Thursday, April 15, 2021

Empire Magazine: Loki Special (2021)

 April 15, 2021:

Officially, Thursday is meant to be Thorsday but Empire Magazine made April 8th all about Loki with a teaser for their upcoming Loki Special. Available online and in newsstands April 15, 2021. Photographed by Steve Schofield. Interviewed by Chris Hewitt.  


On Loki Day (April 9th), Empire released the cover photo, as well as the special subscribers cover. 


Some of my favorite quotes: 


On how test audiences refused to believe Loki was dead in Thor: The Dark World, which prompted the ending of the film to be reshot: 
"'I'm grateful to whoever those individuals were who said, "Keep it going, don't let that be it". Because that's what encouraged Kevin (Feige) to rethink the ending. 

On being approached about the Loki series. 
"I got a call from Louis (Esposito). They had had a very exciting, inspiring meeting about Disney+ with Bob Iger, who wanted Marvel to contribute to the platform and create new stories. And within half an hour somebody had said, "Well, we have to do a show about Loki." So Louis called me and said, "Disney are going to do this." And I said, "That's amazing. But he's dead." And Louis said, "We're going to figure something out." I remember saying, "Louis, you have to be gentle with my emotions. I can't keep saying goodbye to this character. Be still, my heart!" But the theme, as always with Loki, is that I get to keep coming back and finding new ways to breathe life into him and invigorate him and keep it fresh. 

>>BE GENTLE WITH MY EMOTIONS. Tom Hiddleston is all of us reacting to Disney<<


On the Loki we will see in the series, versus the Loki we last saw on screen. 
"...there's a lot of unprocessed, unacknowledged pain. I've always thought the aspects of Loki which are the most fun are the defence mechanisms, covered the aspects of him which are the most vulnerable. He hasn't analyzed that for himself. There's very little self-awareness at this point. I want to preserve the freshness of the show for when it emerges but something to think about is the {shows} logo, which seems to refresh and restore. The font of how Loki is spelled out seems to keep changing shape. Loki is the quintessential shapeshifter. His mercurial nature is that you don't know whether, across the MCU, he's a hero or a villain or an anti-hero. You don't know whether you can trust him. He literally and physically changes shape into an Asgardian guard, or into Captain America repeatedly. I think that the shapeshifting logo might give you an idea that Loki, the show, is about identity, and about integrating the disparate fragments of the many selves that he can be, and perhaps the many selves that we are."


On Loki turning him into a rock star
"Rock stars usually play the guitar extremely well. Or they have inhumanly beautiful singing voices, which I don't... I always saw it as the character connecting. I'm just an ordinary kid from Wimbledon who finds people interesting. That's why I became an actor. Certainly, I had to adjust to a different level of attention. And I may have been confused initially by thinking that people had really extraordinary expectations and I have to live up to them every time. But I just have to do my job, and hopefully that will be enough. 

>> Firstly, that is absolutely enough. But... I would like to present to the court Exhibit A that Tom Hiddleston does, in fact, have an inhumanly beautiful singing voice. These is facts. <<


On the directors he has worked with.
  • "Kate Herron had so many extraordinary ideas and such a deep knowledge of the MCU and the character from the comics, and all the things that hadn't been explored and angles that hadn't been looked at."
  • "Ben (Wheatley) and I just recognised each other. We trusted each other.
  • (Guillermo del Toro) "I felt very held by him. He runs a very joyful and warm-hearted set."
  • "I learned a lot from Jim (Jarmusch). He's extremely knowledgeable about music, about art, about poetry, about science and nature. 
  • "I felt an immediate connection to (The Night Manager pilot). And Susanne (Bier) was the perfect director for that. She understood that very carefully constructed and codified world of John le CarrÄ—, and underneath it excavated something very human and raw." 

On stepping away from the spotlight. 
"I'd been so many different people in so many different parts of the world, and it's very important to distinguish what's real in one's own life, and look after those things. Because if you don't look after them, they can be lost, or they can be marginalised, and then you come home one day and they're not there anymore. I think Eve in Only Lovers Left Alive sums it up best. She says life is about surviving things, appreciating nature, nurturing kindness and friendship, and dancing. So perhaps, in that moment, I needed to come back and do it. I don't know, to be honest, that I danced a lot. I should have danced more. But I'm sure there are some people who'd say I've danced far too much." 

>> Tbh all the questions about Tom stepping away were completely unnecessary. It's alluded to multiple times in the interview. There are multiple questions about it. They used it in the promo for the magazine. If this interview was in 2018, I would understand.  But it's 2021. Why are we still playing this game? Tom Hiddleston was back out there big time in 2019. He's always balanced film with televsion and theatre projects. Everybody had a quiet 2020 with the entire planet being shut down and all that. And most importantly - that's his business... But his answer is so good. We have to take time to appreciate the people and things we have in life. We all need to dance more. And there is no such thing as dancing too much. <<



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This is the first real fashion photoshoot we have had from Tom Hiddleston since 2016. We had brand specific photoshoots (Style Italia for Gucci and Bosideng) and other interviews where Tom was wearing his own clothes... but this is FASHUN - experimenting with different brands and *gasp* colors. This photoshoot was styled by Eric Down, a stylist Tom has never worked with before but who has worked multiple times with his brother from another mother - Chris Hemsworth. You can view more of his work here

For the covershoot, Tom was wearing a Richard James suit (similar*). Along with a Reiss button-up and Reiss trainers ($230). 


Both Richard James and Reiss are brands Tom has worn irl. 

TH loves a Richard James blazer. 


The Tardis Blue Reiss suit from Cannes could be the most infamous thing Tom has ever worn. And this blog only exists because of that Reiss coat. 


For the subscribers cover, T-Hiddy pulled out the Loki green in Louis Vuitton ($935), Tod's trousers (Spring 2021), and Veja trainers ($145). 


Last, but never least, we got to see Tom in his most go-to label, Ralph Lauren (Suit, Sweater). LAWD, This is easily my favorite look from the photoshoot. Hopefully more images will come out so we can see more of the suit. LAWD. Tom Hiddleston shouldn't - he's pale, he's ginger - but does look so good in cream. Plus, he was just made for RL. 



Sunday, April 11, 2021

BAFTA Film Awards (2021)

 April 11, 2021: 


We went over a year with barely a snacky treat, but this week as been a bonafide Tom Hiddleston buffet. Tommy did not come to play in 2021. 


This is our first Red Carpet event since the Betrayal Broadway Press Night in September 2019, and he was definitely making up for lost time.  


Black Tuxedo ☑ Shawl Collar ☑ Double Breasted ☑ ... It could only be Ralph Lauren. 


The Floof was especially floofy.


_________________

Here is Tom's Red Carpet Interview. Where he talks about the Best Film and Rising Star nominees - along with the upcoming Loki series. 


Speaking of Loki - the entire cast came to serve tonight. Richard E. Grant, Wunmi Mosaku, Gugu Mbatha-Raw. 


Tom and Gugu presented Outstanding British Film to Promising Young Woman. 


_____________________

When it was announced that Tom Hiddleston was presenting at the BAFTA Film Awards, I went back through the archives to look at some of his past appearances. I couldn't believe that this would only be Tom's fifth time at this particular awards show. I just associate Tom so closely with BAFTA that I felt it had to be more. This is also the first time Tom wore Ralph Lauren to this event.


In 2012 (Armani), Tom Hiddleston was nominated for the Rising Star Award - which somehow is still the only BAFTA Film or TV nomination he has ever received. We all know The Night Manager got snubbed but where was the love for Freddie Page?!?! In 2013 (Armani), 2015 (McQueen), and 2017 (Gucci) he returned to present. 




Fashion: 

As soon as I saw Tom arrive, I immediately flashbacked to the 2018 GQ Man of the Year Awards. It's the same silohette, sans the velvet. I am 100% pro-velvet but it would probably get a little hot in April. He was also wearing Ralph Lauren. 


Today's style is from the Ralph Lauren Purple Label 25th Anniversary.


British GQ said what they said. 




Cartier also posted to confirm Tom was wearing their Santos-Dumont watch and Santos de Cartier cufflinks.  













Credits: 


Zimbio
BAFTA