Tom Hiddleston (Sweet 16) (1000)

1 Name: Anon. : 2017-08-28 02:47 ID:5qdWEBEh

Thread to talk about the actor Tom Hiddleston

2 Name: Heynon : 2017-08-28 03:51 ID:LfjWE7CD

What TS was saying with the LWYMMD video, according to one of her official organs, People: http://people.com/music/taylor-swift-look-what-you-made-me-do-slams-haters-criticism/

I had to laugh, after the paragraph claiming they were relentlessly mocked about the shirt and I was thinking "that's disingenuous to think that viewers wouldn't see that segment as mocking Tom" - then the next section of the article talks about her addressing her rep for being disingenuous!

3 Name: Anon. : 2017-08-28 03:59 ID:7XS+HefT

>>999 The nannies said the same when he actually wore the shirt, that they were mocking the media and being oh so clever and meta. It didn't apply then and doesn't now.

>>994 This will die down but the possible diss track scuttlebutt will flare up right around TR promo and release time. I wonder if Marvel will give him a pass given the situation and after Thor 2 promo. He shouldn't hide away but maybe let CH and MR do the vast majority, it seems this might be their approach anyway.

4 Name: Anon. : 2017-08-28 04:08 ID:7XS+HefT

Here's the cold hard truth for the nannies on Tumblr and Celebitchy: nearly a year after their breakup (contract ended) their names are still attached, their relationship is still media fodder, he's still being mocked as a result of it.

That's the bottom line the nannies can't deny.

5 Name: Sosorry : 2017-08-28 05:35 ID:5PY9NQLW

7 Name: Anon : 2017-08-28 06:54 ID:4F9j2+v2

>>2 God, she is unspeakable, and explaining it in People makes it no better. I was wondering when the litany of "people who vaguely criticised Taylor" was going to end. Will we get a video about the person who took the last space in the elevator when she had heavy shopping?

8 Name: Heynon : 2017-08-28 10:50 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>7 Best shade of her on tumblr - "immature poop star." Whether deliberate or typo, it sums up her video and general level of classlessness.

9 Name: Sosorry : 2017-08-28 13:13 ID:5PY9NQLW

>>5 Fans are annoyed that the video mocked TH and K Kardashian's robbery at gunpoint in the tub w a gun.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4829358/Taylor-Swift-mocks-Kim-Kardashian-robbery-new-video.html#comments

10 Name: Anon. : 2017-08-28 15:29 ID:5qdWEBEh

>>9 Based on the top comments, I'd say it's the opposite. They seem to support it, going so far as to accuse the DM of disliking her for the negative headline.

Again she plays the victim and then the empowered female taking revenge, and it works, not fully, but works. Blurgh.

11 Name: Anon. : 2017-08-28 15:45 ID:5qdWEBEh

Quick run down of twitter.

This is from a search I set up last night after the video aired. I blocked her name and Hiddleswift and limited it to only English language tweets. Even then there are 3,000+ this morning.

Sample of the latest 100 or so.

  1. Acknowledgement that the shirts in the video do allude to TH's July 4 attire (complete with photo comparisons)
  2. Pro-TH apologies, e.g., 'I'm so sorry she did this to you' followed by crying emojis or hearts
  3. Snark about TH wanting to be excluded from the narrative
  4. Some desperate calls for the TH inspired song to be released next (some TS fans scenting blood in the water)
  5. a few Nancy Kerrigan 'WHYYYYYY' tweets asking why she would do this to someone who loved her and has shown nothing but respect (make of that what you will)

Captcha: Tire...yep.

13 Name: NewAnon : 2017-08-28 18:37 ID:i0F27Diw

I'm more appalled at how she's monetizing every single thing, from the collab deals to the merch to how she's using Reputation paraphernalia to generate higher album sales. Ugh talk about the revolting side of naked greedy capitalism. She's basically pulling a pyramid scheme on her fans and they don't see it at all. That's how she makes it to these top selling lists and makes her fanbase appear bloated. Lucky she has her financially cunning mom and dad who are the ones coming up with these schemes while she sits and draws in her burn book surrounded by her cats.

14 Name: Sosorry : 2017-08-28 18:54 ID:8V8Q6d4f

>>13 She's even selling pieces of the wooden floor that the male dancers danced on wearing the TH heart tank tops, with her signature on them! The good news is that dlisted came through!

http://dlisted.com/2017/08/28/taylor-swifts-already-infamous-video-for-look-what-you-made-me-do-is-finally-here/

15 Name: NewAnon : 2017-08-28 20:08 ID:i0F27Diw

>>14 W o w...floorboards, wow. Is she gonna market the air from the studio during the shoot next? I really believe her fans are too sense to see what she's doing. It's the exact same formula as her previous albums with amped up visuals (yes that includes all the new work she got done) with just as an aggressive promotion as 1989. There's no new Taylor lol

>>11 She's definitely coming for Tom, he was a mark from the beginning but judging by the general public and media's reaction so far she's gonna end up burning herself more than Tom. She knows it, she knows her act is on shaky ground outside of her staunch base hence all this aggressive monetizing of everything, even LITERAL FLOORBOARDS.

16 Name: Sosorry : 2017-08-28 21:16 ID:5PY9NQLW

E! Online using Tom's GQ article statement that he chose to wear the I heart TS TS shirt as fair game for TS selling the heart tops. Playing along with TS in the puppy dog article by taking the high road only hurt his rep. Her name must never cross his lips again. Why doesn't he have a crisis PR team? I fear that tv and online series and theater will be the only jobs open to him in the near future unless he has some unknown career strategy planned.

http://www.eonline.com/news/876342/taylor-swift-is-selling-i-heart-ts-shirts-not-that-tom-hiddleston-needs-one

17 Name: Anon. : 2017-08-28 21:58 ID:awCruF0V

An OP on ONTD called them 'Tom Hiddleston Shirts' and I'm howling. Not the marketing TH wants.

It all looks to me like she doesn't give a fuck anymore. She's on the bridge, she's burning the bridge, she's torpedoing the bridge, she's trying to sell the bridge. Which must make TH nervous. If she DGAF, well then she isn't really thinking about who's on the bridge and what might happen to them.

18 Name: Anon. : 2017-08-28 22:08 ID:awCruF0V

>>16 You've said this before, Sosorry, but I wonder what good a 'crisis' PR team can do. If, as we suspect, he's somewhat limited in what he can say or do by a contract/non-disclosure, then any PR strategy is equally limited. He certainly can't fight fire with fire (as much as he may wish), she has the victim act down to a science.

If you're only talking about a career PR crisis team, I wonder if that is limited too, for all the reasons NewAnon has mentioned. I fear Tayto and his GG speech (that room would have been filled with directors, producers, studio heads) have taken the rudder out of his hand. There may be nothing that he can do except do the work he has on the books while hoping his agent can secure him auditions, roles, etc. And if tv and theatre are the only jobs on offer, well a job is a job, those grey boots aren't going to buy themselves.

19 Name: Heynon : 2017-08-28 23:25 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>16 And here I was thinking earlier that the press coverage of this was fairly neutral towards him (USA Today even called him "poor T. H." For her dragging of him)....

Her mouthpiece People continues selling that this was a job at those who mocked Tom last summer. From what I've seen, there are about as many people who believe that as believe the snogging on the rocks pictures weren't prearranged.

>>15 I agree that her money grabbing around this smacks of getting while she can, because she's about to have a forced break in her career.

20 Name: Heynon : 2017-08-28 23:47 ID:LfjWE7CD

Did the Independent like Tom before Tayto? Because they just called him "that poor git" for getting "tangled up with her": http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/taylor-swift-new-video-vmas-made-a-video-everyone-talk-about-it-a7916921.html

I wonder if he'll start getting pity jobs from his directors friends - cameos - until he can rebuild his reputation?

21 Name: Sosorry : 2017-08-29 00:42 ID:5PY9NQLW

>>18 Its just that I'm just a little sad, from a distance. There probably is no short term PR solution, now. Sosorry to repeat myself. Tom made the most foolish mistake he could make in Hollywood, that is the easiest mistake not to make in the world. He either needs a miracle offer from a director or a producer with whom he's worked before, or a Heath Ledger-like or Colin Farrell-like gradually rebuilding of his film career, brick by brick. Or maybe just do theatre for 2.5 to 3 seasons, and win back the critics in London. My dear.

22 Name: Whatsinaname : 2017-08-29 00:51 ID:6LNXsSd5

>>20 The Independent has been favourable of TH since they first wrote about him in 2006.

>>21 I had been thinking a Colin Farrell rebuilding, he who came back from far worse, a sex-tape scandal and some drinking/brawling incidents, but did so before the current celebrity Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/tumblr social media landscape. Tom's best bet is to keep is mouth shut. No comments to anyone, anywhere. Same advice to anyone who gets a mic shoved into their face about Taylor - let her drown in her own immaturity and ridiculousness. Rise above her antics.

Captcha: slave

23 Name: Anon. : 2017-08-29 01:43 ID:awCruF0V

>>21 I didn't mean to suggest that you're babbling on! Far from it. I just meant to say that you've mentioned it before as a possible step or solution for TH but that I didn't know if it was really a viable option given the situation. Certainly no need for apologies. It could be an option, maybe he's done it and we'll see something from him.

I can't say I feel sad but then I'm a hard-hearted bitch. I understand what you're saying however. I'm stuck at secondhand regret and amazement. From the heights of Oscar talk and could-be-Bond (misguided as they were) to the lows of being a figure that seems to attract mockery (July 4, GGs, GQ, 'Tom Hiddleston shirts') and pity (poor old git) in about 15 months. The bottom fell out.

Are we in the seven steps of fan grief?!?

24 Name: Anon. : 2017-08-29 01:56 ID:awCruF0V

>>21 >>22 My FIL recently gifted me the McCullough John Adams bio and the HBO series based on it. I said a quick NO to the book, which is a doorstop. We've been watching the mini-series and teaching the little one to be a patriot (That's how you throw tea into the harbour! That's how you sign the Declaration of Independence!). Paul Giamatti did this work after his nominations and awards for Cinderella man and other 'big' movie roles. It's genius work, he's genius in it. He then went on to do a mix of movies and tv.

Maybe TH doesn't need to make a comeback per se. Maybe he needs to reevaluate what he wants from his career and take a different path.

25 Name: Heynon : 2017-08-29 01:56 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>21, >>23 When crisis PR management could have helped the most was during Tayto and right after the GGs, I think, but Tom probably didn't see the need or was resistant to the idea. I do get the feeling that some intervention was staged before the KSI promo tour because he behaved so differently than his usual exuberan/extra self. And RadHam was a savvy move (especially because the ballot approach to ticketing is now in such contract to TS's money grubbing).

We may not be in one of the seven stages of grief, but Tom may be! Let's see: Shock and denial (check). Pain and guilt (pain, yes; he wasn't acknowledging guilt, at least at the time of the GQ article). Anger and bargaining (anger, yup). Depression/ loneliness/ reflection (the first two, yes; again, don't know how much self-examination he's done). The Upward Turn (he's likely either here or in Reconstruction and Working Through). Acceptance and hope (someday, one hopes soon).

26 Name: Heynon : 2017-08-29 02:02 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>24 I really, really like Paul Giamatti's work! But you're spot on that for TH to have that kind of career, he'd have to change his path. PG has never been the square-jawed leading man type that Tom seems to aspire to be.

Here's hoping that working with Sir Ken and being back at RADA, doing Shakespeare, reminds Tom that he used to love theatre and leads him to do more of it!

Captcha: theme

27 Name: Heynon : 2017-08-29 02:03 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>25 ...such contrast to TS's... (Freudian slip?)

28 Name: Sosorry : 2017-08-29 05:03 ID:5PY9NQLW

>>24 Perhaps he could get a WW1 period romance HBO movie, like Parade's end for Cumberbatch, or like Eddie Redmayne did in Birdsong for the BBC. Everyone would swoon. Easy Emmy nom. With a Shakespearean production on television in the US, he would walk away with a nom for sure.

29 Name: Whatsinaname : 2017-08-29 07:02 ID:6LNXsSd5

>>24 Paul Giamatti is brilliant. Nuanced. Even more so than Tom Hardy. John Adams was fantastic. Please seek out and watch Billions if you haven't. I've always gotten the impression our TH has the range that he needs to dig as deep and as broad as his peers who have Oscar noms and wins (BC, ER, THardy). But his ego made him decide to take a narrow path into a tight leading man box that's so limiting and shallow. Paul Giamatti career is a fantastic example. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

30 Name: Anon : 2017-08-29 09:56 ID:4F9j2+v2

I love Paul Giametti. Thought he was so good in Billions.

Either lead in that series would have been a great coup for TH - I've said before that he would be lucky to have made the tv choices that Damian Lewis made (Band of Brothers, Homeland etc).

Slightly OT (though slightly not) I have also always loved Rufus Sewell. He was in some ways the TH of his generation - unbelievably beautiful and therefore typecast in a lot of frock coat roles on tv and in movies. He never became a big star and I never understood why, but he has since broken out of the costume drama mould and been in some really interesting stuff (The Man in the High Castle for example). He's also had a very highly regarded theatrical career thoroughout (he got his big break playing Septimus in Tom
Stoppard's Arcadia) - though I have to say in defence to him as prior crush that he is a far, far better actor than TH. I've seen him on stage several times.

31 Name: Heynon : 2017-08-29 21:47 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>30 Rufus Sewell's name didn't ring a bell for me, but as soon as I googled him and saw his picture -- he is so good in Victoria! Yes, it's a frock coat, but a very classy one. (Now I have many more things to add to my to-watch list....)

32 Name: Heynon : 2017-08-29 21:54 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>30, >>30 And interestingly enough, he says "it was always films I wanted to do — but I've kind of changed my mind ... I prefer theater now to film, certainly, because I get much better roles." TH should pay attention! http://www.npr.org/2017/01/28/511886261/cast-as-brooding-leads-rufus-sewell-says-his-real-talent-is-comedy

33 Name: Sosorry : 2017-08-30 02:51 ID:5PY9NQLW

Miss TS has just labelled TH as a past"high profile fling", and claims that she felt like her personal life was spinning out of control with him. Hmm...then she should stop calling the paps and fauxmaning for PR, in general. What a crock!

http://people.com/music/taylor-swift-felt-personal-life-out-of-control/

34 Name: Whatsinaname : 2017-08-30 02:58 ID:6LNXsSd5

>>33 Just logged in to post that link. Miss Thang is a piece of work.

This is karma sneaking back up to TH from early 2013 ElleUK's 'nothing to write home about' statement.

>>30 >>31 >>32 Rufus Sewell in Victoria was magnificent. I am not too familiar with his career, but I will check him out.

35 Name: NewAnon : 2017-08-30 06:33 ID:i0F27Diw

>>33 LOL! Why meet the parents if it was just a fling? Walks on the beach with the family but it was just a fling lol
My flings don't even know if I have a family much less meet them or hang out with them.
And what was all that gushy bogus shit Tom was saying about her to Josh and Taffy? Lol! A fling! HA!

36 Name: Anon : 2017-08-30 13:40 ID:4F9j2+v2

>>31>>34

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/mar/30/rufus-sewell-almost-famous

Here is a nice interview with Sewell from 2013, talking among other things about how he was gorgeous and curly haired and had razor sharp cheekbones, won an Olivier for Stoppard's Rock and Roll, and never made the big time. (sound familiar?!!)

I find it hard to imagine TH talking about himself and his career with such humour and objectivity ("as the hair gets thinner, the waist gets thicker"). I've always had a lot of time for RS as a person - he's got his head screwed on and seems to see life with a wickedly clear eye. He hasn't had the chances TH has had but he has made the best of what he has been given.

37 Name: Anon : 2017-08-30 13:47 ID:4F9j2+v2

By the way, I just googled to see what he's been up to since The Man in The High Castle and it turns out he played Alexander Hamilton in the John Adams miniseries that Anon. mentioned. So there you are - you can watch Paul Giametti and Rufus Sewell in the same frame while pondering TH's bad career choices! One for my watch list, definitely.

38 Name: Heynon : 2017-08-31 00:53 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>33, >>34, >>35 Her only flings last summer were of Tom to the wolves, and general BS to the public. Doesn't a "fling" generally involve sex, specifically hot and frequent sex? The two of them projected about as much heat as a pair of flounder fillets!

That label is so silly that so far none of the rags or gossip sites have pounced on it.

>>36 Sewell has the advantage over Tom of about 15 years' worth of experience to give him that clearer perspective. I hope Tom will handle the vicissitudes of his career and challenges of aging in public so gracefully.

There were a couple of RadHam-related tweets today, one from a staff member saying they did the photo shoot (but she doesn't know when the pix will be released). The other was from the agent of one of the supporting actors saying that they were seeing the show tonight. So RADA is having some invited audiences for the dress rehearsals. (From the #radahamlet tag.)

39 Name: Sosorry : 2017-08-31 01:49 ID:5PY9NQLW

>>38 I can't wait to see how Hamlet turns out! Hopefully a reviewer won tickets, and we get a balanced and fair review, and not just swooners. Hollywoodlife is trolling Tom to deny to gossipcop. HL claims that Tom thinks being in the video is great because now he is a part of legendary music history...sure Jan. Tom is probably getting his mind and body prepped for Hamlet by running up and down the stairs, backstage at the theater : )

http://hollywoodlife.com/2017/08/30/tom-hiddleston-upset-taylor-swift-look-what-you-made-me-do-video/

40 Name: Heynon : 2017-08-31 16:56 ID:+paBlYiz

##39 A different rag and source for TH's reaction to her video: "he feels like an idiot for going anywhere near her" - http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/taylor-swift-feuds-140672

Looking forward to anything we hear about RadHam!

41 Name: Whatsinaname : 2017-08-31 20:53 ID:LlPNBTnR

>>40 Is this rag friendly to Luke or anti-Taylor in general? Even though it's cool to say out loud that he's made a mistake, that's a hell of a dig at her.

42 Name: Whatsinaname : 2017-08-31 21:08 ID:LlPNBTnR

>>38 The fling statement she made: if I'm not mistaken this is the first time she's said anything remotely referential to sex.

43 Name: Heynon : 2017-08-31 23:21 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>39 And here's the Gossip Cop response to that HL story. Dancing around the " the shirt was a joke" content by referring back to the GQ article. They're more righteously announced by the rag making up a source. https://www.gossipcop.com/tom-hiddleston-reaction-taylor-swift-look-what-you-made-me-do-video-made-up/

Tonight's RadHam final dress had people from the industry/ supporters of the RADA campaign in attendance. So far, a couple of favorable tweets from some actors (see the #radahamlet tag).

44 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-01 00:54 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>41 It was the one plugging that the Tayto twins were talking marriage, so not anti-Taylor or pro-Luke/Tom's PR. Yeah, having an "industry source" quoted as saying that "Now he sees her as a desperate attention-seeker” could rebound on Tom. Be interesting to see if Gossip Cop addresses it.

45 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-01 00:56 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>43 Righteously annoyed - darn autocorrect!

46 Name: Whatsinaname : 2017-09-01 06:20 ID:6LNXsSd5

The reviews are coming in from Thursday night's dress rehersal and they're good:

@StephenGreif : Terrificly vibrant , Pacey production of Hamlet at RADA, directed by Ken Branagh with Tom Hiddleston and great company in every dept. Bravo.

@JillWinternitz : Strikingly impactful and beautifully realised, @twhiddleston is extraordinary as Hamlet. Congrats all! @RADA_London @KBTCLive #radahamlet 💀

47 Name: Anon : 2017-09-01 07:05 ID:A3rZwPke

I am glad he had good "reviews".

Interesting though that they have managed to get the theatrical great and good in for free tickets somehow (though no space for critics, strangely!!). I had wondered whether/how they would do that. The dress rehearsal is the answer. Looks like it was a gala evening with canapés laid on. Not really a true dress rehearsal where the gravedigger finds someone left the skull backstage. It's effectively free ticket night by another name and the real dress rehearsal was the night before.

48 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-01 11:00 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>47 It might have been iwith paid tickets, though, for existing or potential RADA donors. They could even have charged extra for the tickets, especially if the attendees were ablle to meet the cast and Sir Ken. But yes, it' seems they shut out the critics.

49 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-01 11:07 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>47, >>48 Found this quote on the crazy clever one from the FB post of someone who attended last night - sounds like a donor event indeed: "FB: Oh wow! What an evening I've had. [...] Thank you Derek Smith for inviting me to a wonderful evening and a fantastic production of Hamlet. The evening started with champagne and nibbles and short talks in the building that used to be the Drill Hall. Then we all trouped across to RADA and another drink and thenthe play. The after party with deserts back at Drill Hall with members of the cast amidst drinks and exciting sweet concoctions. Chatted with Kenneth Branagh and Tom Hiddleston."

50 Name: Anon. : 2017-09-01 12:59 ID:Qu9yTfIn

I'm not willing to call a tweet which employs a skull emoji a 'review.' And the phrase 'beautifully realized' is as hackneyed as they come.

I don't doubt it's very good, and I don't doubt he's very good in it. It's breadbasket for both KB and TH, and tailor made for their respective talents. That was never the issue. The issue, at least for me, was the calculated nature of this in terms of his re-creding process. The evening of nibbles, champagne and chats with the talent but minus actual professional critics does nothing to address that issue.

Alas, poor Yorick! I still find this dodgy.

51 Name: Anon. : 2017-09-01 13:01 ID:Qu9yTfIn

>>49 How many of these have come out? Are the interwebs flooded with praise, I.e., was RADA's champagne budget put to good use?

52 Name: Anon : 2017-09-01 14:06 ID:IMaFOoe+

>>50

That's why I called it a "review" and not a review.

I think in my last post I was trying to articulate that the non dress rehearsal dress rehearsal made it sound more rather than less calculated.

The people who tweeted included (a) a plus one of the actor Derek Smith; (b) a (recent?) graduate of RADA who is in the business in the US and has a blue Twitter tick, but of whom I have never heard; and (c) the agent of one of the actors. Colour me cynical but I don't feel that these are people who would donate £100,000, or even £10,000 to the cause.

It may have been dressed up as a "donor" event but I still think that the reality was that this was a way of getting industry types and famous people into the auditorium without them having to enter the ballot. Apparently David Attenborough was there - as brother of the late Dickie - and they were hardly going to make him enter the ballot, were they?? But they want to have their cake and eat it. No critics, no big audience, but maximum coverage.

All very useful for anyone who wants to be seen by the aforementioned industry types (which includes the newbies as well as TH). But not a donor event. If they wanted to make srious money from that evening and publicise the cause to the 1% they could have sold tickets to the highest bidder.

53 Name: Anon : 2017-09-01 14:12 ID:IMaFOoe+

"very lucky to see a dress run of #radahamlet this week. a really strong company, clear and immediate storytelling. thank you! @RADA_London"

plus the one Heynon cited at >>49

"Watching opening night of Hamlet, played by Tom Hiddleston, at rada, with David Attenborough on the opposite front row. One to tick off the bucket list I didn't know I had"

impactful and beautifully realised cliche person/vibrant and pacey cliche person/coming all the way from America person

I think that is basically it so far.

54 Name: Unknown : 2017-09-01 15:06 ID:AIXVBE85

So basically this show is for new RADA students to get noticed by industry types; basically an audition. And TH to get his "serious actor" cred back more then the "charity" itself. With "reviews" from probably Kenneth's theater friends and a sprinkle of TH stans.

Yep. Total emergency serious actor status plan. TH is extremely lucky he has Branagh on his side. If it was any other actor of a lower station I.e. not posh, it would take years to get their former reputation back. TH is so transparent.

Its interesting that they have these rich parties for the "charity". Working clas students in less prestigious schools who don't have that clout really have an insurmountable mountain to climb to the top when the competition have vast resources they never have.

55 Name: Anon : 2017-09-01 15:12 ID:1nCZ5qFb

A few interesting and not wholly intentional revelations in this interview with a RADA bod: https://amp.theguardian.com/film/2017/sep/01/tom-hiddleston-plays-hamlet-london-ticket

I noticed:
(1) it's avowedly not about making as much money as possible . (Apparently it's about the "art")
(2) KB and TH had talked of a project for years but it was mysteriously only recently that their schedules coincided. One of you having no work will do that.

56 Name: Anon : 2017-09-01 15:27 ID:1nCZ5qFb

Also:

No critics so as to maximise revenue (even though it is not all about the money!)
It's the "grief Hamlet" (I bet!)

PS re timing. Although KB became president of RADA 18 months ago, the interviewee deliberately elides when Branagh actually called to say he wanted to direct TH in the school play. It is not said that KB suggested this 18 months ago.

57 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-01 18:14 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>51 Haven't found any new tweets about the final dress/real opening night/whatever the heck that was. It's possible, of course, that many of those attending aren't much for social media. (The few who did tweet weren't generally exactly household names!)

Good catch on the vagueness in the Guardian article about exactly when KB proposed this to RADA. The production is already having one of its intended effects, it seems - to get the non-tabloid UK press to stop ridiculing Tom.

We should start to see feedback from the paying audience in about 5 hours.

>>50 - >>56 Oh there's a whole lot of let's stand in a circle and scratch each others' backs communal benefitting going on here!

58 Name: Xnon : 2017-09-01 20:44 ID:XRYKJNOO

>>56 Well, actually it does. Read more carefully:

"Branagh became president of Rada about 18 months ago and Kemp recalled talking with him about directing a show, “thinking it would be a third-year student production. He rang back a week later to say that he and Tom had been talking.”

59 Name: Anon : 2017-09-01 21:21 ID:A3rZwPke

>>58

No it doesn't. Article says Branagh became President 18 months ago. Article also says that Kemp recalls talking to Branagh about directing a show, but Kemp does not say when that conversation took place. Could have been immediately after Branagh became President or could have been 3 months ago.

Kemp rang back a week after that conversation and proposed doing a show with TH. That still does not tell us when the initial conversation took place.

60 Name: Anon : 2017-09-01 21:23 ID:A3rZwPke

>>59 Sorry, "Branagh rang Kemp back a week after...etc"

61 Name: Whatsinaname : 2017-09-01 21:31 ID:6LNXsSd5

From the Guardian's twitter account, the Saturday edition - HiddleHam gets front page, complete with the pictures referred to in >>38

https://twitter
.com/guardian/status/903723011353841664

Print is too small to read.

62 Name: Anon : 2017-09-01 21:43 ID:A3rZwPke

It's a good pic. Is the ripped t shirt Hamlet's rended black garment or Tom's normal rehearsal gear?

The text says something about the production having started yesterday (i.e. today) and that tickets are sold out. It suggests there is an article inside as there is an arrow pointing to a 5 in a circle. Possibly the article linked to above?

63 Name: Anon : 2017-09-01 22:05 ID:A3rZwPke

Front page of the Telegraph: https://lolawashere.tumblr.com/post/164873575827/front-page-of-tomorrows-telegraph-newspaper

Story inside.

Someone tweeted that Hamlet is wearing black jeans, black coat, black Calvin Klein pants (he's British so he means underpants) and THE GREY BOOTS!!!!

64 Name: Anon. : 2017-09-01 22:26 ID:fIXD3WZS

>>63 So his clothes have melded to his body. Ditto with the shoes. Great. :(

>>58 The syntax is vague. Anon is correct. Had it read 'Branagh became president of Rada about 18 months ago and Kemp recalled talking with him then about directing a show' the timing would be more concrete. As it reads now, it isn't.

65 Name: Anon. : 2017-09-01 22:28 ID:fIXD3WZS

>>63 This isn't the grief Hamlet, it's the Johnny Cash Hamlet! Oh no, he's going to bring out the guitar and sing about missing his daddy.

66 Name: Whatsinaname : 2017-09-01 22:33 ID:6LNXsSd5

>>62 The caption identifies Tom and his costar, Caroline Martin. I saw the link too, Anon but I'm not sure that it links to the article in >>55, since that link is for Friday's article, but the photo is for Saturday. Dunno.

Clever has posted a number of tweets, including the one in >>63 about the grey boots. One, Jashalee, says that TH is slightly better than Cumber but doesn't come close to Andew Scott's Hamlet. Ouch.

67 Name: Whatsinaname : 2017-09-01 22:39 ID:6LNXsSd5

@MatthewLumby's twitter is a good read, a lot of tweets in a long Hamlet thread. He's the one who commented on the boots.

68 Name: Whatsinaname : 2017-09-01 22:46 ID:6LNXsSd5

>>63 Hmm, tumblr link has been deleted for the Telegraph cover. Here it is on Twitter:

https://twitter
.com/ajsaladine/status/903736041793871879

69 Name: Whatsinaname : 2017-09-01 22:51 ID:6LNXsSd5

Many other tweets together. TH sings and plays piano at the beginning:
https://always-hiddleston.tumblr.com/post/164874727352/insanely-smart

70 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-01 23:01 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>62 My initial reaction was that it's a rehearsal picture given the windows behind them - but depends on what the set is like.

>>63, >>68 His outfit in that pix looks exactly like his fall/winter going out for coffee or breakfast one! Methinks the designer didn't have to work too hard....

72 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-01 23:25 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>71 And the Times critic saw it as well:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/theatre-review-hamlet-at-the-rada-jerwood-vanbrugh-theatre-tom-hiddleston-kenneth-branagh-ddlqnzr8l

I've used up my Times views for the week, so please jump in if there's anything significant said.

So they either saw it at last night's event, or....

>>62, >>70 The Guardian review mentions white windows on the set, so this may have been from the production shots,

73 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-01 23:31 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>72 So the Times review said they got their ticket thru the ballot like everyone else. IF that's true, maybe the Times had every employee submit a ballot in order to produce a winner who could then "gift" the tix to the critic.

74 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-02 01:30 ID:LfjWE7CD

More audience reviews (interviewed after the show), including one who didn't think TH was great: https://www.yahoo.com/style/tom-hiddleston-apos-apos-mesmerising-002707294.html

75 Name: Anon : 2017-09-02 04:18 ID:A3rZwPke

>>72

I have a subscription:
★★★★☆
This production of Shakespeare’s great play stars Tom Hiddleston and so it was dubbed, immediately, a HiddleHamlet. The hype has been huge. You cannot buy a ticket for love nor money to see the super-villain star of Thor in the role, as every one of them for the three-week run were allocated by ballot (proceeds go to Rada). Critics were not given tickets and The Times won its ticket via the ballot like everyone else.
It’s a terrific production. Sir Kenneth Branagh directs with style but then he’s had a while to think it over. Apparently he first floated the idea of doing Hamlet with Hiddleston a decade ago when he saw him in Othello. Since then the doomed Dane has become the role du jour for thrusting young actors who want to be taken seriously: David Tennant; Benedict Cumberbatch; Andrew Scott, whose pause-filled Hamlet is just finishing in the West End.
And now, Hiddleston. He is a fine Prince from the get-go, when we see him sitting on a stage bare but for a piano, picking out the notes, singing a lament for his father (though, it must be said, he can’t sing). He makes the role completely his own, emotional, magnetic, canny, often frolicsome. The words seem natural, effortless. He bounds around the stage and his duelling is fierce (his swordplay, unlike his musicianship, is expert).
This is a stripped-down version, with modern dress, set in present-day Denmark. Branagh introduces as much mirth as it can take: as Hamlet begins to go mad, he takes to wearing hoodies, painting his face and reading a book titled Reasons to Stay Alive. There are tinges of farce, with doors a-slamming. There is also melodrama and, towards the end, way too many dark and brooding Scandi noir skies.
This is a small (160-seat) theatre and the audience surrounds the stage on three sides so it’s hard to hide a mistake. The words are wonderfully clear throughout and Branagh has had some fun with the casting, having placed more women in various roles: Guildenstern has become Guildastern and Rosencrantz is now a Rosa.
It’s three hours long and flows well, helped by James Cotterill’s sparse set (it’s amazing what you can do with a sofa and a desk). Not all performances sing but Nicholas Farrell is a thunderous ghost and Sean Foley an engaging Polonius. But it is Hiddleston who holds the eye and our imagination. The only shame is that so few will see his HiddleHamlet."

76 Name: Anon : 2017-09-02 04:24 ID:A3rZwPke

77 Name: Unknown : 2017-09-02 04:27 ID:AIXVBE85

>>74 Its messed up that the Jane person had to go under a pseudonym cause TH's stans can't deal that not everyone will like his performance. Is fanbase is ridiculous and i'm glad he's distancing himself from them.

>>75 lol @ can't sing.

78 Name: Anon : 2017-09-02 04:48 ID:A3rZwPke

>>74

Given that 75% of the audience appears to be female I suppose casting women as Horatio, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern was appropriate!

79 Name: Anon : 2017-09-02 04:53 ID:A3rZwPke

The reviews have reminded me that Kenneth Branagh is a fine director. I am disappointed that this won't see the light of day to any meaningful number of people. It would be well worth it even with another actor in the lead.

80 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-02 12:45 ID:LfjWE7CD

The Telegraph's review: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/tom-hiddleston-hamlet-supremely-self-assured-prince-radas/amp/

More detailed than the first two. But like them, barely reviewing any performance other than TH's.

81 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-02 13:33 ID:LfjWE7CD

Pictures from the program: twitter,com/disneycastle88/status/903784267544657922/photo/2

Nice of RADA to open this on a US holiday weekend when one can make time to pay attention to this!

82 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-02 13:40 ID:LfjWE7CD

OK, last one. About the two recent RADA grads in the show and more about the lottery reasoning, with some quiet dissing of hardcore fans: https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-daily-telegraph/20170902/281479276557276

83 Name: Anon : 2017-09-02 15:14 ID:A3rZwPke

>>82 It is good that some of the less well known actors got a look in.

As to the "certain people will be on the internet" diss - well, I am not so sure that the audience is significantly less composed of uber fans by having the ballot.

The Donmar audience for Coriolanus was not noticeably composed of stans (I didn't see anyone taking a pic, even in the curtain call). The audience was as it usually is - people old and rich enough to be on the advance mailing list for £350 a year, plus their kids/other halves/random mates (me!).

There seemed to be more fans at the Cumby Hamlet - but the Barbican is so huge that there was space for a lot of non fan theatregoers. Again the Barbican has an advance mailing list (a lot cheaper than the Donmar) which allows committed theatregoers to get a look in ahead of fans.

The Nuffield talk was I'd say 99% committed fans - probably because it was a one off with (somewhat) limited numbers (large auditorium). Even so it didn't sell out for about 3 days so I would say that everyone who really wanted to go did.

Looking at the Telegraph pic of the punters, and looking at how many of the tumblr regulars have tickets, I would say they are much more like the Nuffield audience and much less like the Donmar. I actually think that having a ballot and limited numbers made it more and not less of a fandom event. It attracts a different sort of obsessed fan - the kind that will set up 15 email addresses and/or ask every family member they know to enter and/or peddle their ass on Twitter to get a plus one.

84 Name: Anon : 2017-09-02 15:23 ID:A3rZwPke

By the way, as career rehabilitation it seems to be working like a dream. It feels
like there is wall to wall coverage of him and (to a lesser degree) the production in the broadsheet press. Last week they were full of TS summer fluff broadsheet articles. They have all vanished. Nobody's mentioned TS in any article or review I've seen (I wouldn't put British journalists past this). Juvenile diss track with indifferent reviews has been completely eclipsed by genuine artistic endeavour with great reviews. Hats off the KB and TH for that.

85 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-02 16:27 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>84 Agreed, though I did see a couple of non-review articles this AM that spent more time on Tayto and the tshirt than on Hamlet (Metro UK was one, I think the DM was another.)

86 Name: Anon : 2017-09-02 16:32 ID:A3rZwPke

>>85 The DM doesn't surprise me. I suspect that will be how he is represented from now until he does something else that enables the DM to pigeonhole him. Before TS it was revealing his bum in "saucy scenes" on tv.

However I felt TH was really in the career doodoo when he was on the front page of the Telegraph because of Tayto, or being the subject of snarky articles in the guardian. He must be well pleased that he is on the front page of both because of his new project.

87 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-02 16:41 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>86 This is working out well for him. Plus the good reviews are being magnified on social media, and will probably have extra "weight" with whomever because there will be so few reviews.

Even the BBC had to do a summary of audience opinions from Twitter since their critic didn't get into the first show. I did think the Times review sounded a little snarky, perhaps as a result of the balloting. Is that their critc's usual style?

The Guardian's 4 stars were more than they gave either of the other recent productions of Hamlet. Not that it's a contest, but that must be satisfying for all involved!

88 Name: NewAnon : 2017-09-02 17:25 ID:YnXlst4N

Sounds like this move is working out favorably for him. Especially in light of how juvenile Taylor currently looks. Actions speak louder than words, and he's starting to look the opposite of what she's trying to frame him as. Combined with the fact his play began it's run smack dab during the current film festival circuit of Venice and Telluride, he picked a good time to get noticed again.

I'm hoping this puts him back in consideration for some good roles. And that he doesn't ruin his second chance by limiting himself to just lead roles in just big studio movies.

89 Name: Anon : 2017-09-02 17:30 ID:A3rZwPke

>>88

And no more fauxmances. I never thought I would long for the days of "nothing to write home about", but man, if you are seeing someone, especially someone famous, be discreet.

Also please please no more Yours Truly. And can the grey boots be retired now that they have had their moment of fame?!!!

90 Name: Whatsinaname : 2017-09-02 18:05 ID:6LNXsSd5

>>82 In the pressreader article, the picture of the couple - is that Robert Redford plus one? If so, that couldn't have been at the play; there is no press area. Just curious.

>>80 Great review: "And as for the main event, Hiddleston? His Hamlet is proactive, masculine, edgy to the point of aggression - and definitely, absolutely sane. His madness is a ruse, through and through. Having decided to “be mad by craft”, he appears wrapped in the flag of Denmark with his face painted in the national colours, like a hardcore football fan."

Like all of you have been saying today, it's a testament to KB and TH that they've pushed away all the negative press of the past year (I'd forgot about the bum comments since TS pushed those away).

I must be in crappy tumblr circles - only 3 of the people I follow got tickets.

91 Name: NewAnon : 2017-09-02 18:09 ID:YnXlst4N

>>89 Amen! But I'm not holding my breath on the Yours Truly part. She's everywhere...everywhere...👀

92 Name: Unknown : 2017-09-02 21:39 ID:AIXVBE85

He's not out of the woods yet. Remember, TS album releases a few days after Thor Ragnarok's release.

I wonder if he'll skip on promoting Thor and leave it up to Hemsworth and Ruffalo since the film is centered on them rather then Loki.

93 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-02 21:43 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>88 I was a bit concerned earlier this week that Taytay's video dig would spill over into the Hamlet coverage, but it turned out that the timing helped. You couldn't make up more of a contrast between his public life and hers at the moment!

>>89 Is there a museum that would be an appropriate home for the grey boots? For example, Judy Garland's ruby slippers are in the Smithsonian....

>>90 That picture must belong with another article - depending on how I size the window, it doesn't even show up with the Hamlet text.

>>89, >>91 I agree that we likely haven't seen the last of Yours Truly. After all, the costumes for Hamlet show how Tom dresses when he has to fend for himself.

94 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-02 21:59 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>90 I haven't seen that many of the tumblrites got tickets. (Maybe, unlike the Guardian and the Times critics, they didn't have multiple ballots submitted for them!)

>>92 And I gather than in the past, TS has generally released a second single before the album drops. So depending on its topic, their "fling" could pop up again. If so, Marvel might be smart to use him for promo mostly in Asia, where (based on the KSI promo tour) no one will ask him questions about her.

95 Name: Anon : 2017-09-03 07:33 ID:A3rZwPke

From today's Times:

A small group of lottery winners — some from as far away as America and Canada — gathered on a quiet back street in central London yesterday.

They had all been through a ballot for the chance to buy the most sought-after theatre tickets in the capital — and were off to see Tom Hiddleston play Hamlet.

The demand was always going to be huge, so the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) chose the smallest venue it could think of.

The Jerwood Vanburgh — Rada’s in-house theatre — in Bloomsbury seats just 160, and the run lasts a paltry three weeks. When Benedict Cumberbatch played the same role in London in 2015, about 250,000 saw him. Only a fraction of that number will have the privilege of watching the Kenneth Branagh production. Tickets to this one are strictly for the few, not the many.

It is galling for those who missed out, because the critics have described Hiddleston as “mesmerising” and combining “sweet sadness with incandescent fury”.

However, those who have been lucky are happy. Emily Friedman, 36, teaches English literature at Auburn University in Alabama. During a two-month research trip to the UK, she entered the ballot and won. “It’s a unique experience to see this Hamlet in such a small venue. It is so different to experience it this way,” she said.

As in every ballot, not everyone can be a winner. Social media have been full of complaints from the unfortunates who did not get the chance to buy a ticket.

One disgruntled fan wrote: “Am I ever gonna watch Hamlet?! I Missed Benedict Cumberbatch’s. And Andrew Scott’s. And now Tom Hiddleston. I hate my life.”

In which case they will not be pleased to hear that there were empty seats on the opening night.

“Just a handful,” said Karen O’Donnell, a research fellow at Durham University who lives in Salisbury. “I imagine it was people not able to get there. How awful for them.”

For Friedman, it was certainly not Branagh that was the attraction. “I remember lying on the floor in Houston watching one of his films,” she said. “I hope he’s learnt something about editing since then.” Most of us will never get to find out.

96 Name: Whatsinaname : 2017-09-03 10:01 ID:6LNXsSd5

>>95 Diving fully into the snark by the 3rd sentence, I see. Way to go, Sunday Times.

They should have critics on the wait list for the empty seats! (joking)

On another note, maybe wearing The Boots some sort of snake cleansing ritual he's going through and he'll burn them in a bonfire in his backyard when it's all over, never to be worn again.

97 Name: Heynon : 2017-09-03 13:44 ID:LfjWE7CD

>>95 I get the impression that the Times isn't too happy about having to cover news of this production!

From an audience member's review, we now know that there's dancing (Hamlet R & G) -- wonder whose idea that was? https://nauticulture.com/2017/09/02/my-hamlet/

98 Name: Anonanonnynonny : 2017-09-03 13:55 ID:OsYtjWP8

Oh Lordy lordy lord.

Taylor's second single has just dropped and it seems to be about her current bf (aka bravest millenial alive) . No specific disses other than references to exes who "tried to hard" and how she's forgotten their names.

99 Name: Anon. : 2017-09-03 14:13 ID:ENf05lfx

I puttered around the reviews and 'reviews' while feeding the young master his continental breakfast.

They are roughly what everyone expected. It was never going to crash and burn like Springtime for Hitler was meant to! Excellent director, excellent lead, some pretty good material - that's going to work out performance wise. What was important for TH, I suspect, was the extra-performance bit (it hasn't just been about the Work for a good while now). That seems to have worked out too: front covers, good reviews, interest (from fans and the media), no mention of her. I don't know if this is going to translate into instant HW offers or Oscar worthy scripts, but it's a start. I half wonder if he's trying to re-do 2008-2011 in brief: Hamlet is his Othello and T:R will be his Thor 1, and he'll be off to the races like Tayto never happened. Clever if it works and worth a try.

100 Name: Anon. : 2017-09-03 14:16 ID:ENf05lfx

>>97 Personally I like my Shakespeare traditional so this sounds a little gimmicky to me: Danish football fan, reading self-help manuals, gender bending (yes, I know, that's a demerit off my feminist card!), piano playing and dancing.

Someone with more Shakespeare and literary taste/knowledge than myself would call those choices 'interpretative progress,' but being a backwater rube, I tend to call them hokum. Edit it well, stage it well, perform it well - don't try to be different.

This thread has been closed. You cannot post in this thread any longer.