll take pictures of our food, we’ll take pictures of each other, and we’ll take pictures of ourselves in our bedroom. He’s basically predicting Instagram, social media, and YouTube 30 years before they were conceived. So I think he understood that there was a marriage between psychology and technology, which was coming around.
Right now, there’s a lot of talk about the classes, the 1%, and all that. We definitely see plenty of that class struggle reflected in the film, don’t we?
It’s a very obvious metaphor. There’s unequal access to the resources in the building, depending on where you live. The people on the lower floors are furious that in the penthouse they still have electricity [while] the lights go out in the basement, or that the swimming pool is closed to children from the lower floors. There’s a righteous moral anger about inequality that’s being told there. And perhaps Ballard is saying that it’s inevitable. He’s saying that it’s part of the human condition, some sort of striving for status.
It’s interesting that as soon as people go for their inner wishes, their animal desires, if you will, once all structure is taken away, their inclination is to do all these horrible things…
Perhaps Ballard is saying: Who are we really? Who are we in extremity? If no one is watching and no one is there to stop us, what will we do?
Well, he seems to think that we would do very bad things…do you agree?
[Laughs] We would do different things. And what your definition of “bad” is where you stand.
True. But I’m not sure if everything is quite so morally ambivalent.
I don’t think so either, but our moral compass is conditioned by society. For example, I’m sort of playing devil’s advocate. We think it’s OK to eat beef and lamb and chicken, but we think it’s wrong to eat dog. It’s societally not problematic to eat steak, but it is problematic to eat a piece of dog. And it’s only because someone decided that hundreds of years ago. If that was the only access to food you had, you might have to do it? And that’s what Ballard is interested in: When you’re really pushed, when it comes down to a matter of life or death, what are you prepared to do?
When you’re doing a role like this—or any role really, you’re sort of putting yourself on the line, while at the same time saying, “I can do this.” So where do you find that confidence as an actor?
I honestly don’t know. I think it’s a desire to challenge myself. It comes back to that thing I was saying about expansion and wanting to stretch and grow. It’s the same reason people travel, you know? When you’re born, you get used to your cot and your crib. And then you get used to your bedroom. Then you get used to your family home, and your school and your town. And then eventually you want to get out of that—you want to broaden your horizons, and the process of being an actor is that. I feel like I want to travel far and wide, and that’s why I choose to do different projects. I don’t know where the confidence comes from. I think it comes more from curiosity than confidence.
I guess that’s the great thing about an actor. You’re not limited to having just one life, or one occupation. You get to experience so many.
You do. You experience a lot of different things. You see a lot of different sides to the world.
Source: esquire.com
Tom Hiddleston has had a busy few years, jumping from blockbuster-sized movies like Thor, in which he tackles the character of Loki, to quietly slipping into the shoes of country legend Hank Williams in I Saw the Light. And now he stars in Ben Wheatley’s grotesque adaption of J.G. Ballard’s 1970s sci-fi novel, High-Rise, opening in the U.S. on May 13.
Hiddleston portrays Dr. Robert Laing, the newest resident in a luxurious high-rise tower block that provides all the conveniences of modern life. Things, however, quickly turn to madness and debauchery as power failures spread through the building and tensions amongst neighbors escalate. The opening scene, in which Dr. Laing calmly sits, spit-roasting a dog is a good indication of what one might expect.
Hiddleston spoke with Esquire about the challenges of taking on such drastically different characters, the ways in which he prepared for such a disturbing film, and how J. G. Ballard’s visions for the future eerily came true.
ESQ: I have to confess. As I was watching High-Rise, it struck me just how much this condo I’ve been renting reminds me of the building in the movie. But nobody has killed anybody yet. To my knowledge.
Tom Hiddleston: [Laughs] Hey, those elevator shafts. You want to make sure the lifts keep working!
OK. I’m starting to feel exceedingly paranoid! Speaking of the movie and not at all of a plausible real-life scenario: You’ve played so many different characters. How do you find yourself within all of them?
That’s a really great question, and it’s one that nobody has ever asked. I truly feel like the duty of an actor is to expand into unknown territory. I had an acting teacher once who told me that you have to have an elastic band around your waist and it has to stretch—to encircle other people. In the end, it’s an amazing way to live, because by playing different people, or at least defending the view points of different people (which acting has to be), you find yourself in contexts which are always alien and unfamiliar. You come away from those experiences feeling a bit more full and feeling like you know the world a little bit better.
As an actor, when you’re working on these bigger projects as opposed to more “independently budgeted” films…does it make a difference to you?
High-Rise was a tiny film by the way. It was made for 6 million pounds, which is about $8.5 million.
Right. Or like $12 million Canadian. See, the numbers keep going up.
All right. [Laughs] $12 million Canadian. It [still] felt like a small film, and we shot it very quickly. The process is just to do the best you can. Work, work as hard as you can and be diligent and respectful…
Do you love them equally, or do you have a preference?
I do. I find different things to love about them. They express different parts of my own fascination, my own interests. Everything I do is always about the human condition, what it means to be alive in some form or other—even if it’s a big blockbuster. That’s what cinema is about.
With High-Rise, which is a bit more abstract and experimental, how do you make sense of it? How do you approach your character in the midst of all this chaos?
I wanted to sync up with Ben. I always do that when I sign on to a film: I try to sync up with the tone of what a director is trying to do. I ask them to give me some movies to watch, give me some books to read, give me some music to listen to—to try and find a framework they are working in so I can place myself within it. So I think I knew what I was in for. And I love Ben’s work. He’s rebellious and he’s mischievous and has his own singular sense of humor and taste. The most fascinating thing for me was that Laing is reactive, whereas other people are proactive. He’s quiet and watchful, while the other inhabitants are sliding into a kind of chaos.
Chaos would be an understatement. But Laing is rather detached, isn’t he?
Because of his profession as a physiologist I think he has a kind of an intellectual detachment about disease and human impulses, so he’s able to withdraw emotionally from the psychological impact of this feral chaos.
What were the challenges in portraying him?
I found that he’s a character who has a lot of private guilt and shame. He’s moved into this building to get away from the complexities of life. He’s trying to stay detached, and he actually can’t. It’s all about his unprocessed guilt. There’s a lot of guilt going around, he’s trying to get away from real life. He wants to live in a grey flat and wear a grey suit and not be affected.
I took my cue from the book, and I found it fascinating that J.G. Ballard choses his leading character to be a physiologist, someone who understands the mechanical engineering of the human brain and body. And so I took that on and did some research. I went to talk to a forensic pathologist in a hospital in England, and I watched him perform some real life autopsies, which were actually very hard to stomach. I almost fainted.
That’s probably a good sign.
I wanted to understand the perspective of the people who do that every day, who have a sensitivity to that kind of work but also have the scientific rigor. They can actually deconstruct a body and [determine] the cause of death. These are the people we depend on in our society, and if someone falls dead in the middle of the street, the forensic pathologist will cut them open and tell us why.
I’d just assume it’s the work of a serial killer and call it a day. Why do you think we have this fascination with dystopian movies and books?
I don’t know, I think we’re always fascinated by our nightmares. We have hopes and dreams. As human beings, we’d like to believe that our society is getting better, more equal, more fair, more healthy, more balanced—and we fear that it’s getting worse. More toxic, more unequal, more sick. And dystopian nightmares are always manifestations of our fears: that the world is going to hell in a handcart and that we can’t stop it.
But I think that they can also be very playful. Think of all the disaster movies. That’s another version of that nightmare, the fear of the apocalypse. Whether that’s Terminator 2, or Robinson Crusoe being stranded on a deserted island, or Cast Away. I think there’s something very child-like about imagining who you might be on a deserted island.
It’s interesting that you use the word “nightmare"—as you watch the movie, it feels like you’re trapped in one…wait, now I get it!
[Laughs] Yeah! I think Ben would be thrilled with that.
The book is set in the ‘70s, so what’s the relevance of some of the issues that the movie is tackling?
I think Ballard saw things coming. He used to say it’s as if he was standing roadside with a warning [sign] saying "dangerous bend ahead,” because the human race is progressing at such a velocity. We are hurtling towards progress and the future. He predicted our attachment to technology. He saw it coming.
There’s an interview of him in 1978 saying that we’re going to take a lot more pictures, we’ll all have access to video footage, we’re going to become the stars of our own films, photographs will become much easier to reproduce, we’ll take pictures of our food, we’ll take pictures of each other, and we’ll take pictures of ourselves in our bedroom. He’s basically predicting Instagram, social media, and YouTube 30 years before they were conceived. So I think he understood that there was a marriage between psychology and technology, which was coming around.
Right now, there’s a lot of talk about the classes, the 1%, and all that. We definitely see plenty of that class struggle reflected in the film, don’t we?
It’s a very obvious metaphor. There’s unequal access to the resources in the building, depending on where you live. The people on the lower floors are furious that in the penthouse they still have electricity [while] the lights go out in the basement, or that the swimming pool is closed to children from the lower floors. There’s a righteous moral anger about inequality that’s being told there. And perhaps Ballard is saying that it’s inevitable. He’s saying that it’s part of the human condition, some sort of striving for status.
It’s interesting that as soon as people go for their inner wishes, their animal desires, if you will, once all structure is taken away, their inclination is to do all these horrible things…
Perhaps Ballard is saying: Who are we really? Who are we in extremity? If no one is watching and no one is there to stop us, what will we do?
Well, he seems to think that we would do very bad things…do you agree?
[Laughs] We would do different things. And what your definition of “bad” is where you stand.
True. But I’m not sure if everything is quite so morally ambivalent.
I don’t think so either, but our moral compass is conditioned by society. For example, I’m sort of playing devil’s advocate. We think it’s OK to eat beef and lamb and chicken, but we think it’s wrong to eat dog. It’s societally not problematic to eat steak, but it is problematic to eat a piece of dog. And it’s only because someone decided that hundreds of years ago. If that was the only access to food you had, you might have to do it? And that’s what Ballard is interested in: When you’re really pushed, when it comes down to a matter of life or death, what are you prepared to do?
When you’re doing a role like this—or any role really, you’re sort of putting yourself on the line, while at the same time saying, “I can do this.” So where do you find that confidence as an actor?
I honestly don’t know. I think it’s a desire to challenge myself. It comes back to that thing I was saying about expansion and wanting to stretch and grow. It’s the same reason people travel, you know? When you’re born, you get used to your cot and your crib. And then you get used to your bedroom. Then you get used to your family home, and your school and your town. And then eventually you want to get out of that—you want to broaden your horizons, and the process of being an actor is that. I feel like I want to travel far and wide, and that’s why I choose to do different projects. I don’t know where the confidence comes from. I think it comes more from curiosity than confidence.
I guess that’s the great thing about an actor. You’re not limited to having just one life, or one occupation. You get to experience so many.
You do. You experience a lot of different things. You see a lot of different sides to the world.
Source: esquire.com
#Tom Hiddleston#HiddlesEdit#Hiddlestoners#Hiddles Interview#High-Rise#Dr Robert Laing#Hiddleston Daily#Long post#Hiddles#Tom on Laing#Tom on Acting choices#Tom on acting#Loki#not my images#just my edit#my Hiddles edit#High-Rise promo#my High-Rise promo edit#my Hiddles Interview edit#2016 Tom#120516#May 2016#Throwback Hiddles#Esquire Magazine 2016#Esquire#i-queue
Classic Hiddles Moments: ‘Souperman’ Tom comes to the rescue of Empire Magazine’s Chris Hewitt on an especially chilly BAFTA Film Awards red carpet, 12th February 2012
Bonus: The subsequent legendary Twitter banter
Source: twitter.com
#Tom Hiddleston#HiddlesEdit#Hiddlestoners#Hiddles#MarvelCastEdit#Loki#Loki Laufeyson#Loki Quotes#Chris Hewitt#Hiddleston Daily#MCU cast#Classic Hiddles Moments#2012 Tom#February 2012#my Hiddles edit#120212#my Hiddles gif#Hiddles Red Carpet#my hiddles red carpet edit#Long post#Tuxedo Tom#Tuxedo Tuesday#Throwback Hiddles#Such a precious bean#and a legendary Twitter banterer#;)#red carpet Hiddles#my Hiddles red carpet edit#BAFTA Hiddles#BAFTA Film Awards 2012
thehumming6ird reblogged
It’s interesting how Tom really does as much promo as needed. With Betrayal in London the play sold very well right after the announcement-trailer, so there was hardly any promo. Now on Broadway he really has to sell the play to the audience, so he does and goes into full-on promo mode. New trailer, promo-appearances, interviews. From what I get Broadway is a constant struggle to sell and people don’t buy their tickets months in advance. Wouldn’t be surprised to see more magazine-stuff including photoshoots in the next months.
I noticed this as well. In the UK there *might* be an appearance on Graham Norton for a theatre project, but more often than not those appearances coincide with multiple projects, so for example David Tennant was on during his Richard III stint, but it also coincided with Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary.
I wondered if the extra attention for the Broadway run might have been because, relatively speaking, Charlie and Zawe are possibly less well known in the US, and also this is Tom’s Broadway debut (in Joe Public’s eyes he’s still Loki, possibly known as Jonathan Pine, and though it pains me to mention it, maybe *that* other thing…) 😑
But from what I’ve seen, everyone does it, even the supposedly ‘A-listers’. I don’t know how much theatre tickets cost in the US, but if they’re comparable to the price of gigs (much more expensive than in the UK) that might also be a factor. I also imagine the competition for bums on seats is fierce on Broadway with so many Hollywood stars treading the boards.
Finally, there’s the timing of the play itself. In the UK it came at the end of the Pinter at the Pinter season, so it had ticket sales momentum, even before you factor in the fandom ticket sales. And of course it was a much smaller venue.
So I imagine he’s happy to do everything he can (just like everyone else on Broadway) to secure those ticket sales. I just wish I could see it again!
Of course, I could just be talking a load of nonsense! So feel free to ignore me, or correct me peeps in the US. 😂
ravenlights
I’d like to add to this is that the price of the ticket is ridiculous compared to the price of it in London, especially factoring in that it’s only a 90-minute performance.
I paid £110 (approx $130) for a premium ticket in London. The same ticket here costs £207 ($250). Did I buy it anyway? Yes.
Tho this is par for the course for Broadway, I also spent £100 ($120) on a UK Hamilton ticket that costs £665 ($800) in the US.
So I’m wondering if they’re going to generate a good chunk of their sales through the discount ticket booths the day of, in which case - more promo.
@ravenlights yeah I suspected that! I remember having a conversation with @deathbyukmen about gig prices. In the UK we might pay somewhere between £50-£100 unless we’re talking about the mega huge stars. And again, most of our venues are not as big. But the set lists are usually the same, and often with the same support acts. Yet they can easily be twice as much in the US. But crikey! I feel your pain for that Hamilton ticket 😱
And speaking of “even big stars do promos”. Yes. Even Jake Gyllenhaal was on Stephen Colbert to promote, and Jeff Daniels has already been on Broadway for 9+ months with To Kill A Mockingbird and was still on there recently.
@tinchentitri yep. Jake Gyllenhaal literally did a 2 minute musical skit with James Corden while James was doing the London shows…
Also, and I think others might have mentioned this. The UK is small. Much easier to travel to London from anywhere in the UK (or even Europe) than to travel, say, from the West Coast to NYC.
p.s. @enchantedbyhiddles sorry for hijacking this post! Your observation just got me thinking. <3
@thehumming6ird et alii. Don’t worry about hijacking the post. :) It’s interesting to read your addtions.
(And I love the tiny things like, of course, your everyman is “Joe Public”.)
I think what the others mentioned, if people are more likely to watch a show in their hometown than travel a long way and there are ticket discounts on the day itself, of course, they wait to buy them.
Here many people plan ahead (especially if they have to travel) and therefore will buy tickets months or at least weeks in advance. For all my holidays in the UK it started with some tickets. Everything else was build around it.
@enchantedbyhiddles Yeah, Western Europe is a small place compared with North America. But the UK is obviously an island, so most people have to book flights. You’re much more likely to book those in advance for a decent price. However in the US, you have the option of a road trip, and that’s easier to arrange last minute.
And Joe Public? Do you not use that term? It’s basically just the average person on the street. 😊
@thehumming6ird Joe Public is just one of those terms that don’t come naturally to me. I might have heard them and they are absolutely obvious on what they mean, but as a non-native speaker I doubt I’ve used them. So it’s like: Oh, you call your average person on the street “Joe Public”. I’ve heard and used Average Joe before. (That’s Otto Normalverbraucher in German.)
The only thing close to it in German is “Hinz und Kunz” and that is a bit old-fashioned and not used that much any longer. Or maybe Lieschen Müller - which is even less common.
equusgirl
As someone in the Midwest(9ish hour drive to NYC), I can very well attest to the fact that not many people travel to NYC for a play. If they’re traveling to NYC for something else and want to see something while they’re there, they’ll likely just buy the tickets when they’re in the city.
Also, I think it’s worth mentioning that theatre isn’t a huge thing in the US? Especially plays. Musicals tend to be more popular. But you hardly ever hear the everyday person talk about what plays are on Broadway or that they want to go see something. It’s very much a niche thing (and plays are kind of considered a dying art form over here).
Part of its because it’s cost prohibitive. Especially if you don’t live around NYC. You have to factor in travel, hotel, and food costs if you’re coming(all of which gets hella expensive in NYC). And that’s before you pay $99 USD a ticket which are just the very basic starting price for “cheap” seats. Premium starts at $250 (Like @ravenlights said) If people are going to shell out that kind of money for something on Broadway, I know most of my local friends would choose a musical like Wicked or Phantom or Hamilton over a play. Not to mention many people don’t really travel alone to places? They go with friends or family so that can limit things and make a trip more expensive (Nearly $200 for tickets alone if like me you go with a friend or family member). Like the only way I have a chance in hell of seeing it if I can convince my mom to go to NYC for one of our trips before the run ends. And I’m lucky cuz my mom is awesome and still takes me on trips at 24 lol.
Basically, it’s mostly cost and distance, factor that in with not many people interested in plays over here and yeah, I’m sure Tom is doing quite a bit of promo. (Sorry to just butt in on the convo but it’s so interesting to see how it differs over here from England. I’m so jealous! 😆)
No, that’s really interesting @equusgirl and kind of what I assumed.
I’m still in shock about the difference in price. Even though I’d automatically ruled out another transatlantic trip this year, when I saw the exciting build up to Betrayal’s Broadway debut I have to admit that I briefly flirted with the idea of making the trip from the UK. Flights were reasonable (I’m talking comparable with a trip to somewhere in Europe if I planned far enough ahead). Hotel room - again - comparable to the same as a couple of nights in any other major city.
But then I looked at the ticket prices, even for a pretty crappy seat and I almost fainted 😱 I just don’t get it. Surely they want their theatres to be full? Surely they want the stability of knowing they have full houses?
One of the things I love about theatre in the UK is that they are REALLY trying to diversify their audiences. Theatre used to have a bit of a stuffy - even elitist - reputation in some people’s minds, certainly when it came to plays, rather than musicals. But theatre’s seem to have finally realised that it should be for everyone.
Yes, we still have (what I used to consider) expensive top tier priced tickets, and if I’m honest, I buy those wherever possible because i’m really short, so I like to be able to actually see! 😂 But most West End theatres now also offer highly discounted tickets for young people, people who are unemployed/disabled etc.
I’m lucky. I think I was 8 or 9 when my dad first took me to the theatre for a play (before that it was probably just pantomime etc) and I don’t live in or even near London. But I was instantly hooked. We still go regularly, so in some ways it’s just as much about having people around you who champion the arts as it is having ‘big’ stars on stage. Being in several fandoms, I’ve seen many people who’ve never set foot in a theatre in their life, go for the first time simply because their fave will be on stage. And that’s brilliant. Because there’s nothing like the atmosphere of live theatre. And if that whets their appetite for more? Job done.
Oh God, I’m rambling now! Please ignore me! 😂 Anyway, I really, really hope your mum is feeling benevolent, because this presentation of the play really is a treat. Plus… New York! 😉
Ooh… addendum: I hear they have a LOT of $25 tickets in great seats!
*Humm, step away from the ticket site*
@thehumming6ird @equusgirl and others, I also really think people view theater differently in the US and the UK. Now this is from a college student’s perspective who hasn’t done too too much in their lives yet, so please cut me some slack if this isn’t the most “accurate.”
From what I have noticed, unless it’s a really big piece of theater that everyone and their cousin is talking about (*cough cough Hamilton cough cough*), no one in the US really cares, which I think is total crap. Theater is such a unique experience because even though it’s the same play or musical, something is just a little different each time. People from literally around the world can pack into a theater and experience the same unique thing, not say a single thing to each other, and walk out being changed by a shared experience, and I think that’s something really beautiful that no one talks about when they talk about theater.
I made a friend this past year on campus who was an exchange student from Ireland and one day I listened to him talk to another guy in the student center about Broadway and I thought their difference in opinions was really significant about the culture. My Irish friend really felt the same way about theater as I did (which I was like “yay I’m not the only one that thinks this way!”), but the other guy who he was talking to said “I don’t know. Isn’t it a little, yknow … gay to like theater and stuff?” Like what, people can’t like something that’s different from the long-perpetuated and expected societal norms for their gender? And like that really bothered me. In the US I’ve noticed (well, really the environments I’ve been in and around), it’s acceptable for women to like theater, even if it’s not common, but as soon as a guy likes it it’s “gay,” but as soon as it’s something everyone else is talking about (again *cough cough Hamilton cough cough*) it’s “cool.” And I know this seems very long winded and like what’s the point of this edition, but I just hate it so much that in the US there has to be so much promotion for theater and plays if they’re not the soul one that people are talking about because they’re all really and truly amazing and enriching and unique. (And I don’t mean to single out Hamilton in this example, it’s just the one that everyone just knows, and I’m sure it’s an amazing musical—it was written by freaking Lin-Manuel Miranda).
But I’ve also noticed too (again, from my surrounds) that unless you are in a wealthier position, Broadway become so significantly less accessible, and I think it’s totally not fair. I’ve wanted to see a broadway play since I was around maybe 10, and my parents have really truly tried and I’m so thankful, but the tickets are so expensive, no matter if you try to get them right when they come out or through another vendor. On top of that, a trip to New York isn’t cheap unless you live close by—you have the cost of transport (gas money/plane/train/etc.), the cost of a hotel or other lodging residence, food, and the expensive ticket(s)? That’s a lot of money, especially if you decide to make a “proper trip” out of it. And that’s not even mentioning trying to get time off or work around a school schedule.
Do you know how excited I was when I found out they were offering $25 tickets to Betrayal? I was so excited, and the ones I found were such great seats too. And as soon as I saw where the seats were, I started crying. The tickets were great, I’ve read the play before and would love to see it in person, it’s a freakin Broadway play so 10 year old me would be so happy, and some of my favorite actors are in it. But no matter how I tried to swing it, it’d be too expensive and conflict with my classes. And it sucks so bad.
So in short, it sucks that Broadway isn’t respected as it should be and only seems to get recognition when they have either a big-ticket presence on stage or it’s that one musical that everyone talks about. It sucks that the stars of these plays have to try so hard to promote it in the US because they shouldn’t have to. It sucks that the average New England Joe Schmoe doesn’t respect the experience of theater as they should because it’s “odd” for someone to like it. And it sucks that I’d basically have to sell a kidney and miss days of classes (that’s I’m going in debt to be able to take, even with my scholarships and the lesser cost because I’m commuting) and work (whose money I will be using to pay off the afformentioned debt) because I want to achieve a dream of mine.
@peterman-spideyparker (love the name btw!)
You know, it’s interesting that you mention how yourself and your Irish friend identified with that shared experience that theatre brings. Because it absolutely does. There’s been many times when i’ve been to a theatre on my own and then found myself chatting to others in the same position as we’ve left the theatre, eagerly dissecting the performances etc. Tom actually mentions it himself here (and in several other interviews tbf). You’re also right about no two performances ever being the same. Because even though the text and staging etc may be, a cast will inevitably react to the energy in the house.
And yeah, I totally get your point on the ‘cool’ shows. Some simply become a cultural phenomenon. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Again, same as with the first timers who see a play simply because their internet fave is performing. Because, if it opens the door to new audiences, that’s got to be a good thing. Some of those who were just a little bit sniffy about theatre before *whispers* Hamilton might just go on to see other things. Who knows? I say this, as someone who didn’t grow up in the sort of environment where theatre was cool. I just happened to be lucky that my parents, but particularly my dad, enjoyed theatre. (My mum was more of a musical theatre fan). So we saw a lot of regional theatre, and touring companies.
Now, I can’t offer you any help with the logistics of getting to Broadway for Betrayal unfortunately. I imagine if I was in your position when I was at Uni, i’d be just as pissed. I didn’t see my first West End show until I was in my late twenties, and that’s with it being only four hours away on the train (so manageable in a day). But don’t give up on your dream. You will get there one day. And just think how sweet it will be when that finally happens <3
Loki, The Dark World (2013)
Dir. Alan Taylor
Humm’s Betrayal Review
In the spirit of Pinter’s Betrayal, i’m going to write this rather rambling review in reverse chronological order, with my (potentially spoilery) personal observations of the actual play under the cut at the end. If you don’t want any of it spoiling, please don’t read past that point! Here goes.
Wednesday 13th March 2019
So a rather funny thing happened to me the day AFTER watching the play, as I was making my way back to the hotel ready to leave for my train. I'd been to the cinema (Captain Marvel for the second time if you're at all interested - just as fun. I want a Flerken. I shall call her Goose. I shall kiss her, and love her, and squeeze her, and get her to eat people who piss me off - Hi Tumblr Support!)
Anyway, there I am, minding my own business, trundling along on my short, little legs towards the tube station, when THE human giraffe himself, the man mountain, the 6ft 2 adonis that is the one and only Mr Thomas William Hiddleston strides past me (presumably making his way to work).
I kid you not. What are the odds?
Out of all of the tube stations in London, their multiple entrances, and of any of the possible times of the day, he glided past me as graceful as a gazelle giraffe. Clad in the ubiquitous uniform, pea coat and Airpods, glorious curls only slightly dampened by the drizzle. I guess I could possibly have called out to him of course, and who knows? He might actually have heard me over whatever he was listening to, but I was also acutely aware that this was a man literally just going about his day to day business, on his way to work. I certainly didn't want to alert anyone else to his presence or make him feel uncomfortable. To be fair, I also have a track record of spluttering nonsensical nonsense (trust me, it’s a thing) in front of this man, but that's a whole other story.
So I basically just had a little moment where I grinned to myself at my unexpected - but lovely - little farewell surprise, and carried on with my own business. It’s only as I write this that I now realise it happened on the 13th (which just so happens to be my lucky number!) Anyhoo...
Earlier that same day I’d had a mooch around Leake Street Arches, which was really close to our hotel and where the Betrayal Teaser clip was filmed. If you get the chance, I recommend paying a visit. You could spend hours looking at all of the bold and brilliant graffiti. It’s also lit up in the evenings.
Tuesday 12th March 2019
The Pinter Theatre
So, firstly. I want to give a HUGE shout out to the front of house staff and security at The Pinter Theatre. They were some of the friendliest i’ve ever encountered, clearly VERY busy but calm and collected. The merchandise was also very well priced (unlike some theatres). Programmes are £5 each, A3 posters are £3.
I did find the stalls seating quite cramped, but that’s not unusual, particularly in older London theatres. And the stage is HIGH, so second row might not be the best option if you’re short like me and want to see the bottom half of legs further back on the stage. But it’s a lovely theatre. And there are some distinct highlights of being so close to the stage which i’ll get into later... ;)
Stage Door
On leaving the theatre, myself and my lovely companion @filthyquill decided to attempt Stage Door. We had low expectations (especially given that we were seated in the stalls). We’d heard that Charlie and Zawe had stopped doing stage door a few nights earlier so weren’t really expecting much, to be honest.
As it turned out, we queued for maybe 5-10 minutes (it was bloody freezing so if you’re going over the next few days wrap up warm!) and then first Charlie, and then Zawe appeared and were escorted along the line taking selfies and signing autographs. They were both lovely, though Charlie understandably appeared to be more at ease with the crowds (he’s an absolute sweetheart with the loveliest smile and seemed genuinely humbled when we told him how much we’d enjoyed his performance). We were given the option of a selfie or an autograph. We queued for around another ten minutes, and were then told that Tom had now finished signing (we didn’t get close enough to see him, there were maybe 20-30 people ahead of us).
But honestly? We left that queue still on an absolute high. Here’s why...
(production spoilers below the cut)
#Betrayal Review#Tom Hiddleston#Hiddlestoners#Betrayal Spoilers#Hiddles#HiddlesEdit#Hiddleston Daily#Zawe Ashton#Charlie Cox#Robert#Jerry#Emma#my Hiddles Edit#My Hiddles Theatre Review#My Theatre Hiddles edit#My Betrayal review#120319#please don't ask the time or station I saw Tom at#long post#Humm does things
Tom Hiddleston throwing some shapes for 1883 Magazine (2012)
#tom hiddleston#hiddlesedit#hiddlestoners#dancing hiddles#hiddleston daily#1883#1883 magazine#hiddles#photoshoot hiddles#hiddles photoshoot#my hiddles edit#my hiddles gif#my hiddles photoshoot edit#b&w hiddles#my b&w hiddles edit#hiddles nonsense#hiddles hands nonsense#bouncy tigger thomas#hiddles dancing#long post#2012 tom#problematic hiddles things#gif#i-queue
Tom Hiddleston in Betrayal Teaser, 14th November 2018
Source: twitter.com
#tom hiddleston#hiddlesedit#hiddlestoners#betrayal#hiddleston daily#flailing and screaming!!!#my hiddles edit#my hiddles gif#2018 tom#betrayal teaser#gif#can we just talk about the masterclass of acting going on in this tiny dialogue free clip?????#also i regret nothing about the length of this post#long post#1k
‘I respond to material in a very instinctive way, because i’m still excited by the challenge of what the story or the piece of work or the writing represents. And I think the great privilege as an actor, is you are often called upon to represent scenarios and behaviour that you actually have no experience of. And you have to then fill out what limited experience you have with your imagination, with your research, and then expand. So it’s almost like a spiritual journey of expansion.’
Source: youtube.com
Day One ~ 12th October 2018
Today was the day! After months of planning - and weeks of quite literally counting down the minutes - myself, @deathbyukmen and @tomkurbikston finally arrived at Navy Pier, armed with all of our paperwork and more than ready to get the show on the road.
We were directed to our designated line and the excitement was palpable as we finally got our hands on our VIP passes. The ACE Universe event staff seemed to share the excitement, and by the time we cleared security and entered the main hall it was almost time for our first photo ops of the weekend.
First up? Talk about a baptism of fire! Friday evening would be our first encounter with Tom.
We’d booked an additional photograph on top of our VIP passes - in my case quite simply because I always hate the way I look in my photos (I always blink!) and didn’t want to risk having travelled almost 4000 miles for a picture of me gurning like an idiot! As we headed to the line to wait, the nerves really started to overtake us all. My anxiety kicked in and my hands were shaking badly, and I could barely breathe. I know, I know. Tom Hiddleston is just a man. But I was equal parts excited and petrified! I have a track record of making a fool of myself around people I don’t particularly care about, so this was definitely much higher stakes! As the clock ticked closer and closer to the start time for the photo session, I tried to get my head together, but just as I thought I might have myself in check, an almighty roar broke out around us. We’d been stood right next to the staircase, and as we turned and looked up, there he was!
Tom looked happy and relaxed, clad in the infamous casual uniform we all love, while we practically had to hold each other up! He was SO damn close!
You’d think getting that first sighting would calm our nerves a little, right?
Wrong! I was a walking, talking mess by this point, not even capable of thinking about getting my phone out of my bag to take a quick photograph as he passed (thankfully this lovely lady was paying attention!) But, to be honest I was shaking so badly that it was probably for the best anyway... All you would have got was a blurry mess, or even just my hand over the lens.
But then we were off. Tom had barely passed us before our line was guided towards the curtained photo op area, and we each took a deep breath, ready to finally meet him for the first time.
Somehow I found myself at the front of our group, and as I made my way through the curtain, there he stood. The man I have dedicated countless hours of my life to for the last 5 years or so... from watching his work, to listening to/reading/watching his interviews, from being inspired by his generosity of spirit and humanitarian work, to making gifs and edits of literally anything and everything he’s done.
Tom Hiddleston was stood, holding out one of those huge hands I have stared at for countless hours, and was speaking directly to little old ME! Truthfully, the next few seconds are a bit of a blur. I remember him saying “Hi” as he took my hand and shook it - YES... TOM HIDDLESTON SHOOK MY HAND! - and apparently the only thing my stupid mouth (and even more stupid brain) could summon up was “I’m from England!”
Now, let me tell you, I don’t think I have EVER felt the need to tell a fellow English man, woman or child that I am from England before in my entire life, so God only knows why that’s what my brain defaulted to... But yeah. Apparently i’m even more of an idiot than I thought!
Tom was gracious enough to laugh (probably thinking ‘Oh God, I’ve got one here!’) while maintaining that devastating eye contact, and then we had our picture taken. I wish I could tell you how it felt to have his hand on my shoulder. I wish I could tell you what it felt like to briefly graze the infamous navy John Smedley sweater. I wish I could tell you how I even came to be facing the person behind the camera. In fact I wish I could tell you so much more. But honestly? My brain had well and truly short-circuited by this point! All I can confirm is that, as expected, the man is T A L L. Our moment was all too brief, as is the way with these photo ops, but I lingered at the sides as my friends had their photo and was able to enjoy that moment in person, and that is one thing that I will never forget!
[At this point I should probably address the fact that there are possibly people who would like to see my pics. But a) I don't share my face on SM for personal and professional reasons, and b) I know - even if I were to hide my face - that someone would completely crop me out of my own special moment with Tom, just to share another photo of him around social media, and i’m sorry but that doesn’t sit well with me, so my photos with Tom are for myself and my closest friends only. I hope you understand] <3
Once we left the area, our nervous excitement spilled over and all we could do was to hold each other for the longest moment and squeal, before it was time to head over to the printers to collect our photos.
I ended the first evening with another photo op, having been invited to join a very special couple of ladies in a photograph with a certain freakin’ WWE wrestler. I’m sure I still looked pretty shell-shocked from meeting Tom but at least I was grinning like an idiot. Even better, I didn’t blink! ;)
Day Two ~ 13th October 2018
Today we left our hotel still walking on air from the night before. We had another busy day ahead, with half of our group meeting Chris Evans, and the other, Lee Pace. For me it was almost straight into line for my photo with Lee as soon as I arrived.
I’ve already talked a little about that encounter here, but I would add that I was much less nervous for this one. While I have always had an appreciation for Lee’s work, it was only after binge-watching Halt and Catch Fire late last year that I truly classed myself as a ‘fan’, so I was much less anxious about meeting him. That said, he was so excited when he spotted the Halt shirt that I couldn’t help but to get caught up in the moment. I left that photo op on cloud nine and couldn’t stop grinning for hours afterwards. That man is ridiculously cute. And boy is he T A L L! (Yes, even taller than Tom!)
My only regret is that I didn’t get the opportunity to see him again for an autograph. Sadly his times on the Sunday all clashed with my Tom photographs and autographs. But hey ho. Maybe another time!
After a quick bite to eat we headed over to the Main Stage for The Avengers Panel, fully aware that as two of us didn’t have a VIP pass for any of the three panellists, we’d likely not get a very good view. We found seats on the back row, and it was then that we finally got to meet @curator-at-large in person. What a lovely moment! Sadly our time was cut short as the panel was just about to start but it was so cool to be able to put a face to a name.
Then the audience were told that there was still space near the front, so we decided to venture forward and see what we could find. We found a great spot, just to the side of the stage against the wall.
We had a perfect view of Chris Evans, Lee Pace and Karen Gillan as they took to the stage. Little did we know that a certain Mr Hiddleston was stood watching the entire thing, just like us, on the balcony directly above our heads!
It was clear from the crowd’s response just how popular ‘Cap’ was as soon as Chris came on stage.
Chris was very humble, thoroughly likeable, passionate and just as political as in his Twitter feed - the crowd erupting in applause when both he and Lee urged the audience to get out and vote in the US midterms.
I have to admit though, that after my earlier experience with Lee, I was still more than a little starstruck and truly only really had eyes for him throughout the panel.
He comes across as one of those people who doesn’t say a great deal, but when he does it’s sassy, passionate, or just downright hilarious (particularly as he regaled the audience with the tales of his problematic Ronan the Accuser costume).
Karen Gillan was a joy as always. Her best moment for me was when she was asked what she’d do if she had access to the Infinity Gauntlet, and let’s just say it involved a certain infamous ‘orange’ person meeting a similar fate to Loki... ;)
Perhaps the most poignant moment came when all three guests were asked for advice on how to handle anxiety by one member of the audience. I’ve sadly seen some negative discussion aimed at this person since the Con, but I can tell you now, within that auditorium I saw nothing but love and support for her.
Finally we watched the Cosplay contest. There were some A M A Z I N G costumes, and hilarious moments: The sassiest Grandmaster pushing Loki and Thor out of the way; and more than one Loki cosplayer suffering the same ‘horns’ malfunctions that Tom has spoken of in the past. It was a fun way to end the day, and we dragged our tired asses back to the hotel on yet another high.
Day Three ~ 14th October 2018
Day three, and it was our final ops with Tom. This time we were armed with our VIP passes, which meant both a photograph and an autograph, then later on seats for Tom and Elizabeth Olsen’s panel.
First up. Our photo op. With a straightforward and thankfully gurn-less ‘hug’ photo in the bag, I really wanted something a little bit more unique for the second picture. Back in the UK I’d toyed with the idea of going all out and cosplaying as ‘Painted Laing’ for a while, but a) I am WAY too lazy, and b) I wasn’t convinced that I would even be let into the event carrying a tin of paint. But then, as I sat rewatching Kong: Skull Island one night, an idea came to me.
Remember that moment when Lt. Hank Marlow meets Conrad et al. for the first time?
It’s one of my favourite moments in the film, and the fact that Marlow actually references Chicago’s most famous sports venue just confirmed in my mind that it was fate. After all, the likelihood that I would EVER get the opportunity to meet Tom Hiddleston in Chicago again was surely slim to zero. So I got a shirt especially printed:
At the last minute I found a candy replica of a Chicago-style hot dog, but the beer presented a bigger challenge. I knew I wouldn’t be able to bring alcohol in, so there was a mad dash to try to get something - anything! - to take the place of the beer. We desperately searched for a bottle of root beer, but as is sod’s law, there was none to be found near the venue. In the end the lovely lady on the concession stand near the second stage took pity on me and gave me an empty plastic fruit cup.
Before we knew it, it was time to queue up again, and this time we were all ready with our phones. I managed not to freak out completely and captured a couple of seconds of shaky video, but honestly? I was more focused on desperately trying to recite what I was going to say to Tom once I got inside, because I was absolutely petrified that I was going to get my words muddled up when I pointed at my shirt and asked if he’d mind if we did something with the props. Given that I was holding a fake sausage and had to point in the direction of my chest, i’ll leave it your imagination what unhelpful sentences continually crossed my stupid mind...!
But, in a rare moment of clarity, I somehow managed to articulate what I was asking for. Tom read the movie quote on my T-shirt and nodded, clearly understanding as he adjusted his glasses *whimpers* and said “Aaah”. He, of course managed to look like the pro that he is in the photograph: holding the empty fruit cup in such a way as to make it look EXACTLY like a beer; whereas I look like I’ve never held a hot dog before in my entire life! I guess that’s why he gets paid the big bucks though! But we somehow made it work, it is definitely unique, and as he handed the plastic cup back to me and I thanked him, he laughed and said: “John C. Reilly would have LOVED that!”.
So, yeah. Day. Month. YEAR... Made!
There was little time to dwell on this though, as it was straight in line for our autographs. I’d been toying with a couple of ideas for things to be signed, but when I saw the photo we’d taken earlier I decided to go with that, as it felt much more personal than a poster or a Funko Pop. As we waited - Tom still busy with the rest of the people waiting in line for photos - we got to share our experiences so far with other fans. There’s always so much love at these events, and we had the pleasure of chatting to the little girl you may have seen on Twitter who was dressed as Loki, replete with her amazing green tutu, as she was directly in front of us with her mum, and we also met Grace from Twitter (Disneycastle88). As always, it’s nice to put a person’s face to the social media account.
Before we knew it, we were being guided into the autograph area, and for the first time the entire weekend, I was able to take a few moments just to watch Tom in action. I can’t say I wasn’t nervous still - because apparently that’s my default setting around this man! - but a lot of the earlier adrenaline had finally burnt away, and I was able to at least appreciate some of the little things i’ve always admired. Little things like the way he took the time to make eye contact, and engage with each and every fan as he signed their items.
That isn’t always a given at these events, let me tell you.
When my turn finally came around I passed him the photograph and he paused and smiled at it, then looked directly at me and grinned as he said: “See? We made it work! That definitely passes as a beer!”
I think I replied with something along the lines of: “You did a great job, thank you.” but It could just as likely have been “Asdfghjkl...flurbergurgle” that came out of my mouth!
I wish I could tell you that while he was signing the photograph - during which it almost felt as if time had stood still - I managed to tell Tom just how profoundly he’s inadvertently affected my life over the last five years. I wish I’d been able to tell him how many friends he’d unknowingly brought into my life. I wish i’d been able to tell him what an amazing talent he possesses, how he brings everything he performs to life, and how he inspires me each and every single day with his kindness, his generosity of spirit and his unwavering values.
But as he started to write I’m afraid my brain went completely and utterly blank yet again and instead I simply stared at those beautiful hands as they glided across the photograph. As I somehow gathered a breath, I did manage to notice The Eyelashes of Doom™ and Boom! Anything approaching a coherent thought that might have still been bubbling under the surface well and truly evaporated.
I just about managed to remember to give him the (still packaged) gummy hot dog (Hey, I figured he might need the sugar fix later on!) and - given that luckily I had already had the foresight to assume I was going to lose any semblance of articulacy - a thank you card which I had been at pains to ensure said EVERYTHING I had been incapable of articulating moments earlier, to which I got a cheeky laugh and one of these...
[Ugh. I can confirm that the eye contact was absolutely no less deadly this time by the way!]
And so, we left our last one-on-one encounters with Tom on an absolute high. We weren’t so much flailing, as simply grinning from ear to ear and unbelievably happy. With so much negativity in the world, it was simply wonderful to experience such pure joy, and I hope Tom realises just how much of that he exudes.
Once back in the auditorium, we decided to take a seat and try to relax a little before Tom and Elizabeth’s panel later on. We were just in time for the start of Tom Ellis’s Devil in the Detail panel. Never having watched ‘Lucifer’, and only having been familiar with Tom Ellis from way back in the day on Eastenders, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I was pleasantly surprised. He comes across as a really fun guy, and we laughed a lot. I’m definitely going to check out ‘Lucifer’ when I get a spare moment.
And then it was main event time... We’d already been told that ‘The Trickster and The Witch’ panel was going to be a little different from others we’d already seen that weekend. It was billed as ‘Tom interviews Elizabeth’...
By now you’ve probably watched it in its entirety. As always, Tom was his loquacious self, practically answering the questions he put forth. But it worked. We were lucky enough to get seats just a few rows back, though sadly to the side of the stage, but we still had a great view.
All I can really add to what you’ve already seen is just how fantastic it was to watch and listen to Tom talk ‘in the flesh’... [stop it!]
I found Elizabeth’s teasing sweet, and when we got to the Q&A and Tom was asked THAT Loki question, the entire audience erupted. Of course he spent an inordinate amount of time trying to navigate a non-spoilery answer, finally coming up with this gem:
I took so many photographs, but given our position, i’m sure you’ve already seen much better-quality ones online. Still, our view would only have been better had Tom actually sat in his designated seat(!) but hey, these things happen, and at least it gave us a chance to focus on that beautiful profile and the curls.
The final question came from the same girl as in the Avengers panel, and what struck me first and foremost was the honesty with which Elizabeth answered. I was already close to tears as I pinched myself yet again, trying to get to grips with the fact that I was even in that room, but to know that even big stars have severe moments of doubt and anxiety really struck a chord with me. As always Tom then went on to give yet another thoughtful, and eloquent response, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I completely lost it. Again.
But I don’t want to end this post with me getting emotional again. So instead...
Tom wasn’t exaggerating. I’ve been to several UK Conventions now, and the cosplayers in Chicago did not disappoint. There were SO many amazing ones to choose from, from every variation of Loki you can think of to the ones who cosplayed as ‘Tom’ himself. But here are just a few of our personal favourites...
(The Heimdall one in particular was OUTSTANDING, even down to the gold contacts!)
And so, we finished our amazing weekend with some retail therapy at our favourite artists at the event. If you haven’t already discovered the amazing illustrations of @butternut-gouache and @briannacherrygarcia go take a look at their work, right now! Erin also posts over on Instagram, as does Brianna. We also got to fangirl over our mutual love of @mintmintdoodles Our final stop was to the talented local artist Deviant Apple Illustrations, where we pretty much bought up the last of Esteban’s remaining Loki stock. Again, if you haven’t seen his artwork, take a look.
We left Navy Pier laden down with goodies and on such a high. And, to be honest a week later i’m still struggling to come back down to Earth, or even process that last week really happened. I have so many more memories, but a lot are simply not my stories to tell. All I will say is that anyone who has followed my blog for any period of time will have some knowledge of just how big a deal it was for me to travel almost 4000 miles alone. The past five years have been the toughest of my life, but from the second I set foot in Chicago I had the biggest grin on my face and immediately felt welcomed.
The people of Chicago, the ACE event organisers, and most significantly the wonderful @deathbyukmen, her A M A Z I N G family and our dear friend @tomkurbikston will forever hold a special part in my heart.
Meeting Tom, Lee and all of the other amazing fans was just the cherry on top of the biggest and best cake ever!
If you made it to the end, THANK YOU for reading. Give yourself a huge slap on the back and please excuse my propensity to waffle. I’m well aware that I lack anything resembling a succinct bone in my body when it comes to writing (as anyone who reads my fics will no doubt confirm!) but I wanted to write this as much for myself as for anyone else, because time dulls memories and i’m certainly not ready to forget! <3
‘ As a teenager your life becomes a lot more complex and your curiosity about things changes, and you become interested in the complexity and the ambiguity of things. I find at most schools in the world, that kind of curiosity isn’t indulged to it’s fullest degree because they want you to behave… So [acting] is a way of exploring life in someone else’s shoes - and also entertaining people of course.’
‘I wrote this little monologue which is really a kind of pastiche of other things I’d done in ‘Avengers’. And then I just sort of improvised it. I’ve got to be honest; I was waiting backstage and I just heard that every single X-Men who has ever walked the earth had been on stage before and I was a little nervous. And I thought Well, hopefully if I just commit to it, it’ll go well. And I thought, I could always get them to chant my name if it doesn’t work. And I walked out, and the very first thing they started doing was chant my name. And that was really surprising… I felt a kind of adrenaline rush like I’ve never felt.’
Classic Hiddles Moments: Loki takes over Hall H ~ San Diego Comic Con, 20th July 2013
#tom hiddleston#hiddlesedit#loki#hiddlestoners#hiddleston daily#loki day#throwback hiddles#classic hiddles moments#humble hiddles#2013 tom#200713#july 2013#my hiddles edit#my hiddles gif#sdcc 2013#aka the first place humm would visit is she got her hands on a tardis#my loki edit#https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R9g_VABesA&t=66s#Long Post#i like big gifs and i cannot lie#I bet this was one if not the best day of his life#bless him#gif#1k#2k#3k#4k#5k#6k#7k
GET READY, TOM HIDDLESTON FANS: HIGH-RISE IS POLARIZING, ANTI-MARVEL INSANITY
By Matt Barone
It just might be Hiddleston's best performance. The British actor's new indie flick will leave his fans stunned, and probably confused.
When we first see Tom Hiddleston's character, Dr. Robert Laing, in High-Rise, he's alone in a ramshackle apartment that looks like it's just been thrashed by '80s-era Guns N' Roses in the midst of a drug-addled afterparty bender. Laing is slowly roasting an Alsatian dog's carcass like backwoods savages do to suckling pigs. Because, well, Laing is apparently hungry.
High-Rise, directed by genre-minded English provocateur Ben Wheatley, is that kind of movie. Believe it or not, though, the image isn't ghastly—it's oddly charming. And that's because of the guy standing next to the rotating spit.
It takes a special kind of actor to pull the sight of a canine's body turning above a fire seem endearing, and accessible. Wheatley knew exactly what he was doing when he chose Hiddleston to lead his deranged High-Rise, a film so bizarre and unruly that it's likely to alienate a large number of Hiddleston's Marvel-minded fans. It bears no resemblance whatsoever to the 34-year-old Westminster native's work as Loki, the villainous yet disarmingly likable scene-stealer in the two Thor movies and 2012's The Avengers. Having Hiddleston's as High-Rise's lead allows Wheatley to push his adaptation of J.G. Ballard's 1975 dystopian novel to its tonally hysterical limits. The experience is like being led through the Gates of Hell by a man-sized teddy bear.
Before I touched down in Austin, TX, last week to attend Fantastic Fest, High-Rise was one of my most anticipated movies. I combed through the film's Twitter mentions a few weeks back after it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and couldn’t help but smile as the TIFF critics' tweets alternated between variations of "WTF" and "genius."
On my end, High-Rise's biggest draw has been Wheatley, who's one of the indie genre scene's most exciting filmmakers. He's a good match for Ballard's writing, since Wheatley'ss films all have a morbidly comic streak running through them, specifically the mega-dark comedy Sightseers (2012) and the experimental freak-out A Field in England (2014); the latter fuses black-and-white cinematography, 17th-century period details, and psychedelic madness into cinema as a full-blown LSD trip. Wheatley's best movie, however, is straight-up, bring-hell-down-upon-thee horror: Kill List(2011), is a masterwork about two hitmen who unwittingly plunge right into a Wicker Man-like nightmare. You watch Kill List and then immediately say, "I'll be first in line to see whatever this insane director makes."
High-Rise is, somewhat to its detriment, next-level crazy. So far, it's still without any U.S. distribution, and it's easy to see why. Wheatley's latest is anti-commercial madness. At first glance, High-Rise's cast makes it seem widely appealing. Hiddleston plays Dr. Laing, an eligible bachelor who moves into an enormous, swanky England apartment building in which the class systems are clearly segmented. It's Snowpiercer minus the train; the upper-class residents, led by architect Royal (Jeremy Irons) enjoy plush suites in the building’s top floors while the middle- to lower-class inhabitants—including documentary filmmaker and first-class womanizer Wilder (Furious 6's Luke Evans), his pregnant wife (Elisabeth Moss), and the proudly slutty single mom Charlotte (Sienna Miller)—are mostly treated like peasants by comparison. Shortly after Laing moves in, the building's water and power stop working, which triggers widespread anarchy, from sex orgies to supermarket riots, murders seen through kaleidoscopic lenses, rambunctious pool parties, and tribal warfare.
Working with J.G. Ballard's already madcap text, Wheatley goes completely mental. The performances are, across the board, mercifully grounded, which is a huge plus since High-Rise's narrative moves with the grace of a Kamikaze pilot. The building’s less-privileged tenants switch from rightfully angry to destructively hedonistic out of nowhere. They don't have arcs, they have sudden mood swings. Wheatley essentially takes Robert McKee's books on screenwriting's three-act structures, burns their pages, and pisses on the ashes. One second, you're watching Hiddleston's Laing share a huge slab of birthday cake with Miller's character's son; minutes later, dozens of residents stare at a suicide victim's smashed-up body, collectively shrug, and then go back to partying.
Due to its anything-goes nature and lunatic storytelling, High-Rise is divisiveness exemplified. Following its Fantastic Fest screenings, the responses were either enthusiastic fawning or visibly agitated disgust. Some hailed it as "brilliant"; others dismissed it as incoherent and over-reaching "bullshit." I, on the other hand, was just really bummed out. High-Rise left me feeling cold; most of the jokes didn’t land, much of the violence seemed overly silly, and the film’s strangeness felt distractingly self-aware. High-Rise is Wheatley's biggest production to date, both in scope and in its credits, yet its name-brand cast initially struck me as a superficially tactical maneuver. Watching the bourgeoisie degenerate into perverted sadists is one thing, but when that bourgeoisie comes in the forms of refined thespians like Tom Hiddleston, Elisabeth Moss, Jeremy Irons, and Sienna Miller, the salaciousness becomes transparent. It’s clearly a selling point.
For several days following Fantastic Fest's High-Rise screening, I wasn't buying it. But I also couldn’t stop thinking about it. My thoughts kept tracing back to the image of Tom Hiddleston grilling that poor dog, a strikingly grotesque and strangely hilarious visual that truly feels like something only Ben Wheatley could pull off with such matter-of-factness. And the more I ponder High-Rise, the clearer it becomes that the film needs to marinate in one’s mind before he or she can really formulate a definitive opinion. I'm going to need another couple of viewings before I decide whether if it's Wheatley's worst movie so far or if it's actually his magnum opus.
Whenever High-Rise pops back into my head, though, it's always Hiddleston's who's front and center. No matter how I or anyone else ultimately rates High-Rise as a motion picture, there's no denying the fact that Hiddleston is remarkable in the film. He’s the reason why it's impossible to write Wheatley's aggressively off-kilter film off as simply cinematic wildness and depravity for cinematic wildness and depravity's sake. Dr. Laing is a seemingly harmless man of the people, a guy who's able to mingle with the have-it-alls, thanks to impossible handsomeness and debonair personality, and who’s also capable of blending in with the have-nots, due to his concealed insecurities and natural kindheartedness. The character's adaptability gives Hiddleston the chance to cover all of High-Rise's bases—he engages in just as much sex as he does intellectual conversations and brutal fist-fights.
It just might be Hiddleston's best performance. Before High-Rise, that honor went to Jim Jarmusch’s magnificently idiosyncratic vampire film Only Lovers Left Alive, in which Hiddleston excellently plays against the equally great Tilda Swinton as an eternal bloodsucker who's bored stiff with his neverending nighttime existence. But arthouse movies like that that aren't why Hiddleston an online sensation. He's part of the rarefied league of movie stars, like Chris Pratt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Pattinson, and Jennifer Lawrence, who can set Twitter and Tumblr into a frenzied overdrive by merely smiling or sneezing. As Movies.com's John Gholson points out, a Google search for "Tom Hiddleston Tumblr" produces 842,000 results. That's due in large part, of course, to his aforementioned involvement in the Marvel Studios big-screen universe as Thor's antagonistic brother, Loki, but it's also because he's so friendly with journalists and photogenic on red carpets. He's class personified. Seriously, the guy even managed to win over Robert De Niro on a talk show by doing a spot-on Robert De Niro impersonation.
Hiddleston is the total package: for the ladies, he's a dashing English looker who genuinely seems like the nicest guy around; for the fellas, he’s a fanboy-approved blockbuster veteran who’s consistently the best thing in every Marvel movie featuring Loki. And now that he’s on a break from Marvel until the next Thor movie, 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, Hiddleston is showing those ravenous Tumblr users that he’s also a damn good actor when he’s nowhere near green screens and Chris Hemsworth’s general on-screen vicinity.
In time, whenever it's officially released, High-Rise will give Hiddleston's numerous Internet-savvy admirers a multitude of new GIFs and memes. In one of the film's crazier sequences, Hiddleston's Laing dances in slow motion, and it's like a chopped-and-screwed remix of Leonardo DiCaprio's moves in The Wolf of Wall Street. But it'll be fascinating to see if Hiddleston's online supporters will actually enjoy High-Rise as a moviegoing experience beyond it being an excuse to see their boy sunbathing naked in one scene and ravaging Sienna Miller's body on a dinner table in another. Their reactions won't be unlike Ryan Gosling's misinformed fans who unknowingly bought tickets for an art-house picture in Drive when they thought they were about to see Gosling's best Vin-Diesel-as-Dom-Torretto impression. They'll leave the theater shell-shocked.
And that, come to think of it, may be what makes High-Rise so essential after all.
So, I love and loath this review in equal measure. I love that the reviewer clearly appreciated Tom’s performance, however I HATE that he automatically lumps all female fans together as if no-one has a fucking brain. *rolls eyes*
Of course there were some fans who were like ‘What the actual fuck am I watching?’ when they saw this movie... but in some ways I think that's cultural, not gender related. High-Rise is so British. The dark humour is intrinsically British. Laing’s detached, stiff upper lip persona is so British. And I mean British here not in the 'ooh we have a Queen and drink tea' British. I mean in the slightly underhand, sarcastic and anarchic sense... Because shock horror! Not all Brits sit around sipping tea all day and talking about Shakespeare, Tom included! But it also firmly has it’s place in European cinema, where filmmakers are not afraid to portray a bleak narrative and push boundaries much more than in Hollywood.
So yeah, it’s no secret to anyone who follows this blog that I champion this film whenever I get the opportunity. There’s so much to love about it, and there is SO much more to it than that balcony scene, Tom's naked ass and the sex scene! While I have absolutely no problems with those whatsoever, it’s Tom’s performance and those of both Luke Evans and Sienna Miller that stand out for me. All three are top notch. So yes, Mr Reporter, suck on that. Also, FYI it’s not just boys who like Marvel! And not just because of pretty men ffs!
Okay... I'm getting a bit shouty again, so i'll stop. I'm just really passionate about this film and its source material. I would actually recommend reading the book first anyway, or even better, getting Tom to read it to you via the audio book version! I completely understand that Ballard isn’t to everyone’s taste, but please, if you haven’t yet watched High-Rise, please at least watch it with an open mind and look beyond the sensational aspects.
Source: tribecafilm.com
‘I started writing a journal for my thoughts. I don’t know if it was to forget, or to remember what i’d seen. Men and women, caught in the crossfire of an unwanted war. After a few years i’d seen so much death, the word itself became meaningless. Words became meaningless…’
Tom Hiddleston in Manjinder Virk’s powerful ‘Out of Darkness’, which deals with the impact, devastation and experience of death, as an aid worker’s story is told through nine separate voices.
#tom hiddleston#hiddlesedit#out of darkness#hiddlestoners#hiddleston daily#manjinder virk#this entire piece is so moving#if you get the chance to watch the entire short please do#b&w hiddles#my hiddles edit#my hiddles gif#2013 tom#i like big gifs and i cannot lie#my b&w hiddles edit#gif#long post#1k