Benedict Cumberbatch finally confirmed at Marvel’s ‘Doctor Strange’: yay?

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God, I can’t believe how friggin’ long it took for Marvel to cast Doctor Strange. It feels like we’ve spent most of 2014 talking about the casting rumors. Well, we finally have our Doctor Strange, and it’s Benedict Cumberbatch. How many names did they go through to get back to The Batch? Joaquin Phoenix. Ethan Hawke. Tom Hardy. Johnny Depp. And at least a dozen other actors. My guess is that Tom Hardy actually was a contender, but Hardy was more interested in the Suicide Squad film. My guess is that Joaquin didn’t want to sign away the next years of his career to become a Marvel company man. And so Marvel went back to Cumberbatch.

Benedict Cumberbatch has entered the world of the mystic arts. The actor will star in Marvel’s “Doctor Strange,” scheduled to hit theaters November 4, 2016. The film, directed by Scott Derrickson with Jon Spaihts writing the screenplay, will follow the story of neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange who, after a horrific car accident, discovers the hidden world of magic and alternate dimensions.

“Stephen Strange’s story requires an actor capable of great depth and sincerity,” said Producer Kevin Feige. “In 2016, Benedict will show audiences what makes Doctor Strange such a unique and compelling character.”

With “Doctor Strange,” Cumberbatch is just the latest actor to join the bold Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, introducing new heroes and continuing the adventures of fan favorites across multiple films.

[From Marvel]

I edited out some of the Marvel fluff about Bendy’s amazingness and how he’s starring in everything these days. The only thing I learned from the fluff was that Black Mass – Bendy with a Boston accent! – will come out September 2015. Good to know.

I also have a theory that Benedict was hesitant to sign a Marvel contract because his schedule is already pretty full. I think he’ll film Sherlock next, then maybe Doctor Strange, and then he’ll finish that in time for Hamlet next summer. So what’s changed in his schedule? He probably will back out of a couple of his pre-productions – go here check his IMDB. Still, even if he backs out of a few projects, it’s still going to be tricky to set aside five months to film a Marvel movie, you know? And for the love of God, he’s not going to have any time to plan his wedding! Ha.

PS… The National Enquirer says Cumby paid $470,000 for Sophie’s engagement ring. Really? THAT MUCH?

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Photos courtesy of PR Photos and WENN.

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594 Responses to “Benedict Cumberbatch finally confirmed at Marvel’s ‘Doctor Strange’: yay?”

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  1. Claire says:

    Boo. I didn’t want him to take the role but okay fine, I’ll survive. I’m hoping at the very least it means it’ll give him a couple years, in the most extreme scenario, to come to his senses regarding signing away half his fat Dr Strange cheque to The Outbreak Monkey.

    Continuing the last thread’s conversation, Ingrid said: “The deal might have been made already back in October for all I know, but they might have decided to postpone the announcement to accommodate TIG opening.

    Which is exactly what happened. The news came on a slow BC news day the week before GG and SAG nominations. TIG opened limited last week and is going to be a full release in Christmas. This was a”free week” for BC publicity.”

    I thought of this when that news first came out. It was weird and jumping the gun, and I thought maybe his people was behind it so it wouldn’t take attention away from TIG. It could be purely coincidental though.

    • Ingrid says:

      Thanks Claire for bringing my comment here.

      It could be an coincident but “universe is rarely so lazy” and Hollywood even more rarely.

      What surprised me about the announcement was how low-key it was, no big event or pyrotechnics. Maybe Marvel wanted to do traditional thing and normalize the situation. LOL.

      • Claire says:

        You’re welcome, Ingrid. 🙂

        And I was thinking of doing a satirical announcement comment!!! But I was frazzled today and my joke machine wasn’t working. Hey, we seem to think alike…were we separated at birth!?!?!

      • Ingrid says:

        @Claire – It’s very clear that you are an extraordinary, smart and inspirational person. LOL. 😀

      • Claire says:

        Same to you, lovely lady 🙂

    • Algernon says:

      “Continuing the last thread’s conversation, Ingrid said: “The deal might have been made already back in October for all I know, but they might have decided to postpone the announcement to accommodate TIG opening.

      Which is exactly what happened. The news came on a slow BC news day the week before GG and SAG nominations. TIG opened limited last week and is going to be a full release in Christmas. This was a”free week” for BC publicity.”

      No. That’s not how anything works. Certainly his Oscar chances add luster to his casting, but Disney/Marvel has no reason to promote someone else’s work. Besides, you really think, if they’d had Cumby signed back in October they wouldn’t have wanted him on stage with RDJ and Chris Evans at their song and dance press conference? It would’ve brought the house down. One of the trades mentioned that they didn’t sign the deal until yesterday. I think they published their press release the second they had his name on the dotted line.

      • Claire says:

        you’re not taking into account BC’s side of the negotiation deal and how he wanted it timed. they would cater to that since they wanted him so badly.

      • Ingrid says:

        @Claire – ITA (of course, LOL)

        It does surprise me how naive people really are. Do they not realize that in Hollywood, *everything* is planned and timed to the last detail to maximize the right kind of press and minimize the wrong kind of press. EVERYTHING. Does anyone really believe Harvey & Benedict’s PR don’t coordinate these things but just let the chips fall were they may. NO.

        If Marvel had announced it last week or next week, I might have believed that Marvel just decided to announce it. But the timing was *perfect*, so there most likely was an agreement.

        (Celeb divorces are usually announced on a Friday afternoon to minimize the fuss, for example.)

        @Algernon – I agree that most likely the negotiations were still happening in October. The contract might have signed in late October /early November. Or maybe last night. We don’t know.

      • MaximeduCamp says:

        I’d agree with others that I’ve read elsewhere, that the timing of the Dr. strange signing finalization/announcement was almost 100% from Marvel and in response to DC Comics announcement of the cast of Suicide Squad earlier this week.

      • Ingrid says:

        Of course it might be DC & Marvel pissing contest but the announcement just happened the exact day when even CB was running out of BC stories. LOL.

      • Algernon says:

        “you’re not taking into account BC’s side of the negotiation deal and how he wanted it timed. they would cater to that since they wanted him so badly. ”

        Yes I am. Nothing trumps how much they like to make announcements at parties. If they had had him signed in time for that October fiesta, they would have trotted him out on stage. The only allowance I’ll make for timing manipulation what Maxime points out about the Suicide Squad announcement. I can believe they’d try to get it done in time to make an announcement as quickly after that as possible, just to take heat from DC. I do not believe in the slightest they considered Cumby at all, though. They wanted him badly enough to move the movie back and that’s enough.

        ETA: The naivete is assuming actors have power. 99% of them don’t, certainly not Cumby (not yet). Marvel made a huge concession for him, but you only get the one from them. Look at Chris Evans, who they let off with a shorter contract. But in turn he gets no negotiating power and has the cheapest salary, and he gets no concessions about publicity duties.

      • Ingrid says:

        @Algerno – I wasn’t saying Benedict has that power. He doesn’t. Harvey sort of does, but that’s beyond the point. The real question is why would Marvel want to sabotage BC’s possible Oscar nom/win? That would be ludicrous. Cooperation during this time is win-win-win for all the parties. If BC gets nom/win, Marvel will also benefit.

        But honestly, I don’t even care about this subject. 😀

      • Algernon says:

        Oh, no, I’m not saying they’re trying sabotage him in any way! It’s clearly to Marvel’s advantage to have him as lustrous ans prestige-shiny as possible. I’m just saying that in the timing of their announcement, no consideration to Cumby is given. All they care about it is maximizing impact *for them.* The biggest impact would’ve been back in October, barring that, taking the piss out of DC is the next best thing. How it looks for Benedict is not something they’d really care about. They only care about how it looks for them.

        But more to the point, the more reputable industry outlets have said that they literally just got the deal done this week, so I don’t think there was any fancy dancing involved, except *maybe* a desire to show up DC’s Suicide Squad announcement.

  2. t.fanty says:

    Give the man his credit: he hustled hard for this. And he’s proven over the last month that he will sell his soul for A-list fame. Nobody wants this more than Cumby. I think he was bottom of their list and fought hard for this. I think he won by virtue of being the last man standing when they came back around to him.

    • Claire says:

      You may be right. And I don’t really blame him: I’d do the same. Except for the engagement/girlfriend. If I had a gun to my head, I’d at least choose someone kind and respectable, yet with nerves of steel who can take the whole charade with a sense of humour.

    • Mila says:

      Nah. The Wrap practically said that Marvel has such a huge boner for Cumby and wanted to work with him for years. And this film was initially set for a July 2016 release date, they’ve changed the date to November 2016 to get Cumby and work around his schedule.

      Basically…
      1. He was in the wishlist with Tom Hardy
      2. He said at SDCC that he couldn’t do it because of Hamlet
      3. Marvel asked Phoenix
      4. Phoenix declined
      5. Marvel went back to their first choice, Cumby
      6. Marvel changed the date for him (even Jeff Sneider said this)
      7. And there you go, Cumby as Dr. Strange

      • Ingrid says:

        ITA. BC was clearly in a strong negotiation position with Marvel. They changed their schedule (unheard off) and apparently he only signed up for 4 movies instead of 6-9. I think he got a larger payday as well.

      • Mila says:

        @Ingrid Yeah, and they obviously want to pin him down as soon as possible before he gets that Oscar nomination and ask for more moolah. And according to The Wrap again, Marvel turned down Jared Leto because he’s not yet a fully established brand like Cumby is. They need an actor with a brand like Cumby because Doctor Strange is not a popular superhero. Like, I know Leto is famous and an Oscar winner to boot but he doesn’t have that kind of furor surrounding Cumby even with his groupies because of his band. Benedict is classically trained, thesp-y and respected in the acting community and he has that fan-favorite thing going on as well. It’s a perfect combo.

      • Claire says:

        ^yes with maybe the exception of the payday.

        now all i care about is when is s4 being filmed?

      • PrettyBlueFox says:

        Long time lurker (on all CB threads), first time poster.

        I’m not sure anyone will ever know what really went down in this casting process (despite the fact that all the name drops and false starts were probably already far more public than Marvel wanted them to ever be). That being said, I don’t think they shifted the date ONLY to accommodate Cumby. I think they ended up with their back to the wall with no actor ready to go, because they clearly wanted somebody with a level of preexisting name recognition, and since they already knew they had to move the dates that reopened the possibility for Benedict to walk through the door. If they could have worked out their original schedule with someone else, they would have stuck to it.

        Also (and please, note this not meant to be a Cumberbatch bashing, I think he’s a great actor), but Marvel will NEVER put themselves in a position to give anyone else a RDJ payday. I can see them paying Cumby a higher straight salary than some of their previously unknowns, but there’s not going to be any back-end deal or profit sharing from the merchandising. I don’t care how much they did or didn’t want him – business is business for them.

        Ultimately, there’s no way Marvel will play this any other way than praising Cumberbatch through the roof and talking about how much they wanted him – they’ve already been made to look a bit of the fool this summer over the casting and they need to save face at any cost. If another actor ended up with the part, we’d be hearing the same awesome PR about him. (Please note, I’m not implying they aren’t genuinely happy with casting Cumby. But seriously – is their press release going to say “meh” or “we kinda sorta like him because he ended up being our last best option” under any circumstances?)

      • Abbott says:

        @PrettyBlueFox welcome aboard! ITA, that casting process was a mess. Seems unusual for Marvel to drop the ball, but that’s happened a couple times this year.

      • 'P'enny says:

        Sorry, I don’t believe they shifted the date to accommodate Benedict, they shifted to fit the growing storyline of Cap America 3 and Avengers.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        @prettybluefox, welcome and you make valid points. MCU would not switch around the schedules of Chris Pratf, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Glenn Close, John C. Reilly, Vin Diesel, and all the other people involved in the GOTG franchise for a July 2016 release just to accommodate Benedict Cumberbatch. And no way are they paying him close to RDJ scale. MCU will never do that again. Nor would they risk more trouble with other actors in their stable. He is not getting paid more than Paul Rudd.

      • PrettyBlueFox says:

        @Lilacflowers I actually wonder if Cumberbatch’s superfans and, to an extent, the man himself realize that this casting does not make him the new RDJ of the MCU. He’s won the position of a new cog in a very large machine – which means he serves a specific role to be determined by the builders. (I also agree with your comment below that he was desperate for a franchise – all the friends/people he admires like McAvoy, Fassie, etc have franchises.)

      • Josa says:

        I think Marvel wants Benny as much as Benny wants Marvel. Marvel is running out of options for Dr. Strange and they need someone to fill the role to fit into their schedule. And let’s face it, Hollywood isn’t exactly knocking on Benny’s door atm. He has Sherlock, Hamlet, Hollow Crown, all British. 3 other projects listed on his IMDB, all indies. Everyone thought he will be called for Star Wars, but nope. Some thought he’ll be called back for Star Trek, that didn’t happy either. The rest is animation projects which do nothing to boost his chance of leading man status in Hollywood anyway. He said he has his schedule filled to mid 2016 before this Dr. Strange deal. The window for him to get his Hollywood big break is closing fast. And if he went on his original schedules and didn’t close the Dr. Strange deal, he won’t have any Hollywood opportunity until he gets to his 40. If you think Marvel didn’t think about all these and use it in the negotiation in their advantage, well, think again.

      • Isadora says:

        @Josa: I absolutely agree.

    • Sixer says:

      I think it’s all very strange. Sorry. Predictable. (The soul-selling, not the casting). Oh, well. At least it’s working. He should be able to get back to (not) enjoying F1 in fairly short order, right?

  3. Lindy79 says:

    @ Fanty, so very true.

    Not a chance did Mr I wear clothes until they evaporate, pay half a million for that blah ring.
    Sophie flew into space on a comet, claimed a star and that is what you see on her finger.

    Strange…meh.

    • Claire says:

      I don’t think anyone (except the braindead) think he paid that much money for that ring?

      So if it wasn’t a Tiffany, what was it? I’m not that interested in the price, but in whether he actually had to pay for it hahaha.

      Also, if he DID have to pay, clever bugger proposing before he inked Doctor Strange when she would have demanded a more expensive ring. Go Benny, don’t give her more than a dime you need to.

      • Ingrid says:

        I don’t think it’s Tiffany’s. At least it’s not the ring everyone though it was. It does look very American though. Or at least very WAG-ish.

        It does’t look like a ring BC would buy, but none of this enGAGment screams Benedict. I wouldn’t expect the ring to do that either.

        And no, it’s not in six-digits. More likely somewhere between £15,000-50,000 pounds.

      • Claire says:

        I haven’t seen any of the photos of it. Is it really as loose fitting as people say or is that just wishful thinking?

      • MissMary says:

        Claire: It may have been fitted by now but at the NYC prem it looked pretty loose in the few pics where it could be seen/was on her hand.

      • Claire says:

        thanks MissMary 🙂

      • Ingrid says:

        Claire, there’s a link to a photo on Kaiser’s post above.

      • Lindy79 says:

        It was loose in NY, it’s sitting too far up her finger when her hand is down.
        http://assets-s3.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/article_photos/sophie-hunter-engagement-ring-inline.jpg

        At the ESAs the outer ring of diamonds looked almost blue which was odd since they were on a red carpet and there didn’t seem to be any blue nearby for it to reflect off.
        http://cdni.condenast.co.uk/592×888/s_v/sophie-hunter_glamour_23dec14_picturelib_bb.jpg

        Its a very…characterless ring.

      • Claire says:

        Ingrid, I actively avoid giving anything involving her, aside from CB articles, more clicks 🙂

      • Claire says:

        Thanks for that assessment Lindy79!

      • Lindy79 says:

        Lol, as you can tell, I’m not a fan of the ring.
        I thought he’d go for something more vintage looking.

      • Claire says:

        Do you think he really bought it for her, genuinely?

      • Lindy79 says:

        Well if you take it at face value you’d have to assume he did? Maybe she picked it, but again I thought it would be something less “WAG looking” if either of them picked it out. Neither of them strike me as flashy ostentatious people in their clothing or jewelery.
        It could be a family ring but looking at it, I doubt it, plus that would make a great PR story “Sophie wears Cumberbatch family heirloom” so you can bet that would have gotten out if it was.

      • Ingrid says:

        It’s definitely NOT a family heirloom. The micropave (small diamonds with almost none of the metal visible on the band and on the halo) is a very recent technology in jewelry design. No more than 10 years old, if even that.

      • Felice says:

        He does have an heirloom ring though. He wears it in projects sometimes. He wore it in Parade’s End and in something else.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        The large stone in the ring is an Infinity gem.

      • Old Enough says:

        the ring might actually have some sapphires in the outer ring of stones, I’ve seen other rings with them. Or it might be an optical illusion.

      • Isadora says:

        “The large stone in the ring is an Infinity gem.” 😀 Do you then think Tom tried to filch it at the ESA? He still has a debt to pay to Thanos…

    • Claire says:

      Also, I don’t know how much he makes, but for some reason, with UK tax rates, I have a feeling 500k would be a huge chunk of his savings. He doesn’t love her that much! lmao

      • Soothy says:

        Spending that much on a ring is insanity of the highest order. And there’s no way he would be stupid enough to do it.

      • Green Eyes says:

        Don’t worry Claire. *Harvey* has the money to buy a $500K ring. Or at least enough money to buy insurance to ensure that the ring is returned to Tiffany’s at some point this early spring.

      • Claire says:

        I didn’t think of that last point, Green Eyes. So obvious! And probable. (if not tiffanys then whoever it’s from)

      • gg says:

        And Tiffany’s flagship NYC store *just so happens* to be right around the corner from the theatre where the NY premiere of TIG took place. Just sayin’

      • Ally8 says:

        “You shouldn’t have an engagement ring that you can’t wear on the subway.”

        – Nora Ephron

    • Megan says:

      Who says it is even real?

      • Claire says:

        I was going to ask that! I’ve actually been wondering it all along. But then lindy79 says it was characterless, in other words a poor diamond. Not a gemstone expert though, perhaps a fake could also have the sparkle/reflection of a real diamond?

        Dani? Anyone else?

      • Lindy79 says:

        I don’t know if it would be fake but it could be lower quality, which is really the thing with diamonds. You can get huge diamonds that are very poor quality, and therefore cheaper. Size doesn’t equal quality

      • Ingrid says:

        It’s 99% a real diamond ring because it photographs very well.

        However, the large diamond does have a yellowish /dull light which would mean it’s not very good quality (might be just the lighting though).

        The blue stones also might not be diamonds but aquamarines /sapphires /something else (light blue sapphires do have the same sort of hue). Blue diamonds are very rare and to get that many in the same shade; even rarer.

      • Claire says:

        Ingrid, damn you are good.

        What about those imitation diamonds that sparkle almost like the real thing?

      • gracada says:

        If it’s aquamarine…that would be her birthstone….her birthday is in March…

      • Lindy79 says:

        How romantic

        *sick in own mouth*

        No way that was done intentionally or it would have been leaked to the press.
        “Benedict picked a diamond, surrounded by his new fiancee’s birthstone. It also matches his mesmerizing eyes and shines like her smile”

      • Dani says:

        I wouldn’t say it’s not real. It could be low quality (probably G or lower – D being the highest – and more or less SI as opposed to VVSI etc etc. The blue stones kind of give me the feeling it might be CZ though (cubic zarconia) which would make it like a $300 ring but I’d like to think he’s not THAT dumb. That said, I know girls with fake stones that photograph well, just depends on where you get it and how much you invest in it. It also doesn’t fit right. Any band with diamonds down the band are incredibly inconvenient to size and would require the balls inside the band to keep it in place but those aren’t practical. I would assume one would size or at least attempt to size his beloved fiances finger prior to buying a “$470k” ring.

      • Toodles45 says:

        Well, call me sentimental/soppy but I find it kind of sweet that the ring matches her birthstone. Not the MOST original gesture, but sweet. and seeing that BC can be kind of emotional/seems prone to wear his heart on his sleeve I wouldn’t put it past him (if in fact this isn’t ALL for show)

        It does indeed look like the ring was resized because it’s resting better on her finger than it did in NY.

      • Toodles45 says:

        Edit: I meant to add that I feel it works because I happen to think that this particular blue is a beautiful color for a ring/engagement ring, maybe not so much for another color. I think it works, but that’s MHO.

      • Soothy says:

        Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Nobody knows that it IS aquamarine, let alone that it was deliberately done because someone happened to know it was a birthstone. Who even knows about birthstones? Let’s not try and inject romance out of pure fantasy and speculation.

      • Ingrid says:

        @Soothy -ITA. And to be honest, the stones look slightly too dark to even be aquamarines.

        *curses inwardly for even mentioning aquamarines the first place* My apologies to the world. The nannies will have a field day with this.

    • Emily says:

      Exactly.

  4. Crocuta says:

    Yay!

  5. Abbott says:

    *carves notch into wall*

    757 days, 18 hours, 34 seconds til we get a break from Lord Otter.

    *stares off into oblivion*

    • j.eyre says:

      *pulls out tin cup to run along bars, decides to beat herself to death with it instead*

    • InvaderTak says:

      What does that count down to?

      • Lilacflowers says:

        The day all the octopi babies return to Sophie’s comet and take Lord Otter with them.

      • Abbott says:

        The Reckoning. When the Four Horsemen dish out otter annihilation and attempt to retrieve our ancestors from the spirit realm. From thenceforth a battle of wills ensues and Lord Otter will be forced back into the Earth’s core and we shall all live in peace. Or until Skynet becomes self aware.

        Nah. It’s abouts the Dr. Strange premiere which, in my mind, will be our reprieve. But I’m an optimist.

      • Green Eyes says:

        *Like* to all of the above.

      • gg says:

        There is no way in hell that woman will still be around by the time Dr. Strange comes out. She’ll be gone by Hamlet (August 2015), mark my words

      • icerose says:

        he is still looking for an Ophelia and who would be more perfect than an actress with experimental film experience. She can come on with a necklace octopus and daisies symbolising the love that strangled her around her neck saying “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. Pray youAnd there is pansies, that’s for thoughts. There’s fennel for you, and columbines. There’s rue for you, and here’s some for me. We may call it herb of grace o’ Sundays….

    • Sixer says:

      Abbott – are you Kevin Bacon in Murder in the First or Steve McQueen in Papillon? You get first bags and I’ll take the other.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      Isn’t Skynet overdue for self-awareness?

    • Kiddo says:

      Let’s recap, shall we?

      The SOPHIE engagement is a fraud, but she might be having ALL THE BABIES, and now the bauble is fake and not paid for. Kaiserbatch4evah and The Comet Cometh™. Abbott eats bugs and doesn’t get out of the rain. Onay otay ethay ynetskay eferenceray. *shudders.*

  6. Claire says:

    And continuing the conversation on body language: did she throw tantrums on the carpet and carry her nose like she’s better than the Queen with the last men in her life?

  7. Lilacflowers says:

    OMG! I cannot believe that serious actor man Benedict Cumberbatch has deigned to lower himself to do a comic book movie! SOPHIE is to blame for this!

    • InvaderTak says:

      I think comic book movies have more dignity than star trek lol

    • **sighs** says:

      It was the hair tossing. It put him over the edge.

      • EscapedConvent says:

        He finally sat down and watched that octopus music video, the poor schnook. He’s hoping Karon remembers where she put that Tiffany’s receipt.

        And just when I thought she couldn’t possibly do anything more embarrassing than the Octo video, I happened upon a pic of her posing topless, with an attempt at a “Come hither” expression. Wait until Wanda gets a load of that.

      • Claire says:

        is that circulating on tumblr? if not, please circulate it to all the related blogs, get it rolling

        People need to know this about the “future wife” of an establishment actor in respectable society and who’s aiming for an OBE or more. 🙂

      • Coco says:

        @jammypants: may I say it at last? I hate what they did to the Hobbit! It was one of my childhood favourites, and they made TWO horrible movies from it!!! I will not watch the third one, I´ve had enough of that moneymaking bs.
        edit: this should be somewhere else…. sorry!

      • jammypants says:

        @Coco, I know. It blows my mind that a simple adventure story turned into THREE movies. I think of Charles Tokien wasn’t such a purist, instead of three Hobbit movies, we’d get one and some Silmarillion ones. There would be more balance in terms of cohesive storytelling.

    • Claire says:

      he couldn’t handle all her hardcore real art

    • Green Eyes says:

      Yes, Sophie is to blame for all this, Lilacflowers, in that: Sophie will be feasting at the trough of Lord Cumby’s riches (an embarrassment of!).

    • PunkyMomma says:

      @Lilacflowers – as The Mate to The Official Bearer of The Otter Pups, it’s his manly duty to provide food, shelter and fugly clothing/accessories (read The Ring into that, too) to his beloved SophieBenzo.

  8. Sheena says:

    How he dare to spend that much money on that undergrad witch?!

  9. Beth says:

    So are we to assume Lost City of Z isn’t happening? Bummer.

    • roses says:

      He mentioned in an interview they start shooting sometime in spring 2015. They had location issues so the date was moved.

    • Midnightatthemuseum says:

      Can’t see that he’ll have time for LCoZ now, which means even less work for my boyfriend Sparkles. Boo hiss! Double bummer 🙁

    • MtnRunner says:

      LCoZ may be off the table for now. It’s not listed on his IMDB page anymore.

  10. AG-UK says:

    umm $470k for a ring, maybe it’s me but for some reason he comes across too frugal to spend that much. who knows. I like it looks art deco but doubt it’s that much and will look weird with a band. All I know is if he thinks he is working hard for TIG then just wait until Marvel sinks their claws in.

  11. 'P'enny says:

    ooooh

    Juicy news.

    Cap America films next Spring, so I would take a guess that Dr Strange will film after Hamlet, because Marvel have pushed back the release date to Nov 2016.

    I am going to take great delight and say ‘Told You So’ I said moooooonths ago he had the part. I think the sticking point was scheduling, and that kicked off talks with Joaquin. I think Tom Hardy or Jared Leto were second choices behind Benedict. I think, Kevin F wanted Benedict last year.

    The other thing, I think he signed on the dotted line a while ago, and has asked Kevin to wait till Imitation Game interviews were over, knowing full well he would get hounded about Strange and they would ignore TIG.

    I don’t think, before people hound on to it and wind up the Hiddles-fanbase this is not treading on Hiddles Marvel spot. Tom Hiddleston is a big boy and can more than hold his own career. [However, Benedicts’ snark over the Jungle Book has irked me, despite it being a joke.] And, Hiddles in now entitled to snark back in the same vein, but we know he wont, because he has manners. And, Benedict slipping the Avengers word dropping in TIG interviews, was a bit too blatant a hint. I said that too, :-p before this formal announcement.

    And, Benedict isn’t big enough to just take RDJ’s crown like some twerps on another site, inferred too. That made me laugh.

    I think this is brilliant for Brit actors, I can see it annoying the fan-boys, but the fan-girls will love it.

    But, Benedict if you’re reading this, you need to stop switching fan -loyalties, the creeping up to Tumblr, with that thank you video message, was weird and creepy. You only did it because the Marvel announcement was imminent and you pee’d off your geek fan-girl base off, no end over the last few weeks with your snarky attitude. [me included] time to stop being grumpy penguing and happy marvel crown. Marvel don’t need another Chris Evans or Idris Elba. You’re in this for the long haul, at least three movies, 6 months a year and promotion. So no moaning, when Marvel haul you off around the world!

    • Sheena says:

      RDJ’s charismatic as hell. Tom is charismatic but not as much as RDJ. Ben…well…he has a “large” and “intense” fanbase. He will be ok.

      • icerose says:

        Well watching the Hollywood reporter round table Benny has the charisma of a sloth on a good day.. Timothy Spall charmed the pants of all of them, He starts off as this quiet funny looking man but by the end of the hour they were all looking at him with the kind of look Jim Beaver and Rodney Crowell give Tom Hiddleston. Redmayne was so endearing I gave him the Oscar right there and then.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      I think he begged for the job when rumors went out that they were looking to cast. He has been trying to latch onto a major franchise, any major franchise, for a while now. Marvel clearly wanted an American and somebody more prominent – all of the Americans rumored to be in talks are far more prominent than he is. When they couldn’t get one of them, with pre-production deadlines approaching, they settled.

      • Claire says:

        Settled, then announced to the eye rolling of many.

      • KT says:

        ‘P’enny’s timeline is about right to me.

        I really don’t think Marvel would have ‘settled’ for a major character casting or that they waited until July already to start major negotiations with someone. Fairly certain Marvel wanted Cumberbatch to cut his Hamlet run somehow, and that was a sticking point.

      • Josa says:

        I think Marvel wants him a lot, but not as much to change their schedule for him. If they were willing to change schedule for him, then they would have changed that the first time he’s in negotiation, and ideally announced the casting at ComicCon. Obviously that didn’t happen, the negotiation broke down because scheduling didn’t fit and Marvel moved on to someone else like Phoenix and whoever else they were talking to. But after all that failed, Marvel wasted another 4 months of getting casting done and still no Dr. Strange. They had to change their schedule by then regardless of who they go with. Then since they change their schedule, Benny is in sight again and they renegotiate with him and at this point, they both need each other very much because Marvel has no more time to waste and Benny has no other Hollywood opportunity in sight. It’s win-win.

    • scarf girl says:

      ^^^^ As a geek fan girl of comic books, yep to all of this. Better look happy on the dog and pony show because I love this character. Mixed emotions about BC casting, but optimistic he is talented enough to wipe those concerns away when I see final product.

      Please let this signal the return of Dorkybatch. I liked that actor.

      • MissMary says:

        Marvel will flip a desk if he effs up promotions. I mentioned on the other thread that he’d better ask Tommy where he got the dancing bear lessons because Marvel expects enthusiastic, engaging promotions from it’s actors, not sulky-sullen-bitchy-poopypants responses and reactions.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        If Marvel isn’t happy; Marvel will just replace him. Terence Howard can explain how that is done. If Marvel doesn’t get its way, Marvel has no problem wiping out an entire franchise, as it did with the Incredible Hulk. Sorry, William Hurt and Liv Tyler. We know you’re contracted for five more films but they’re not going to happen. Talk to Edward Norton if you have any questions.

      • MissMary says:

        @Lilacflowers: You’re so right. So maybe there’s a chance for the other actors on their wish list if he doesn’t get himself in check for PR.

      • gg says:

        Big Sherlock fan here who never got into MCU but I f*cking love Dorkbatch. My Hamlet trip is mostly paid for, so now I start saving up for the inevitable Comicons!

    • Lilacflowers says:

      BTW, Marvel does not pay for the Significant Other to accompany actresses or actors on their PR travels, red carpets, comic-con appearances, whatever to promote Marvel films. If they want to bring husband/wife/kid/dog, they have to pay themselves. So, if The Sophie doesn’t walk a red carpet to the Dr. Strange premier in East Overshoe, it doesn’t mean anything about the relationship. other than he didn’t want to pay the airfare.

      • Sixer says:

        Or comet-related scheduling issues.

      • Lucifer says:

        LOL sixer

      • Lilacflowers says:

        I do keep forgetting how difficult it is to work with a comet. I have failed to learn the lesson of Mark Twain.

      • Claire says:

        do they pay for crap floral dresses and noses stuck in the air to show how much better the lead actor’s SO is than every breathing soul on earth?

      • PrettyBlueFox says:

        Octopuses can squeeze into extremely small spaces, so he’ll have no excuse for not packing her in his carry on bag. (Google ‘octopus beer bottle’ if you don’t believe me!)

      • moodgirl says:

        If he doesn’t want to pay for the airfare wouldn’t that tell you all you need to know about the relationship?

      • Lilacflowers says:

        @moodgirl, actually no. Why should somebody’s wife stop whatever she’s doing to travel around all over the place just to do PR on a movie and why should they spend money to do it? These MCU films average 4-5 premiers. Chris Hemsworth doesn’t bring his wife to all the Thor premiers.

  12. Maya says:

    Thank God we got another Benedict thread – I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms.

    I was actually hoping he rejected this role because he is becoming overexposed and people will start/ already feel fatigued of seeing him everywhere.

    He is a lovely and talented man but there is a point he has to say stop – take a few more months off and lay low.

  13. scout says:

    Have watched old Dr.Strange in black and white, interesting to see him in new as Dr,Strange. Hamlet sounds good to me, looking forward to it.
    Almost 1/2 a mil ring? May be.. looks like it, pretty.

    • scarf girl says:

      Umm, no. If you love someone to spend close to half a mil on a ring, you look at them and say their name. Unless someone bought it for you.

      • Claire says:

        nah, harvey’s not spending half a million on a ring when he paid all that money for TIG. even if it is tax deductible as business expenses. i really wish a pro could come on here and appraise it the best they could

      • Lucifer says:

        thats NOT an half a million rong. for the love of god. Thats NOT.
        Most probably a loaner

      • **sighs** says:

        loaner! like they do for the Bachelor/Bachelorette. don’t they have to give it back when they inevitably break up? same thing here.

    • delorb says:

      I don’t know anything about the cost of diamonds, but no way did that ring cost half a million. I don’t think it cost over 100k. One it doesn’t look it. Two, we know he’s very, ahem, frugal. Three, Harvey is even cheaper than Benedict. He’s also the master of movie marketing. Somehow I don’t see him or Benedict coming up with or agreeing to a fake engagement for Oscar. That sounds like amateur hour and Harvey is no amateur. Its real. I mean, why would the average Oscar voter even care?

      As for the Dr. Strange announcement, I don’t think there is anything behind that either. They were after him from months. As soon as they got him inked, they couldn’t wait, so they let everyone know it. Think back to all the times they were primed for his signing.

      ComicCon would have been perfect, except he said, ‘no’. Then they sniffed around Joaquin, and LEAKED that they were talking to Joaquin (what better way to get the guy you actually want to sign? Make him think the role is lost). But they realized Joaquin wasn’t the right guy for the part or Benedict didn’t blink.

      He again said, ‘no’, and we know this because their diversity press release would have been a perfect fit. So much so, many news outlets speculated that they would be announcing Benedict in the role. IMO, they thought they had him, did the big announcement the day before, but Benedict said ‘no’, so they went with ‘diversity’. That entire press announcement was kinda anemic, IMO. Like they were set-up for something bigger and it fell through at the last minute. Looking at the twists and turns I think they wanted him more than he wanted them. Or more than he let on to wanting them. I think his representatives earned their %. That was some superior negotiating.

      I’m not really happy that he’s going to play Strange, but I’ve finally come the realization that he’s not listening to my career advice.

      • Felice says:

        Harvey was willing to have an actor impersonate Errol Morris because he didn’t like how Morris was promoting The Thin Blue Line.

      • jammypants says:

        As soon as he moves on from HW the better. This whole campaign makes him look like a sycophant, which is weird to me. Maybe once DS gives him more exposure and leverage, he won’t need to do this whole tugging back and forth with his fanbase while projecting a weird public image to people who are familiar with him but are not his fans.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Really, Delorb?

      • Chuchu says:

        Phoenix agent already said he was in discussions. So it wasn’t a leak.

  14. Lucifer says:

    People claiming that it is planned Pr stunt. However i do not underestimate the POWER of PR , i think this might be a very well timed incident or co-incident. The GG and SAG nominations have nothing to do with superhero flicks(just saying). This whole week has been slow in terms of BC news. IF it was a PR thn it certainly was to divert the fan(read nannies) attention from the red carpet tantrum which is picking up pace with time. Most of us conspiracy train passengers noticed it right away but the rest of the world is now stumbling into SoGo, BTT,Wikianon tumblr and These threads so it was blowing up. THIS Strange confirmation took away the attention from them/. LOOK at the google news feed, NO news for enSHAMment. So its a success PR wise. If not its a success too. Atleast I know m happy. He looks so DARN hot in those superhero costumes.I have been Humming all day.
    I might have repeated a lot of what u guys have said.Just my two cents.

    • Mila says:

      LOL! Dear, it’s totally because of the on-going pissing contest of DC and Marvel. DC just announced the whole Suicide Squad cast so they need to announce something too to stay on top! Also, personal publicists of these actors don’t have a say with these kinds of announcements, it’s always the studio’s prerogative when to announce.

      Nobody outside Tumblr (and obviously Celebitchy) cared about that Sophie GIF, get over yourselves.

      • 'P'enny says:

        I agree in regard to actors and publicists don’t have a demanding say, however, Harvey is no small weight. They can ask nicely. LOL. Marvel are not soft, but they probably agreed to the delay of announcing Strange casting, because it gave the casting of Black Panther film, room to breathe. Cumby doesn’t need the PR, but the actor, who most of UK never heard off, needed the space. This would have totally drowned out Panther.

        but, yes hot on the heels of casting of Suicide Squad is pretty good – . win win for all.

      • Lucifer says:

        you have to be blind not to see the DELAY due to TIG promotions.

    • Ingrid says:

      ITA.
      A great advertising man once said: “If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.”

      Also, to add my comment from previous thread: After the Dr. Strange confirmation, I truly understand why Harvey brought in the big guns to make BC appear more grown up and Serious!Actor!. Imagine the situation and his image now without the engagement. No Oscar voter would take him seriously, he would be just the fangirl and fanboy favorite. It might have been Weinstein’s people who originally leaked the Dr. Strange rumor to Deadline in October so it wouldn’t overshadow TIG opening and Oscar campaign.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Just about every actor/actress around, including Oscar winners and Oscar nominees, has come into contact with a comic book movie and it doesn’t hurt them in the eyes of AMPAS. Renee Zellweger has a Texas Chainsaw Massacre on her resume and Kevin Costner did something called “Malibu Hot Summer” and Clooney was in the sequel to the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and they all got acting Oscars.

      • Ingrid says:

        @Lilacflowers -Yes, that is true. But those were projects they did years before Oscars. That’s a great narrative, the Comeback Story. That’s not the same thing as being the current teenage wet dream / dancing monkey. Hollywood only remembers your last film. Benedict’s *current* image was far from serious actor in September and it would have gotten even more franchise-actory after the Dr. Strange announcement if not for the engagement.

        If Robert Pattinson had acted in a Oscar worthy film back when Twilight was big, there’s no way Academy members would had taken him seriously. They still don’t because his “serious actor” image suffered a lot and now he has to work twice as hard to be taken seriously. (This is not a comment on RP’s talent or the lack of it or anything, just an example)

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Jeremy Renner wasn’t that well known and signing onto Thor didn’t hurt his Oscar nomination for The Town.

      • Jessica says:

        Jennifer Lawrence has two franchises, one in an adaptation of a YA book trilogy and one where she plays a blue mutant. That only had a positive impact on her Oscar chances.

        The big American award shows actually prefer their winners to be commercially successful and well-known on top of being a great actor. Marvel movies couldn’t get much more commercially successful. This casting will only help Benedict.

    • Claire says:

      well then, the only thing we can do is to continue circulating that video and the gifs 🙂

      did someone upload the vid to yt yet?

      • Lucifer says:

        yeah lets just nNOT stop talking about it 😀

      • Claire says:

        who has the ability to make a copy of the video? I have a dormant YT account I can allow someone to upload it to?

      • gg says:

        You mean this? (SH and Karon at Evening Standard Awards)
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdkwEVUXiO0

      • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

        His ” They do just fine…” sounds so forced,could be from SH’s behaviour immediately before or he didn’t want to talk about it… Enfin!

      • moodgirl says:

        I can’t imagine how stupid he felt stating that his wedding plans were going just fine while SH and KM were having if out right behind him. That was his clue to get rid of her.

      • Claire says:

        ^the irony. does it looks like they’re definitely fighting. sorry for being repetitive, i just can’t bring myself to watch the uncomfortable stuff. i just feel sorry for the poor guy. that is, if he didn’t orchestrate this whole engagement thing for his benefit.

    • Angie says:

      Yeah, to me it’s like, this’s the first time in a month when I wake up and see his name with something good, I feel happy, too.

      It’s good to him, to finally be with one of the major franchise.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      Marvel, a Disney corporation, neither cares about or fears Harvey. Disney is certainly not going to do Harvey any PR favors. The Marvel announcement came when it did for 3 reasons: to counter DC; to cast so they could begin pre-production for filming next year; because, with time getting short, they gave up on their wish list and signed the guy who was pestering them (and Star Wars and DC and Fox Marvel) for months.

  15. tasha_nat says:

    Ok, Marvel fans: how good a fit is BC as Doctor Strange? My comic book knowledge is lacking.

    Glad to see Benedict’s ambition and hustle paying off. He can’t love/hate whiplash the Marvel fans, though, like he does the Cumberb—–es, or the Sherlock fans. So no moaning about fame, fandoms, fanfic and fanart, if you know what’s good for you, Benedict!

    (Cackles madly at the thought of Loki-Strange fan fiction/fan art being made right now)

    • MissMary says:

      If he gets his sh*t together and understands Marvel PR is what HW *wishes* he could do in terms of reach and adulation, and loses he bitchybatch attitude and goes back to “his old self” (or how he presented himself in public), he could get through the PR for this relatively okay. Marvel has a hard PR regime and there’s little room for waffling so it’ll be almost literally written out step by step for him–so bonus. Re the role itself…well. Hmm. I could see it. He’s not afraid to ham it up and chew some scenery, which Strange almost requires to an extent because it’s a comic book role and not really subtle.

      • tasha_nat says:

        Hopefully he goes back to his old self. He’s been bitchy/snarky before (I used to like that about him, before he started throwing shots at fans, JLM, Downton, “fame”, selfies, whatever) but his attitude recently has been eye-rollingly annoying. And we’re not getting any breaks with the hairtosser at his side too.

        Can he handle the Marvel song and dance PR game, though? This Oscar run already looks like it’s going to give him a breakdown. How soon do you think before he goes batsh!t and punches a paparazzo? Or gets checked for exhaustion? 🙂

      • KT says:

        He’ll be fine. He’s more comfortable being not-serious (see things like Sherlock outtakes or reports from film extras) than being serious.

    • scarf girl says:

      I see what he can bring to Strange, but, I don’t know-Strange is an odd character in the MCU and one of the more inaccessible IMHO. In my imaginary world, I cast Zachary Quinto, Tom Hardy, and Joachim in that role. I know Quinto was never an option. Also, off topic, Quinto is my ideal Submariner.

      I am still surprised Marvel decided to go with Strange. So I am just interested to see how they approach it. But I do love Scott Dithko’s artwork (hope I spelled last name right). The artwork drew me into the Strange character as a child.

    • Tig says:

      My Dr Strange memories are a bit dated-but to me Joaquin P would have been perfect, and after that Ethan Hawk. I am a fan of the Cumbersome-tho not a “b&#ch level!!- but no actor is great for every role. Another of those “what could have been” movies.

  16. Jessica says:

    May I ask a question? From reading the comments on Cumberbatch threads recently, there is so much aggression thrown at Sophie Hunter. Why do people dislike Sophie so much?

    • Soothy says:

      There’s no aggression. And if you’ve read the comments on his threads, I’m assuming you’ll have noticed that people are largely just confused and sideeying the whole situation. It’s been far, far from normal.
      As far as she’s concerned, people find her pretentious and her work rather ridiculous. That’s up for public judgement, so that’s fair and personally, she has come across as not exactly warm and friendly. Also, her fashion parade c/o Erdem has raised some eyebrows. But obviously no aggression.

    • 'P'enny says:

      it’s the PR shambles around the whole thing that people dislike.
      However, I do think she isn’t capable of smiling at all. -Does she have teeth? She looks miserable.

      • Lucifer says:

        she has teeth. if u have the badluck of seeing her full grin u’ll understand why does not she smile at all.
        😛

      • Claire says:

        all that money from daddy and no time to get fitted for invisalign

        having said that, has no one told her you can smile without showing teeth?

      • Soothy says:

        @lucifer

        Not really any need for that, is there?

        That’s just the kind of catty, childish comment that can discredit the conversations everyone else here is having.

      • Lucifer says:

        @Claire They did not teach that in oxford..

      • Claire says:

        @Lucifer, that’s right! And “all the men wanted to sleep with her”!!!! How could she have ever kept her mouth shut!

      • Lucifer says:

        😀

    • Claire says:

      There’s very little aggression. There is a lot of skepticism. Much of it is relative, I should add: if this were Tommy Lee or Scott Stapp, she’d likely be considered a winning hand. But this is BC, the guy who apparently wanted a smart, career woman who was his intellectual equivalent, and also had his goofy, child-like sense of humour and freewheeling attitude toward life.

      She is not it. To break it down:

      -she’s arrogant, rude, and demanding, including to BC’s publicist. She is also cold to his niece.
      -she likely lied about graduating from Oxford
      -she’s a wealthy woman who, while a nobody, has still gotten her foot in the door of a very competitive industry by living on her parents’ money well into her 30s despite having shown no talent whatsoever – she has no sense of what hard work is (when I say ‘no talent’ I mean everything from her directing to her acting to her puppetry has all been panned, and in interviews she’s been described as taking herself too seriously)
      -she’s self-involved
      -all of her friends are very rich
      -she’s connected with the putrid Harvey Weinstein’s crew
      -as soon as the engagement was announced, she scrubbed her work profile on IMDB
      -BC and his family are notoriously private and don’t talk to tabloids, but her family didn’t wait a day to blab, and inadvertently admitted they’d only seriously dated since late summer.

    • Claire says:

      Oh yeah and to echo Penny (How could I forget the biggest and most obvious thing? ha), there’s also the phony ring to just about everything surrounding the engagement. That has the more world-wise elements of his fanbase narrowing our eyes.

      Oh and #2 (no pun intended): he strangely turned into a dick as soon as he was engaged

    • Sheena says:

      We dislike her because she is going to marry our Lord and Saint.

    • gg says:

      We don’t dislike Sophie at all. It’s just that the whole thing is so obviously being done for the sake of Benedict/Imitation Game PR:
      * Getting engaged makes him look heterosexual in the eyes of Oscars voters. (Yes, I know we know Benedict is straight – at least most of us think so – but he plays a gay man in The Imitation Game and Hollywood is still stupid.)
      * It gives a human interest angle to his story, and gives him something to talk about on talk shows. There were stories in People and InStyle after the NY premiere about the engagement and the ring that otherwise would not have been there.
      * It makes him more attractive to women who are not already “Cumberbitches”.
      * It makes him look more like a typical Hollywood leading man.

      • Ingrid says:

        And to add to gg’s great list:

        *It calms down the crazy fan girls ->more serious image
        *It creates many, many headlines afterwards as well like the ESA photos were on the front page of the f*cking Times.
        *BC’s private life was very dull and drama free to the outside, that doesn’t sell papers.
        * It’s the right kind of drama for the Oscars

  17. allons-y alonso says:

    Screw you, Marvel! You have torpedoed my fantasies of Pedro Pascal as Dr Strange by casting Benebitch Sourbatch

  18. Louise says:

    I can’t even read the article. I can’t do ANYMORE Bendy. Please!

    More Jason Clarke please!!!!!!

  19. Megan says:

    There is a gif on SOGO that shows Karon directing them at the NYC carpet and both of them look miffed they have to pose together. Kinda like how I looked when I was in grade school and had to square dance with boys I hated. Ha.

    • Claire says:

      Amazing. Is that typical of PR at red carpet events?

      • Angie says:

        There’s another staff, I think maybe it’s her told Karon that the media or something want more pics of the two so Karon asked them to do some more?

        And it looked like, B thought “thank God, it’s over”, so felt bad had to go back and pose again, while Sophie, looked smug that she got more photo shooting?

      • Megan says:

        Posing with your SO? I would say so. And you can see the hair toss in slow mo, where she’s throwing a smaller, silent fit. LOL.

      • Claire says:

        Link please!

        Someone needs to do a master list of links on here to every nasty bit of behaviour she’s shown in public

      • Claire says:

        Also, all those photos of her looking daggers at the NYC premiere, including inside, were those saved?

      • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

        Wow , in the first image (gif) they actually have their fingers entwined??
        I’m surprised…
        But still her hand is facing backwards as if holding his, so she’s the boss (??)

      • moodgirl says:

        Karon appears to say “Get back over there” and, if you have the slow – mo version, Ben looks exasperated and disgusted.

      • lola says:

        @solanaceae (Nighty)
        It seams so, but they don’t. And yes, her hand is facing backwards. I think he just lets her do with his hand whatever she wants (even if she is squeezing blood out of it). Whenever he tries to do change the hand holding thing it becomes a “fist fight”. She is a very robust gal for a delicate flower.

    • Lindy79 says:

      It would be yeah, they tell you where to go, stand, who to speak to etc. Sometimes if carpets are moving too slowly, they tell you to hang back while the person in front is getting pictures (unless you’re Jessica Lange who hilariously marched past Lea Michele).

      What was funnier was the hair flick and snooty as hell face that Sophie gives after.
      Think it was right after the marching picture with her nose in the air.
      http://sockpuppetbc.tumblr.com/post/104369379376/benedict-cumberbatch-sophie-hunter-at-the

      • Claire says:

        Just wow. I saw the nose in the air photo by accident. my goodness that was no exaggeration. this woman is a nasty piece of work

        keep circulating these, everyone!

      • Angie says:

        Actually I was thinking, at this point, they definitely need her to play along, and that just makes her the queen.

      • Claire says:

        “give me xyz in money/career advancement and treat me like a princess 24/7 or i’ll tell the world this engagement was a rouse!”

  20. EscapedConvent says:

    If that is a half-million dollar ring, I am the Queen of Romania. I saw some discussion about the value of the ring, and it is very modest, and the price tag is approximately $57,000. Even that is pushing it. I don’t believe for a second that Cumby would fork over that much cash.

    The Daily Fail exaggerated it to $660,000!

    But I wonder who picked it out. Maybe Karon? Could that be why Sophie flounced off with Karon in pursuit last week on a red carpet? I like to think that Sophie was complaining about the ring, and Karon ran after her to make sure Sophie didn’t fling it into the street. Cumby looked puzzled and then made some unhappy faces. Lots of lip-biting. It didn’t look like Sophie loved him to the same degree, but he has to play this masquerade out.

    • Claire says:

      eh the second bit sounds like fan fic, but I’d like to think if he DID pay for the ring, he didn’t even spend that much on her. what a waste.

    • Lucifer says:

      NO NO never half a mil .20k IMO. He wears clothes those he got as freebies. He IS cheap( a good quality in men IMHO) no way he is gonna spend that much in that phony ring

    • moodgirl says:

      He wasn’t lying when he said they love each other to the same degree, it’s just that the mutual degree is ZERO.

  21. Dani says:

    Um, I’m a bit of an engagement ring connoisseur and there is no chance that ring is $470K. It looks like it may be Tacori, maybe even Vera Wang for Zales (the ring SCREAMS American, seeing that the Halo is so popular in the last year). I have a similar engagement ring, actually from Tiffanys, and it was no where near that price. At most, I’d say, her is a 2 carat, maybe 2.3, looks like an Emerald or Square cut (which aren’t deep and usually look half a carat larger), Halo setting, and pave bands halfway down. Maybe a total carat weight of 3 or 3.1. If I’m being generous maybe 3,2 at most. Couldn’t cost more than $50k if you’re getting it from a retailer, around $15-18 from a personal jeweler.

    I love rings. I’m done being weird.

    • Claire says:

      Thanks Dani! This is the kind of post I’ve been waiting for. Aren’t you the second person to say it’s an American ring?

      So either BC bought it after he arrived in the US (after the announcement), or HW had it ready for him.

      • Dani says:

        Halo is very ‘new’ and so not the traditional type. If he wanted to fool everyone she’d girl a single round stone, say 2 or 3 carats on a platinum band. Or maybe a single emerald with baguettes on either side on platinum band.

      • Hexentanz says:

        I live in a small community close to LA, with people like Kim K. and the likes not to far away. It is SUPER important to the wives here to have a big rock on their hand. Yes, very american indeed. The husbands show their wealth and the wives show how “much” the hubby loves them. So I am pretty sure that ring was purchased/borrowed here. Since he is trying to appeal to the Oscar voters he has to show that he is a very good fiance- hence the size of the diamond.
        I am convinced that if the Weinstein company asks for a loaner ring, they will get it asap. They all do each other favors. It’s Hollywood. The jeweler gives the ring to them, and in return their next big actress wears that brand to a televised red carpet, so the E! channel ( owned by the same company as People mag) can report on the brand. Best free advertising ever. Same with those Erdem frocks. Why would they not give them to her for free? They were seen in so many articles now, all over the world. I don’t think Erdem would have the budget for that kind of ad campain. There may be some people who like those dresses. I personally like dresses that make me look really good, not sure Erdem falls in that category…. The Floral Flour Sack Collection, yuck

    • Felice says:

      James Rhode’s wife has a similar ring but somehow it suits her even though I don’t know much about her.

    • Lucifer says:

      So true and spot on. I love jewellery too

    • Dara says:

      I’m with Dani – no way that ring is more than $50,000 USD and that’s being generous. I laughed out loud when I saw the $500,000 figure. To get a six figure price tag, a ring has a honking great center stone of exceptional quality or unusual color – or has some historical significance. Like this one – there’s no picture of it actually on a hand so it’s hard to judge scale, but it looks amazing. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/magnificent-jewels-n09234/lot.97.html

      One reason halo rings are so popular is that lots of smaller stones are less expensive than one big solitaire. More bang for your buck. Plus some halo designs are really cool, and with the added bonus of being easier to wear day to day. Dani- I’d love to see yours, turning a little green with envy at the thought of a ring from the home of the little blue boxes.

      Diamond prices are very dependent on the quality of the stone more than its size – it’s possible a small-ish stone would be twice the price of something much larger, but the quality would have to be off the charts. From the few pics I’ve seen, Sophie’s ring isn’t on that scale.

      Here’s a $40,000 ring – https://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/rings/engagement-rings/classic-gia-certified-cushion-cut-diamond-halo-engagement-ring-set-platinum/id-j_157694/

      Hope those links work. I’m coming out of my self-imposed CB abstinance program to post, but I just can’t resist a good chat about bling.

      • Dani says:

        Good point about smaller stones looking bigger!! Halos usually make a small center strone look huge because it’s surrounded. I feel that way about mine – my center stone is 1.69, Class D, VVSI (I drove my husband crazy) and it looks huge with the halo that I barely wear it. I have the Tiffany Soleste Cushion cut (http://www.tiffany.com/Engagement/item.aspx?GroupSku=GRP10060&selectedSku=27087973) and it’s the most magnificent thing I’ve ever owned. It was under $40k.

        Funny you posted that link though Dara – I know the seller of that ring and it was modeled after the Tiffany Soleste. He’s a huge personal Jeweler in NYC and he can basically copy any style you want for a fraction of the cost. You have good taste, I like you!

      • Dara says:

        Dani – your ring sounds amaze-balls! And totally agree with you, would rather go for D color (maybe E, depending). Have you heard about Golconda stones? Fascinating. They sound like the Holy Grail for a serious diamond hunter, if you can find one that is actually from that mine. A lot of jewelers are starting to use the term ‘loosely’ and that will muddy the waters a little.

        I’m really into Asscher or cushion cut lately, but my first love is an emerald cut. I see this one in my dreams. I love the east-west setting http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2007/important-jewels-n08350/lot.247.html

        Sophie’s ring just doesn’t seem to match her personality at all. Everything I’ve read suggests she’s artsy and edgy. The ring she is wearing is anything but.

        My inner feminist is completely disgusted with me btw. I try and try to resist the siren song of an engagement ring – I’m very independent and have a good job, intellectually I don’t see the need to wear a ‘dowry price’ on my hand… but then I see bright shiny things and think “but they’re SO pretty!!!” and start to make grabby hands.

      • Isadora says:

        Wow… I’m actually surprised even by the “lower” prices. Personally I can’t imagine wearing something with a five figure price tag on my hand, I’d get totally paranoid. 😉

  22. Granger says:

    I don’t have time to go back and search other Cumby threads, but can someone please tell me if his mother has commented yet on the engagement? They are SO CLOSE, and she has been so vocal in the past about wanting him to find “a bird” and give her grandkids. It would be weird to me if she hasn’t said anything publicly about Sophie…

    • Claire says:

      Nada. Don’t complain loudly, his PR people read this site and will make sure she does to cover up all the inconsistencies/oddities surrounding this supposed engagement.

      • Sheena says:

        They not only read this blog but also have screenshots, ips, everything about his fans. The NSA looks like school kids next to them.

    • **sighs** says:

      nope. that’s been the strangest thing to me. you’d think Wanda would want to shout it from the rooftops and start giving guilt trips about grandbabies. she didn’t even go to the Hobbit premiere with Timothy, from what I understand.

      • Claire says:

        I didn’t even know his dad was at the premiere. Did he mingle with The Outbreak Monkey at all?

      • Ingrid says:

        I don’t think it’s that weird they haven’t commented. When has a celebrity’s parents released a statement upon engagement? (apart from Clooney and the Middletons?)

        The weirder was the fact that her mother /brother DID comment. That’s a big no-no and really does tell more about SH’s family than anything else.

    • Lucifer says:

      yeah, we don’t wanna trouble Wanda at all.

    • MissMary says:

      To be fair, Wanda does to theatre out of the UK (a lot in South Africa, at least for a while) so she may be off doing that and didn’t go to the premiere. And he’s also taken one parent or the other and not both to different premieres based on whatever reason, even before the enGAGment (I think Timothy gets the Hobbit ones since reading the books with BC was such a bonding experience for them when BC was a kid).

      That said…shhh! Don’t let them hear you ask anything about his family or PR will have some handpuppets that look like Timothy and Wanda out there on Sunday!

      • Lindy79 says:

        It was odd at LFF that she didn’t walk the red carpet with them, or any of his friends. Its like they’re kept separate.

      • Lucifer says:

        shhhh.. but is it believable that she did not find 2mins tocmnt on her baby’s enGAGement in ONE MONTH’s time?

      • Felice says:

        Well she walked with Emily and completely ignored her

      • MissMary says:

        Lucifer: I totally agree. Same with his friends. They can make pervy jokes about him all day but no “Hey, congrats” from anyone other than Caitlin Moran (a retweet of an article) and JR? Hmmmmm. Maybe PR’s powers don’t hold the others in their thrall. Or they’re side eyeing as much as we are (esp given these people have never been shy about congratulating him or taking the piss out of him on social media before). Oh and Matthew Goode. a co-star. And I’ve seen so many nannies go on and on about how shy SH is and how she doesn’t want attention… do they not realize her chosen field is the definition of “look at me”?

      • Lucifer says:

        ^THIS
        Come on simon pegg makes sex jokes about him.But SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
        dnt wanna disturb mama bear

      • gg says:

        Simon Pegg deleted his Twitter account! Said he would when he reached 5 mil followers, which he did

      • Cate says:

        Somehow I don’t believe that Wanda’s and SH’s personality would mesh well. There’d be a stare-off and Wanda would win hands down, nothing to be heard ever again from SH.

      • blended says:

        wanda is warm and gregarious. sophie is the exact opposite. i really can’t see them meshing at all.

  23. NewWester says:

    Can someone explain to me what is the connection between Sophie and a octopus? Is it some sort of inside joke? I have seen a few comments about that on this site

    • MissMary says:

      She has a music video where she tussles with a dead octopus. I believe it is also a BDSM themed situation.

  24. ellesbelles says:

    I’m thrilled for this news actually. I’m firmly back on the hearts eyes express for Ben after binge watching The Last Enemy on youtube last night. If you havent seen it, I highly recommend it. He’s so beautiful in that series. Plus, and I know its in character, but if someone kissed me like he kisses his costar, I’d have permanent butterflies in my stomach.

    • Lindy79 says:

      Sophie should watch it, it’s the closest she’ll get to that heat.

      • ellesbelles says:

        I’ll take her place!

        She looks like a cold fish anyway. Lights off under the covers nookie, and no unnecessary sweating or noises please.

        Unless its being filmed as HIGH ART *gag*

    • EscapedConvent says:

      I also love The Last Enemy. I thought I was the only one.

      • ellesbelles says:

        I dont buy a whole lot of DVDs but I’m about to order it just so I can watch it without having to deal with youtube hiccups. I enjoyed it even more than Sherlock.
        I didnt even sleep last night because I binge watched it. Finished episode 5 and then straight into the shower to get ready for work

      • alice says:

        No, not the only one. I’ve had that dvd since it was first released. He is beautiful in that. And yeah, whenever this mess gets too much, I go back to the work or back to old interviews and get swept up again.

    • Lucifer says:

      The kisses are extraordinary. better thn parade’s end IMO.
      The costar is gorgeous too.I loved the lovemaking scenes.

      • ellesbelles says:

        Agree! They played them beautifully. It wasnt sex for sex sake. there is a sweet deleted scene on youtube where hes blowing bubbles while they are laying there and the chemistry is so palpable. I’m really overwhelmed by the series. It really did make me love him as an actor again. Recent shenanigans had me losing interest

      • Lucifer says:

        true. and imagine this he is acting with a costar. AND with his Fiance (snort) he can’t even do 1% of it.??

      • ellesbelles says:

        He cant even look at Sophie with a micro-percentage of loving glimmer in his eyes. Ffs he shows more emotion as Khan. I dont hate SH, but I hate her behavior. AND his. There is ZERO love there. Maybe I’m a hopeless romantic, but I guess I believe that a couple should at least look like theyre in love. Convincingly. None of this stiff “well they’re british” bs. His past behavior negates that argument

      • Lucifer says:

        Yeah.
        but what do we know? we can only speculate. He might well get married to her(god NO).

  25. **sighs** says:

    Dunno how I feel about this. I didn’t want him to do it when I first heard the rumors. But like t.fanty said above, we know now he’s willing to sell his soul to be an a-lister. So if this is what he wants, great. I love Marvel movies (not ashamed) and I’ll certainly go see it.

    I still think the entire engagment is pr sham all the way. It doesn’t disappoint me that he’s ambitious. It does disappoint me when he acts like a douchecanoe. Maybe Marvel can bring back happybatch. At least that would be an improvement on the current incarnation.

    • tasha_nat says:

      I’ll always be skeptical of happybatch now, though, will always wonder if his faking skills have improved.

      • Angie says:

        Yeah, I feel sad about this, definitely won’t be able to see him as exactly the same person before even if whatever is going on comes to an end.

    • jammypants says:

      I really liked him before the PR machine went on overdrive this year. It’s hard to wash the bad taste in your mouth once it’s there. I no longer find him genuine.

      • **sighs** says:

        i know. As nice a change as happybatch would be, i’ll never look at him in the same way. It will always be with a slight (or huge) side-eye.

      • blended says:

        see i’m the opposite. i still find him genuine because he can’t hide his unhappiness about the situation he is in right now, and that is being harvey weinstein’s main bitch. once the albatross is gone, i think he’ll be back to dorkybatch, and get the light back into his eyes.

      • Ingrid says:

        @blended -ITA. That is the one redeeming quality.

        I just hope he would put an end to all of this sooner than later (or at least start to downplay it). But that’s wishful thinking.

      • Soothy says:

        I agree, blended. A lot of people have asked how such a good actor can be so bad at playing the smooth hopeful oscar guy, but I find it endearing and a positive thing. Yes, he’s a great actor, but he can’t personally be something he’s not, with ease and I think that’s a very positive quality.

      • KT says:

        The actors you should side-eye are the ones who seamlessly morph into someone else during Oscar season.

      • Cate says:

        I still like him, I have always side-eyed him when he did or said something stupid, but that’s just life. I do think he’s a decent fellow, who sometimes annoys me and sometimes makes me go ‘awwww’. Right now I’m just waiting how this all will unfold.

  26. jammypants says:

    He was not my first choice for the role (Pascal was), but I will give him a chance. Always been a Marvel fan, so I will definitely see this movie.

  27. Cate says:

    One of the things interesting about him being cast for Dr. Strange is that almost every franchise carrying actor cast in Marvel production (TV and movies) has quite a strong presence on social media. I think Hemsworth is an exception from the top of my head. I think Tom Hiddleston got on Twitter after being cast as Loki, etc. And for example, the cast of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D are VERY active on Twitter. RDJ is on FB and Twitter. I do think it’s an important part of Marvel’s marketing strategy. Not that I think that BC will get himself a Twitter, because he’s been so vocal about never wanting to do it, but still. He’ll have to promo all over the place nevertheless.

    • Felice says:

      Is Scarlett Johansson on Twitter?

      • Felice says:

        Actually you know what may happen, maybe Naomi will be promoted and verified and every now and then he will tweet something through there and will leave a “BC xx” when the tweet is from him

      • gg says:

        Dear god, it is sooooo past time for him to have an official website!

      • 'P'enny says:

        No she doesn’t do any of them, but hemsworths misses does Instagram a lot. Plus his 2 brothers are on twitter.

      • Cate says:

        @Felice, No, I think she doesn’t want one either. She said so before in interviews. (So tells Google me haha)

        Maybe Sophie can do the Facebook and Instagram bit? LOL. Get ready for a lot of arty promo Marvel! Mrs.Dr. Strange FTW! 😉

    • jammypants says:

      Clark Gregg is pretty active on Twitter as well.

  28. Mikasa says:

    There’s a new article on BC on theglobeandmail and he talks about his production company and what he and Adam plan to do with it. Here’s the bit I found interesting:
    “So that writers from a theatrical background can tackle subject matters they’ve never versed themselves in before, or female directors can tackle male subjects, or visual artists can have a go at cinematography or directing.” -BC

    I think BC has BIG plans for the future. Yes he ia very ambitious. And I can now see where SH fits in all this enGAGment, other than being a baby mama.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      So female directors can tackle male subjects? What is that supposed to mean? Like a film about a prostrate exam? Is there a range of subjects women are not supposed to touch? Clearly not war movies. Kathryn Bigelow has done those. Films about F1 racing?

      • **sighs** says:

        that rubbed me the wrong way as well. what are male subjects, exactly? please don’t tell me octopussy is going to direct puppetry of the penis.

      • PrettyBlueFox says:

        Instructional videos on how to conduct a self examination for testicular cancer? Or on discrete ball scratching procedures when in public?

      • MissMary says:

        He does love to say his problematic things, doesn’t he? *sigh*

      • Felice says:

        He’s so naive and ignorant that it’s just inexplicable

      • J says:

        Really not ‘problematic’

        women directors are often shut-out of ‘male’ plays, like war time stuff, things with an all-male or largely male cast, etc.

        or, as Lucifer noted, he could be referring to turner directing him. i was naively surprised at how many theater ppl whined over him having a woman director for hamlet

      • blended says:

        ugh, you guys are reading WAY too much into his comments again. what he meant is there is a perception that women directors can’t tackle male subjects, and he is refuting this. the entire comment is about giving people chance at doing things they wouldn’t normally get a chance to do, and we all know women directors aren’t given the same chances as male ones.
        i’m kinda starting to see why he gets annoyed with all the scrutiny.

      • **sighs** says:

        Really, it’s just that female directors are mostly cut out from anything. Why are there male subjects and female subjects?
        This morning on the way to school I had to have a conversation with my 6 year old about how girls can like dinosaurs and boys can like dolls. that anybody can play with any toy. toys are genderless.
        maybe i should have a similar conversation with Ben. he very easily could have simply said to allow female directors to explore subjects they haven’t before.

        maybe i’m reading too much into it. it’s just a hot button topic for me. especially raising a little boy.

      • blended says:

        if he had phrased it differently, some of y’all would still call it ‘problematic’. he really can’t win.

      • Sunflower says:

        oh sighs, I have a 3 year old girl and I’m so thankful to know moms of boys are having similar conversations…

        My daughter “loves the pink aisle!” (Actual quote)

      • **sighs** says:

        @sunflower- we didn’t have this problem before school started. he had pink legos and didn’t think a thing about it. now its, “girls don’t like blue and boys don’t like pink”. and for some reason half the time in PE they separate the boys and girls when they play. i don’t understand this. i’m constantly having the running conversation that yes, boys and girls can play together, and yes, you can play with whatever toy you want.
        the best graphic i’ve ever seen about the subject was this circle graph.
        http://reluctantmom.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/1312_suitable-for-boys.jpg

      • KT says:

        Spot on, blended, that is how I read it as well.

    • Lucifer says:

      That’s a bit too much reading between the lines..

      • Claire says:

        I agree. She has no experience in directing film, and from what I understand, her job as a theatre director has also been overstated.

    • Wait I'm Typing says:

      I’m dreading and looking forward to Sodious’ big avant-garde excellence in a short film from SunnyMarch in equal measure.
      If her other reviews are anything to go by it could be….colourful (I’m being delicate).

      Also, something about all of this is just gross. The whole thing, the PR, the way they’re handling their public personas, his production company (wasn’t someone already kicked out of it?). I can’t put my finger on it but oh lord has my mind changed about him.

      • Claire says:

        that’s a huge stretch, not sure why everyone is again jumping the gun on matters like this. she has no experience as a writer. she has no experience directing film. as for visual artists…lol. also, unless this is some pet project where he doesn’t care about throwing money down the drain, i doubt he’d want to invest money in one of her projects considering the poor reviews she gets and the one that got major backing (from weinstein) lost the company a lot of money.

      • Old Enough says:

        I’m still wondering why no more has been mentioned about paying back the supporters of the original campaign for Sunny March/Little Favour. I guess not enough people bought it on itunes.

    • Lucifer says:

      That’s a bit too much reading between the lines..Maybe he was refering to Lindsey turner directing HIM

      • Lilacflowers says:

        He’s her subject?

      • J says:

        technically, yes, they are under the control of the director

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Well, in that case, it wouldn’t be as groundbreaking as he claims since all women directors have the actors “under the control” but I do believe he was referring to male topics, not actors.

    • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

      :O
      So, that might imply she’ll be directing Sunny March’s projects??

      *Nice move, octopussy, nice move… well played..*

    • Sunflower says:

      I love that graphic too!

      Now if only I could convince my in-laws about boy toys vs. girl toys…they think my son likes cars because he’s a boy, not because that’s the only thing they ever give him to play with!

    • Claire says:

      I think it’s a huge stretch to say he was referring to the Outbreak Monkey when he talked about female directors: she has no experience directing film.

      • Lucifer says:

        nannies are everywhere

      • Alice says:

        I agree with you. He has worked with female directors before, in film and theatre, and I think he was referring to giving more of them an opportunity. Also, he is not the sole owner of SM. I think AA might have some say in what’s funded. Who in their right mind would back her?

  29. Luciana says:

    He is an interesting choice for Dr. Strange. Good for him! He can add in his resume: “I beat Joaquin Phoenix”.

  30. ellesbelles says:

    I’ll just be over here in the corner happy about the casting and still on a high from The Last Enemy. #heartseyesexpress

    Sophie.. meh..

  31. Nonnie says:

    The last jewel from SoGo are gifs of BC with Sh, and then with Keira on the red carpet: show it to your granmother and ask her which woman is his fiancee, and which one is his stepsister whom he tolerates on the insistence of his mommy…
    Try that!

    • Cate says:

      Isn’t the difference just glaring? I mean, let’s say he’s more relaxed around Keira because he’s known her forever, but why the total lack of chemistry with his own fiancée? Even if she was nervous (I don’t think she is), wouldn’t he even try harder to smile and to make her relax somehow?

      • MissMary says:

        Hasn’t he known SH longer, if we base it on meeting her in 2008/2009 for Burlesque Fairy Tales?

      • Cate says:

        Maybe! I’m not sure, as it’s quite close. I don’t know if he knew Keira before Atonement, which was shot around 2006. But he probably (maybe?) spent more time with Keira than with Sophie. Apparently they lived ‘together’ (with others too) while shooting Atonement. Like it’s apparent they’re close, it’s not apparent he’s close to Sophie. Now I hope someone could explain that to me, because I’m too stupid it to get it… 😉

        P.S. You ever saw pics of him and Juno Temple? (also co-star Atonement) I mean, the man is affectionate, he is a hugger. I’m such a broken record, lol.

        Pic: http://www.bcumberbatch.com/ART_detail.php?idart=69

        That’s chemistry. Be it a chemistry based on a strong bond like w. Keira or whatever kind of chemistry it might be, but it’s easy to see. I remember seeing that pic and feeling a bit jealous for a moment. The look in his eyes, the body language, so relaxed and sweet. With Sophie? Not so much…

      • Claire says:

        MM is there any evidence they actually saw or talked to one another between 2009 and now?

  32. **sighs** says:

    I’m surprised at how negative a lot of the comments are on his DM articles lately. Usually it’s the just the gushing “omg he’s gorgeous!” and the odd “i don’t get it. he looks like an alien”.

    • MissMary says:

      I think we’ve passed “maximum saturation point” and have entered “Cumberbacklash.”

      • Ctkat1 says:

        Agreed. And it’s refreshing that it’s finally aimed at a male actor, after the countless actresses who have endured this type of backlash!
        I like him a lot as an actor, but his Oscar campaigning is too much- he needs to reign it in.

      • MissMary says:

        I tend to agree. I really enjoy most of his work but this media “saturation” is ridiculous and tedious.

      • MtnRunner says:

        You mean there are other people besides Celebitches that actually look critically at him? Usually, all I see is gushing on any news articles. @MissMary, you may be on to something.

        Backlash or there’s an army of critics invading the DM threads…

      • Green Eyes says:

        @MissMary: Me, too. I’ve begun to achieve total Batcheration.

      • Green Eyes says:

        I think that should have read “Batchuration.”

      • KT says:

        Really? I’ve seen criticism (some of it is, some is more ad hominem attacks) of him outside here for quite literally the last two years. Certainly not new at all, and to be expected of any actor in a campaign or moving up, so to speak.

        (Although, as an aside, I likely wouldn’t get on with DM commenters myself, their readership is majority Conservative, LOL )

        To me, it just looks like the far smaller circle of fans/aware of shows like Sherlock types are getting sick of him, naturally, since they’re in the less known places where he is discussed, whereas the public at large is slowly starting to notice him.

      • Claire says:

        I wonder if he’ll get a sustained larger fan base like say, Clooney or Pitt or if he won’t because of…i don’t know, his strange face, or the fact he’s older when he hit the big time.

      • KT says:

        @Claire (forgive my long answer!):

        Hard to say. I’d suggest if he picks okay parts and turns in a decent performance, he’ll be fine from here on out because he’s established enough to attract offers steadily.

        What you really need is appeal to the public at large. Most of those people aren’t following him in the press or reading every interview, but they are who he needs to buy film tickets or watch a show because they offhandedly recall liking him in something else they saw.

        I’ve always thought it was interesting how much online fandoms think they matter when they don’t once a celeb has a body of decent work. The Tumblr most-reblogged is a great example of this. Out of 20 actors, only 3 A-listers but a bunch of guys most people don’t know, like CW actors.

      • blended says:

        i agree @KT. it’s funny that people here are saying he’s overexposed, but if the general public (at least in north america) still don’t really know who he is, you can’t call it ‘overexposed’. it’s basically just getting his name into the conversation.

        face it, he will give a lot of interviews, appear in lots of magazines, go to various functions, etc., but you can be sure that all the actors campaigning are doing the same thing. you’re just not following them as close as with ben, and there aren’t daily articles on this site of every single thing they do.
        (but ben has the misfortune of being weinstein’s main project, so the strategy is more aggressive).

      • KT says:

        @blended:

        Yes, it’s the fishbowl effect people get from places like this and Tumblr, I feel. For every one person here, there’s God knows how many (thousands, probably) who have no knowledge of any of this in just the US alone.

        Tumblr’s got 40 million or so users globally, so even getting a ‘majority’ opinion there requires 21 million unique notes. But it’s very easy to believe a post with 10,000 notes is suddenly everyone on the planet if you lose perspective.

      • **sighs** says:

        This is why people saying “a pr campaign would be run better, it’s obv a real relationship” i think don’t understand. It’s not us (the celebitches and sogo people) that they’re trying to fool. It’s Joe Q Public and some geezer Oscar voters. The general public who doesn’t know anything about him don’t watch the premiere to see who he gets out of the car with. They don’t compare videos and photos to how he was with other girlfriends. They just look at the pretty pictures in People and the gushing quotes from the DM. They don’t think he looks miserable because they have no frame of reference.

        PR probably knows they aren’t going to fool all of the people But they aren’t trying to do that. They’re only trying to fool some of the people. And it’s probably working. I do think they still go through social media though. some of the fixes have been too obvious. Can’t have the entire original fandom gone, just in case.

      • Ingrid says:

        @sighs – ITA 100%

        Harvey is not known for subtlety either which is why this whole mess screams Harvey Weinstein Oscar Campaign. He’s very much a blunt instrument.

      • Claire says:

        Also, it’s much easier to gloss over inconsistencies/gaps/outright BS when you [HW] are cozy with all the major publications that are doing the pretty shiny engagement interviews or articles.

      • Alice says:

        @sighs. Absolutely. For instance, if ER’s engagement were a sham, I wouldn’t know it because I don’t follow ER. I just see the pics and think “Aren’t they cute? I should go see TTOE, I hear he’s very good.” The shots of BC in People were really attractive and could easily interest some who didn’t know him. To the general public, he’s not overexposed.

      • Ingrid says:

        Forgot to add, all the inconsistencies come from things PR can’t control (the lack of private sightings, the lack of chemistry, BC’s mood, SH’ behavior etc.)

    • Claire says:

      Oh really, what kind of things are they saying?

      • **sighs** says:

        The “lite” version of what we’re saying. Over saturation, hinting at pr engagement, they sure don’t look like a happy couple, he’s bitchy, et al.

      • Claire says:

        interesting! I don’t like him being over saturated because i don’t like the idea of there being a backlash against him as an actor. but i’m glad the pr engagement is picking up steam as well as his unhappiness. maybe it’ll wake him up if his pr people read it

  33. Silly goose says:

    I’m sure that SOphie is pleased that her future hubby signed up with Marvel:more spending money for her and he is out of her way. Considering how ‘in love’ they look together.
    A win-win situation.

  34. Veronica says:

    Nay. He’s a great actor, but I’m a little tired of seeing him, and I’m disappointed that Marvel insists on bypassing any opportunity for diversity.

    • Ctkat1 says:

      They could have really gone out of the box for casting Doctor Strange- BC is a great choice from an acting standpoint, but he’s also a safe choice. RDJ and Mark Ruffalo were more outside-the-box than this is for sure.

      • Mathilda says:

        I didn’t see the same people talking about diversity when Tom Hardy is cast or Simon Pegg or any of the other white guys who are cast everywhere.

  35. Encumbered says:

    Holy Hell, Benedict….and back to London for BIFA on Sunday, is it? I sincerely don’t know how he is keeping up this pace!

    http://www.backstage.com/news/awards-season/sponsored-catch-sag-screening-imitation-game-special-guest-benedict-cumberbatch/#

    • Lucifer says:

      i dnt think he’s gonna show up for that award this time.#guess

    • Ingrid says:

      Isn’t the Hobbit premiere in LA on Monday? Maybe he won’t be at BIFA? (Counting the time difference, he probably wouldn’t even make it back in time)

      • Felice says:

        He doesn’t have to go to every premiere. He had a small part in this one. He didn’t go to the LA STID premiere either.

      • Ingrid says:

        @Felice -Of course he doesn’t have to but it seems so unreasonable for him to fly to LA and back just for one Q&A. I was just wondering that maybe the real reason why he flew to LA is The Hobbit promo.

        Of course, the former might be the case and I again underestimated Harvey.

      • Felice says:

        Yeah it’s a SAG thing, it’s so Harvey. Drink lots of fluids and take some Airborne, Benny.

    • Alice says:

      Anything to get away from “the little woman”. At this rate he won’t have to diet to get in Sherlock shape. He’ll be skin and bones the way they’re running him.

      • Ingrid says:

        Am I the only one who thinks the most obvious proof for PR enGAGment is that there’s no way these two are actually spending time together? I mean he literally has no time. At all.

        He’s either filming (alone), flying (alone), doing promo (alone) or at red carpet (with her). So their entire relationship is happening at red carpets.

      • Felice says:

        and she leaves when there could be quality time (after-parties). They could’ve been at the Shakespeare pub but that may have been Lyndsey Turner.

      • moodgirl says:

        As obviously miserable as he is with her in the public arena, do you think he would spend time with her in private? He won’t say her name nor look at her so I can’t see him really voluntarily spending at lot of time with her away from the public eye, it doesn’t add up.

        This could explain why he is seen smiling in fan pictures away from her but looks shitty when she is around.

  36. Silly goose says:

    Benedict has been confirmed for a Q&A in LA this weekend, which means pap shots at the airport. Let’s guess:will he look pissed off? Miserable? Relieved? Will Karon’s still be with him? I would go off sick with this mess.

    • tasha_nat says:

      I’m going to guess: tired pap shots at the airport. smile won’t reach his eyes at the Q&A, will have a different set of talking points (enough with the “gay icon”!). Might mention time difference again. Might do smiley/silly fan selfies with fingerpointing. He’ll muster up some energy when congratulated on Doctor Strange. Karon will still be with him. Sophie will not.

    • Alice says:

      I kind of wish Karon would deliver an ultimatum -“Me or her. Choose.” I hope, at least, he or someone made the brat apologize to Karon.

  37. Smurphy says:

    Ugh. What a wasted opportunity for Marvel to get someone, you know, not white. I’m over the crazy BCness lately.

    • Maggie says:

      Wasn’t Dr Strange, from Nebraska, with a German heritage, supposed to have been modeled after Vincent Price, of Missouri? Two midwestern white guys.

      Were you annoyed when all the other white guys were cast in Marvel films? Yes they could have tried for a more diverse casting for Dr Strange but they, just as equally, could have had more diverse casting for any number of marvel characters. Why are people just singling out Benedict who, as a white guy, has been cast in a white guy role. I didn’t hear anyone complaining about diversity when Tom Hardy, Jared Leto and Joaquin Phoenix etc were possible contenders for the role.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Then you were not paying attention. Go back and look at the threads about them as possible contenders. There was plenty of complaining.

  38. Lucifer says:

    Interesting thing. Found some pics (can’t post the link sorry) of the ESA and turns out the cumberbatches *cough* and the macavoys were sitting in the same table. But BC and octopussy sat on two sides whereas the macavoys sat inbetween. BC sat with anne marie To be clear and the camera was in front. That’s a front row table,not round, so the cumberbatches *snort* did NOT sit together.
    did I make my point?

    • Ingrid says:

      That is an interesting observation. If we are going with etiquette, couples should never be seated together and I though the reason for SH and BC sitting separately was this. But obviously etiquette isn’t the reason here…

      But to be honest, there most likely is a good, logical reason (placement for cameras or he was changing places when he went to the stage, etc) because requesting to be seated separately is quite weird.

      Or maybe they only assigned a table, not a seat, for the quests. That would explain something (and scream fake, fake, fake relationship.)

      God with these two idiots…

      • moodgirl says:

        It is hard to believe that both are almost forty years old. She really behaves unnaturally immature.

    • MissMary says:

      Hmmmm… like Ingrid said, maybe there’s a logical reason but… I’m more prone to think it was due to her flounce. No reason other than I disliked the flounce.

      • Lucifer says:

        😀
        someone pointed out if it was for etiquette all other celebrities sat with their SOs. Even james and anna marie sat together in between BC and octopussy. So etiquette is totally not the reason. THN again thr must be some perfectly logical reason(waves to nannies) for them to sit apart.
        @ingrid @missmary
        what do we fools know?:P

      • Alice says:

        It’s a Duggar type relationship. No physical contact AT ALL until the nuptials, then go at it like crazed bunnies and start spewing out babies every six months.

  39. A. Key says:

    I am so sick of comic book films. It’s like they don’t know how to make anything else anymore. Independent film and innovation will die out if this continues.

  40. Soothy says:

    Hang on, hang on…he’s going to LA for the day?

  41. Ingrid says:

    Attention! He has said her name. Finally.

    http://cumberbum.tumblr.com/post/104500099121/for-a-year-end-series-all-things-considered-is

    Altough this time is “Sophie Hunter”. Ummm… why are you using her last name? Is that just slightly weird? (or maybe this is a cultural thing, but I would never refer to my SO by first and last name)

    Also, you sound *very* enthusiastic, Benedict.

    • Soothy says:

      What did he say?

      • Ingrid says:

        What BC learned in 2014: “I know where my home is, I know where my heart is, where my center is, where my now and forever more is and she’s called Sophie Hunter, she’s my fiancée.”

        (Imagine Siri saying this, just with less emotion)

      • Soothy says:

        Oh god. He didn’t actually ….say that?

      • Lucifer says:

        hahahahahaha @ingrid.. end Semester is nearing for him

      • Isadora says:

        lol… is this an internet thing or did he actually say that?? Haha… 😀

        It sounds like written by Stephenie Meyer.

    • Toodles45 says:

      I’m not sure it’s rehearsed. If he’s at peace with his choice in life partner, than good for him. Trying to reconcile it all with what we see in public with these two is just giving me a headache.

      I remember Steve McQueen describing BC as man of real integrity, and he is not the type to bs about anybody. Notwithstanding her public displays, she must be one heck of a woman after all of BC’s public declarations. Good luck to him.

      • Soothy says:

        Oh come on. She is not one heck of a woman, and if she was, then he wouldn’t be clumsily trying to convince everyone of it in every interview. He’d be genuine and he’d be protective and private. This isn’t genuine. Does anyone truly and honestly believe that these weird declarations and statements are in any way how he would naturally behave?
        ‘Crazy love bomb’, ‘most incredible woman I’ve met’, ‘only support I need’ ‘one heart isn’t broken, the most important one’. Not to mention the engagement announcement itself. Seriously. How can people be convinced by this?

        And her appalling and embarrassing red carpet behaviour was nothing short of chilling. She didn’t flinch when karon was talking to her and whatever provoked it, there’s no excuse for making a spectacle of yourself and him in the process, like a four year old who’s been refused a new toy in a shop.

      • D says:

        “nothing short of chilling”

    • Lucifer says:

      NOT BUYING

      • Lucifer says:

        Proves even more they are reading the comments and implementing the necessary measures which was NOT necessary at all if it was not an enGAGement. I did not even see it. I can’t bear the pain in his eyes. BURNS me

    • tsmiv says:

      Wow. He sounded really strange, like somebody else. Not his normal voice at all. He did an interview with NPR about TIG when he was in LA the last time and that’s the same voice he used in the interview. The quote was likely recorded at the same time. I thought he sounded like he was playing a character in the interview instead of just being himself.

      • MissMary says:

        It sounded like he was just…robotic… I’d be really skeeved out if I heard my fiance speak of me in that tone. with that phrasing. Like an object. “She is called…” not “She is” or “Her name is”. “She is called…” *checks notes* “Sophie Hunter”.

      • **sighs** says:

        To be fair, the Brits say called instead of named. Still stilted tho, with her entire name followed by ” my fiancée”.

    • Felice says:

      When was this recorded?

      • gg says:

        he did a TIG interview with All Things Considered on 11/21 (at least that’s when it aired) so maybe then?

      • Cate says:

        Yep! Pretty sure it was recorded at the height of the Operation Engagement.

      • tsmiv says:

        The interview aired on 11/21, but I think it was recorded the weekend before that so before the NY premiere.

      • Claire says:

        Yes so it’s not like they’re back in love after her tantrum and her other antics.

        Also, is it common for actors to see footage of themselves on the red carpet after the fact? Like does PR show it to them to see how it all came off to the public eye? I want to know what the chances are BC saw her little diva wanna be fit.

      • Claire says:

        with “my forever more Sophie Hunter” he is starting to sound more and more like “I did not have sex with that woman Ms. Lewinsky”.

  42. maudfricker says:

    Just listened to that Ingrid. Still not buying it Cumby

  43. Koodles says:

    @ingrid-That proves even more pr are reading the comments and probably scripted that for benedict. Who sounds like a robot, she is you now and forevermore, put a little more feeling to it.

    • Ingrid says:

      It really, really sounds like he’s actually reading it.

      Obviously PR lost their confidence in BC making his own statements and started to script them because that looks very good on paper and sounds very bad when he actually says it.

      Too bad PR isn’t listening to our suggestions: 1. BC needs to stop talking and 2. SH needs to disappear.

      • Soothy says:

        Well, I haven’t listened to it, and no, it doesn’t sound very good on paper. Not remotely.

      • Madly says:

        Shhh, otherwise they will make him say it on camera with a big fake grin plastered on his face.

      • blended says:

        i think maybe they are past the talking about the fiancee part (at least i hope) which was the strategy for the big U.S. media blitz. now they are into the showing up on red carpets part. so hopefully he can avoid the topic in interviews. dr. strange came up at a good time too, so he can talk about that now.

      • Ingrid says:

        @blended -ITA. Dr. Strange might turn out to be the miracle we have been hoping for.

      • Renee says:

        @blended @Ingrid Please let him just talk about his work, Dr. Strange, the weather..anything other than his “engagement.”

    • moodgirl says:

      I think he is sincere. And a masochistic.

      • Soothy says:

        You think that is sincere? Really? You honestly think that he’d choose to say something like that?

      • moodgirl says:

        It is dramatic but, hey, he’s an actor. He does sound like he’s pushing a bit or reciting lines that were written for him or lines that he created just for this – who says all that crap? I would need the timeframe when he recorded it. If this was made before the red carpet mistakes then it is probably PR that he was shoveling when he first arrived in LA.

  44. tasha_nat says:

    @Ingrid
    The words, as written, are nice. Everything else, his voice his attitude, the entire situation, is a mess. If that’s his story and he’s sticking to it, good luck to him. He’ll need it.

  45. Madly says:

    I am suffering from second hand embarrassment, anyone else?

    Oh and some of the defending that the nannies do for these two just makes these two seem worse. Their defending their idol is worse than anything we have said here, by far. They make him out to be week, a child, and so forth just to excuse away a red carpet look or weird interaction. Talk about not seeing the forest from the trees in this situation.

    • Renee says:

      @Madly Yes, I’m at the cringe-worthy stage now, where any time he says anything about this relationship, I feel like I want to slap him a la Cher in Moonstruck and just scream, “Snap out of it!”

      It sounds like he’s reading the words. There is no feeling in them, no genuine emotion. And there’s that word again–genuine. Something BC seems to be lacking whenever he speaks about SH or I see them together. It’s just off. False. Disingenuous. What a load of crap. SH is his “center”? Really, Benedict? What is she the center of? Your own private PR nightmare? Because that’s the way it looks. And who says the first and last name of their SO?? Really, does anyone give a crap about her other than the most rabid nannies? I don’t think so. Sorry, but I’m kind of sick of him talking about this bizarre relationship.

      I just wish he’d stop talking about it even though I know he won’t. I wish she’d stay out of the spotlight (please no more red carpets and her stupid tantrums, ffs.) But I know she won’t. That’s just wishful thinking and what’s left is the bizarre world of his private life that I keep desperately wishing he would keep private.

      He can try and sell this all he wants. I’m still not buying it. I sincerely hope at this point that this whole thing is for PR because if it is real, that’s an even more disturbing thought.

      • Ingrid says:

        @Renee – “What is she the center of? Your own private PR nightmare? ”

        *snort* I think that’s exactly what he meant 😀

      • InvaderTak says:

        Yes. The center of his own PR nightmare. Totally. I still am partial to the idea that there was something here before this went hugely public and that it went wrong and now they are stuck in the angry part of breaking up with each other. And I’ve moved a few cars back from the head of the conspiracy train to the pity car. I mean both of them. I don’t think SH imaged this either. I think she agreed to this and was a bit naive at the time as to just how big it is.

      • Renee says:

        They look like two people who are done with one another and have to play out this charade of making some attempt to look like two people in love with one another. And they really can’t sell that. I mean, I guess they’re selling it to the nannies/fannies. I can’t hazard a guess as to what they’re seeing that I’m not, but whatever.

        I think they’re painful to watch. And on top of that, she can’t walk a red carpet without throwing a tantrum and making poor Karon have to chase after her. How ridiculous and pathetic.

      • Ingrid says:

        ^^ I hope the relationship is pure PR. But that’s just my hope and I have to admit that the pure PR theory doesn’t really explain why they almost seem to loathe each other (his passive aggressiveness, her tantrums). If it was a business arrangement, they would behave, right? SHE would definitely behave.

        Someone said a week or two ago that it was real/PR engagement and they actually already broke up after the announcement. At the time I didn’t really believe that theory but after last week, it sort of seems to be the most likely case.

        It was real(-ish) followed by PR engagement and they broke up after realizing this was a big mistake. Now they have to appear in public together and play nice but they are failing miserably. This would explain everything.

        (But I don’t know what to think anymore. This is so confusing…)

      • blended says:

        or it could just be they realized they don’t like each other, even platonically, and had previously not known anything about the other, because i doubt they had spent that much time together. i just get the feeling that she’s not a very nice person (come and yell at me nannies).
        i actually think lots of showmances show cracks. we are just scrutinizing this one.

      • Renee says:

        @Ingrid ITA. I think it started out real, they were dating casually (I guess. Lord knows what that FO nonsense was..) and then poof, out of thin air, the engagement to be used for PR purposes. Whatever it is, it’s FUBAR now. I’m as confused as you are. Honestly, I wish they’d end it and spare everyone the pointless drama and more red carpet theatrics. But I’m sure that won’t happen so here we are, watching this mess they’ve created play out. It’s not even remotely entertaining to me at this point.

        @blended I don’t think she seems like a very nice person either. Bring it, nannies. I could care less at this point.

      • Ingrid says:

        blended, I *so* hope you are right. I might actually stick with your explanation. Because any other explanation than PR for this clusterf*ck is just so depressing.

        I definitely wouldn’t want to spend any time with a person like SH.

      • moodgirl says:

        @Ingrid – There is a post on Sogo that would somewhat explain your theory. Since I can’t link I may just cut and paste and hope I won’t get banned.

        My question is how thin must their connection have been from the beginning to get engaged two days before he comes to LA, only to have it fall apart a few days later? How could he be so angry that his passive aggression took over his entire personality to the point where he wouldn’t even speak her name? What can anyone do to make each behave the way they are towards each other – within several days? They are both ridiculous to the point of being funny. No one can have that much animosity towards another after five months unless an attempted murder was involved.

        None of it makes sense from FO forward although a post several threads back by Mikasa may be close. I will try and locate it.

      • Claire says:

        She comes across as the kind of person who is bitter she is not as successful in life and love as she hoped to be according to the entitlement she has in her head. It makes people cold, snobbish, and arrogant, when reality doesn’t match the life they’re living in their head.

    • Lucifer says:

      it looks on paper like sme of the speeches politicians make and end up looking like a total fool coz its so oUT of context and overtly flattering

    • Cate says:

      Who says things like that though? Like out loud? ‘My forever more…’ How can he get away from all this without such a quote haunting him forever? I mean, it’s straight out of a romance novel.

      • Ingrid says:

        … and not from a very good one. Most likely a Harlequin one. He needs to hire a new writer.

        But honestly, what he would answer if he really had gotten engaged this year to the love of his life? “I learned many personal things, but they are private so I won’t be mentioning those. Career-wise…”

        But he’s fooling the nannies. I made a huge mistake when I went to Tumblr (that quote with photos of her/them *barf*) and even ventured to IMDB. My eyes, MY EYES!

      • MissMary says:

        He/his PR is doing an abysmal job of shaking the Open Letter Writing Scrapbookers, aka “his ardent fans”… All this is doing is making them more…frenetic.

      • Cate says:

        @Ingrid, MissMary, yes, he def. needs a new writer and his most hardcore fans are eating this up. But really, if he says he’s allergic for a cuteness overdose, then what is this? Yikes.

      • Soothy says:

        Thing is though, cate…it’s not cute. It’s just…really, really odd.

      • Cate says:

        @Soothy, I know, I mean, I don’t think it’s cute either, it’s totally over the top. I rather meant that the hardcore fans gush over it and most of them do think it’s cute, add it to pics as a quote and etc. I just wonder how he could ever think this is normal ‘talk’. I’m starting to think he might have a bit of a nervous breakdown. Overworked and all. I’d be! 😉

      • Renee says:

        I can’t really think of anyone who would even remotely talk like that. It does sound like something out of a poorly written romance novel. It’s so embarrassing, weird, odd. It’s so fake. Every quote he’s said about her is just so over-the-top and phony. Sorry, Cate…didn’t mean to repeat what you said, but you’re right.

        And then when you see the two of them together, it’s like, WTF is going on??? It’s just bizarre at this point.

      • Toodles45 says:

        According to the daily fail, James Rhodes is helping him learn to play the piano so he can serenade Sophie at their wedding. :/

        Where the heck do they get their sources from?? It’s almost comical….wow

      • Renee says:

        It’s bad fan fiction now. Now it’s past ridiculous. Sheesh…

      • moodgirl says:

        Oh my God. I’m at a loss for words. They all need therapy, really.

      • Claire says:

        I’m trying to play devil’s advocate here. Like take away the Oscar campaign would he have been talking about his beloved like this? I remember he said he couldn’t wait to introduce his future wife to the world. Would he have spoken of her like this?

        Also, isn’t he a gushy, fairy tale romance kind of guy? I’m just trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for him talking like this. Even though his actions don’t match his words????

      • Soothy says:

        Nope. He never said he was looking forward to introducing a future wife to the world. In fact, he’s made it a strict policy over the last year to draw a line under talking about his private life at all in the press.

        And his words are absolutely not ‘gushy, fairy tale romance’.. They’re just weird, crowbarred, totally overdone and completely out of character.

      • Lucifer says:

        yes @Claire he said he can’t wait to introduce the woman when he found her. He is a believer in fairytale romances.
        AND when he got her *snort* all he did was hide under the bed probably and suddenly he is reciting badly written script at POP culture magazines. THIS IS SO OUT OF CHARACTER. It hurts my brain even to think about that now. Learning the piano? did not he already play the piano in august osage ???? GOSH fail!! atleast they should get thr facts checked.

      • Claire says:

        Yes he definitely said at one point “I can’t wait to introduce Mrs Cumberbatch” then said something to the effect of he can wait. It wasn’t in the past year though, but further back. I’m just trying to think of a scenario where when the time came, it would actually end up looking and sounding a bit like this. Or you know, something more innocuous than him being HW’s bitch/a huckster. But again, just playing devil’s advocate.

        My first thought when all those weird interviews came out and he was so angry about a month ago was, like others have said, that they broke up, but he obviously couldn’t announce that days after the engagement lol, and now he’s stuck with this.

        Still: who knows.

      • Soothy says:

        Sorry, but nope. He definitely has never said he couldn’t wait to ‘introduce mrs cumberbatch’.

      • Claire says:

        rofl okay feel free to live in denial.

      • Soothy says:

        *sigh*

        It’s not denial. He didn’t say that. Would you like to link to proof if you’re so sure?
        He said in 2013 that everyone wants to know about the future mrs, he didn’t say he couldn’t wait to talk about it. For the last year he’s been tightlipped on his private life.

  46. scarf girl says:

    Listened to the NPR interview and just cringed. I actually feel sorry for him. If it is PR (and I believe it is somewhat or driven) I hope it ends soon. God forbid if it is real I hope he gets out.

    • MissMary says:

      I know I talk about being on the conspiracy train and my tinfoil hat but if there’s *anything* that makes me hope that i’m right, it’s that creepy interview. That sounded…depressing as all Hell.

      • scarf girl says:

        Honestly, my first reaction was if this is real, if this is what “true love” looks like, I need to get down on my knees and thank the stars I am single this holiday. I can’t imagine being in such a depressing situation. God-i have to go to parties and events all the time for my job. I can’t imagine how lonely it would feel to have my boyfriend not want to attend these events with me (as SH apparently avoids after parties like the plague) or storm off in public.

        Ok. Going to have my evening workout before my first holiday party of the year and going to be so happy I am solo.

        If BC’s PR does read these things: thank you for curing my holiday singleton blues.

      • Ingrid says:

        @scarf girl (& Benedict):

        “It’s better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone.” ― Marilyn Monroe

        This quote makes so much sense at the moment…

      • Cate says:

        Maybe he thought was auditioning for a movie based on an Isaac Asimov book? I, Robot, I, Benedict. He got that robotic human sounding voice down…*Shiver*

      • lola says:

        It actually sounds terrifying.

      • scarf girl says:

        Lovely quote Ingrid. And very true.

  47. Coco says:

    Wow, that´s creepy! Who is talking here? Never heard him like that before (out of character). His home, his heart, his center for ever more…. If this is not just pr, he simply lost his mind.

  48. ellesbelles says:

    +1

    • moodgirl says:

      “I know where my home is, I know where my heart is, where my center is, where my…now and forever more is. And she’s called Sophie Hunter, she’s my fiancée.” Benedict Cumberbatch on what he learned in 2014 (x) too perfect, over compensating!

      From SOGO – I agree, too much over the top. This is a woman whom he appeared to want to chase after she argued with Karon on the red carpet.

      • Claire says:

        “she’s called Sophie Hunter, she’s my fiancee”.

        That sounds like…something out of a game show script. The rest, while over the top and corny, in the interest of not coming off as a conspiracy theorist, I’ll half-heartedly buy. But that bit…that is weird.

      • moodgirl says:

        It sounds to me that he is losing his freaking mind. That is the honest to goodness truth. He is so wrapped up in this story that he can’t get out of it. The media that counts, not the fluff stuff, don’t care about his engagement so he HAS to bring it up to keep things going. The SAG people don’t care about SH.

        We have James Rhoades tweeting or in the DM – whatever – that he is teaching BC how to play the piano so he can serenade SH at the wedding. You mean the oh so private wedding? That is some corny crap. I took piano lessons for 10 years when I was a kid, what is Ben going to play, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? He won’t have time to learn anything else. And if the wedding is supposed to be so private why doesn’t he tell JR to keep his mouth shut?

        We are still in the middle if the campaign, people, and it is going to get worse before he shuts up.

      • blended says:

        @moodgirl: James Rhodes has very vocally hated the daily mail and would never consort with them! where are you getting your info from?

      • MissMary says:

        JR didn’t tweet about lessons, that was all the Fail… But this is legit running off the rails no matter how you slice it. I sure hope Harv is getting the People demographic because long time fans of BC’s are giving this some serious “wtf” looks and standing back out of the splatter zone.

      • Hexentanz says:

        Since nobody dared to ask him what the red carpet hissy fit was all about or if everything was ok between him and the love of his life, he might have thought it would be a good idea to mention that the wedding was still on. Not that we get the wrong idea that he finally came to his senses and called off this Cumber-Match-Made-in-Hell.

        On another note, didn’t he mention once that he likes a girl with a good sense of humor? Can anybody imagine SH cracking a joke? Or laugh out loud? Make silly faces? Make him laugh? I just don’t see it. None of the pics available of her ever show that side. How nice (for BC) would it have been if the guy from Uni had said that she might come off really cold and aloof but that she is actually quite funny and sweet. No, he had to mention how everybody wanted to go to bed with her. That was such a dumb comment- if it really came form and old friend- and if it was made up, it’s even dumber.

      • Anne tommy says:

        ( meant to be a reply to 68)
        Men often say they like women with a good sense of humour. Not convinced. What they often mean is “I want someone to laugh at my jokes”. And I have yet to hear one say “look at the sense of humour on her” . I freely admit that sounds bitter and twisted, and I shouldn’t really generalise!

      • Soporificat says:

        Reply to Anne tommy @72
        Ha! You may be bitter, but you are correct. There is no doubt that when men say they want a woman with “a good sense of humor” what they mean is they want an appreciative audience. Otherwise, they would say: I want a woman who is funny.

        Women get fooled by this because when we say we want someone with a good sense of humor we actually mean someone who is both funny and who recognizes when things are funny.

      • A. Key says:

        @soporificat

        yes indeed, also notice how women usually say “I want a man who makes me laugh” – when was the last time you heard a man say “I want a woman who makes me laugh”??

      • Toodles45 says:

        Nope, definitely not. JR and the Mail have gone at it online. After he tweeted about BC’s engagement, someone from DM called him a show off and he tweeted back “Dude you work for the Mail, you wouldn’t know joy if it hit you in the face” and he’s already tweeted more than once to his followers to not believe what the Mail publishes. Just last week “Always question what the media wants you to see, in particular, Mail readers”. He and BC clearly can’t stand them.

      • moodgirl says:

        Thanks. When the announcement came out JR tweeted a comment about it. I think JR should go silent when it comes to BC, especially now. I don’t know where that info came from but I look at all their releases as PR until after the AAs.

      • scarf girl says:

        mood girl-that tweet from James Rhodes about teaching BC piano was from 2011. 2011! This is not recent. Rhodes has been touring and BC shooting HC.

        Everyone, do not believe the Fail. They are there for clicks, kicks, and giggles.

      • Mikasa says:

        This is what I’m getting from that statement about what he learned in 2014:
        I know where my home is = yea everyone saw it on google maps and you had it removed.
        I know where my heart is = you left it with Olivia! Haha…
        Where my center is = we know you love your job more than anyone else in the world.
        Where my now…and forever more is = Dr. Strange anyone?!
        She’s called Sophie Hunter, she’s my fiancè = Oooh, I bet you learned that when you read the London Times on the 5th of November!! Thanks Harvey…NOT!

  49. maudfricker says:

    According to imbd/twitter Ben is learning the piano so he can serenade beautiful bride Sophie on their wedding day. The nannies are besides themselves with joy

    • Toodles45 says:

      Yes, I just saw that! It truly is like a harlequin novel…pffft.

    • Claire says:

      But why would he need lessons from James Rhodes when The Outbreak Monkey also plays piano? Wasn’t that one of the things that made her “accomplished”??????

      Also, does someone have a master list of all the nutty/weird/passive aggressive things that have happened since the engagement? Both stuff he’s said and done, and their interactions. I feel like a running timeline is helpful.

      • moodgirl says:

        Too many to count.

      • Toodles45 says:

        @claire, great point, his future wife is a “highly fluent” piano player according to her CV spotlight, along with folk singing and sailing

      • Claire says:

        I have never EVER heard of anyone being referred to as being a “fluent” piano player.

      • Claire says:

        No moodgirl, we do need a timeline, or else this just becomes decontextualised craziness to everyone else. When you put it in the context of past events, it all “builds a case”. Shall we start making a list, ladies?

      • scarf girl says:

        Yes, but it is his wedding remember? He is the one who will need to perform, not Octopussy or even James Rhodes.

        But I don’t buy that plant one bit. When does he (or James Rhodes) have time for such things as piano practice for a wedding? Unless one of them is a Time Lord and has Tardis.

      • Lucifer says:

        i am totally IN for a timeline. But the page needs to be password protected by all of us conspiracy train passangers. Else PR goonies ll bash BC with THIS

  50. Green Eyes says:

    Okay! I need a nice, comforting Hiddles discussion after the tragedy that is the BC NPR interview.

  51. Mikasa says:

    So according to the DailyFail…BC is taking Piano lessons from his buddy James Rhodes so he can serenade his wife to be during their wedding!! LOL Sherlock much?! This was in response to Redmayne’s up coming wedding.
    I think this is what James Rhodes meant when he tweeted ‘Don’t believe what you read in the Mail’.

    • Soothy says:

      Dear god. Pure PR. This is getting silly now. Only the truly crazy fans and simpletons will believe that. It’s actually making me angry, this crap is really reflecting badly on him and making him look ridiculous. It’s not even funny anymore. His own fault for playing this game, but dear god, this is nonsense is depressing.
      92y and the round table. That’s the only two times I’ve seen the actual film take centre stage.

      • Mikasa says:

        I already feel bad for his next girlfriend/ the real future mrs. Cumberatch. I wonder how they would ever cope after all this nonsense? I hope it doesn’t turn into Aniston vs Jolie type of thing. I used to think who ever BC ends up with will forever be in OPs shadow…Boy was I wrong!!

      • Toodles45 says:

        Its a scary thought isn’t it? If BC remarries, the poor woman will SURELY have to deal with the media pitting them against each other. Not only will she have be a strong, confident woman but *socially acceptable* too. (I personally couldn’t imagine dealing with all that, especially since I’m not accomplished/musically gifted/private school educated and well-traveled like his peers)

      • Soothy says:

        What do you mean, REmarries?

        Also, theres no evidence for SH being ‘musically gifted’ or ‘accomplished’. And I wouldn’t call her well travelled, seeing as she basically just has enough of mummy and daddy’s money to go holiday when ever she feels like it.

      • Claire says:

        I think you ladies are overreacting a bit. The general public have the memory of a goldfish about these things, unless he’s say, Brad Pitt. Which he’s not.

        As for the fans well, wouldn’t you be happy if he found someone suited to him and who clearly makes him happy? This would be no more than a bad memory then. Problem solved. She’ll go back to flopping around with her flopping “career” and he’ll hopefully be happy in love.

        Edit: also, I don’t know much about the Aniston/Jolie situation, but I’m actually wondering, from an outsider POV whether Aniston played up the whole divorce for her career’s benefit, and whether we’d still remember/care about that relationship 15 years ago had it not been for that.

      • j says:

        um

        Rhodes has been teaching him for awhile, probably as their schedule allows

        https://twitter.com/jrhodespianist/status/44689788418269184

        the daily fail probably just trolled twitter again, neither BC nor JR are fond of that paper so it hilarious to see anyone think theyre in league with them.

        BC=clicks, that is all the fail needs to know

    • Claire says:

      when did JR tweet that?

      • MissMary says:

        He tweeted it about a week ago but it was with a pic regarding violence in the media depicted to victimize the actual victims and support the victimizers.

      • scarf girl says:

        Claire, if you are asking when James Rhodes tweeted he was giving BC piano lessons, he tweeted that in March of 2011. Not in recent memory, as one might think be reading the thread above.

    • blended says:

      it’s just regular daily fail pap. nothing to get too worked up over.

      • Soothy says:

        But it’s one piece of nonsense after another. It’s relentless and I’m tired of it. Really tired of it and it’s just a shame to see a (once low key) great actor being tainted by this zlist style circus.

    • moodgirl says:

      Mikasa will you give an overview of your post, several threads back, about how BC and SH progressed from FO to this point? It made a lot of sense. Thank you.

      • Mikasa says:

        Do you mean this one from the BC tumblr king thread?
        That could also mean they were in a real relationship and that all this was orchestrated by BC himself! I remember the first USA Today? interview he did earlier this year and I think he mentioned a ‘Big Announcement’ and ‘Personal Goals’ probably in the same sentence. He must have been advised by Harvey to find a partner for the enGAGment…testing out possible candidates and eventually settling for SH. My guess is BC was the one who wooed her hard, maybe starting off as email buddies and convincing her to move back to London and offering his home as flatmates and then taking her on out of town tryst/vacations and she fell for it coz thats her kind of lifestyle But SH seems like an independent woman and didn’t fall for BC right away especially since they weren’t really committed in the beginning. And when it was almost the time for the planned Big announcement he had to step it up. I guess after TIFF Harvey gave BC a talking that his time was running out and by September there was plenty of sighting of his mystery brunette and then finally the engagement ad. What confuses me tho is if SH is playing along reluctantly or was merely hoodwink – she didn’t know he would use their engagement for publicity. Or if may be pregnant. There is definitely something off about the relationship – that I’m sure of

      • moodgirl says:

        Yes, thank you!!!!!

    • moodgirl says:

      Good point – maybe all this nonsense is an attempt to override ER’s wedding which, by the way, has a SET DATE. Notice no timeline was mentioned about BC’s wedding – upcoming, in the spring, etc. – so why bother mentioning it at all unless it is PR just to stay in the news and stay relevant? They are still yanking our chains. And James Rhodes seems to have been involved in this from the beginning.

  52. Silly goose says:

    Are there no airport photos this time?

  53. Alice says:

    One of the questions in the q&a queue is “do you anticipate working with S on a project?”

    • Toodles45 says:

      LOL

    • Claire says:

      what was the answer?

    • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

      Unfortunately I’m guessing she’ll star in S4.. So,he dated OP, she starred in S1, In S3, amanda abbington, Moffat’s son and BC’s parents starred, making it look like a family production.. So… next step is the fiancée as Sherlock’s love ? (now that we’ve seen him Sherlock – soft and kind to his friends…)

      • MissMary says:

        If Moffat is smart (*sigh* no but…), she’ll be relegated to corpse #3–suitable for her acting ability based on what I’ve seen in videos. Maybe gattiss will step in and smack the script out of anyone’s hands who tries to write her in.

      • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

        @Miss Mary In s3 I skipped the part of Moffat being smart (looks like you noticed that tiny detail too… 😉 ) the whole season was weird, messy and with a wanting to please the fans… I did enjoy alittle bit, but not so much as S1 and S2…

      • Claire says:

        I wouldn’t assume that. I think it’d only happen if he (BC) pushed for it.

        Moffat is a smart guy, whatever you think of his politics. Just because s3 wasn’t as good doesn’t mean he doesn’t have brains.

      • Alice says:

        Unfortunately for SH, Olivia, Amanda, Wanda and Timothy are all good actors, so they earned their roles on Sherlock. I think MG is too sharp to allow SH anywhere near a script.

      • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

        I know they’re terrific actors, but the writing was a tidy bit lame… I’m not so sure, MG may not have a saying in that, I mean BC doesn’t have an actual written contract with BBC about Sherlock, so,MG might actually allow her in not to provoke a confrontation with BC…
        Or maybe she won’t join in because BC doesn’t want to… *hoping for the last option to happen…*

  54. Alice says:

    Looking good on the q&a.

  55. Alice says:

    Eeew! Just mentioned “planning a wedding”.

    • Soothy says:

      Course he did.

    • MissMary says:

      And soooooooooooo convincingly, too.

    • moodgirl says:

      But he didn’t mention a timeline – spring, end of the year, next year? I’m sorry, I just think that mentioning the wedding is still PR. Add JR/DM stuff and it’s just too easy.

      • Toodles45 says:

        If he *is* planning a wedding, it can’t be too far off. He could stay engaged for a while if he wanted to, but seeing that he’s bought up it more than once without being prompted it seems to be a priority. I’m thinking it will happen right before Hamlet rehearsals . It’ll help bring in more press for that too.

      • Claire says:

        I’m leaning toward the first part of your post, but there’s no need for Hamlet PR. It’s already sold out. It is guaranteed major press in the UK anyhow because it’s him.

      • moodgirl says:

        Isn’t it odd that he brings it up without being prompted? No one mentioned it at all? Also, isn’t this wedding supposed to be private so why keep talking about it?

      • Soothy says:

        You think he mentioned the wedding himself with no prompting at all because he’s getting married soon? Really?
        Four weeks after a proposal and working non stop and he crowbars in a wedding reference.

      • Toodles45 says:

        He actually looked happy when he mentioned it.

      • Claire says:

        I direct you ladies to this rational and well articulated post (replace spaces with dots or backslashes):

        sophiehuntergossipblog tumblr com post 104494282865 when-its-right-its-right-anon

      • Soothy says:

        Of course he’s going to look happy when he mentioned it. He is a pretty good actor and he chose to bring it up himself and force it into the conversation. He’s had long enough to practice his ‘happy engagement face’ in the mirror. Are we actually going to pat him on the back for managing not to do a grumpy face?
        Anyone still think he’s ‘normalising’ and it’s a ‘private’ thing?

      • moodgirl says:

        @soothy – Umm, forget about the fact that he has been engaged four weeks or non – stop working. The real issue is that he and his fiancee get along like cats and dogs. If WE can see clashes like the nonsense on the red carpet, what do you think it looks like behind closed doors? He must be desperate because the whole thing has been an obvious disaster. Maybe he doesn’t want to let up on the PR or admit that he has made a mistake.

      • Renee says:

        He seems to feel the need to keep reminding people that he’s engaged, to a woman, and he’s planning a wedding. It doesn’t seem to matter to him that they exhibit a freakish lack of unconditional positive regard for one another. He is more interested in the same narrative. “I’m engaged to this woman I proposed to. Look at me, I suddenly found myself a fiancée.”

      • blended says:

        i missed the q and a. someone on tumblr said he had his head down when he mentioned the wedding. anyone confirm this?

      • moodgirl says:

        I am not surprised that he mentioned it. Despite the fact that he claims to want privacy, he CAN’T drop the narrative. Notice that HE brought it up, could it be because the real media has stopped asking?

        News of his engagement has been everywhere; his marketing of the movie has been based on his engagement so there is no way he is going to get that train off the tracks. So, he MUST continue with the story or the whole thing comes tumbling down. How foolish would he look if he announced a break – up? Really, really foolish. People would be all over him because the truth would come out.

        I will be honest with all of you, if I were in his position I would marry her as not to look like a huge ass×#÷@ and just pay her a set amount to stay married for a year. Then I would file for divorce, citing the fact that she is a bitch.

      • Claire says:

        ^You had me until the last paragraph. Barring Britney/Bieber/that Kony2012 guy levels of mental breakdown, nobody, even in lalaland or in politics, does this kind of thing.
        The other exception is if they’re gay and need to hide it, in which case they do for the rest of their career. (one 80s disco dancing movie star being a good example)

        Nobody gets married to save face before the public eye because of a crap PR campaign, especially someone who is at BC’s level. It’s award season now but once it’s over, the spotlight is off him. He wouldn’t do it for career purposes. Would he do it to save himself personal embarrassment? I don’t know him but I tend to think his head is on properly most of the time and is not so far gone he’d do that, and especially after you factor in his close family and his best friends.

        And are you being facetious on the bee thing? Because being a bitch isn’t a cited reason a lawyer would let you put on a divorce application, and particularly if you want to hang onto as much of your assets as possible.

      • Madly says:

        You are missing the larger picture here. Eddie is getting married in a matter of days. Of course Benedict has to step it up. He may like eddie and root for him, but this is a competition and Ben is competitive. Don’t forget that.

      • moodgirl says:

        @claire – It’s not like there are no witnesses to the “B” activities so he wouldn’t have a hard time convincing a judge. Besides, he has already paid her per the original agreement so it would just be a matter of getting it off the books.

        I think he is highly sensitive to perceived failure like the article in the DM a while back and he wants to appear as if he can find and keep a girlfriend. Maybe SH is a space filler, BC just needs a woman so people will get off his back about being a failure in the female department. This is why he is so adamant and accepts her abhorrent behavior despite the fact that it could damage his career.

      • Claire says:

        ^Yes, and I like the idea put forth many weeks ago this engagement was the alternative to launching a smear campaign against ER the way was done against Woody Allen and Polanski in past years by HW.

      • Claire says:

        moodgirl, there is no evidence he’s paid her anything (and though I’m still inclined to think much of this relationship is PR I’d take the ‘he’s paid her’ theory off the table if only because it sounds ‘batty’ to outsiders reading this). A red carpet tantrum and holding your nose in the air like you think you’re royalty don’t hold up in court. If she constantly acts this way between now and whenever a divorce occurs, that’s another thing, but in that scenario, there’s no point in marrying her to begin with, so that doesn’t make sense either.

        Infidelity, constant emotional instability: those things do. Otherwise it is written off as “irreconcilable differences”.

        The sad fact is some men like mean women. Whether he is one of them remains to be seen. By all accounts he hasn’t in the past.

        When in doubt, just stick to facts.

      • Claire says:

        @moodgirl, so you discount the DM articles about JR teaching him piano and the 500k ring, but you believe the one where he’s sensitive to perceived failures? I understand there’s no guide to how accurate a crap DM article may be, but let’s be careful not to cherry pick what we believe for the sake of confirming our bias.

      • Claire says:

        Also, there is nothing to indicate he is a failure with women. He was in a relationship for a decade. He has had a year long relationship after that, and since then his career has been one that has not allowed for one to develop. This is a narrative, being pushed forward either by someone or is a perception from fans that may not have any bearing in reality. I would actually put forth this relationship he’s in now, if it’s genuine, is the first failure. Not a failure of HIS, but just a clusterf***.

      • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

        @moodgirl, why would he mention a timeline,the wedding is private,not for the public eye…
        *sarcastic grin*

      • moodgirl says:

        @claire – Did you read the article about him in the DM? It was around Katia time and It wasn’t very nice. He always mentions that people question him when he talked about settling down and having kids so he cut back on discussing it in interviews.

      • moodgirl says:

        “moodgirl, there is no evidence he’s paid her anything”

        I said upthread that, if I were in his position, I would just pay the person an agreed upon amount to stay married to me for a year just to avoid the side eye when we broke up. I never said that he paid her anything. I was continuing the scenario I had already laid out upthread – that I had already paid the person after they agreed to stay married to me for a year.

      • Claire says:

        I’m not sure if you saw my question in this thread where I asked: why are you cherry picking what you believe from the DM? Why do you believe it when you don’t believe today’s JR article or the 500k ring one?

        If you believe it, fine. Me, I’m willing to think it’s just as much BS as the other two articles.

        That article is one of the first articles I ever read about the man and it made me feel dirty reading it.

    • gg says:

      Just finished watching the (recorded) q&a. When did he mention planning a wedding? I must have missed it

      • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

        That’s a good question @gg, can’t find it either…

      • moodgirl says:

        Was he in LA for this?

      • MissMary says:

        When Cumberbuddy’s question came up about what he does on flights or somesuch, he tacked on “and planning a wedding in my sleep”.

      • Claire says:

        Looks like comments are all over the place again. just a heads up i’ve written a few new comments below

      • gg says:

        I found it, about 20 mins in. He’s planning it on airplanes, in his sleep. because his bride-to-be is so very busy, I guess?

      • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

        Really, in his dreams???Wonder if SH is the actual bride in his dreams… for someone who wants a private life, he sure talks a lot about it..

      • Claire says:

        I’m no wedding planner, but how do you plan a wedding on an airplane? I think he was either making something up to fill up air time or pulling it out of his a** for whatever reason.

        Also, do men typically plan weddings to such an extent? Not any guy I know or have dated.

      • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

        Wow, he actually interrupts the other guy while he was posing the following question.. minute 17 (almost)… But he chooses Keira Knightley when asked who’d he’d star with in a romcom… and not his fiancée…
        Wow.. I mean SH is such a great actress..

      • moodgirl says:

        @claire – How can you plan a wedding in your sleep? And you are right, why is he planning the wedding, why isn’t she planning it or “they” planning it? He is back to “I” again. It sounds like the same old game to me.

    • Ingrid says:

      Just watched the video. Harvey clearly told him to mention the wedding because he finished answering the question and paused and then mentioned the wedding. It’s like he thought ” sh*t, the wedding!”

      Celebrity wedding planning 101: Never. Mention. It.

      He’s not planning a wedding. He’s creating headlines.

      JR piano story is clearly a PR plant. The same column as the asking for her hand article.

      • Claire says:

        “It’s like he thought ” sh*t, the wedding!”

        LOL!

        “Celebrity wedding planning 101: Never. Mention. It.”

        Are you basing that off of what you know about Hollywood PR firms or is it just your opinion, Ingrid?

        Not sure if it’s a PR plant: the DM does just make **** up out of thin air, could be that.

      • Ingrid says:

        Claire, it’s based on what I know about Hollywood and PR. If you want to plan a quiet, secret wedding, try to make the press forget it. If you want publicity, talk about it. Weddings always make big headlines.

        Angelina, scarlett, leighton, jodie, rachel weisz, etc didn’t mention their wedding at all and managed to keep it secret. Then there’s our Kimey and Amalooney and numerous PR weddings. Blake lively was in the middle: secret and then everywhere.

  56. Claire says:

    Hey ladies, if the fawny harlequin fans are mashing the text with photos of her, hit back on SoGo and post photos of the text mashed with her tantrum, or him slapping her hand away!

  57. Claire says:

    More SoGo, confirming what I said in another thread (to Ingrid? Moodgirl? Can’t remember), that she herself is responsible for her fraudulent CV:

    “did everyone read the SHbio at the Location 1 link? It is my understanding (and correct me if I’m wrong) that cast/crew members supply their own bios for program notes like this. If that is the case, the source for all the misinformation and hyperbole about her career is SOPHIE herself. That thing is full of all the overstatements and smoke we’ve come to be familiar with, including the Beckett award and credit for “directing” things she only participated in.”

  58. Claire says:

    Ok let me try this.

    Does anyone have anything Karon has written? Or Sophie? Or BC for that matter? Unedited if you can.

    Because there is one common thread I’ve noticed, from BC’s crazy arse statements to Sophie’s CV mentioning “fluent piano player”: the language is off. By off I mean it’s been planned by someone with poor writing skills.

    “she’s called Sophie Hunter”
    “fluent piano player”
    “the love in my life at the moment”
    “the woman I proposed to the woman I love”

    It’s wooden, lifeless, awkward, uneven, inflexible language throughout. Many times only something whose second language is English would say. I would want to rule BC out with his public school education and he has come across as articulate in the past; she has one as well but she has no writing background.

    • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

      ?? Don’t understand what you’re saying,or intend to say.. 🙁

      • Claire says:

        Hi Nighty, I’m saying his language when talking about this is unlike how he typically talks. He’s a very articulate man. Even over-articulate. But when he talks about her and the engagement, it’s almost like someone who learned to speak English as an adult, or someone whose language is paralysed emotionally.

        We all have specific speech patterns that are fairly consistent. And this bucks that and i’m trying to understand why.

    • Toodles45 says:

      I mistyped “fluent” when I posted that but for some reason I wasn’t able to edit it. I meant highly “skilled”. The term on her CV says “highly fluent” for languages and “highly skilled” for piano and folk-singing . I posted her CV too, but the comment was deleted.

      I agree that the language used is, as others have pointed out, distancing. But if that’s the case, why mention it at all? I said it before, it seems like he’s gloating about having a fiance. This man has something to prove, or someone who he wants to rub it in to. Either that or he truly is head over heels for her and has an awkward way of expressing it.

      • moodgirl says:

        Or he is so far into the PR game that he can’t stop. The only other thing I can think of he is just embarrassed about not settling down and articles like the DM don’t help.

      • Claire says:

        thanks for the clarification Toodles.

      • Toodles45 says:

        Yes, I’m inclined to believe that he wants to remind people or show people that he is in fact, capable of settling down. We all know that he DEFINITELY has read that ghastly (and frankly quite cruel, accurate or not) DM article. He’s mentioned it an in interview where the person asks him what are some misconceptions about him and he replied “The Daily Mail pretty much covered all of them”.

        BC has proven that he is sensitive to criticism and to being watched. Recall in another article, I believe GQ, where someone told him that he was thin-skinned and he said “Damn, I’ve done it again!” in other words, he realized he over reacted about something. Then in the Elle interview, he went on a tirade because the interviewer gave him a half-assed response about Hamlet and then he apologized. He also said that he’s aware he gets criticized for not having settled down yet, “Why can’t he hold a relationship? Is he gay? I’ve been judged in the strangest ways” or something like that. He claims to stay away from social media and doesn’t look himself up. Yeah, right! IMHO he’s an insecure man who needs affirmation. A shame, as he is very talented, hard-working, (imo) handsome and seems to have a good heart despite being privileged and often lacking in self-awareness.

        He grew up being bullied for his name, his looks, and as we just found out in the Q&A, probably was bullied for having a lisp as he just admitted to having a really bad one as a kid. (that part REALLY made me feel for him). He wasn’t complaining or said it in a “poor me” way, but we all know how cruel kids can be, imagine having a speech impediment, in his case, he said his tongue is too big for his mouth and he was missing two front teeth. He is very much a man, but in many ways very much a boy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but the problem is, he probably wants to prove the critics/naysayers wrong and impulsively jumped into this thing with SH. The constant harping of TWIPT TWIL in that matter-of-fact way and wording just reinforces my belief. I think he is probably in love with the idea of being engaged.

        Maybe am wrong and he’s at peace with his choice of partner. I’m no expert or psychiatrist, so you may think I’m over-invested but that’s my theory.

      • Claire says:

        Also, on further thought: highly fluent is also a term almost never used except by ignorant types.

        If you are fluent in a language, you speak it like a native. Saying you’re highly fluent is like saying a concert pianist is a highly professional musician. They’re a professional musician, end of story LOL.

    • moodgirl says:

      You may want to look at Mikasa’s post up thread. You have a lot of ground to cover. I think my curiosity started when he appeared with KB in Monaco and then with SH at the FO. It does appear that he was shopping for a woman to be seen with. That may have been the first shot across the bow.

      • lola says:

        He was shopping for a girl. Maybe along the way he thought he found one and thought it was real. Except she didn’t. There is a comment upwards that she is she one cleaning her CV.

      • Claire says:

        I know you didn’t intend this but “he found one and thought it was real” sounds bloody hilarious.

        Also, what is he doing these days? I don’t follow what he does minutely, I only follow these threads. I find it funny there were these sightings before she was officially his woman thing, and now they’re nowhere together.

      • moodgirl says:

        He thought he found a relationship but she maybe did not. That was easy.

      • Just here says:

        @ Claire:

        They were spotted together, prior announcement, on the flight to/from Edinburgh. The girl posted something on Twitter, then answered a few questions, such as, whether or not it was Sophie with him (she said she was ‘pretty sure’ it was her) and what they were like together (she said ‘they seemed close’).

        This is one of the reasons why I’ve always thought the relationship was real. However, there’s no doubt in my mind that this is a really *weird* relationship.

      • Lucifer says:

        @claire totaly agree. where are the sightings with mystery brunnete now? NOT a single one aftr nov 5. food for thought.
        BUT NOW i v mentioned it. b preprd 4 nxt sighting

      • Soothy says:

        It was the flight from edinburgh and the girl saying they ‘seemed close’ was about 15 and sitting at least one row behind him. The added details should be taken with a pinch of salt.

    • Alice says:

      It’s kinda like those technical instructions originally in Japanese translated (poorly) into English.

      • Claire says:

        i thought about it further and you know what it sounds like? one of those slick and serious commercials for a new car model or a high end coffee machine. “it’s called xyz…it’s your….”

  59. Intro Outro says:

    Marvel held out way too long on Dr. Strange casting. It clashed with DC’s Suicide Squad announcement and got overshadowed by it.

    • Ingrid says:

      So there are over 600 people who have lost their sh*t…

      Who joins that kind of group? I cannot stop laughing 😀

      • Claire says:

        teenagers, that’s who. I don’t hold it against them. i’d be resentful if people held my teenage crushes against me!

  60. Lucifer says:

    Benedict On his lisp – his tongue is too big for his mouth. Just leaving that there…
    😀
    #dirtymind

  61. Ingrid says:

    He really DID fly to LA for just one 30 min Q&A, didn’t he? Jesus. Talk about being Harvey’s own little Cumberbitch. And if one person still says Harvey cannot make him do things (like the enGAGment), think again. This is insanity.

    #notcampaigning #soprivate #notPRatall

    • Soothy says:

      This is my question that never got answered. So he did? He went to LA just for that?

      *shocked face*

    • Claire says:

      oh what he’s back? wow. that is pretty mad. he must regret taking on RIII now. I’m wondering why HW didn’t put a stop to his schedule earlier this year. It would make sense wouldn’t it? He didn’t take on RIII until after HW bought TIG, right? insanity.

      • Ingrid says:

        Well there’s pap pics of him at LAX and from the pictures it looks like he was departing late last night.

        As powerful as Harvey is, I don’t think he actually has any say in BC’s other projects. I think Benedict was really naive when he signed on RIII and didn’t really understand the Harvey Method. He hadn’t worked the entire year so he most likely felt he had to do something and if the film had been poorly received (like TFE) he would have faced 1-1,5 years of not doing any actual film work.

      • gg says:

        supposedly he did an interview for a magazine as well, was in LA for a total of 10 hours

      • Ingrid says:

        gg -Thanks.

        Vanity Fair, maybe? Or GQ US? I think they have covered other major publications…

    • Soothy says:

      Someone on imdb a while back posted a video of Clive owen talking about how insane his oscar campaign was and he was flown to nyc just to sit at an awards table and be seen on camera and then flew back to the uk or something like that. I’m sure it can be found on a google search.

  62. Silly goose says:

    Considering Ben’s crazy schedule with all the promoting do you think his performance in Richard III is suffering. I mean he is only human and how can you give your best when you are frequently tired and jet lagged? And he can’t immerse himself in the role with these constant interruptions, especially as he has to play the role of happy fiancé.