Bitchin' Blog Posts
Hold up, Is That Richard Armitage?
by SB Sarah | by SB Sarah | June 07, 2011 | Tuesday at 7:52 pm | 88 CommentsAlert reader Jennifer sent me the following message: “Searching for a good (kindle) historical mystery for myself, I noticed that someone slapped Richard Armitage on the cover of their book:
It’s flipped & Photoshopped, but it definitely looks like his head shot (via RichardArmitageNet.com).
I’m all for seeing Richard everywhere, but somehow I don’t think this is authorized usage—- couldn’t they afford some stock photography to use? Arrgh. (sending it your way since this site discusses book covers and Richard Armitage is one of the patron saint hotties of romance).”
HUH. That’s a new one - self published book sales via Armitage. There’s already an Amazon review citing Armitage’s picture as a reason for buying the book.
See for yourself. Here’s the book:
And here is Armitage’s photo from his gallery of headshots. (No, no, don’t curse me now for the time you’ll spend looking at all the rest of the pictures. That’s research!)
Image from RichardArmitagenet.com, used here only to spare their server the image file traffic.
It certainly looks like a Photoshopped Armitage. And also chutzpah. Somehow I doubt Armitage gave permission for his image to be used on a book cover. But it does make me wonder: would this type of use of Famous Actor photo on a cover entice you to buy?
Filed: Covers Gone Wild! (Non-Snoop Dogg Edition), General Bitching
Tagged: wtfery, richard armitage, cover controversy, cover comparisons, chutzpah
Ceilidh said on 06.07.11 at 08:01 PM • [link]
Unf. There can never be enough Richard Armitage. Don’t think I’d buy the book though - Google images and YouTube provide me with my Armitage fix. *total fangirl*
This seems as good an excuse as any to post some Vicar of Dibley clips.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_nnl6PXMr4
MissFiFi said on 06.07.11 at 08:10 PM • [link]
I see your Vicar of Dibley and raise you with “North & South”. God I loved him in that series. Brood, Brood, Yum, Yum!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_FcSm1wUu0&feature=related
Daisy said on 06.07.11 at 08:10 PM • [link]
In answer to your question - no, celebrities on covers do not entice me to purchase. I prefer my covers to be rather anonymous in that if you put a known face on the cover, then I automatically relate all known personality traits of that celeb to the character in the book - which may or may not be a good thing. And if it is a celeb that I don’t admire - forget it, I am not buying your book, no matter how good the reviews are.
MissFiFi said on 06.07.11 at 08:13 PM • [link]
And wait, I forgot to say, I would never use an unauthorized photo of anyone on my book cover nor would seeing a celebrity on the cover encourage my purchase. I buy a book for the story first and foremost.
TAYLOR LUNSFORD said on 06.07.11 at 08:20 PM • [link]
If it was done with their permission? Absolutely. I cast my characters using famous actors/actresses. If they started appearing on covers, that would be awesome :)
quichepup said on 06.07.11 at 08:25 PM • [link]
MissFifi, I have to follow that sad bit of business with this. *deep sigh*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyYiwD1Q1aY&feature=related
Sheryl Nantus said on 06.07.11 at 08:25 PM • [link]
Totally sweet cover… but I think it’s possibly illegal.
Wonder how long it’s going to remain on sale when said celeb’s lawyers get involved. Unless, of course, she asked and received permission or paid for the image.
A good cover will get me to look the book over - but if the writing isn’t good the cover doesn’t matter to me.
Ros said on 06.07.11 at 08:29 PM • [link]
I don’t think it would get me to buy the book. It might make me wonder if there was a TV/film adaptation to look out for.
karicc said on 06.07.11 at 08:29 PM • [link]
Well, I don’t think the face of my fav actor (heh) is enticement enough to buy a book, but thanks for the eye candy. And now, let’s remember the hottest kiss in BBC history…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcVIV8plzWk&feature=related
Mina Lobo said on 06.07.11 at 08:38 PM • [link]
I can see a celeb’s image working for/against a book. In this case, because I found Armitage *adorable* in Vicar of Dibley, it might tempt me…Beauty being in the eye of the beholder, and all, it’s tricky to predict what would grab and secure the attention of any reader.
Karen S. said on 06.07.11 at 08:40 PM • [link]
As much as I think RA is OMG HAWT, his or any other celebrity’s picture on a book isn’t going to get me to buy it. I don’t even read books about the celebrities themselves. ;) The cover would definitely catch my eye enough to get me to read the blurb, but it wouldn’t make me buy it if the story sounded meh.
cayenne said on 06.07.11 at 08:40 PM • [link]
Richard Armitage will always get my attention, image or voice, but if the blurb isn’t compelling or what’s behind the cover is no good, pretty pictures will not save it. I can get RA pics without a bad book attached, thanks.
JudyPatooty said on 06.07.11 at 08:41 PM • [link]
Oh thank you, quichepup and karicc! I was just about to post a link to that part of North & South. Sigh.
spamword: thus69 ... No comment. :)
MissFiFi said on 06.07.11 at 08:41 PM • [link]
Quichepup and Karicc -
Good God, when she kisses his hand, the way he looks at her…swoon swoon swoon forever!!!
Karen S. said on 06.07.11 at 08:43 PM • [link]
I should add that not to mention, if it wasn’t a novelization or a tie-in book or somehow linked to said actor, I’d definitely wonder if the photo was being used illegally, which would make me less likely to buy it. It might be an honest mistake (considering the number of people that don’t realize that just because it’s on the internet, it isn’t free, even with some sketchy photoshopping) but still, I’d likely hold back.
Capcha: deep77. ...I’ll just leave that one alone.
Kati R said on 06.07.11 at 08:47 PM • [link]
Oh my gosh! I am currently reading a book by this author. What a shame! I did however buy Georgette Heyer’s abridged audiobooks because Richard Armitage read them.
I would never buy a cover that had a Famous Actor photo on it. However, if Jed Hill or Paul Marron were on the cover, there’s no telling how many of those suckers I’d buy. :) I’m a cover wh0re.
EmilyD said on 06.07.11 at 08:51 PM • [link]
I was so busy ooohing and aaaahhhing and swoony-sighing over the end of North & South that I almost forgot about leaving a comment. The answer to would I be enticed to buy based on a famous person on the cover is “no”. However… anything with Richard Armitage is going to get my attention.
On the flip side, if a celebrity who I dislike is featured on the cover, it will strongly influence me (into not buying your book). So I guess the message is that it’s necessary to choose wisely which celebrity you’ll use on your unauthorized cover.
Kristi Lea said on 06.07.11 at 09:17 PM • [link]
Should I be embarrassed to admit that I have no idea who Richard Armitage is? The cover itself isn’t that great either…obvious photoshopping there with the sword too.
I wouldn’t buy a book because of a celebrity on the cover (and if the photo were an authorized portrait of the celebrity in question, I’d probably run screaming away from yet-another-annoying-celebrity-memoir).
DreadPirateRachel said on 06.07.11 at 09:24 PM • [link]
Good gods, that man is hot. Excuse me while I go take a cold shower.
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And I’m back. To answer the question, the only time I would buy a book with a celebrity on the cover is if that celebrity had been in an adaptation of the novel (e.g., Pride & Prejudice with yummy, yummy Colin Firth on the cover). In this case, I think seeing a pirated and then hack-Photoshopped image of Armitage will actually be a reason to NOT buy the book.
Sam said on 06.07.11 at 09:36 PM • [link]
I buy books with actors/actresses on the cover plenty—they’re called media tin-ins and books about favorite movies/tv shows (though you could say I’m more buying them for the characters inside than the real person on the cover…but a sexy cover of a favorite character does make me at least give the book a look.)
But that’s fully authorized and makes sense. However, some random book with a probably stolen image in a ‘shoop job? Hells no. It’d make me NOT buy the book.
(And, mmm, he is lovely. Another reason to look forward to The Hobbit movies!)
Mireya said on 06.07.11 at 09:40 PM • [link]
Frankly, as much as I admit I am wiping some drool over here from looking (closely) at Armitage’s picture, no, I wouldn’t buy that book for that reason alone. Additionally, I have to admit that I wouldn’t have made the association if I hadn’t read your post.
Mireya
cayenne said on 06.07.11 at 09:59 PM • [link]
@Sam, you realize that as Thorin he’s going to look something like this:
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2010/10/22/39504-richard-armitage-as-thorin/
And CG’d to be 5’ tall. But to each one’s own
Jim C. Hines said on 06.07.11 at 10:01 PM • [link]
Could be worse. Publish America once released a hideously Photoshopped cover of Orlando Bloom as a vampire…
http://jimhines.livejournal.com/346902.html
At least the Armitage one is a nice-looking cover!
Brian said on 06.07.11 at 10:26 PM • [link]
According to this author interview it’s not Armitage on the cover…
http://flyhigh-by-learnonline.blogspot.com/2011/04/author-interview-meet-lucinda-brant.html
GLH said on 06.07.11 at 10:44 PM • [link]
He also played a spy in the BBC series “Spooks” (MI-5 in the US), seasons 7-9: http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/MI-5/70140413?trkid=2361637#height1253
Darlene Marshall said on 06.07.11 at 10:50 PM • [link]
I don’t know if it would prompt me to buy, but I think I found the model for my next pirate hero. Excuse me, ladies, while I go do research….yeah, research, that’s what I’m calling it.
lorelai said on 06.07.11 at 10:53 PM • [link]
I’ve seen that cover before and I don’t care what the author says - that’s a photo of Richard Armitage. I bet either someone told her that image was a Photoshop-magic mix of all those men she suggested and she believes them or she knows it’s RA and she’s trying to cover her ass or a combination of both. Either way, I’m not voting for a tar and feather situation, but this could turn into a copyright/legal issue if the wrong (or right?) person saw this since that photo is probably owned by the photographer and they would expect to be paid in a situation like this.
To the person earlier who hadn’t seen North & South - MAKE HASTE TO NETFLIX! It’s available on Instant and you will NOT regret watching it. I rewatched it for at least the fifth time this weekend.
anon snotty commenter said on 06.07.11 at 10:54 PM • [link]
Gee, that’s not Armitage? it’s amazing how the cover model managed to have the same floppy lock of hair and THE SAME FREAKING EAR.
Look. Just because you put his photo into photoshop and tweak it doesn’t make it original.
Brian said on 06.07.11 at 11:01 PM • [link]
@anon snotty…
No, it’s the same image. I was just pointing out what the author says.
Never heard of the publisher before so I don’t know if it’s the authors own brand or a regular small pub or what.
anon snotty commenter said on 06.07.11 at 11:15 PM • [link]
It looks like Sprigleaf is a POD.
http://sprigleaf.com/
Unless they supplied the art, it was supplied by the author. Someone in this food chain should know better.
@Brian - was not railing at you as much as I was railing at the cojones it takes on the publisher’s side. Didn’t Tor get sued for the Dita Von Teese thing?
trix said on 06.07.11 at 11:33 PM • [link]
Oh my gosh! I am currently reading a book by this author. What a shame! I did however buy Georgette Heyer’s abridged audiobooks because Richard Armitage read them.
What? What? WHAT??
How did I not know about this??
I would totally buy a book with Richard Armitage’s face on it… if it meant that he came with the book and would sit for hours reading it to me in front of a fire on a chilly winter night while we drank Belgian beer (what? I like beer.) after which we retired to… you know, this is getting way too personal.
Since any book probably wouldn’t come packaged with my own personal Armitage… the short answer is no.
Mireya said on 06.07.11 at 11:34 PM • [link]
@Cayenne: Something like that image is what first crossed my mind when the mention of Armitage in The Hobbit came up :D As a LOTRO gamer I also had to smile, my kinnies and I often go on role play mode and go around in-game insulting the dorfs as being smelly *g*.
yourlibrarian said on 06.07.11 at 11:41 PM • [link]
Interesting—this is actually the second time I’ve seen this pointed out recently. A few months ago a fan community I take part in was speculating the same thing about a different actor featured on a romance book cover. The image did indeed look very much like him but was determined not to be.
What was undeniable is that a great many people paid attention to a book that would otherwise have passed them by. It seems that it’s a good marketing plan in some ways (particularly if the actor isn’t too well known—I’d never heard of Richard Armitage) and certainly seems like a good job opportunity for lookalikes.
JudyPatooty said on 06.07.11 at 11:44 PM • [link]
@trix
Oh yes. That gorgeous Richard Armitage voice reading Georgette Heyer. He’s done three so far:
The Convenient Marriage - http://www.naxosaudiobooks.com/0022.htm
Venetia - http://www.naxosaudiobooks.com/437912.htm
Sylvester - http://www.naxosaudiobooks.com/492512.htm
EbonyMcKenna said on 06.08.11 at 01:25 AM • [link]
If you use a pic (of a person or a landscape etc that isn’t one you’ve taken) on a book cover, you need to pay for it.
This is why I should write first and interweb later, because now I’m getting no work done at all. Ahhhhhhh, Richard.
You know the dogs in the movie ‘Up’? How they start talking and suddenly shout ‘squirrel!’ . . . Richard Armitage is my squirrel.
Julie said on 06.08.11 at 01:26 AM • [link]
I’m actually less willing to buy/read the book since I’m sure they used the pic illegally.
And yes, Richard Armitage is wonderful reading the Heyer books. The only bad thing is that they’re abridged. Not normally a fan of audiobooks but I’ll listen to anything he reads—Bernard Cornwell’s Lords of the North is a masterpiece. You can listen to some excerpts here: http://richardarmitagecentral.co.uk/RichardArmitageCentral/media audiobooks.html
Anna said on 06.08.11 at 01:42 AM • [link]
Richard Armitage is my squirrel.
These five words have me giggling so hard I’m freaking out my cat. Also, agreed.
MissFiFi said on 06.08.11 at 01:43 AM • [link]
I would love for his publicist to read this post and all the comments. What a fun fan base Mr. Armitage has on here!
Excuse me now while I listen to Venetia and fantasize that he is reading this to me in bed
. Thx JudyPatooty!
megalith said on 06.08.11 at 01:52 AM • [link]
I recently saw this cover featuring a clone of Angelina Jolie, ironically called Dark Jenny. I thought it was hilarious, but I’m not really a fan of hers, so it put me off rather than otherwise.
Courtney Milan said on 06.08.11 at 02:18 AM • [link]
If we authors are going to go all swooney on Richard Armitage, we are supposed to do it respectable and sly-like. Like having a hero from his home town (Leicester) show up in our books with precisely his accent. OH YES, I chose that town completely at random.
Then you get to buy all his audio books and listen to them over and over again. When your husband starts making fun of you, you say, “It’s research! It’s a tax deduction! I am NOT swooning, I am just listening with my eyes closed.”
The only place that Richard Armitage covers should ever show up is on Twitter, late at night, when nobody’s watching. After all, what happens on Twitter…uh, never mind.
jkaymac said on 06.08.11 at 02:34 AM • [link]
Well after watching the North and South clip, I went immediately to Netflix and put that in my queue. Thanks so much!
I’m really not too influenced by the front book cover, but the blurb on the back has to intrigue me.
Kati R said on 06.08.11 at 02:38 AM • [link]
@Trix- The only reason I know this is because I signed up for audible to get 2 free audio books. I stumbled upon the Georgette Heyer books and BAM! somehow Richard showed up on my Kindle. I’m sure Ms. Heyer’s books are all sorts of fantastic but I could not even begin to tell you what her book is about. All I hear is RA’s voice reading me to sleep.
@Courtney- I blame Elyssa Papa for introducing me to a certain Mr. Richard Armitage. I spent a week watching Robin Hood. And I have noticed that he does show up on Twitter. A LOT.
--E said on 06.08.11 at 03:17 AM • [link]
It’s a self/vanity pub. Whoever did the cover is lying if they say they didn’t use that photo of Armitage.
I’ve never seen him in any of the romantic historical British films, but as Guy of Guisborne, he knocked my socks off.
I would consider it a waste of sexy (and tall) in casting him has Thorin, but I must admit that voice is right. Mmmm, it’s a delicious voice.
Courtney Milan said on 06.08.11 at 03:31 AM • [link]
@Kati R: “I spent a week watching Robin Hood.”
Except the name is a misnomer. We all know that it’s The Guy of Gisbourne Show. There’s no chemistry between Robin and Marion. Robin is boring. Robin is ridiculous.
Richard Armitage is the entire show. Any scene without him is trite. He carries the whole thing on his delicious shoulders.
Ahem.
Laura said on 06.08.11 at 03:31 AM • [link]
Um, wow, he is really really really really hot…. I mean in a Colin Firth sort of way. where has he been all my life?
Kati R said on 06.08.11 at 04:18 AM • [link]
@Courtney Milan Please excuse my puddingbrain. It is indeed The Guy of Gisbourne Show.
Could we have Thornton Tuesdays/Thursdays on Twitter? I know. EVERYDAY is RA Day.
lorelai said on 06.08.11 at 04:33 AM • [link]
Everyday *is* RA Day!
@Courtney: And I couldn’t agree more - Robin is ridiculous. It’s all about Guy of Gisbourne!
Courtney Milan said on 06.08.11 at 04:47 AM • [link]
@Kati R and @Lorelai:
Also, that show is dead to me after the Season 2 Finale. DEAD DEAD DEAD.
Castiron said on 06.08.11 at 04:47 AM • [link]
Yep, if that cover showed up in one of our staff meetings, our Rights and Permissions manager would be saying “um, do we have permission for that?” (And if she isn’t aware of Armitage herself, she’d clue in when three or four of us were too busy drooling to make any useful contribution to the meeting.)
North and South is wonderful. Great acting all around; cool machines to make my inner textile geek salivate, and Richard Armitage to make the rest of me salivate. (The book’s worth reading too.)
Mary Stella said on 06.08.11 at 05:41 AM • [link]
Honestly, I don’t think it’s the same guy or photo. There are too many differences - the shape of the face, the brow, the mouth. Even widening and shortening the real RA’s face wouldn’t result in the other changes. They’re close, but I think they’re different people.
That said, I might not buy a book because an actor I thought hot was on the cover, but I might at least pick up the book if the cover caught my eye. Then the usual process would go into effect—read back blurb, read inside blurbs, read first page.
Years ago on one of the very early Lynn Kurland books, the cover model (Rob Ashton, I think.) looked a LOT like Adrian Paul with green eyes. I absolutely picked that book off of the shelf, but the writing compelled me to purchase it. Can’t remember the whole title at the moment—Stardust or Starlight or something? Hero was a ghost. That much I remember.
ML Kramer said on 06.08.11 at 06:21 AM • [link]
It’s Armitage. He’s beautiful, sexy, yes but I would never buy a book by an Armitage obsessed fan to push her story. ——-However, I might be tempted to buy a book of Richard Armitage photos provided there is some skin thrown in along with shots of those eyes. Those eyes. —
Susan said on 06.08.11 at 07:11 AM • [link]
Wow. Hot. But I wouldn’t buy a book because he’s on the cover.
Sheesh, why don’t they use pictures of Peter Wingfield? Yes, I know he’s 48, but he’s aging very well, like a fine wine.
jocelynnesimone said on 06.08.11 at 08:06 AM • [link]
So much good discussion here as usual.
All I have to add is that Richard Armitage will be the sexiest damn Thorin there ever was. My whole perspective has suddenly changed. For the better.
Danielle said on 06.08.11 at 09:17 AM • [link]
Definitely Armitage: I mocked up the same image in five minutes using photoshop. Same shaped eye, nose, mouth and ear; just flip him horizontally, squash him a bit vertically, make the colours a bit warmer, and run the blur tool over him, and Bob’s your uncle.
@ Mary Stella, I know his features do look different squashed but they actually map pretty closely when you change the aspect ratio. Check out his ear shape and the inside corner of his eye. :)
Captcha is “looking98”: yep, looking 98% the same on the cover.
OdetteLovegood said on 06.08.11 at 09:48 AM • [link]
For me, personally, celebrity photos on book covers would actually probably turn me off to the book. One, I would assume it was a commercial movie tie-in; two, generally speaking, I find book covers that DO promote the movie are less aesthetically pleasing because they expect the movie and famous faces to sell the book instead of the cover art, therefore less work goes into it; and three, it sort of ruins the element of fantasy. With non-identifiable cover models, I can ignore them and make up how the characters look in my head. I don’t need to be reading and picturing the heroine as Megan Fox or the hero as R-Patts (no thank you).
OdetteLovegood said on 06.08.11 at 09:50 AM • [link]
Oh, exception to previous statement: Fabio covers. Because really, it’s Fabio, and you kind of expect it.
Mari said on 06.08.11 at 11:13 AM • [link]
You may need to join the Peter Jackson FB page to see this - it’s the first background scenes from the Hobbit and some glimpses of Armitage - http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=10150223186041807
Amanda said on 06.08.11 at 02:03 PM • [link]
Probably not. Although it would make me ponder: Is that…. And then I wouldn’t get anything done because I would be alternately thinking of the dreaminess and looking up pictures.
Besides, this is not the question you should be asking. The question you should be asking is “Will I be watching North and South tonight, now that my hunger for Richard Armitage has been whetted?” The answer to which is, of course, yes.
hechicera said on 06.08.11 at 02:08 PM • [link]
I’ll add my own link—a drawing a friend made in response to the suggestion that Armitage would have made a good Snape. It’s my current iPhone wallpaper.
Sigh.
http://qalachaki.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d26h6f3
Literary Slut Kilian said on 06.08.11 at 02:37 PM • [link]
Thanks for turning me on to Richard Armitage. He is delighetful eye candy indeed. Even if I had known who he was, I would not buy a book based on a cover photo. The only books I buy based on cover images are ones with illustrations by Kinuko Craft - http://www.kycraft.com . I’ve never read a bad book with a Craft cover. Must be because her price tag is so high that the publishers are only willing to pay it for books they believe in. Someday I’m going to be rich enough to buy some of her original art work.
Christine Merrill said on 06.08.11 at 03:05 PM • [link]
Then you should ignore the cover and buy this book right now. I am a screaming fan girl for the Eddie LaCrosse series by Alex Bledsoe. Noir detective mixed with sword and sorcery. Tortured hero. Sigh.
But as faar as shopping heads, and perhaps what it would look like if you had Richard Armitage’s baby:
morphthing.com
I use this site when asked for visuals on my characters. I can never settle on anyone person, so I just mix two or three to get to generic beautiful.
AngP said on 06.08.11 at 03:08 PM • [link]
Oh. My. Word. How much I lust this man is undeniable. Would not ever buy this book; however, “North and South” has been permanently etched into my Netflix watch-now queue ever since I ran across BBC’s “Robin Hood” a year or two ago.
@JudyPatooty: Richard Armitage reading Georgette Heyer?!?! THANK YOU!
I will now sit here and swoon at the picture.
cayenne said on 06.08.11 at 04:24 PM • [link]
@Courtney Milan @Kati R @Lorelai: RA was the only decent thing about that show, and it was really hard to sit through the parts without him, especially if the Sheriff was in the scene. Feh.
Also: Late-night Twitter RA? Have I missed something good?
- -kim
darlynne said on 06.08.11 at 04:39 PM • [link]
And I am the only person who wondered why everyone was swooning over Richard Armitage, formerly of the US State Department, who admitted to naming Valerie Plame as a CIA operative. I think bald guys can be very attractive, but my frame of reference clearly needs some adjusting. Or else I need to subscribe to cable TV.
darlynne said on 06.08.11 at 04:42 PM • [link]
@Christine Merrill:
A match made in heaven. Thank you! I’m off to get this one.
Merry said on 06.08.11 at 04:56 PM • [link]
@darlynne—but politicians are extremely sexy! At least, they seem convinced that they are. Surely someone would buy a book if the former deputy Secretary of State were on the cover. (Clothed, one hopes and prays.)
Hate to sound a negative note, but I have to say I did not adore RA’s reading of Heyer’s Sylvester. He has a very lovely voice, but he didn’t do a good job with the women characters. I adore him on screen, but alas not as a reader.
Sunny said on 06.08.11 at 06:01 PM • [link]
@Merry…have you heard Lords of the North? You MUST. I think you’ll change your mind about his reading. It is most excellent!!
To those who haven’t watched N&S yet or are just now seeing it, you’ve GOT to let us know what you think about it. I discovered it last June and life just hasn’t been the same since! ;)
OH, and there are LOTS of RA blogs and sites to keep us gushing/drooling/....errr, informed! Also an excellent N&S discussion board at IMDb!
ChrisZ said on 06.08.11 at 06:07 PM • [link]
RA has also read a children’s series (sorry I don’t know the name). My bestie has him read her to sleep every night. She’s in her, ahem, over 30’s, and completely enamored with all things Richard.
I’m a stickler for rules and worked for over a decade in a commercial photography studio. It makes me insane when people use a doctored image and call it original work.
Although I greatly appreciate that someone tried to sneak this one past the bitchery so we could have this drool worthy discussion which includes so many great links!
Sunny said on 06.08.11 at 06:49 PM • [link]
Look here:
http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/images/gallery/gallery.html
I have no idea if that link is clickable but you must go there. And the children’s show is Cbeebies. Too adorable!
Happy drooling from a *cough* over 30 fan also *snort*!
Kati R said on 06.08.11 at 07:06 PM • [link]
Oh @Darlynne! I almost spewed my coffee while reading your response—it came out as a dribble instead.
And now ladies, I give a side-by-side comparison of the US Richard Armitage and Britain’s Richard Armitage: Behold the hotness!
CD said on 06.08.11 at 08:33 PM • [link]
As far as links go, here’s a link to a recent mini-series {Chris Ryan’s STRIKE BACK) starring both Richard Armitage and Andrew Lincoln. Double the goodness ;-):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEpV8rFCH0E&feature=related
Manda said on 06.08.11 at 08:52 PM • [link]
They could put Richard Armitage’s picture on a pack of urinal cakes and I would probably buy them.
Calila said on 06.08.11 at 09:23 PM • [link]
I saw a book with a couple of the actors from The Vampire Diaries on the cover(it was not a TVD book.). The book itself sounded really icky and bad…but even if it sounded like the GREATEST BOOK ever! I wouldn’t have bought it because there is no way that was authorized. However if actors started letting their images be used I wouldn’t let it stop me from buying a book.
beggar1015 said on 06.08.11 at 10:02 PM • [link]
Dare I say it? At first I was like “Who is Richard Armitage? Why am I supposed to know him?” So I bothered to google him. Ohhh, he’s the guy who married Dawn French and was finally successful in explaining a joke to the ditzy girl.
Renda said on 06.09.11 at 12:21 AM • [link]
@beggar1015
I did the same thing, google, Dawn French. Oh, Harry.
I also immediately thought of the American RA. What can I say. I watch the news, not the movies/series.
Kinsey said on 06.09.11 at 01:07 AM • [link]
So - Cayenne, or Courtney, or someone - is Robin Hood going to have any further seasons? I tried to watch the first season, got bored, but that was before I took a really good look at The Hotness. Now I think I want to go back and watch it.
Merry said on 06.09.11 at 03:42 AM • [link]
“Urinal cakes”???? eeeeuuuuuuuhhhhh
@Sunny—thanks! I’ll look for that book. I would love to be able to love RA reading audio books.
Sunny said on 06.09.11 at 03:58 AM • [link]
@Merry…errr, I should’ve mentioned that the only place I was able to find Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell was thru the UK Audiogo site:
http://www.audiogo.co.uk/audiobook/11242/the-lords-of-the-north
If you order, be sure that it’s the Armitage edition as there’s another one read by some guy whose name escaped me?? Allow for at least 4 weeks delivery according to my experience and friends who have ordered it. But it’s well worth the wait!! Of the Heyer audios, Venetia would be my fav. Sylvester got on my nerves a bit with the leading ladie’s speech impediment! I do yard work and drive w/RA reading to me. I get lost a lot.
But there’s an off chance your library system might be able to order it in if some distant library has it somewhere? Good luck!
Aidenn said on 06.09.11 at 07:04 AM • [link]
Not a chance. I’d avoid any book that looks so poorly photoshopped. If they can’t take care in marketing it, I have every reason to believe they’d also pay less than studious attention to other details. You know, the bigger things. Things like editing, punctuation, and a story that is worth my time and emotional investment to read.
Haha. Towrad89 - I feel closer toward 89 years old, grumbling about books and integrity back in the day.
Jenn LeBlanc said on 06.09.11 at 10:35 AM • [link]
I am a professional photographer as well as an author. From experience, there is a great precedence for lawsuits over unauthorized usage of photography. Remember the Obama Hope poster? Unauthorized usage of an AP photograph and that image was changed completely compared to this. They finally settled out of court.
I know for a fact if any of my images were unlawfully used, they would receive a cease and desist followed by an invoice. The image you have up is the image used on the book cover. The fact that the author says it isn’t him but she wishes it were tells me that it is unauthorized because if I had permission to use RA on my book I would be screaming about it, everywhere.
That would be better than a Jed Hill cover. (sorry Jed, I love you too.)
So many things about this leave me feeling raw. Using someones image without authorization is stealing their work from them. His face is his livelihood, his recognition. Nobody has the right to take that from him, then say it isn’t. Then there’s the photographer. There’s no way of knowing the rights and usage on the image without asking the parties, but someone owns them. Most likely someone who will not be happy about this bastardization of RA. It isn’t fair to every artist involved in the creation of the original image.
OK. Off my soap box.
C.L. Wilson said on 06.09.11 at 03:10 PM • [link]
Quichepup and Karicc said
Oooooooh yeaaaahhhh. :)
Richard is scrumptdillyicious. YES, that’s definitely him on the cover. And no, it wouldn’t make me buy the book.
Richard in a movie or TV series…YES, it would make me watch. Even if all I did (as with BBC’s Robin Hood) was fast forward to all the RA scenes.
Vicar of Dibly - check! Spooks - Check! BBC Robin Hood - check! check! North & South - Check!Check!Check!Check!Check!Check!Check!Check!Check!Check!Check!
cayenne said on 06.09.11 at 05:41 PM • [link]
@Kinsey - no, no further seasons of RH past S3. *mini-spoiler* There’s a really good & final reason for that.
Kinsey W. Holley said on 06.10.11 at 01:32 AM • [link]
Thanks cayenne - last 2 seasons are on Xfinity for free. And I might watch a few MI-5 eps on Itunes.
cayenne said on 06.10.11 at 03:38 PM • [link]
@Kinsey - free is good; they’re not worth much more than that. MI-5 S7 & S8 are awesome, and I’m impatiently awaiting my S9 DVDs. If you’d like a good eye candy ep, S8.4, unedited. Pause and drool.
JamiSings said on 06.11.11 at 01:36 AM • [link]
Well, Dick up there wouldn’t make me want to buy the book because to me he’s kind of ugly. But it does bug me that someone used his picture - if he gave permission, fine, but otherwise it’s kind of creepy. Like if I found one of the pictures of myself or my dog I uploaded to Flikr used on a book cover.
Kinsey W. Holley said on 06.11.11 at 05:38 PM • [link]
Cayenne: I just discovered seasons 7-9 on Amazon, streaming free for Prime members.
Philippa Chapman said on 06.13.11 at 11:27 AM • [link]
If the fella looked like Adam Baldwin, I’d be tempted :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD8WL4f1gQA
Her Grace, Duchess of Kn said on 06.17.11 at 04:31 AM • [link]
J’adore Richard! And while I will not be the first or the last author to admit that I have at least one character inspired by him, I would draw the line at using an unauthorised photo of him on a book cover. It’s just not the done thing.
Now, art influenced by certain characteristics of a face considered beautiful by many… mmm… depends on how close the likeness is, and whether or not it would infringe on the implied trademark of said face.
This isn’t the first book cover I’ve seen with his likeness on it. The previous book I’ve seen, the image was purely ‘artist’s conception’. And yes, it did get me looking twice at the book. (Didn’t buy, tho, as the blurb turned me off.)
Now, if this were an authorised use of an actor’s face, would that turn me off? Maybe. While Richard isn’t yet a household name/face, such an application one might get away with. But to use a very well-known face whose name recognition might superceded the character they portray, that would certainly turn me off.
I use Romance to escape completely from real life. Anything that would intrude on that is a turnoff.
With this book cover, do I see the Hero, or do I only see Richard?
Care to comment?
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