We haven’t had a lot of Benedict Cumberbatch news in the past week. I’ve been waiting for the Cumberbaby to arrive, but so far, no go. Benedict is due to host the Laureus World Sports Awards in one week, on April 15th. Hopefully the Cumberbaby will wait until Papa Batch is back. Who will give birth first, Sophie or Duchess Kate? And where is Jessica Biel these days?
Anyway, The Year of Cumberbatch is still sort of happening. He’s still getting nominated for big awards, even though I would have thought that Bendy would have gotten nominated for a BAFTA TV Award last year for Sherlock Season 3, not this year. But he was nominated this year. This is his third BAFTA TV nomination for Sherlock, having been nominated in 2011 and 2012. You can see the full list of nominations here. There’s a bit of a scandal, because Martin Freeman wasn’t nominated for Sherlock OR Fargo, which is a travesty. Freeman was INCREDIBLE in Fargo. Season Two of The Fall was also snubbed, and Jamie Dornan’s fan girls are upset about that.
Last thing: someone made a chocolate Benedict Cumberbatch. And apparently, people are licking and biting it and ripping off pieces. Because that’s the world we live in, people.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
WOW… BAFTA completely ignores Downton Abbey?! No wonder the cast spends much more time in the US these days.
BAFTA have always ignored Downton Abbey. And a good thing, too!
BAFTA is about quality.
*snort* 😀
D/Abbey is rubbish, they are correct there, in that one point.
Yawn – another BAFTA nom for Sherlock? I doubt that’s quite what Cumberbatch is looking for but hey, it will give Hunter another opportunity to remind people she’s now a celebrity on the red carpet
After a week of Cumberdrought, we get another thread. Comet Sophie’s all around!
So I guess there’s a storm headed to Boston now, right Lilac?
Yes, we are expecting sleet this afternoon into the evening. Snow in some places. I prefer snow to sleet but will probably get the sleet. Which means slush. Which means ice. Which means falling down and car accidents. The Cumbercurse strikes again. Does Eve want some sleet?
Maybe a thread on Hiddles will bring nice weather to those of us in the Northeast?
Happy that Peaky Blinders at least got a Drama Series nod but it would have been nice if the actors had been recognized.
Totally. Cillian and Helen should’ve been nominated, and possibly Tom Hardy for the most bonkers East End gangster performance the world has ever seen.
He should have gotten it the first time he was nominated, so if he wins it’s a makeup one.
Shows that aired during 2014 are the 2015 eligibles this year Kaiser, so S3 is this year’s awards. The show itself wasn’t nominated though.
I’m no Who fan but you’d think Peter Capaldi would have gotten a nod.
Totally agreed. It is a scandal he didn’t win it for Season 1. They should give it to him now to make up for that snub,
I think there’s a thing where if you don’t win the first time, it’s probably not going to happen. I think that’s why he looked really upset that he didn’t win for S1.
If they didn’t like him then, no chance they will now. 🙂
He’s great as Sherlock and it’s silly to give prizes to the other actors and none to him. The show would not exist without him.
NOT YAY.
I think even the die-hard Cumberbunnies agree that S3 wasn’t all that. And the rest of us thought it was crapola. Waste of a nomination when other worthy series were hard done by – Utopia, Honorable Woman, Peaky Blinders, Fargo, etc.
It makes me feel as though he is the NOTICE OUR RED CARPET nomination and there’s nothing more guaranteed to set my teeth on edge.
Otherwise, I quite like the nominations. Toby Jones in particular for the acting, Happy Valley for the series and Murdered By My Boyfriend for the one-off. Murdered By My Boyfriend was so important and I like it when youth programming gets acknowledged. I don’t know why that soapy thing The Good Wife gets so much love both sides of the Pond. I mean, it’s pleasant and all that but not really award worthy.
3 overall scored nearly as well with critics and the general public as the other two series did. That’s definitely one of those things where the fandom/smaller web circles didn’t agree with the general public.
I agree CO. The critical reception was excellent and he won an Emmy along with Martin and the writers. Well deserved in my opinion. Benedict’s acting in The last Vow was wonderful and deserves acknowledgement.
I would swap him out for Cillian’s riveting performance. Glad to see Tom Hollander nominated. I need to find Rev
BTW – if you get a chance to see the Grayson Perry series somehow, I think you’d love it. It’s about identity – he takes various people (a couple where the husband has Alzheimer’s, a reality TV star, a white Muslim convert, Northern Irish unionists, a gay couple and their adopted son, a group of overweight women) and explores their subjective and objective identities through the making of a portrait. It’s a truly gorgeous series.
I wish we got more of your programming here. Have you seen the missing? I haven’t seen most of the performances nominated but a lot of good actors got nomed.
Rev is great, Lilac, as is Toast of London. And great to see the Dylan Thomas film in there.
Sighs – The Missing was great. The eventual end split the audience, but um… if you were paying attention from the beginning, you’d have seen the inevitability of it. It was the people who want unrealistic endings with no loose ends – the ones real life doesn’t provide! – who were upset by it. I thought it was a really intelligent ending.
I agree (and I think you’re right in the assumption that he’s a much bigger red carpet draw than a lot of the other nominations), I’m a fan of his acting but not blindly, when he won the Emmy I felt it wasn’t deserved. Season 2 was far superior and there were a lot of better nominations but The Normal Heart guys cancelled each other out.
Cillian Murphy should have been nominated, and Tom Hardy possibly although he may not have featured for enough time to warrant Actor over Supporting Actor.
Freeman should have been nominated for Fargo.
Nesbitt was great in The Missing also
Eh award show opinions are like you know what-holes, everyone’s got em. Case in point, I didn’t care for Peaky Blinders at all or get the love for Southcliffe last year outside of Harris’ performance.
oh, same on PB! Found it really predictable, and the sex violence is too unnecessarily graphic for my taste. maaaaaaaajor turn off.
still gotta watch the missing, forgot about it
It was pure crap. I’m not faulting the actors. The writing is atrocious.
The ChocoBatch got a BAFTA nod? Awesome!
Sherlock season 3 doesn’t deserve an award. It was the worst of the three seasons with all the fan-pandering. The writing suffered big time.
+ 1
Should the chocolate bendy not be white chocolate rather than be A cumberbatch of colour?
Perhaps, but white can be so boring. How about a MulattoBatch?
thornton & tolman were better than freeman in Fargo, and odenkirk would have made a better lester imo. idk i found that series a little disappointing overall though.
He didn’t get a BAFTA nomination last year because the rules state the nominated show has to have been screened on UK TV between the 1st January and 31st December before the awards take place (in May). So because series 3 of Sherlock was screened in the UK on 1st January 2014, it was eligible for the 2015 awards, not the 2014 awards.
As well as the three Sherlock nominations, he was also nominated years ago for Hawking and Small Island. So that’s five TV nominations, one film nomination, zero wins. I think he actually has a good chance of winning this – a consolation prize for never giving him one before now, perhaps – but his biggest competition is from Jason Watkins, who played Chris Jeffries (and was magnificent). BAFTA love giving the TV awards to actors who play real people (and Benedict lost out on his other Sherlock nominations to actors who played IRL people).
I’m disappointed they didn’t nominate Martin Freeman. He deserved it. I’m totally not surprised they didn’t give Sherlock any other major nominations; series 3 just wasn’t very good, at least not in comparison with 1 and 2. The Sign Of Three is completely unwatchable.
The TV and film awards have different voting pools.
@Lilacflowers – I know. Hawking and Small Island were TV dramas.
But you included the Film nomination for TIG and came up with a total of zero wins. Different people were voting.
I was astonished he did not win a Golden Globe (since it’s the foreign press). Astonished and happy, as he didn’t deserve it.
I hope when he does win it, it will be for some truly amazing performance.
I would like to say that, in general, I am not a germophobe, but all of those people licking and biting that statue freaks me out.
Its disgusting, like people using testers at make up counters.
Kinda puts me off chocolate. For a day, at least.
That statue freaks me out. I would be drawn by the smell of it but repulsed by the creepiness of it.
Mr Sixer has a friend whose first job was working at the foundry that makes (made? Whether or not they still do, I don’t know) those statues! http://www.newpro.co.uk/
I am indifferent to S3 of Sherlock, so I suspect the nom was more to draw attention to the awards.
I don’t follow BAFTAs, so please help me out here: Sometimes, the Oscar might go to someone and it’s more in honor of their entire body of work, not necessarily for the role for which they’re nominated. Does BAFTA do that at all?
Where is the backstage video being discussed?
The one with the kiss? Less said about that the better.
Is this that weird one where he gives her a big smacker on the cheek and she makes a face like he’s a frog? And LB and TH look queasy, have a little conversation with each other, SH tries to get in the conversation and they turn their heads and ignore her?
That was funny.
Tom looked like he had seen some things.
Very bad things.
🙂
Sophie said something to LB and TH and they both ignore her. Has anyone been able to make that out? Thanks!
SH managed to make TH unhappy! He’s always smiling and yet one word from her and he looks miserable. Maybe she has some super-power we don’t know of that makes men sad…
I have no idea what everyone is talking about. What video?
@jammypants
This one! https://twitter.com/simongarfield/status/584616140095250432
The funny thing is that some of the people commenting found it “cute”. She looks like a dog barfed on her and then just gets her face away from him as soon as she can. And TH, LB and FK just side-eye them, looking queasy/sad/perplexed,
The plot thickens.
ok just watched the video, I don’t see anything remotely close to what you guys described. It looked pretty normal to me? I don’t see the wincing or barfing expression mentioned at all. It’s like we’re watching two different videos.
He puts his entire hand on the side of her head to pull her into him. Also, she has a very interesting accent.
@Jammy, some people lightened the quality of the video and Tom definitely goes from giggly to deadpan in a fraction of a second and looks into the camera like he’s in The Office.
You have to see it slowed down and/or gif’d. The moment after BC looks like someone just died and TH looks rather unhappy too.
links please! sounds hilarious
She seems like that really obnoxious partner of the friend that everyone barely tolerates, hoping that one day they’ll break up and you can have your normal friend back.
Like when Ross married Emily.
im confused like jammypants
felice, it looks like he just fixed her hair
I have also read accounts from two different people that while at LL during the Chris and Bessie reading with LB, when marriage was mentioned in the letters, BC pursed his lips and started staring at his shoes. Twice. Anyone is versed in body language interpretation? LOL
I think that’s too much reading into something.
@jimmypants you are so right.
but his face did suddenly lose his smile and ,i think it, maybe it was a case of Molly’s boyfriend, [Ferdinand in the pink t-shirt] for not liking his flirting? LOL! joking btw.
I’m no fan of this couple but I don’t see it either. In fact, quite the opposite. It looks like a simple, unguarded couple moment to me.
It was so unguarded that it happened while the cameras were rolling. As it is often the case with those two. Cynicism aside, you are maybe right that people are reading too much into everything, but it’s fun 🙂
I find it odd that he is giving her a kiss on the cheek and she does not kiss him back or even turn to look at him, she just looks like he was bothering her. It’s strange that everyone near them gives side-eye – Kiera, Karon, Lou, his mother, his niece, various support personnel and now Tom. Everyone can’t be wrong.
Now you have said it, next picture (or video) she’ll be kissing him. See if it doesn’t happen. There’s a first time for everything 🙂
I think some are reading too much into Tom’s “reaction”. I saw his sudden uncomfortableness with seeing Ben’s sustained PDA and looking away out of respect for a couple’s private moment.
Of course, Ben’s definition of “private” is different than Tom’s (or mine, for that matter).
I doubt that anyone is that prudish that a kiss on the cheek would make them look away. Tom, Lou and her significant other had similar reactions and looked uncomfortable but I doubt they would behave this way towards happy newlyweds unless something odd is up.
You all made me go and look with this discussion. 🙂
This is what I got:
-A cheek kiss isn’t exactly major PDA, and it’s actually impossible to tell what Hiddleston is looking at from this angle.
-J is right, he’s fixing her hair.
I think it just occurred to Tom that Kylie’s hair was not at it’s best and all over denim at her age is just not a good idea.
And, I also think someone told Tom he needs a bra.
Kaiser you forgot about Letters Live! That’s a big deal and Cumberbatch’s production helped get it off the ground this year.
Maybe she can’t get public rights to the story or something? I don’t exactly know what the rules are here with that.
Also there was a lot of talk. I barely saw any coverage of it.
maybe so! It’s such a neat event that I think any press for it is good.
But much of the coverage has been of the Tumblr/Twitter variety and not from professional journalists or media outlets
There was next to nothing on the London papers (Metro, Standard). They used to be massively Ben-centric; they may just be a bit over him now….
The press work surrounding this event was so odd. Looking at their website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts (did you you know they had Instagram, cuz it’s not linked anywhere on their other sites – I found it by accident searching the #letterslive hashtag), it feels like none of them are working as part of the larger whole. One site mentions the charities, another doesn’t. One site has a link to buying tickets, another doesn’t. Most of the photos they posted didn’t have captions or appropriate hashtags – folks, that is not the way to run a social media campaign.
And I still think it was kind of sh#tty of them not tell ticket buyers what nights certain guests would be reading. I get keeping a few readers a surprise each night, it adds a little wow factor to the event, but if I am paying what they were charging for tickets I want to know what (and who) I am getting for my money. Let’s be honest, I’m not going just to hear letters being read, I’m going because of WHO is doing the reading.
I should add that I think the concept and event itself sounds really special and I’m glad it was a success. But I found looking for more information about it very frustrating, and that’s probably something the organizers should consider if they want to expand in scope and profile.
What Darya said!!!
@Darya, agreed! It is exciting to have surprises but to expect people to shell out money for a complete surprise is unrealistic and may be a good reason why the major media outlets neither promoted or reviewed the event – an event that did deserve more attention.
That lineup really did deserve to have better promotion. I love that Loo and Ben read each night, but touting that as your headline act did make it look like a vanity project and maybe not worth the ticket price. Or even worse, like a disorganized mess that was having a hard time attracting bold-faced names. Add to that the ongoing refrain from their Facebook page, “We can’t tell you who will be on which night, we’re keeping it all a super-special secret. Isn’t that super-fun!? You’ll just have to trust us when we say it’s going to be super!” Yeah, thanks for that, but nope.
I think the event marketing was deliberately designed to keep the Sherlock fans out, not because of the Sophie stuff or because they are at risk of being raucous but because it was an intimate venue and they wanted to attract the literary appreciation crowd instead, an audience who wanted to hear the letters read, regardless of was reading them.
Or they were scrambling to get people to participate at the last minute, so they couldn’t say who they had up front.
I’m trying to understand why she was yelling for people to come get photographed. Was she the director? Ben’s amplifier? That would have been worth a shot of LH, FK, and TH.
She IS always the director. Even of her own wedding, don’t you remember? I see theatre, opera, art!
Have you ever had a group photo taken at an event? The photographer is ready and people are milling around and everyone is yelling for people to “get in”, to stand straight, to focus and having a laugh all at the same time.
That short video depicts exactly that, as well as people looking down at their feet to see if they are lined up and being distracted by something that someone off camera is saying.
Sophie looks as if she is giggling at Benedict’s kisses and enjoying it. How would a 30 second video of anyone interacting with their partner, in a group situation, stand up to being slowed down, giffed and analysed frame by frame?
I see nothing but good spirits and everyone having a laugh in that video. I guess it depends on what you want to see.
I have never in all my life of taking group pictures looked at my feet to see if I was lined up. I have been doing it wrong all my life! And so have the people I was taking pictures with! Yes, we know, they are brimming with joy and happiness and we are just naughty spoilsports! As I said, it’s fun! 🙂
ps I am ready to bet serious money that neither Louise B nor Keira K like SH.
@Maggie, I have never looked at my feet to see if they were lined up in a group picture? Lined up with what? An invisible line on the floor? And Tom Hiddleston was not looking at his feet.
Hiddleston looks down, Lilacflowers. Him, Ferdinand and Sophie all do.
They may have been trying to get together without stepping on toes since they needed to squeeze more people into the same shot.
@An, he looks down but not at his feet.
I watched the video. I think it came across as weird because she is talking to these people like she knows them as well as benedict does and I don’t think she does. Or at least not as go ode of friends as he is with them. It was a bit off.
People think she new Jamie Byng before since they were always walking together and he had his arm around her on stage at the Hay Festival. How did she even get that job since before BC she didn’t have much going on and lived in New York.
I agree that she knew Byng before Hay Fest. He’s got to be the reason she was asked to read there. Contrary to what nannies think, BC did not get her that gig. Why would he? I doubt that he had even seen her in years.
benedict was doing plenty of the shouting as well
People were looking at their feet to see if they were lined up?
Yes, ‘p’enny, he was doing a lot of shouting.
That video was the first time I’ve seen them interact when it wasn’t completely contrived (i.e. red carpet appearances) and it was definitely the first time I’ve heard Sophie speak. I’m not sure I could you exactly why, but in that moment I kinda see why they are together.
adam and the people he was calling were his friends. seems very informal, bet they had fun
The person doing the most shouting is neither of them, it’s whomever is behind the camera.
Benedict was calling people who didn’t perform but are responsible for the event, including Shaun Usher, the founder. They deserved to be in the shot.
@p’enny-it makes sense that Ben was shouting -he’s a director of the company and did a lot of the organizing (such as it was). From what I could tell, Sophie was there as his wife and read 2 letters. If anyone else should have been gathering the troops it should have been Adam. The whole thing just seemed off to me. Curious how the others felt.
@Darya I kind of see what you are saying. I got the same vibe.
Late to the video viewing but did she read at this Letters Live? She’s in the middle of the crowd in the video so I’m assuming she did. If she did, was she good?
Yes, of course she was. She´s divine, don´t you know? She literally re-invented reading, nobody ever did it like this before. We can be so glad we found her at last, what would we be without this goddess of fashion, art, music and icy staring?
Thanks for the feedback. Can only imagine how glorious it all was 😉
@ Fairweather
Sophie read two letters and from the feedback I have heard she was very good. SunnyMarch have filmed the event and it will be put up on the LettersLive website, so you will be able to judge for yourself.
I find it amusing (euphemism) how last year at Hay – when nobody knew her from Adam – people reported she was mediocre at best and now that she’s the divine Mrs. C, she’s suddenly “very good”.
Nothing like being married to a celebrity to suddenly become divine and talented. And to think that we are in 2015 not in Regency England.
Yep everyone said she was crap last year. Even Cumberbatchweb herself. Funny how a marriage can magically make someone fantastically talented!
I know, it’s like the reverse of feminism. We should be appreciating talent and hard work, but it’s still a case of who you are married to. Sad for all those genuinely talented actresses, etc who are missing out because of people like SH.
Yep. That’s what happens.
@Maggie, excuse me, but what feedback? Do you have any link to any professional theater critics reviewing this event? As I said above, all I have seen is reviews by fans.
You have to realize that maggie(luv you!) is a benophie adorer.
Yeah, when are they releasing the videos of the event? They were up kinda quickly last year right?
@ Lilacflowers
I read quite a few twitter comments that were very positive. There are very few full reviews available so we will just have to wait for the videos to make our own minds up.
http://msadleripresume.tumblr.com/post/115323709685/letters-live-oh-my-god-what-just-happened
“And Ian McKellen read a beautiful coming out letter from a gay man to his mother, and Sophie Hunter read Letter to my unborn child and she made me cry it was so beautiful (she has an absolutely beautiful voice btw??) ”
“@wildrumpus__: And before the haters get started, Sophie’s readings were elegant, refined & full of gravitas. And B snuck out to watch her from the side 🙂 “
Sorry, Maggie, but I did say I was not interested in reviews from fans.
Those sound like fan fiction. Not going to sway me.
@Madly, or at the very least, fans who are too over-invested and adoring to distinguish between good and bad. Not going to sway me either. I would like a professional assessment of the event. Did they not provide press passes?
@ Lilac
Spot on, as usual. The “reviews” from the Benophie Daily crowd have been entirely complimentary, not surprisingly. Everything pertaining to SH is totes adorbs. They are a bastion of objectivity.
@ Hermi
Isn’t it interesting how differently SH’s recent performance was received as compared to last year’s. Becoming the “Divine Mrs. Cumberbatch” has made all the difference in the world.
I am also quite amused by fans who say that some people “only see what they want to see” pertaining to the video, but go on to do the same in their interpretation of such. It’s sad, really.
Ticketmaster has reviews now. The only ones mentioning her were listing everyone who read. One mentioned her in one sentence while writing paragraphs for the others. No one mentioned her in “favorite moments.” Did you know Juliet Stevenson read as Marge Simpson? Because I didn’t. I would’ve loved to have known that.
As I said, last year she was considered mediocre by everybody. One year later, she’s fantastic. What’s changed? Sometimes, it’s really hard to be a woman, seeing other women behave like it’s still the dark ages. 🙂 🙂
ps Apparently BC was out watching most of the performers. Do you research! 🙂
@Felice, it sounds like Juliet Stevenson did a wicked impression of both Marge Simpson and Barbara Bush. That, along with Tom Hiddleston are one of the moments I really want to hear/see. I do hope they still plan on posting the videos.
And Marge Simpson’s voice is HARD. Her actual voice actress never does it outside of the studio because of the strain. So hope they release all the videos (and if they cost money, please don’t be too much)
Pretty funny that some of the same fans that questioned why she was even invited to read at Hay because she was so bad are the same fans that worship her now. Even Cbatchweb commented on how ridiculous she was at Hay Fest (for the record, I don’t think Naomi is one of the worshippers). Why can’t people just recognize that BC knocked up an FWB and married her to save face? He ain’t the first man to do it and he won’t be the last, but I guess that would be admitting that he’s fallible.
@tsmiv2
That’s where I am at this point. Before the pregnancy announcement, I thought this was just Weinstein being Weinstein and this was a red carpet deal. Either way, I don’t see this as what a lot of tumblr users do.
@Felice, thank you for the Ticketmaster information. Those were far more informative. Seriously, did they not release press passes? As a frequent theater-goer, arts supporter, I was interested in knowing whose letters about what to whom were read by which performers and how those performers performed. I definitely had no interest whatsoever in some fangirl’s interpretation of the Cumberbatchs and their body language towards one another and her view of those who don’t worship them, which pretty much sums up that second “review” Maggie posted.
Needed to be mentioned. It is clear that the other readers were extremely talented and I hate that they haven’t gotten their justice. I have no clue why there have been no articles about it. Everything with him now is so controlled.
Apparently BC has resigned as Director of LL. Is that true? Why now? If true, timing is a bit strange.
Must say it’s a bit hypocritical when uberfans of one person to have a go at uberfans of another person for the same type of behavior they themselves engage in.
Not necessarily, hermi. *puts on business hat*
You might have creatives as company officers so they can make decisions, sign contracts on the company’s behalf and act with authority in the planning and execution of an event or marketing plan.
But once that event or marketing campaign is set, you’d remove them unless they are planning to actively manage the daily operational aspects, like legal matters. No longer being an officer doesn’t remove you from the company or absolve you of liability, it just lessens your power and frees you of things like paperwork you probably don’t understand.
@tsmiv2
I don’t understand why that simple explanation is so hard to grasp. While I think they were more serious than just FB (one doesn’t take a booty call to the French Open), I do think that it was a case of two people in their mid to late thirties, who got together (because of familiarity?) and when one announced she was preggers, they BOTH decided to make it official.
No Harvey. No trying to get an Oscar. No trying to get noticed. No trying to boost anyone’s career. No blackmail. No need to read tarot cards. And at their age(s), should they be acting like love-sick teenagers? No, IMO.
When is her “confinement” ever gonna start? I am so over her pretentious masquerading. And why was she wearing what looked like a man’s plaid flannel shirt as a dress? It’s ugly—-but I bet it had pockets!
No one knows. The Bora Bora pics have turned up on Italian Vogue so cannot be erased like they were from the other website. In those she looks 7-8 months. But then again, at LL she barely looked 5 months. So it’s hard to predict. Like British weather. Or the time Ben will spend nesting.
I remember seeing a picture of Kate a few days after George’s birth and she still looked five months pregnant. Maybe she’s given birth and they’re hiding it away so it doesn’t look so much like a one night stand oopsie.
What kind of happy juice you’re on?
With these two anything bs related is possible.
Yeah I wouldn’t put it past them to do such a thing. Can they hide it or fudge public ecords though?
The Bora Bora photos showed she was way past her 6th month. Clothes can do wonders to hide stomachs, bottoms, etc. She dresses for her (pregnant)body type.
@cee she was enormous in BB and one month + later she isn’t. It may be that she’s already had the child, wouldn’t put it past them.
She’s tiny though. Even after a month and a half, it should be back down to how it was before. I know it isn’t immediate but for a rail like her, it should go back down to normal fairly quickly.
I want to know how she can bend at the waist. The night she read she came out to take a bow and she bent all the way over. How can she do that 7, 8, or 9 months pregnant? And no one had to help her stand back up straight. I have never seen a woman that pregnant bend over. They usually have to bend at the knees and sort of squat. Maybe Alice is right and she already gave birth.
1st time poster. I just wanted to say I was really pleased that Jason Watkins received a BAFTA nod. I liked him in Being Human, but his portrayal of Chris Jefferies was spot on, to the point it was almost eerie. I also thought the Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies was written well. What happened to that poor man was horrid.
Ok, carry on. 😉
I hope you don’t mind me chipping in, love this site but rarely post. I attended the last one with TH. I was surprised how few fan girls there seemed to be, mostly middle aged posh people and friends and families of the actors and other theatre people, even spotted our prime minister. Was a very pleasant evening TC got the biggest cheers. Was a small venue and a very posh girl was annoying me behind, loud air kissing of people around and lots of whooping, anyway couldn’t see her at first but when it finished I wanted to see who this braying person was and it was Sophie. I felt annoyed for some reason, I liked her but seemed attention seeking. Not sure people minded about names not being released, I didn’t, was more about the social history aspect.
Who is TC? An illegitimate child of TH and BC?
Sorry that is a typo, meant TH. Would also like to say that Cumbers is much better looking in real life up close and relaxed.
Oh I don’t mean I attended with TH, I meant the readings featuring TH!
That is hilarious yet seems about right. BC does it too but not loudly. I saw him at James Rhode’s album launch.
When it ended the performers were dancing about clapping to Tom Odell while the audience joined in, TH was right next to me but facing the other way, I stayed sitting, never imagined my evening would end with Tom Hiddlestons arse in my face! Wish we were allowed to take pics, beautiful building, almost like a church, Cumbers told someone off politely for taking pictures. At the end they all filed off back stage but Sophie went out the main entrance to the foyer in front of me, she looked so skinny from the back but a massive belly at the front, she was waddling in high sparkly sandals. Christ knows why people think the baby fake, no way is it.
Well I mean if she can walk in those heels without falling, all power to her.
I never thought she wasn’t pregnant; it’s after all the main reason he married her (or so it seems, given the timeline), but her bump seems to fluctuate wildly. When journalists saw her after the honeymoon,they said the bump was “nascent”, while it was massive days before. You saw her live, so your word is worth more than wild speculation. In your opinion, how many months? 🙂
I hate this “black and white” mentality with her. It’s like if you say one critical thing, you hate her. It’s on the other side too. If you defend her in one aspect, you’re a nanny. She doesn’t have star power without BC’s affiliation (my opinion) but I don’t think she is a total failure. I’m sure she could be very successful in her field if she puts in more time. That being said, it sucks that she couldn’t be more courteous of the other patrons in the theatre.
I think most people here thought she was really pregnant and some guessed at it before it was even announced. It explained a lot of the weirdness and timing of things.
“never imagined my evening would end with Tom Hiddlestons arse in my face! Wish we were allowed to take pics”
@Pushkar, I know that the entire context changes things a bit but this particular sequence of words made me burst out laughing on the subway.
@Felice: you bring up a really interesting point above.
I feel like the black and white/all or nothing thing is just a general downside of fandom culture, be it fan or hater since the two behave the same anyway.
Really hard to say because women vary, I have two children, both boys, hardly showed with the first, massive with the second however I would say (because she definitely waddled), due maybe middle May, she hasn’t reached that hardly able to move out of breath stage as far as I can see. Very front heavy because she hasn’t seemed to have put weight on anywhere else. As I said everyone is different. She is very pretty and I hate to be mean because I’m no stunner but what stood out for me was her teeth, she seemed to have too many for her face and looked abit fake, too white, too straight and each one the exact same shape, seems wierd. I know you guys are rational, why I love reading the posts but I did read another site and there was some pretty outlandish stories of fake bellies, proper bonkers stuff.
I believe they love each other a lot, she seemed very proud of him and loud about it but kind of drawing too much attention to herself. Being in a small intimate venue without gloss and cameras (only a few very discreet cameras filming from the shadows), and friends and family about (pretty sure she was sat with her brother) you forgot about pap pics and red carpets and just saw a normal group of people but with a loud horsey and incredibly posh girl amongst them. I work with to posh girls and they are also very loud the same way, all jolly hockey sticks if you know what I mean.
Thanks! One wonders why on the RCs she was so much the opposite… if she had been demonstrative from the start there wouldn’t have been all that wild speculation.
But I am starting to think they are alike, so he feigns being all warm and cuddly, she fakes being all icy and they are both your average posh people, neither this nor that.
I wish them all the happiness in the universe, they seem very well matched!
ps Regarding her teeth: that explains why she never smiles. 🙂
Tell you what, in the posh stakes I reckon TH wipes the floor with BC, I don’t follow him at all but bloody hell he is really really posh. God my mother in law would go mad if she read this, not the done thing to use the word “posh” but then that’s because she is posh but denys it.
well, he is naturally touchy-feel, hermi. always has been
imo ive said it the entire time, there’s something wrong with him. none of the crackpot theorists are going to figure it out because it would require actual personal knowledge no stranger’s gonna have
the signs are there: weight loss faster than normal, unexplained weirdness (like he wasn’t making coherent sentences at times in some interviews), and self-destructively increasing a workload when he’s obviously already overstressed.
Meh, no offense, but I think they were on “stage” for this event, so you can’t really tell what their true emotional state is. It is the small quiet things that happen that reveal that and theirs are straight up weird .
Lmao @ “I believe they love each other a lot.”
*cough* bullsh*t *cough*
@Madly,
All of that.
@J I think you answered your own question about what’s wrong with him. STRESS. Married to a woman he doesn’t seem to like that much and who doesn’t like him back either, a baby he probably didn’t want right now, and throw in a four month commitment to Hamlet with a newborn at home. That’s a lot of stress at one time.
@Pushkar
About the teeth thing… I remember her having a noticeable gap between her front teeth in the one photo from the French Open where she’s actually smiling/laughing. I’m thinking she recently got her teeth fixed and that’s why she’s suddenly smiling in photos. I guess during RC season she hadn’t gotten it done yet, so she didn’t smile with her teeth for all that time. So if her teeth seemed eerily uniform and fake to you…that’s probably for good reason. Veneers?
I don’t think that’s why she began smiling. Why not get the veneers sooner for RC season then? If you look at photos of her with friends and old red carpet photos she had no problem smiling then
Maybe those events she went to with her friends weren’t as high profile? Or maybe it’s that back then, it wasn’t the absolute certainty it is now that a large number of people would see (or care to see) photos of her. Bah…who knows. When I read Pushkar’s description, I thought of that episode of Friends where Ross gets his teeth whitened and they end up glowing in the dark, lol.
Are there Brits on here? I just want to clear one thing up about the Hiddles/LB/FK look of shock: are Brits not ok with PDA? Do they freak out when seeing it? Also I’d believe the “they must love one another” thing if I didn’t see such cold behavior on both their parts just months before. There’s no reason to fake that or be that way awhile warm in private. They may be closer now because the birth is pending but let’s see if it lasts once this kid pops out. And maybe Byng is the dad lol!
I’m a Brit, I wouldn’t say we we were uncomfortable about PDA, all my friends and family cuddle, hug etc maybe in the Victorian times we were! What do you mean by Hiddles, LB & FK (?) shock, do you mean the video? All looks pretty normal to me, just friends rounding each other up for a group photo.
@pushkar, thank you for your anecdote. I read posts by other attendees that Tom was amazing and showed more range than BC, people loved his marlon Brando impression. Sounds like it was a fun event. I’m intrigued by how posh Sophie came off to you. was it her accent or did you overhear her saying something that sounded very posh?
So is posh being used in a negative way here? I ask because Tom always seemed like a laid back nice guy to me.
No problem and yes I would agree Tom was incredible, they were all incredible, I love Cumbers but he wasn’t the best, I thought Toby Jones was personally closely followed by Ashley Walters and as for Juliet’s Marge Simpson, brilliant. Sophie talks very posh, her vowel sounds, much like Bc’s mother but also she seemed to behave like a typical jolly holly sticks rara girl stereotype you see in Chelsea (ya darling) if you’re a Brit you would get what I mean.
No problem and yes I would agree Tom was incredible, they were all incredible, I love Cumbers but he wasn’t the best, I thought Toby Jones was personally closely followed by Ashley Walters and as for Juliet’s Marge Simpson, brilliant. Sophie talks very posh, her vowel sounds, much like Bc’s mother but also she seemed to behave like a typical jolly holly sticks rara girl stereotype you see in Chelsea (ya darling) if you’re a Brit you would get what I mean. Posh isn’t negative, it’s like saying you are southern or something, just a fact, it’s teasing really but posh people don’t like being called posh but non posh people like being called posh here. Yes you can be down to earth as much as you can be pretentious non posh. BC and TH come over as lovely down to earth and posh and SH as slightly prententious and posh. Anyway lovely people thanks for reading my waffling. Xx
Are there reviews of the other three nights anywhere or just the one? I’ve seen a few from the first night (BC ruled that one) but not the other two.
Ticketmaster
Thanks, Felice!
I think those are all Friday reviews (?) Up to 70 now, with the Chris/Bessie letters favored the most. Apparently their son was there! Sounds very neat going by the reviews.
“All looks pretty normal to me, just friends rounding each other up for a group photo.”
Normal? I wouldn’t say things look “normal” in the video. More awkward PDA from Benedict. It’s so strange that Sophie never kisses/hugs him (At Events/Red Carpets/ in Pap Photos/Etc) It’s always Benedict giving her awkward/over the top kisses/hugs/stares. She doesn’t kiss/hug him back.
I suspect the other people in the video are grateful that she didn’t kiss back
I wasn’t really focusing on those two in particular just in general it looks normal. I agree that they look awkward on the red carpet though but otherwise ok. I do think people are scrutinising every move they make and maybe starting to see things that aren’t there. At the end of the day none of us knows but them how their relationship is, we can speculate forever, only time will tell but I really hope they are both happy or it would be terribly sad.
I even don’t know, what is worse, Benedict knocking up a FWB aka pretentious posh socialite and deciding to stick with her for whatever reasons, or the idea that a pretentious posh socialite actually IS Benedict’s ”perfect match”…The latter gives me shivers. Is that a man I used to like thet much?
Mmnnn. Y’all believe what you like, of course. I remember Pushkar. Took me a minute. But she is right when she says she doesn’t post much. Last time she did was when BC was filming Black Mass. She said she worked in theater PR & that BC had a known gf who was most likely Kinvara Balfour. Whatever, I think these 2 fell into a marriage due to the pregnancy. Apparently, THEY don’t care that it’s 2015. They’re doing everything to make it look like some insane whirlwind. I totally buy it that it looks like Sophie is “typical” & due next month. Conceives August, clears 12 weeks by early November, start counting 9 months after first month of pregnancy. Boom. You end up in May. They will totally delay announcing, like Gosling & Mendes. What I don’t get is how anyone can tell if two people “love each other a lot” from a few fleeting glances. How many of us have been blind sided by the divorces of people we actually know? That said, I don’t think anyone can tell how much trouble might be in paradise based on a few seconds of video. The thing that gets me with them is that there’s so much weird video with them. And this group photo is one of them. His friends are looking really awkward as he awkwardly kisses her cheek (without any form of reciprocation) & half gropes her face. He looks gutted as her only response is to call someone else into the photo. And proceeds to pose more with that person more than her brand spanking new husband/father of her child who was one of the world’s most eligible bachelors. Um. Something’s off. Especially if this was such a whirlwind, starry-eyed love bomb. Don’t know what. But it’s off.
Yeah that’s true, everyone was saying Kinvara Balfour at the time, all got it wrong though some say he was dating her for a bit but who knows, kept everything very quiet. Think everyone was surprised when it was known that he got engaged to SH. I work in PR that’s right, in London, in media, I am in the finance department though not a PR person, we have jobbing actors or writers who work for us when they need work. Well remembered Oy Vey! Hubby also amongst media types (model maker for films, props ‘n’ stuff) and heard the same thing thing at the time though his colleague knows BC and said nothing but she isn’t a close friend or anything.
Hi, Pushkar:
Glad that you enjoyed the role thing!
Unfortunately, until now we only got some pics , but i hope they release some videos with Tom.
Can you tell me more about Tom? And why you say he is really really posh?
I guess people like me that doesn’t live in Uk don’t quite get the posh thing.
And thanks for sharing your experience with us.
I don’t know much about Tom as I don’t follow him, all I knew was that he played Loki and some of the young girls in work rave about him. Posh is not negative it its just a term, what I meant was that he sounded really really posh….wish I could find another word for posh. He sounded more royal if you like, most Brits have a dialect which indicates where they come from but posh people don’t tend to they just speak the Queens English. Back to Tom, what surprised me was that he was taller than BC, very fine features and really rather charming with a mischievous smile. He was actually better than BC for me at letters live but maybe he had more interesting letters to read, he has a lovely low hissing type voice, hard to explain. At the end when they were dancing and clapping he seemed a bit reticent and slightly shy but lovely. Have since watched some videos with him dancing, amazing, he certainly wasn’t like that last Saturday but lovely all the same.
Example of posh….I have a West Country burr because I come from Bristol but raising my boys in a salubrious part of London that has no accent so my boys don’t and when they visit my family they tease them and say “ooooh don’t you speak nicely, very posh!”.
There was a bit of a backlash here against posh actors (why BC tried to play his background down a couple of years ago) because people felt that working class actors didn’t get the same chances because they didn’t have the same financial backing to help them pay bills etc while they did low paid acting jobs to try and get a break but it’s not true that people from those backgrounds all have wealth some are poor for whatever reason.
It is still like this. McAvoy is right: if you are from a poorer background, chances are you won’t get a break, no matter how talented you are.
As for Tom, I spotted him as Cassio in McGregor’s Othello at the Donmar and he was already dazzling, even back then. A real talent and a lovely man.
Absolutely right, I know BC said that it was his Grandmother who funded his schooling but how the hell can you buy a flat in Hampstead with the wages of a jobbing actor?? Although the road he lives on is technically Gospel Oak.
Gospel Oak isn’t exactly cheap either… 🙂
Whoever funded his schooling, it was family, not some charity sponsorship 🙂
But anyway, it is sad to think of the many talented boys and girls who don’t get equal chances just because they can’t afford the right schools. I love this country, but sometimes it seems we are still stuck in Waugh’s times. Et in Arcadia ego, and all that….
He may have dated her at one point but since he was seen dating women in Boston and London last summer it either ended by then or it was never serious
Just because he was seen out with a bunch of women doesn’t mean he was dating them. The only think I could bet on is that he was getting some and now, judging by the constant grumpiness, is NOT getting some… 🙂 🙂
@Pushkar, The Guardian has described Tom’s voice as “volcanic sand slaked in honey.” I think that is an apt description. BC fan’s always seem surprised to discover Tom is taller.
Thanks for your explanations, Pushkar. It’s nice to hear from someone who does have a little info. FWIW, I think the rumours you heard re BC & Kinvara were probably true. She’s one classy girl for staying mum.
Ben’s best bit of letter reading I think is when he read a letter by a copywriter called Robert Pirosh who wanted to be a screenwriter so he wrote a letter to everyone in the industry talking about how he loved certain types of words, very humourous, and he got a job!